Today’s 6Q interview features my friend, the amazing illustrator Kim Rosen. Kim studied advertising and design and then worked as a designer for several years before becoming an illustrator. Knowing Kim personally I can tell you that she’s has a quiet, peaceful demeanor, she’s very smart, considerate and she cares a lot about her work and her clients, which include; Time, Starbucks, American Express, Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker and many more. Kim has also been recognized by the Society of Illustrators in NY and LA, 3×3, American Illustration, the Altpick Awards and others. I hope you enjoy the interview.

1. What made you want to become an illustrator?

Well, I have drawn pictures all of my life and while I was working as a Graphic Designer at an Advertising agency, I saw some Illustration portfolios. When I saw those portfolios I knew immediately that that was what I wanted to do. Illustration involves everything that I love about design (composition, problem solving, storytelling etc.) but executed through drawings and that made complete sense to me. To be able to capture an emotion, tell a story and solve a clients needs was/is what made me want to become an Illustrator.

2. Did you ever consider something else besides illustration?

Nope, at the time Illustration seemed like the perfect fit for me and my personality. I knew the types of clients I would be targeting and I understood the competitive nature of the field since I worked in the commercial art world prior to becoming an Illustrator.

3. What influences your style of illustration?

I am influenced by everyday situations and personal emotions. I love observing people and catching subtle expressions and sometimes not so subtle expressions. Interactions between people are fascinating to me as well. The way people move and go about their daily lives, whether it’s at the grocery store, a bar or even dancing, I try to capture an inkling of what I see in their personalities.

4. Describe your processes.

When I get a job for a client, I start with a list of words or phrases that might spark some ideas for sketches. I narrow down my ideas to 2 or 3 concrete concepts. I often look for reference or take my own images for reference and I start drawing. I normally draw really tight line drawings for sketches and I end up using those line drawings for the final art. I finish an image in a variety of ways, but mainly I use my light table to create layers using pastels which I then scan into the computer along with found textures or painted acrylic textures which I compile digitally in Photoshop.

5. What is your favorite illustration you have done, and what do you like about it?

Hmmm… that’s a tough one. I am my own worst critic. I guess if I had to pick a job that I thought was perfect for me and my style, I would say the posters I created for Starbucks’ Hot Java Cool Jazz event. Starbucks has been sponsoring a high school jazz band event in Seattle for the past few years and asked me to draw all of the students in each of the five competing bands. I had so much fun drawing all of the teens with their instruments. The folks at Starbucks allowed me to capture the humor and awkwardness and overall moodiness of the teenagers and it was a blast.

6. What would be a dream project for you?

I would love to illustrate book covers for Fiction books. It would be great to illustrate a series for the Young-Adult crowd. I would also love to illustrate a movie poster. I can think of a million dream projects, but I’ll stop there. All projects are exciting to me because they are all different, that’s the beauty of being an Illustrator.

Thank you so much Kim,for taking the time to do the interview. I really enjoyed it and look forward seeing new work.

You can see a lot more of Kim’s work on her website and see a bit of her process on her blog.

This is the first in what I hope will become a series of six question interviews on Farmidable. It’s something I’ve been wanting to do for awhile. I hope you enjoy. 

I’ve posted about Sam Wolfe Connelly’s work in the past. He is a young and very talented illustrator living in Savanna, GA, who’s work has been featured in the Society of Illustrators NYC, NewYorkTimes.com, Creative Quarterly, CMYK Magazine and more.

Q1:  What made you want to become an illustrator?

I’ve always loved drawing, especially narratives, so when it came time to choose a major in college, illustration seemed like the obvious choice. I really have fallen in love with it since ‘deciding’ my major. If i had to pick an exact moment though, it was when I saw Sam Weber‘s cover of the 2008 Communication Arts Illustration annual (which was a portrait of a bloody vampire) and thought to myself ‘I need to be an illustrator’.

Q2. Did you ever consider something else besides illustration?

Right now I’m trying to invest my energy in the fine art field too. As much as I love illustration, I really like having my own voice heard through galleries too,; it helps me from feeling to stifled. In fact, I have an upcoming solo show this fall in San Francisco with the new Spoke Art Gallery.

Q3. What influences your style of illustration?

Well having just gotten out of school, I had a lot of anxiety about creating a unique style and trying to branch away from my own illustrative influences, but as of right now, I’m pretty comfortable with where my art is going. These days I usually spend a lot of time on my tumblr, collecting photographs that help me generate more ideas for my own ‘world’. I feel like using photography as a creative jumping off point really helps in not generalizing my work and allows for style to come more naturally.

Q4. Describe your processes.

My process generally fluctuates depending on the type of job I’m working on. Some, especially the ones with tighter deadlines, are more digital heavy than others, while some are all traditional. What’s usually always the same though, is beginning with a solid drawing in graphite on paper. Sometimes I take this straight into photoshop, while other times I’ll lay down washes of acrylic/colored pencil, and build it up to get a nicely glazed look. I hate painting though. I’d say nearly all of my pieces are drawing-heavy.

Q5. What is your favorite illustration you have done, and what do you like about it?

This is terrible, but all my illustrations are kind of dead to me. By the time I finish one, I try and focus on the next, because I’m usually sick of looking at it. So, in all honesty, I couldn’t tell you which is my favorite.

Q6. What would be a dream project for you?

To do a huge collaboration with the most talented illustrators I know. That, and to illustrate a Pokemon card.

Thank you so much for agreeing to do the interview I really enjoyed it and wish you all the best. Please keep us updated on your endevers.

Readers can view Sam’s portfolio here and purchase a limited edition print at 1200 Posters shown above.

Chris Greenwood’s album Igloo was recently released on iTunes and amazon.com. I had the opportunity to work with Chris on the album artwork and during that time did an interview with him. In the interview Chris talks about what it was like to make the album, why he fell in love with making music and what some of his plans are in the future. We also had strange moment in the middle of the interview. Click the read more to get read view the interview.

Bob: Hi Chris, glad to have you here. Thanks for sitting down and doing this interview.
Chris: Thanks Bob
Bob:  So I guess my first question would be. How long have you been making music in general?
Chris: I started playing guitar when I was 13. I started writing music when I was 14.
Bob: What got you interested in music?
Chris: Green Day, Silver Chair and Nirvana. All 90′s bands, inspired me to learn electric guitar.
Bob: It made you want to do that.
Chris: I didn’t do it to vent. I didn’t really have any problems at that age. I just liked it.
Bob: You’ve played with other bands. Do you like playing in a band? How does the style differ from your solo work?
Chris: I do love playing in a band and getting other people’s impute in making music. W/out other minds working with you on a song, you don’t know if something could be made better in it’s place. The style of the band differs in that there’s more power and energy. There are other energies besides your own that you have to take into consideration. It becomes your style added to the style of other people’s and it becomes it’s own unique style. It’s more indie soft rock I guess. The mood is the same as my solo. It’s usually sad and gloomy but sometimes happy. Happiness is hard to come by I guess. [laughs] .
Bob: Igloo is your first complete album. How long did it take you to make it?
Chris: Igloo is my first complete album, but it’s complete in a sense that it has all of my thoughts come together the way I want it to. An album should be what you hear it to be in your head and if it doesn’t come out that way it feels like something is missing. This would be my fifth album if I counted all my past projects, but I’m not counting those. This is the first one that I feel is complete.
Bob: You had a lot of help on Igloo. What were some of the challenges in pulling it all together.
Chris: Ummm huh, finding the right drummer at the right time was the biggest problem I had.
Bob: Because you were looking for a specific style of drummer?
Chris: Most drummers play what they like to listen too. I tried drummers out on some songs and if I liked what I heard we tried and some recording until we got it right. The other hard thing was getting the right string players.
Bob: Anything else about the process that was challenging? Was there something that you didn’t expect?
Chris: I didn’t expect to get rid of so many songs that were originally supposed to be on the album. I expected to have certain songs. Out of 40 songs that I wrote I stuck to 12 of them. I did add a hidden track at the end because I liked it but didn’t know where it fit with the rest of the album. I wrote it for my ex girlfriend as a lullaby that I ended up turning into a song. It’s a simple song. But the penny whistle took me about 20 tries to get it right.

Meg: Come look at this there’s a big bird outside eating a squirrel!

15 minutes later

Bob: That was crazy. I’ll post a picture with the interview. What are some of your favorite bands and musicians?
Chris: I love Paul Simon, Eisley, Iron and Wine, Bell X1. Damian Rice, Fleet Foxes and Gemma Hayes and one more, The Frames.
Bob: Is there a release date for the album?
Chris: No, I do not know. That’s my organizational skills for you. iTunes will put in on whenever they get to it. It takes 2 to 6 weeks. It should be available on iTunes late December.
Bob: Do you have future projects coming up?
Chris: I’m planning on making a six song Christmas album, I’ll start working on it in the summer. Some covers of ones I learned in Catholic school and maybe one that I write. I really like O’ Holy Night. After that I don’t know. I kinda just want to a break. Igloo took a long time because I wanted everything to sound right.
Bob: Any plans to record wit the band you’re in? What is your band’s name?
Chris: Yeah probably. We don’t have a name, not yet
Bob: Thanks again. It’s always great to hang out.
Chris: Thanks it was fun.

Meghan Burch has been an art maker since she can remember. She studied illustration at the Massachusetts College of Art and is now an Art Studio Educator at The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, MA. Meghan also designs and makes products for Kaybu, her collection of hand screen-printed and sewn home goods, accessories and apparel.

I recently had a chance to sit down with Meghan and talk about her love of art making and design.

F: Thanks for taking the time to sit down for an interview. I’m sure you’re very busy.Let’s start at the beginning. Did you always have a desire to make things?

MB: I think so. One of the first products I can remember making was a replica of the heat pack my dad used for his back. My version was 10+ layers of writing paper and probably a whole bottle of Elmer’s glue. I was so proud of having reproduced the same thick squishy texture as the actual heat pack. My mom’s reaction was at the very least kind, if not genuinely encouraging, when I showed it to her. I think a big reason why I still love to make stuff today is because my whole network of family and friends were really supportive of my early interests and experiments.

F: So how does an illustration major end up working in three dimensions?

MB: I studied illustration because in high school when people saw that I could draw things realistically, they suggested I study illustration. I didn’t know much about non-representational art or sculpture, so I thought, why not. What I loved about being an illustration student was the level of professionalism required from the start. The fast pace, the demanding nature of design, working within pre-determined limitations, it was great training. I’ve really enjoyed the path that has lead me to this point.

F: Where do you get your ideas from?

MB: Where don’t I get ideas from? Sometimes I wish I could turn that part of in my brain off. Getting to work in an art museum with all ages of people in a hands-on space is very idea stimulating. Helping others “think with materials” can be incredibly idea building. I think what’s happening is that my brain is always making connections between things I see, hear, encounter, taste, etc., illumination. A list of particular things that interest/ inspire me would include: growth patterns, moss, unexpected flavor combinations, the beach, photography, serendipitous and found marks, design blogs, work by Tara Donovan, modern and contemporary architecture, wandering in the library or the thrift store, visiting a city.

F: What projects are you currently working?

M: I’m working on some new surface patterns and some tests for new home products and messenger style bags for Kaybu. I’m also working on an installation of screen-printed felt forms of an exhibition in May. Last spring I sewed my first dress, so this spring I’d like to make a custom dress form so I can make more of my own clothes. I think that’s enough projects for now.

F: Thanks for letting me interview you. It was both fun and inspiring. We’ll defiantly check in with you in the future to see what you’re up too.

To see more of Meghan’s work:
Blog: kaybu.com
Shop: kaybu.etsy.com