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Interview Annie Wu
Annie Wu, a young illustrator just Graduated magna cum laude from the Maryland Institute College of Art with a BFA in Illustration in 2010. Wu's work has very nice line quality and characterize. From her work I can feel the power and activity.
'A Dead Sheriff in Little Wichita' poster, 2009.
Featured in 'Spectrum 17.'
Featured in 'Spectrum 17.'
• How are you training like? How important was your education affect you?
I spent four years at the Maryland Institute College of Art. The first year was the same for everyone; we took the same kinds of basic classes, learning Figure Drawing, Painting, Art Criticism, etc. My last three years were more focused on Illustration. My time at MICA really helped shape me as not only an illustrator but as a business person.
• What was your first professional illustration job? Which work do you think make you famous? Where were you in your career at the time? When was this?
I suppose, officially, my first professional job was doing the cover and some spot illustrations for an issue of Lacrosse Magazine, since that was completed/published before anything else I had lined up. I believe this was the summer after my Junior year.
I don't think "famous" is even close to the right word, but I did get a surprising amount of attention for my punk Justice League design (http://www.flickr.com/photos/anniew/5225377197/ ) which I did about six months after I graduated, for fun and not for a client. A few pieces have gotten me attention before, but the online reaction to the Justice League piece was very surprising.
• When did you development your signature style? What led you to it?
I was mostly content with my drawing ability when I started school but I knew I was terrible at coloring. Really, really terrible. At one point, the situation seemed hopeless, because traditional methods of coloring were failing for me and I could never get digital stuff to work quite the way I wanted it to. Fortunately, two of my professors, who are also professional illustrators, gave separate digital coloring demonstrations in the same week, toward the end of my second year. I took lots of notes and went home to try it. It was such a relief to find something that made sense to me. From there, I combined what I learned from those two coloring demos and tweaked the method until it suit my drawing style. If you look through my work chronologically, you can see a huge shift after April 2008 (when this happened) and my style became pretty close to what I do now.
• Please, describe your process (the process of creating an image from concept to execution.) what techniques and media do you prefer?
My typical process is... sketches/layout, pencils on final surface, inks on final surface, scan, color on the computer. My preferred paper is vellum Bristol... I use a dip pen and ink (a bottle of whatever I have sitting around)... I color in Photoshop with my tablet.
• Is your working process are the same, when you doing your own work, other’s book cover, Magazine, commercial work and CD cover?
My personal work is a lot more loose, because if I don't finish it or decide to change details dramatically, I can. I almost never do thumbnails or sketches for those; I just kind of jump in and start drawing. For clients, however, I do produce sketches first. This is mainly so the client can approve something at an early stage and I don't end up spending hours on an elaborate drawing that ultimately doesn't even work because basics like the concept or layout aren't right. This has been pretty much the same with any type of assignment, from character designs to comic book pages.
• What challenges do you face in your work?
Something I'm bad at -- or used to be, I guess -- is giving myself time off. Finding a good balance between work and play can be tough. Because when you're a freelancer, you choose your own hours. And if you're like me, you can end up spending the whole day working and feeling guilty when you take time off. It took me a while to convince myself that it's just as important to stop, breathe, go do something else and recharge your batteries. Plus, it's good to go out and explore and be inspired by new things.
Excluding an endless list of illustrators, I find inspiration from sculptors, painters, animators, musicians, comedians, fashion designers... All sorts of people/work. Even the attitudes, personalities, and work ethics of other creative people have influenced me. I'm fascinated by a lot of things that don't seem to have much to do with each other, I suppose. For example... I went through a spraypainting/stencil phase while I was in school. At that time, the airbrushed/collage work Terry Gilliam did for Monty Python inspired me just as much as Banksy or any other street artist. And when I'm creating characters, Gustav Klimt and Buster Keaton can equally inform a design.
• What your favorite from your artwork? Why?
No one really seems to like him as much as I do, but I've always been pretty fond of this guy:http://www.flickr.com/photos/anniew/4182105847/ His silent film evilness, that stupid tattoo, a bottle of poison labeled "NOT AT ALL DEADLY." I mean, I designed him to amuse myself, so I think he's funny.
• What is your favorite means for creating art? Why?
Digital. It's just what happened to click with the images I wanted to make.
• What type of art that you like to look at? Why?
I wish I had more a more sophisticated answer for this, but I like figural representations because people are my favorite thing to draw.
• Who are your best clients? Who do you enjoy working for most? Describe the process. Do your clients come out the idea or you?
All of my clients have been pretty good. My favorite clients let me know, very clearly, what they expect from me and when they need work done. But they're also flexible when things need to be changed. In most cases, clients tell me what they have in mind but let me do my thing. When I send in sketches and concepts, that's when they start steering me in one direction or another.
• Could you give some suggestions for the student like me who about to graduate and want have a good job after graduate?
Listen to all criticism. Some people may not always be on-point but it's still important to take in what they say before deciding whether or not it's something that applies to you. A lot of young illustrators make the mistake of becoming very defensive and immediately dismissive when it comes to hearing negative feedback and they never learn from their mistakes. I know from experience it can be a gut reaction to defend yourself (especially during critiques at school) but, in the end, it's vital to process everything and try to identify where the feedback was coming from. Be honest with yourself when it comes to your strengths and weaknesses so you know what skills to sell or improve.
Oh. And have a well-organized, easy-to-navigate website and/or blog. That too.
I spent four years at the Maryland Institute College of Art. The first year was the same for everyone; we took the same kinds of basic classes, learning Figure Drawing, Painting, Art Criticism, etc. My last three years were more focused on Illustration. My time at MICA really helped shape me as not only an illustrator but as a business person.
• What was your first professional illustration job? Which work do you think make you famous? Where were you in your career at the time? When was this?
I suppose, officially, my first professional job was doing the cover and some spot illustrations for an issue of Lacrosse Magazine, since that was completed/published before anything else I had lined up. I believe this was the summer after my Junior year.
I don't think "famous" is even close to the right word, but I did get a surprising amount of attention for my punk Justice League design (http://www.flickr.com/photos/
• When did you development your signature style? What led you to it?
I was mostly content with my drawing ability when I started school but I knew I was terrible at coloring. Really, really terrible. At one point, the situation seemed hopeless, because traditional methods of coloring were failing for me and I could never get digital stuff to work quite the way I wanted it to. Fortunately, two of my professors, who are also professional illustrators, gave separate digital coloring demonstrations in the same week, toward the end of my second year. I took lots of notes and went home to try it. It was such a relief to find something that made sense to me. From there, I combined what I learned from those two coloring demos and tweaked the method until it suit my drawing style. If you look through my work chronologically, you can see a huge shift after April 2008 (when this happened) and my style became pretty close to what I do now.
• Please, describe your process (the process of creating an image from concept to execution.) what techniques and media do you prefer?
My typical process is... sketches/layout, pencils on final surface, inks on final surface, scan, color on the computer. My preferred paper is vellum Bristol... I use a dip pen and ink (a bottle of whatever I have sitting around)... I color in Photoshop with my tablet.
• Is your working process are the same, when you doing your own work, other’s book cover, Magazine, commercial work and CD cover?
My personal work is a lot more loose, because if I don't finish it or decide to change details dramatically, I can. I almost never do thumbnails or sketches for those; I just kind of jump in and start drawing. For clients, however, I do produce sketches first. This is mainly so the client can approve something at an early stage and I don't end up spending hours on an elaborate drawing that ultimately doesn't even work because basics like the concept or layout aren't right. This has been pretty much the same with any type of assignment, from character designs to comic book pages.
• What challenges do you face in your work?
Something I'm bad at -- or used to be, I guess -- is giving myself time off. Finding a good balance between work and play can be tough. Because when you're a freelancer, you choose your own hours. And if you're like me, you can end up spending the whole day working and feeling guilty when you take time off. It took me a while to convince myself that it's just as important to stop, breathe, go do something else and recharge your batteries. Plus, it's good to go out and explore and be inspired by new things.
• What’s your inspiration from?
I'm going to mush these into one answer, if that's okay...Excluding an endless list of illustrators, I find inspiration from sculptors, painters, animators, musicians, comedians, fashion designers... All sorts of people/work. Even the attitudes, personalities, and work ethics of other creative people have influenced me. I'm fascinated by a lot of things that don't seem to have much to do with each other, I suppose. For example... I went through a spraypainting/stencil phase while I was in school. At that time, the airbrushed/collage work Terry Gilliam did for Monty Python inspired me just as much as Banksy or any other street artist. And when I'm creating characters, Gustav Klimt and Buster Keaton can equally inform a design.
• What your favorite from your artwork? Why?
No one really seems to like him as much as I do, but I've always been pretty fond of this guy:http://www.flickr.com/photos/
• What is your favorite means for creating art? Why?
Digital. It's just what happened to click with the images I wanted to make.
• What type of art that you like to look at? Why?
I wish I had more a more sophisticated answer for this, but I like figural representations because people are my favorite thing to draw.
• Who are your best clients? Who do you enjoy working for most? Describe the process. Do your clients come out the idea or you?
All of my clients have been pretty good. My favorite clients let me know, very clearly, what they expect from me and when they need work done. But they're also flexible when things need to be changed. In most cases, clients tell me what they have in mind but let me do my thing. When I send in sketches and concepts, that's when they start steering me in one direction or another.
• Could you give some suggestions for the student like me who about to graduate and want have a good job after graduate?
Listen to all criticism. Some people may not always be on-point but it's still important to take in what they say before deciding whether or not it's something that applies to you. A lot of young illustrators make the mistake of becoming very defensive and immediately dismissive when it comes to hearing negative feedback and they never learn from their mistakes. I know from experience it can be a gut reaction to defend yourself (especially during critiques at school) but, in the end, it's vital to process everything and try to identify where the feedback was coming from. Be honest with yourself when it comes to your strengths and weaknesses so you know what skills to sell or improve.
Oh. And have a well-organized, easy-to-navigate website and/or blog. That too.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
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