www.asmithillustration.com

Illustrator, Animator | London, UK

Tell us about your background?
Born in the UK, I’ve been an illustrator for about seven years. My work has been mostly used in editorials and advertising for clients such as Orange, Vodaphone, Mercedes, Expedia and London Transport, though I have been able to apply it to other areas such as book covers, packaging and interiors . I also enjoy animation and have animated and directed my work for Nikes ‘Run London’ campaign. As well as commercial work I also produce self published silkscreen printed books which I then sell in shops in London and online on my website www.asmithillustration.com. My latest books ‘We are the target people’ and ‘They quickly ran from the enormous finger’ will be available shortly.

Have you had artistic studies and was it useful for you?
Yes I did a degree at Brighton University here in the UK, and I then went on to the Royal College of Art in London where I did an MA in illustration. By the time I’d done all this I was pretty keen to get started on some proper work.


How would you explain your style of illustration?
Its digital but hopefully doesn’t really look it. I’ve got a background in screenprinting so I try to stick to those principles in my work, even though its now made on a computer. I try to use just a few colours but then make a big use of the overlaps that can be created when they are overprinted. I also try to keep my drawing quite lively and immediate so it keeps the energy of a sketch.
In terms of ideas I like to have some kind of humour and narrative included if possible and I often incorporate type into my pictures to help achieve this.

What programs do you use to create your illustrations?
For print work I use photoshop, but I don’t really draw in it, its used more as a way of collecting my drawings together and then colouring them.
For animation I often use flash.


What are your creation processes?
I spend a lot of time coming up with an idea, then draw all the elements by hand, scan it and then layer it on a computer.