www.nopattern.com

Freelance Designer, Illustrator | Chicago, IL

Tell us about your background?
I’ve been making art since I was very young and always knew it was something that I would try taking to a new level. I graduated high school in 2003 and decided not to go to college. I got a job at a screenprinter which led eventually to me branching off and getting some good freelance work. Now, as of March 2004, I’m freelancing fulltime for the likes of XLR8R, Tokion, InSound.com, DigitalKitchen, and more. It’s going really well so far. I’m also working part time here in Chicago with Skinnycorp/Threadless.

Have you had artistic studies and was it useful for you?
I have had hardly any ‘artistic studies.’ I took several classes in high school but they did very little for my progress as a designer/artist. The teachers were great and I connected well with them, but I did not learn very much from being taught. If you’re a good artist, you don’t need to be taught, you just have ‘it.’ You can learn new things and methods, but the creativity is purely from yourself.


How would you explain your style of illustration?
I would describe it as always-changing. Each piece I do is different from the next, there is not much consistency in my work. Hence “NoPattern.” I like to be able to change it up from time to time rather than get stuck to just one style. I would explain all of my work as spontaneous, imaginative, and organic.

What programs do you use to create your illustrations?
I still stick with a lot of the basics- pen, watercolor, paper. But when on the computer, Illustrator is my tool of choice, some Photoshop here and there…


What are your creation processes?
There are none really, I just sort of do it. If i need or want to make something, it just happens. I hardly ever plan it out.