www.studiobrewer.com
Graphic Designer and Illustrator | London
Hello Jake! Give a description of your career in a few words.
Ahoy!

I’m a Graphic Designer and Illustrator. I started in the industry as a “Flash Designer”, designing and coding websites. It was fun, but about 4 years ago I decided to dedicate more time to focus purely on my design and illustration skills, as that’s what I really enjoy. I always try to get involved in many different aspects of both the design and illustration process, and often try to blend the two together (if that makes sense?).


How would you explain your style of illustration?
Cartoony, humorous, rough and fun. Although, I experiment a lot so it’s bound to change at some point.
What are your creation processes? What part in the work process is the most difficult?
Pretty much the same as most illustrators or designers out there. Everything starts with a few rough thumbnail sketches. I then refine them a few times until I’m happy with the composition, and start to sketch out a bigger version. I start very lightly, and when I feel it’s right, I start to go over everything, adding in darker lines and details.

Then it’s scanned and traced in Illustrator using a tablet and pressure-sensitive pen to achieve the right line weight.

From there, it’s taken into a 300 dpi Photoshop document as a Smart Object (scalable). I roughly fill in blocks of colour (on a layer under the line work) to experiment with. Once I’ve made my choice, I start washing over the solid mid-tone base colour with dark tones and lighter tones to add some depth.

After the colour is done, I grade the whole piece with adjustment layers and some textures if it is needed.
The most difficult part is most probably the line work stage. Getting each line in different parts of the work how you want – depending on the complexity of the project – is very tedious, requires patience, and sometimes a few beers during the process!


Do you think the university is important for who is in the beginning of design? And what the message you could say to the young professionals?
I think university is important in terms of a good starting point. I was fortunate enough to be able to attend a small design college in Cape Town, South Africa which had good connections within the industry, and based a lot of the courses on real-world examples. I think it’s important as a lot of universities don’t have a practical and realistic connection with the industry. Therefore, kids leave with their degree under their arm, only to find that the reality of the outside studio is far different from what they learned.

I still feel the majority of what any designer learns comes from being out in the field and working long hours. So you’re almost better in getting an internship at a design company instead of winding up with a massive student loan to pay off.

Think hard, work hard and stay focused.
Tells us about your most special projects and the reason why it’s so important for you.
One of them would definitely be the “Please Don’t Feed The Mob” illustration I did in 2008. This was the first illustration where I really worked hard on getting the characters how I wanted, and was the first character-driven illustration I had ever done.

Another one would be the game design I did for “Heroes” in 2007. This was made up of 60×60 tiles that each level could be built with in Flash (not by me) and moved around easily. When I was first briefed on the project I wasn’t too confident on getting it done on time, as game design wasn’t my speciality. I got stuck in, and the client loved it as well as the studio I was working for at the time. It felt great.
In which point do you think technology can help an artist?
I think technology can help in terms of speed and accuracy, but we should be careful not to let technology define the style or idea behind our work, and rather help the great idea to flourish. A weak idea fluffed up with filters and effects in Photoshop or After-Effects is still going to be a weak idea, just dressed up.


What programs do you use to create your illustrations?
Photoshop and Illustrator, but without a pencil and paper the projects would never get started.
What would you tell for those who are starting in this area?
Just do what makes you happy and don’t work for people who take advantage of you. Work hard, and try to stay focused even when it’s coming up to 3AM and you’re putting the finishing touches on a project. Remember that you can always do better, so keep pushing.
Your favorite artists?
Alex Trochut [alextrochut.com], Emil Kozak [emilkozak.com], Anthony Hurd [anthonyhurd.com], Karl Kwasny [monaux.com], Cesar Moreno [1978.com.mx], Matthias Baeuerie [seasonzero.de], to name a few.


Which draw was the most difficult to do?
Probably the “Killer Halloween” illustration, as I was experimenting with a new colouring technique and it took quite a few rounds to get it how I wanted.
Your computer?
Macbook Pro 17″ (2008 model) + 24-inch LCD monitor.
What is your favorite food?
Anything my Mom makes.
What kind of music do you like?
Mostly stuff from the 50′s through to the 90′s, ranging from AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, to Captain Beefheart, Black Sabbath, Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, Louis Armstrong, Eric Clapton. The list is endless. Generally, I love any jazz, blues, rock ‘n roll or funk from those periods of time. I do like a few “modern” bands like The Black Keys, Airbourne and Gomez, but I don’t really spend a lot of time following new artists. It’s usually spent discovering older stuff.
Do you have any hobbies outside of digital art and computing?
Photography, painting, travelling (I’m not sure if it qualifies as a hobby), guitar (whenever I can).
Any final comments?
Thanks for the interview!