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UBD meets with Illustrator Andrew Joyce
1. Hi Andrew, can we start by you telling us a little bit about yourself?
Hi. Well, I’m a freelance illustrator currently based in Bath. I graduated in 2010 and have been busy e-mailing, calling, meeting new clients and starting new projects ever since. I spent a few years living in Japan before getting into illustration and it still provides inspiration for numerous projects and personal work. In the near future, I’d like to return to Tokyo and continue working as an illustrator, taking part in exhibitions and meeting other artists and designers etc. I’ve always wanted to start a studio or perhaps a small collective and put on events and shows so it would be great to have a connection like this between the UK and Japan.
2. What inspired you to begin a career as an illustrator?
I’ve drawn things ever since I can remember but it wasn’t till quite late that I realised I could make it onto a career. I’d completed an Art & Design course at college with no real goal in mind, I just applied because I liked drawing. After that I decided to do some travelling and work in a few foreign countries. This is when I settled in Japan for a few years and generally enjoyed having a guaranteed income. I was always doodling or drawing something throughout this stage but after keeping track of other friends work and websites it eventually dawned on me that illustration is what I wanted to do. I applied for university from Japan, booked my tickets back to the UK, had an interview and then spent the next three years learning all about the weird and wonderful world of illustration and Graphic design.
3. How do you choose your subject matter?
Recently, I’ve been getting more and more into typography (more specifically, hand drawn lettering) and I’ve always been inspired by signage, especially hand painted ones. If I see something that’s interesting then it usually spurs me on to document it somehow and create something of my own. Generally though I get inspiration from the objects around me. I’m a bit of a hoarder and I enjoy building up collections of illustrations, whether it’s everday object, biscuits or a weekly visual diary, I often try to apply this to both personal and client based work. Cityscapes also fascinate me, especially the endless sprawl of Tokyo.
4.Your illustrations are very detailed, how long do you usually spend on one piece?
I normally illustrate things relatively quickly. It’s the cleaning up and colouring that takes the longest time. One of the first cityscapes I completed (The black & White Tokyo print) however took from 8am-6pm for three days to complete. Luckily I didn’t have to colour it.
5. What projects have you been involved with / working on recently?
I’ve recently been collaborating with illustrator/ designer Joey Meuross on a few projects. We both share a keen interest in Japan and studied there together a few years ago. Because of this shared interest in another culture we’ve found it easy to work together and think up new ideas based on similar interests. He works in a very different medium and style to mine too so it is always interesting to find ways to combine our work. Hopefully we can announce some upcoming events soon.
To see Andrew’s portfolio please follow this link
by Sasha
Saturday 16th July 2011
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