Matthew Craven is an illustrator and former street performer from Grimsby.

Can you explain what you did with the Earthbound Misfits? Were you a tumbler or the bloke who got fired from a cannon?

Nor a tumbler or the guy who gets fired from a cannon! I used to do ‘street performances’ with the Earthbound Misfits, the guys who taught me from the age of 12 in school. Predominantly we would perform circus skills workshops and street theatre. We’d often perform character based acts and interact with our audience sometimes using strange costumes designed and made by myself, such as ‘Mel’ a shy, ugly and reclusive creature that collected smells using a coconut powered machine (captured on film here by Mr & Mrs Swing).  I used to teach unicycling, tight-rope, globe-walking, club passing, fire breathing, diabolo etc in schools, festivals and sometimes at the strangest corporate bonding/teamwork sessions and one for the young British Olympic Team, that was different, in a really posh manor house with a “buffet” consisting of raw vegetables, raisins and bananas!

What made you go from being a magician to starting up in illustration?  Do you still perform?

I had no real desire to become a proper magician. It stemmed from a lack of income and people asking the Misfits if we knew any magicians. It was however a real childhood passion of mine, almost an obsession. I began to loose interest after I won Young Magician of the Year at our regional Magic Circle and as I began sixth form college, I thought it was a bit geeky, I was a bit geeky. Both juggling and magic always allowed creativity in my work but never satisfied me as art and design could. I knew jumping straight into uni after foundation would be a mistake, so I deliberately lived in shared flats in Grimsby allowed the entertainment work to fizzle out and worked shit jobs to thoroughly depress myself into the realisation that uncreative jobs are unsatisfying and a massive waste of time and in time, I’m sure, would affect my sanity. These days I only perform magic when I’m bored at the pub.

You work in quite a few different styles and media, is there any particular type you enjoy more?

I’m still in the exploratory stage of finding what media works best for me. I enjoy the realism and credibility oils offer, but I’ll always resort to the first medium that I fell in love with; ink. Recently I tried working in 3D which I found to be quite successful, it caters for my more conceptual work that wouldn’t necessarily work as a 2D image. I’m looking for a happy medium that’s beginning to form in my recent experiments in mono printing and collage, combining them with ink drawings to form dark, rich illustrations which deliver much more than my previous work.

You can see some grotesque influences in the illustration like Ralph Steadman, Gerald Scarfe and the like – who else do you look at for inspiration?

Well I absolutely love Steadman, and for better or for worse my drawings have always been compared to his. Recently I was lucky enough to see David Hockney’s dry-point etchings for the Brothers Grimm Fairy tales at the Fishing Heritage Centre in Grimsby. These illustrations are absolutely beautiful and influencing my work  for their simplicity, intelligence and fine technique. It’s hard to think of all the artists who’s work inspires me but one’s which pop into my head are Ronald Searle, Jenny Saville, Gerhard Richter, Takashi Murakami, films by Joe Magee, Yuri Norstein and the sculptural work of David Shrigley, Ron Mueck and Wilfred Wood’s wonderfully weird characters. I also find inspiration in comedy, music by Young Marble Giants, old amateur photographs, doodling and people watching.

Looking at something like The Hump (which reminds me of an eerie cross between a morris dancers horse and some outcast from the Henson Workshop), do you ever want to stick costume/stage design into your work?

In all honesty costume design is unfortunately very time consuming, sometimes expensive, sometimes requires far too much sewing which I’m no expert. For future three dimensional work I’ll just be sticking to sculpture but these creature/costume ideas will no doubt permeate my 2D work in some capacity. But then again, if someone was to commission me to design costumes I wouldn’t say no!

Whats your Monsters series about?  I get the Barry & Paul and Bellamy references, what’s the Marcus one?

Those Monsters are a response to a university brief called “Make Me A Monster” it was character development project developed, I think, to delve in to the darker regions of our imagination. Initially my ideas were 1:1 scale deformed humanoid blobs in antique glass domes. I began thinking about their personalities, so I gave them names based on people from I knew years ago and of course the Chuckle Brothers who I never found funny, just disturbing. The naming influenced the designs and working with old personal photos and those I collect from books and newspapers shaped them further into what they are now. There’s something reassuring and haunting about these photos/stills from the past be it funny, innocent or profoundly sad. I plan to make more of these with more emphasis on a scrapbook feel to them with more critical distance from situations and people from my past Informing my 2D work and vice versa.

I’m at a very fortunate position at the moment, it’s the end of my second year, and I have a whole summer to waste on my artistic whims before the stress-riddled third year and finally the outside world.

You can find more at:

http://facebook.com/pages/Matthew-Crav-Craven-Illustration/125770520794866

http://crav.co.uk/

The images are overtly sexual, you can’t help but think that but draw the comparison between mouth and vagina. The fullness of the lips and the slick saliva on the tongue all add to the sexuality of the drawings.  Despite the fact that they display nothing like nudity they have an almost pornographic quality, the female mouth has always been synonymous with sexual images, the fullness of Angelina Jolie’s pout is undoubtedly what makes her the sex symbol she is, otherwise she is just a scrawny, scary lady.

The fact that the mouth is the focus independently without makes these images have an oddly surreal, and fantastical.
Randall makes great use of the subtle range of pinks and reds around the mouth, the layers of the skin on the lips are thinner than elsewhere which makes the skin oddly translucent, the delicate shading and pigments in these drawings perfectly captures that element. The are reminiscent of the softly coloured photographs of Victorian pornography with the subtle rose and sepia tones. Everything about these images is feminine and sexy. I think there are amazing.

Squidge Magazine: Can you tell us a little about how you started in Illustration?
Simon Wild: I completed an MA in Children’s Book Illustration in 2007 from Cambridge School of Art, and since then I have been propelled forward and been busy ever since.

SM: Your work is very psychedelic and bold. What are your major inspirations?
SW: Travel, film soundtracks, Space, science, The Yellow Submarine, colour and the desire to make a better more colourful world. I like contrast, shape and form. I am inspired by nature’s ability to adapt. I love to tell little stories in my work even if they do not make sense. I love the novels of Douglas Coupland, they are so visual and emotive. Maurice Sendak once said ‘Most illustrators are frustrated writers’ I am also both frustrated and influenced by the fact that I fall into this category.

SM: Which artists are you watching at the moment? Who’s work do you admire?
SW: I am a big fan of Swedish illustrator Linn Olofsdotter. Her use of colour and the real world to tell imaginative stories is wonderful. I also love the colourful compositions of Maya Hayuk, the iconic work of Margaret Kilgallen, and the beautiful universe that belongs to Wilson Hsu.

SM: Can you run through a typical work day for us?
SW: Starts with a cup of tea, quick whizz round the social networks, emailing invoices, replies, etc. If I am working on a commission I need to go into town where there is lots of visual and audio stimulation. Then I come back and begin work. If it’s personal work then I pick from around 5 or so different projects I have running at the same time and continue work on it. Somewhere in the day I always create a piece of work inspired by an album I listen to, and I work on it for no longer than the album’s length.

When the music is finished, so is the work. Most of my time is spent in my studio either making a complete mess or moving the mess from one side of the room to another. And then the cat jumps on the keyboard and I email complete nonsense to people I don’t know very well. In the summer I rescue flies from the studio, and pull faces at the neighbours. When work is quiet in the studio I arrange my memory sticks in the order of purchase, and re-arrange my collection of vintage transformer toys. I have an original Bumblebee I am very proud of. I love my work so my typical work day has been going on for about 3 years now.

SM: And what are your essential ‘tools of the trade’?
SW: Good old paper and pens to start, with some inks thrown in. I jump around a lot in my practice, from drawing, to collage, to digital and screenprint when I can get studio time. My biggest tool is colour, I always seem to be drawn to duck egg blue, orange and hot pink a lot of the time. And of course my Mac, gawd bless Apple!!

SM: So what are you working on at the moment? Any projects we should be
watching out for?
SW: I am just putting together some location work for a trip to NY which will involve visible tweets on giant post it notes. I am currently developing new ideas for children’s books. My first book ‘Fantastical Flying Machines’ is published later this year by Macmillan. I am also working on the Nike 78 project, where 78 creatives have been invited to challenge the function of a pair of Nike’s, for a book and show at the London Design fair in September. I have also been commissioned to create an audio visual piece for this years Big Chill festival, which will include a full 360 degree projection. I am also preparing for some joint and group showswhich will be happening at various points of this year.

SM: You’ve worked for a fair few clients and publications. Which ones stand out the most for you/were most enjoyable?
SW: I would have to say working with Macmillan was a rich and rewarding experience. I was lucky enough to work with a brilliant team, and I think we have created a book which I hope children will really like! I have also enjoyed the projects I created for YCN. I was asked to write a travel blog to document a working trip to Iceland, where I created work for a show called ‘Quiet Voices’ for Tate Britain earlier this year.

You can see more of Simons work at his website, and catch up with him on Twitter.

Scott Meyer is the writer of Basic Instructions, a handy guide to living a more fulfilled life.

You started out as a standup and met or worked with people like Weird Al, Mitch Herberg, Doug Stanhope and Patton Oswalt.  What was the comedy scene in the US like at the time?

In the 80s, stand-up enjoyed what they refer to in the industry as “the boom.” It was a magical time when you could make a really comfortable living with nothing but twenty minutes’ worth of material and a willingness to travel. It lasted until 1991. I started in 1992.

It was like someone took the movies “Punchline” and “Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome” and put them in a blender together. There was an ever-dwindling number of clubs, housing ever-smaller and surlier audiences and an ever more desperate and hostile group of comics fighting for the same jobs. People who had been making six-figure incomes and squandered them were struggling to eke out a living and us new guys were left wondering what we’d gotten ourselves into. Over time the industry found an equilibrium, but it was a much smaller and more low-rent affair than I had anticipated.

There was some great comedy going on, though. You mentioned three of the best: Mitch Hedberg, Doug Stanhope, and Patton Oswalt. First time I worked with Stanhope, I watched his set and couldn’t believe how easy he made it look.

Do you think you could go back to doing standup after doing BI for so long?

No. I’ve considered giving it a shot, but it’d have to be for the right reasons, i.e. that I have something to say that I can’t say in the comic, and I just don’t see that happening. Frankly, the comic is a much better vehicle for my style of humour than stand-up ever was. I just did a strip about a superhero who’s everywhere at once. That’s not an idea I’d be able to make work on stage.

Are your benevolent overlords at Disneyworld aware of BI? [Scott works as a cast member at Disney World Florida]

My immediate supervisors are.  If they’ve told Mickey or not, I don’t know.

What’s your approach to writing a strip?

Good question. I hadn’t really given it much thought until recently.

I had a bout of writer’s block that lasted a few weeks. I’d struggle to come up with anything I thought was good until the last minute, then I’d just go with the best idea I had, and it’d end up being pretty good. I realized that I’d been censoring ideas before they were fully formed for questionable reasons.

There’s a great documentary called “Gigantic” about one of my favourite bands, They Might Be Giants. Towards the end, one of the two guys named John who make up the band says that They Might Be Giants needs to be “a world of endless musical possibilities” in order for them to continue. At the time I didn’t get it, but now I do. BI has to be a reflection of whatever I find funny this week or it’s doomed. Nothing’s worse than someone writing something they don’t think is funny, but they think you will.

You seem to have come across a great way of stuffing plenty of jokes into one strip with the minimal amount of artworking.  Did that style come straight away from being a comedy writer or take a while to get right?

In the first few BI’s, I averaged about one joke every other panel. Then I started putting at least one attempt at humour in each panel, and that’s when I started being proud of my work. I’ve referred to it as “The Iron-Body style of cartooning” because I’ve seen too many kung-fu movies. Others have called it the “death by a thousand cuts” approach. That’s probably more accurate.

Often I’ll have an idea I love, and three good jokes, but I’ll be stuck on the fourth. It’s always tempting to just go with three, but it’s much more satisfying when I come up with that fourth joke.

Your wife Missy and friend Ric feature a lot.  Have you ever written something, then thought ‘This might earn me a clip round the ear’?

Yes, but not from Missy. If you look, she’s the only person in the strip who consistently comes off well. I haven’t been married thirteen years because I don’t know what I’m doing.

Many times I have written something about Ric and thought, “This time I’ve gone too far.” Invariably, those are Ric’s favorite strips. I don’t know if he’s a masochist, or just super vain. I like to think it’s a little of both.

I wrote a strip in which I suggest he look for a woman like him. He recoils in horror at the idea of dating a self-absorbed asthmatic. I thought that was going too far, but his parents clipped that comic out and hung it on their fridge. You never know.

Actually, that’s just Ric’s and my sense of humour. To listen to our conversations, you’d think we were both wretched failures and horrible human beings. We take self-effacing humour to an illogical extreme. I stood for Ric at his third wedding. He and his bride walked down the aisle to the fight music from Star Trek, the original series. That’s just what he finds funny.

What’s the future for Basic Instructions?  A Rocket Hat offshoot perhaps, or More Advanced Instructions?

My friend Ray Freisen (a much better artist than I am) talked about doing a spin-off of Rocket Hat, but it didn’t work out. My part of that project is going to be in my second book.

I’ve thought about a side project, but I’m busy enough right now just juggling a day job and BI.

Any particular favourite web comics of your own?

(This question can be read two different ways, so I’ll answer both.)

“Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal” is awfully good, and “Penny Arcade” continues to be one of my favourites.

OR

I was very proud of “How to Write a Superhero Story.” Also the series I did about applying the laws of physics to your personal relationship was quite satisfying.

The best single joke I’ve ever written was in “How to Express Condolences,” when I told someone I was sorry to hear that their pet had died by texting them “ROFG” (rolling on floor, grieving).

Help Is On The Way: A collection of Basic Instructions Volume 1 is available from Amazon, Vol 2 is out in May.

You can also get BI collections on yer iphone.

Art = Good
Styrofoam cups = Bad

If I buy art that is on a Styrofoam cup, I am preventing it from becoming part of the increasing landfill. But eventually I will die and it will become part of the landfill any way… or will it live on forever reminding our future selves of the folly of non-recyclable containers. Or is the fact that the art is on a Styrofoam cup highlighting the ecological issues? What happens to the cups that go wrong? But then perhaps I over-think things…

Anyway, I saw his stuff again recently and I was reminded how much I like it. He does things in a variety of styles from Japanese hokusai, to realist, to his own random doodling style. But the cups are only part of what he does, if you check out his blog there is a whole other level of random fun to get involved with. In the same ilk as xkcd, it is an endless source of entertainment. Mixing the banal and the incredible and commenting on the idiosyncratic nature of everyday life. You can spend far too much time flicking through his journal and giggling to yourself, to get anything of any substance done.

So I figured with everyone needing to banish their January blues, I would share some of my favourites with you…

You can find all of Boey’s cups and blog based fun on his website, where you can also purchase a ethically confusing artwork for yourself.

“It’s nicely positioned in that it’s not strictly a comic’s con and more an arts festival”

Ken Johnson

Thought Bubble is the Leeds Sequential Art Festival held over 4 days across various venues in the city.  Due to having only a short amount of time, I just went down to the main convention on the Saturday which was held in that dedicated monument of achievement:  Savile’s Hall in Leeds Armouries.

Wandering around, almost everyone exhibiting a table was approachable and happy to chat (although there were the odd one or two sourpusses – what’s the point of you being there if you’re just going to sulk?).  Adam Cadwell gave me a huge breakdown of every stand and exhibitor there (which I promptly forgot most of) and Matthew Craig crushed more information about the Birmingham comic scene into five minutes than I could fully digest or keep up with.

Sally-Ann Hickman

Oliver East

Paul Rainey

Mal and Jo of Fallen Angel Media

Things what were highlights:

• A massive amount to crush in.  The sheer breadth of stuff there was quite impressive and made the Eurogamer event I’d been to the previous month here look a bit sparse.
• The general atmosphere of cheeriness and enthusiasm (which is sometimes rare in events).
• Being able to chat to the artists and creators directly freely (with the odd bit of queuing for people like Adi Granov) without some surly PR or salesman scowling at you.
• Oliver East quite happily plugging stuff for Blank Slate, who couldn’t be arsed to man their own stall.
• The bloke on the Alpha Gods stall playing guitar and managing to clear the blocked crowd down that aisle so people could get through easier – sterling work fella!
• Going to buy The Manly Boys Annual from Steve Tillotson, only to be told he’d forgotten it (his mum later came to the rescue).
• Watching Keiron Gillen (Phonogram) regaling some tale to an itinerant hack in the Alea lobby like some senior club member blithering on about the Crimea.

There was a right old wodge of things to see and do, most of which I missed.  Tucked away in the curtained corner of the convention hall and in the Alea Casino opposite were talks, discussions, portfolio reviews and cosplay costume competitions.  On the Sunday, there were screenings at the Carriageworks, Alea Cinema and the Hyde Park Picture House of various Manga films, loads of workshops in Leeds Library and Art Gallery and a Dr Sketchy’s Burlesque Drawing Night.  If I’d have had more time, I would have ploughed into most of the events on the different days, but it’s also structured that the Saturday gives you enough to look at.

Ken Johnson

Howard Hardiman

Matthew Craig

For someone whose comic knowledge extends to the Beano and Viz, I found Thought Bubble really friendly and approachable.  I was initially hesitant to go, mainly because to me (and from reading up on similar events) it seemed a bit of a closed world and the cosplay stuff could come across as a bit much.  Once I got there though, there was enough for everyone at whatever level of interest.  As Ken Johnson says above, it comes across as more of an arts festival with a lot of comics in it, and because it’s got a very broad spectrum with the likes of Marvel and DC through to small press work and individual artists, there’s something for everyone.  If you’re planning to go next year, and it comes highly recommended that you do so, make sure you scrutinise the timetable on the Thought Bubble website and plan ahead.

These people particularly caught our eye:

Sally-Ann Hickman – http://forbiddenplanet.co.uk/blog/2008/propaganda-sally-ann-hickmans-beautifully-crafted-tales-of-smelly-dogs-and-brutally-honest-autobiography/

Paul Rainey – http://www.pbrainey.com

Philippa J Rice – http://www.philippajrice.com

Jim Connolly – http://www.jimcportfolio.co.uk

Kristyna Baczynski – http://www.kriskicorp.blogspot.com/

Fallen Angel – http://www.thefallenangel.co.uk/

Howard Hardiman – http://www.cutebutsad.co.uk/comics/

Matthew Craig – http://thematthewcraig.com/

Liz Greenfield – http://www.lizgreenfield.com

Amazing, jaw-dropping images from the 19-year old, South Korean Artist Minjae Lee. See his portfolio site here.

So I just had to ask her if she would do a picture for us around the theme of ‘Squidge’ and find out a bit more about her work. This is what she came up with.

Squidge Mag: How would you describe our work to anyone who has never seen it before?

Lily Mae Martin: I would describe my drawn work as often grotesque and unsettling in the depiction of it’s subjects, but not without a little humour. They are sort of an overt representation of the inner psyche. Conversely my painted works are generally softer and not as immediately confronting. The subjects seem to hold their emotions further within. In each image I am striving to improve myself technically and conceptually, which I think is really starting to shape my work now.

SM: What artists and illustrators have been the biggest influence on your work so far?

LM: When I was younger, comic books were my biggest inspiration… Such as FooTrot Flats and Archie. Then I was really inspired by The Simpsons when it came out and Disney and Looney Toons. (Especially the earlier ones.) Osamu Tezuka and Peter Chung’s “Aeon Flux”. Then when I was older, I really got inspired by Masamune Shirow’s Ghost in the Shell, I really loved Alan Moore’s “V for Vendetta”, I enjoyed Neil Gaiman, and was very inspired by Garth Ennis’ “Preacher”, and David Mac. Other than comics and cartoons, I am very inspired by Caravaggio, Goya, William Hogarth, Munch, Lucien Freud, John Currin, etc.

SM: What’s your working space or studio like?

LM: My space is rather new so I am still waiting on some furniture. It’s decorated with old photographs I have been collecting and images I like from magazines, postcards etc. It’s pretty incomplete. But, it’ll get there. I have double doors that open up to the back garden so I can get some ventilation while looking at the pretty garden. Very nice light.

SM: How did you get on with the theme of Squidge?

LM: The image I chose is about how we all live off our screens. We work with them, we study with them, we socialize with them, we entertain ourselves with them, we lust with them, we are glued to them and I think it is affecting our social behavior. I think how we run our work spaces and conduct our social lives are heavily influenced by these machines and are squidging our brains and ourselves!

You can find more of Lily’s work on her website

Squidge Magazine: What have you been up to recently?

Emmanuelle Walker: I moved to Paris 2 years ago especially for the third year of specialisation in Animation Direction at Gobelins School.  Before that I was living in Montreal Quebec where I studied traditional animation in a three years programme at The Cegep du Vieux Montreal, and worked three years in the animation industry. Since a year now I have been working on a few commercials, TV idents, clips, in different commercial/post-production companies here in Paris.

SM: Après La Pluie was your graduation film from Gobelins, what sort of reception has it been getting from the festivals it’s been shown at?

EW: People seem to appreciate it.  We often receive kind emails and comment concerning ‘Après La Pluie’. It has been in a dozen of festival around the world, so we are pretty happy with that, even if we can’t afford to follow it everywhere! The film gets to travel alone now.

SM: What was the process behind the character designs?

EW: I made a first series of characters, with all its psychological attributes in mind, and showed it to the team. Then everyone told me what they thought about it, and I made a few more series of drawing with their comments in mind, until everyone was pleased by the final design.

SM: Your illustration style has a very relaxed, cheery feel to it.  Do you find it’s quite an easy thing to do or is it harder than it looks?

EW: Well it depends. Sometimes it’s easier, because I am more motivated. Also, the more the brief is precise, the easier it is.  But it also depends of the mood I am in at the time. But like anything, if you sit down and draw for a while, something nice will come out in the end.  Oh and finally backgrounds are hard for me to do, that’s why mine are always so simple… or missing.

SM: You’ve also done a lot of visual development and direction work for people like Virgin, Orange, Lacoste, Cartoon+ and Midas. Do they give you free rein with what you can do or are they quite specific about what they want?

EW: A lot of the things I have worked on were pitches, so they weren’t all developed in the end, but it depends of the client. When I work as a designer/director, they usually like what I propose at first, but in the advertising industry, there are so many stages of approval that it is rare to be free from A to Z. There will often be someone telling you that this is too green or not big enough or that the character on the bike has to wear a helmet. However, clients that trust you, and let you try things out exists… but it’s rare. I have worked on some projects that could have been clearer, and more coherent, but (I find) ended up going in all kinds of directions, because everyone (and often non creative people) needs you to apply their artistic advice. But this is advertising, you have to accept it, defend your ideas, and make the client trust you. That’s why I so passionate about my job!

SM: Having worked in both Paris and Montreal, do you think there’s a different mindset between the two?

EW: Yes. It’s two different cities, with two different mentalities and culture. With as much differences as resemblances. So obviously it’s different at work too. I prefer some of Montreal’s aspects, and others from Paris… It’s really hard to stop comparing… that’s the uprooted’s problem I guess.

SM: Are there any specific differences that come to mind?

EW: I don’t want to make generalities, here, but in France, people tend to be very direct and critical, and on the streets sometimes even aggressive. While Quebecers use a little more diplomacy to say things and are often more laid back and accommodating. With these in mind, I don’t think that working in Paris is a bad thing. On the contrary! Being surrounded by critical and frank people will push me to put more effort into my work and make me evolve faster.

But working in Montreal has its good sides too. I think people trust you more easily, as well as personally than professionally. When I was working at Spectra Animation on Toopy and Binoo series, the boss often asked me if I had personal projects I would like to develop. I nearly didn’t have any previous experience in the animation field at that point so I was surprised by his offer.

Also, I could add that it’s harder to approach new people and to make friends in France, but once you are friends, it’s stronger and true. On the other hand, in Quebec, it’s easy to talk to people in bars and on the streets, but you probably won’t see these people again. Some people I spoke with think of it as hypocrisy, I don’t think it is… you might be friendly with everyone, but you can’t be friend with everyone.

SM: What are you working on at the moment?

EW: I just finished working at Wizz. A communication and post-production company based near Paris, on an ‘Origami Star’ commercial for Orange. At the beginning I was on the development team. Then I worked as a 2D animator and did a little coordination as well. I am developing my own personal project at home, whilst taking new animation/visual development offers in different companies.

Emmanuelle’s portfolio site including acres of great sketchbook stuff is here. Her blog is here.

Carlton Hibbert is a designer, illustrator and art editor for WPT Poker: Official World Poker Tour magazine.  His clients include EMI Parlophone, Dorling Kindersley and Future Publishing.  He also was (briefly) the drummer for Mansun.

Squidge Magazine: How did you get into illustration and design?

Carlton Hibbert: I was always a bit of a doodler as a child and spent many a rainy day creating a mess (whenever I wasn’t kicking a ball). Like so many other kids, Tony Hart was a great inspiration to me. However at school I never really got into art, it seemed too stuffy. It wasn’t until my O Levels (that ages me a bit!) that I rediscovered my love of putting pen to paper. I did a short course in graphics and suddenly all my other subjects paled in comparison. When I got to A level stage I realised that becoming an engineer wasn’t really what I wanted to do. I dropped out of Physics, messed about in Maths and concentrated on my design. I hadn’t really planned what I was going to do but found myself suddenly doing a degree at the London College of Printing (as it was known then).

SM: You’re responsible for the Patterns for Colouring blog, how did that come around?

CH: This is a project that harks back to when I first messed about with pencils, pens and paints. As a little lad I used to beg my mum to buy me colouring books. The ones that fascinated me most were the pattern books by Altair – I think you can find some of the original seventies versions on Amazon. These books where full of geometric shapes. The blog is basically a huge nostalgia trip for myself, as well as hopefully being something that will inspire other youngsters to become more creative.

I’ve not made the site too complicated – just download, print out and start colouring. I’m not sure you’d get the same experience if the patterns were in a Flash interface and you coloured them online. I’ve got a couple of young sons that need entertaining on rainy days, and they usually end up grabbing the Wii, arguing over what game to play. The patterns are an attempt to get them away from computers and TV and give them an alternative way to spend their free time.

SM: You’re in the enviable position of being able to commission yourself; does that make you a harder taskmaster?  One of my friends called you a lucky bastard for being able to do it.

CH: Heh, it tends to be a case of “needs must” when I do an illustration for myself! I never take on a brief in my own mags if I have a budget that allows me to commission others. It’s always much easier to critique someone else’s work and this is the way I prefer to work. However, once in a while, you find yourself as a designer looking at an article that is screaming for a decent image but you’ve got no money left in the coffers. It’s then that I get the digital crayons out. I much prefer doing images for other clients, I like to get paid!

SM: A lot of your illustration is quite distinct in that it’s quite bold and functional, is this because of your background as an art editor?  How does it affect your approach when working on a picture?

CH: You’re probably right. I tend to think as a designer first. I try to think of the image in the context of the mag and what other furniture might be on the page. When I commission other illustrators I’ll supply them with a PDF of the layout and show them where their image will go, try to give them some idea of where the gutter might be, whether its a right hand page or not, will there be a headline overlapping etc.

The style of my work is probably down to time constraints more than anything. If illustration was my main role I would definitely work on creating a more robust style. My main concern is in getting the subject matter across to the reader without distracting them.

Design by Carlton Hibbert, illustration by Sean Rodwell

Design by Carlton Hibbert, illustration by Paul Insect

SM: Did you start out as a designer and then move into being an art editor or was it part of a do all job?

CH: I started out in non-fiction books as a designer. I worked for Dorling Kindersley on the Eyewitness titles for children. Art editor is just a fancy name for a designer that’s been promoted. It means different things in different companies. Some companies say art editor others use art director – I just find saying you’re a designer is easier to explain. I moved from books to multimedia and then back into print on magazines. I think these days you’re expected to be capable of moving seamlessly from print to web to legal to marketing, the list rolls on!

SM: Have you ever got in contact with anyone from Mansun? [Carlton drummed on Egg Shaped Fred and Take It Easy Chicken until being turfed out in 96 for throwing a pineapple at guitarist Dominic Chad.]

CH: Paul Draper and myself are still in touch, we’re old school friends. I’m not sure if the others still talk. Mansun was a great experience, but luckily I had design to fall back on!

You can see Carlton Hibberts portfolios here and here.