Soupa catches up with Carys Ink to talk inspiration and latest projects
Tell us a secret – is there one thing you find difficult or can't draw?
Not sure it's really a secret, but I do find people generally difficult to draw. I tend to cheat and go for a stylised or naive approach.
How do you work? Do you have a set work space or do you work in various locations?
I currently have a small workstation in the corner of our living room, it's not really ideal as I don't have space to spread out or have too much inspirational stuff around me. Thankfully we're having a bit of building work done at the moment and this is going to create a little area just for me, which can be hidden away when I'm not working.
Who are your top 3 illustrators/designers?
This is a tough one. There are so many amazing illustrators/designers whose work I discover and follow on Twitter, they are all a daily inspiration to me.
If pushed to narrow it down though, my top 3 would be:
1. Ben Newman - www.bennewman.co.uk I first came across Ben's work last year when I was starting out as a freelance illustrator – I love his style, characters and use of colour and shapes –brilliant work.
2. Serge Seidlitz – www.sergeseidlitz.com – some mad compositions with so many elements it makes your head explode
3. Sanna Annukka – www.sanna-annukka.com – beautiful, iconic shapes and designs
When illustrating a complex composition like the Whole Nine Yards illustration, where do you start?
The client is an event management company, they wanted to incorporate the different types of event they are involved with into one illustration which would act like a portal on their website – a 'hippy' style festival, a city event and a large scale, stadium ceremony. First step was mapping out the composition, where each section was going to be and where the logo would sit. Then I basically honed in on each section – drew the main elements first and just kept adding the smaller details – layer heaven in Illustrator!
I created 1 main illustration and 8 banner-style headers on various themes, all for use on the Whole Nine Yards website – www.wnyproductions.co.uk
Are you interested in collaboration? Have you undertaken and collaborative projects? If so, how have they differed from working on your own?
Yes, I am interested in collaboration. I have submitted work to a number of collaborative projects – Colonel Windpipe, Happy Journey Collective, Toe Fluff and most recently 'Thinking Caps' an upcoming exhibition of custom cycle caps ( I also have a few more on my list for when I have time.) I like the fact that these projects essentially offer up a brief, which can be interpreted in any which way – it is always fun to see what others do with the same brief.
I have not yet collaborated directly with another illustrator/artist on a project, though it is something I would be interested in. In my years working as a designer, I worked collaboratively a lot, within a small team of designers, directors, animators on a wide range of projects.
Check out more of Carys' work at www.carys-ink.com
