interview with Rodolfo

INTERVIEW
Mark Gant
Why I chose Rodolfo because has many different ranges of styles of illustration his executions are very tedious, good choice of color, and very tight and clean line work. He ranges from traditional styles of work and digital works. He excels in children book illustration, comic book sequential art, and traditional illustrations. The fact that he also does comic work inspires me to keep on looking at his work because that is what ia m most interested in. Very recently was accepted into the Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles.


What's your background/bio?
I was born in Mexico but my parents moved to L.A. only a year after I as born. Though I visited Mexico a few times when I was younger I really could not tell you what exactly it means to be Mexican. I suppose that's where the term Mexican-American comes in. My cultural background is something that I've always felt that is something to learn from and to discover, some day I hope to be able to work on that a bit. One of the professors that I respected the most once told me that some of the most interesting and unique art could sometimes come from the richness of our culture and history.

Even though I was raised in a Mexican family and with much of the cultures values I really don't think that they are a big part of what shapes me as an artist. The values of my family are always in me but my work as an artist has always come from many other places. Maybe one day I will have the chance to combine my background and my work, like my professor suggested.

I basically grew up loving anything that had some type drawing, painting, cool colors. Things like comic books, art books, cartoons, posters, trading cards, all inspired me when I was growing up to pick up a pencil and start drawing. Fortunately I was able to keep at it and was able to mostly draw my way through school. I've just recently graduated with my B.F.A. in illustration earlier this year, from CSUF, and I feel exited and a little scared at the same time to be done with school.

What really inspired you to become an illustrator and today what inspires you to keep doing the work that you do?
As I mentioned above, anything that had to do with art just spoke to me. Like when you hear a song that you've never heard before, but it instantly connects with you when you first hear it. I'm sure this happens to you a lot too. All the time I see images that make me want to produce more work. Like that, I grew up wanting to be an animator, drawing all the time, being inspired by all the great art and imagination that comes with all those great movies we've all seen. But noticing some time early in high school how animation was becoming highly computerized it felt like it was going in a direction I didn't want to go. I always loved drawing and painting and using my hands to create something physical, I didn't want to work in front of a computer all day. So, at some point I decided that illustration was a better fit for me. A few years later, in my first few semesters of college, I would realize that there was no getting away from computers and that I would have learn to work with them. Slowly I came around and finally found a place for it in my work.
The type of illustration that I like to work with is mostly narrative illustration. I like fantasy, sci-fi, adventure, mystery; anything that can bring about an interesting and exiting story can make me want to create artwork for it. There is so much great artwork out there, and it’s so easy to find that one could spend days just looking at it. But at the same time, as artists, we hope that we can put our own work out there for some one to appreciate it.

What artist or artists, have the most influence on your work and why?
The short answer is that it depends on what kind of art we art talking about. I love looking at all types of art in all type of media. If we were talking about Children's books I could say that some my favorite artists are Chris Van Allsburg, Lane Smith, Shaun Tan, Lisbeth Zwerger, Edward Gory, and David Small. Even though all of these artists might not have a lot of similarities between their works, each of them is a master of their craft, and they can all inspire many parts of my work.
Some comic book artists that are very inspiring for me include: Bill Sienkiewicz, Paul Pope, Mike Mignola, John Romita Jr., and many many others. I think the closer you get to being able to define your own work, the easier it is to be able to pick out the details that you like about other artist's work. As soon as you see something you like you can break it apart and separate all the parts that you enjoy most about the work. For me this is true with all the illustration work that I see. Its all about those masterful strokes you can see in a picture that make me aspire to be able to create my own.

Describe a real-life situation that inspired you?
For me, every time I get to finish a piece I get inspired to start a new one, or to explore something new with my art.
I have been in a few group art shows but the ones that have been the most inspiring to be in were the ones that I put together myself as my first two solo art shows.
I put together a solo show each of my last two semesters at CSUF. One of our four galleries in the art department is available undergrad student to use for a period of a week, so I booked two separate weeks and I got to work. Each of the shows was dedicated to a specific part of my work. The first show was more about my children's bookwork and the second more about my animation background painting. The gallery was not the biggest one the school had, but is was big enough to get me a little worried about being able to fill the space with my work. The few weeks and even hours leading up to that first show were some of my most work intense moments of all my time in school. The show went really well and lots of people saw my work. After the show came down a week later, I felt a good moment of relief, accomplishment, and I knew that I would have the inspiration and motivation to put the second show together the next semester with no problems. After that show I could tell myself, "I did that, I can do it again". It was a good feeling. I recommend that you do it too, if you haven't already done it.

What mediums you like to use for your work and why?
With traditional media I like working with watercolors, inks, acrylics, pastels, and pen and ink (and brush for comic stuff). Sometimes I also like working with magazine cut outs and create some mixed media collage pieces. I like to sketch a lot and in my sketchbooks I like to play around with all of those tools. Except when I'm working with collage, I like to make my final pieces look like they were created with one media. Like when I'm working with watercolors, I want the end product to look like watercolors. Sometimes I'll use some pastels or color pencils on top of the watercolors but I try to use it in a way that blends in with the rest of the picture.
In digital media I mostly use Photoshop and Corel Painter, sometimes I use Illustrator. When I don't have a lot of time to work on something I'll usually do a lot of my preliminary work digitally. I like creating lots of preliminary color compositions digitally because they are easy to do there is no mess to clean up.

How do you come up with stories for your comic-book art?
Most of my ideas come from my sketches. I like to let myself do sketches that are not attached to any other work that I might be working on. What I mean is that I let my self come up with new ideas on the paper. Most of the time they are not so great, but every once in a while a potential good one comes out. It usually starts with me with the character design. If I come up with a character that I keep drawing again and again, or I just keep thinking about him or her, than I'll eventually start adding some elements of life to it. Things like where they live, what are their problems, which are their friends and enemies, are the things that come next after creating the look of the character. Though a lot of the times most of those details stay in my head, the characters can keep evolving in my sketches in a way that help me remember and continue to build their story.

How do you establish contact with clients?
As I mentioned in the first question, I am a recent graduate. I still have not been able to find a full time job as an illustrator. At this time I am working to break into the animation industry, but it is a tuff cookie to break. In the animation industry I am mostly applying to jobs and sending out my cover letters, talking with friends, reaching out anyone who might have a connection that might help get an interview. I also spend a lot of time looking in the Internet.
For children's bookwork I attended SCBWI's summer conference and made some contacts. I will be sending out some promotional postcards to some editors that could be interested in my work. Right now it’s mostly about getting my name out and getting people to see my work. A big part of it is being able to network and creating connections. The one job I am currently in the middle of is a cd cover for a group of musicians who create kids music and curriculum schoolbooks. The way I got that job was though some friends of friends. You should make sure that promoting your work becomes part of your professional practices as an artist.

What are your work habits and professional practices like?
Especially now that I have some free time, I am constantly working on improving my portfolios. I've always been a morning person and I like getting up early, walk to my desk and begin a sketch or just jump into what I was working on the night before. I currently have 2 portfolios, one for background painting/concept art, and one for children's book art. But I am beginning to create one for comic book art and one for character design. It sometimes feels like a lot of work but I really love designing for all those types of work and I try to work on at least two of those portfolios everyday. Also, like I mentioned above, I do spend part of my day preparing cover letters and looking for open positions at animation studios.

When you set a goal for yourself how do you achieve them?
I try to be as organized as possible. I try to organize my thoughts, ideas, and goals. Then I can start putting together some deadlines. If the goal is about finishing a piece of art, then I make sure I have the amount of time that I need to finish. There's always research, sketching, and lots of other prep work before deciding on a final composition. Each of those steps is a goal that has to be met. I guess if the question refers to a goal in life, my answer would b very similar. Except that there are an unlimited amount of elements that are always out of your control. But persistence and patience have always been good to me, and a lot of hard work.
Which works are you most proud of?
Though I only have a few of my works on my walls, I really do enjoy almost every drawing and sketch that I make. Some pieces that I love are ones that I did in one sitting, many are in my sketchbooks, and some were the most labor intensive. But I guess that as soon as you finish one, you try to create another one that will hopefully make you just as proud or even more proud. As an artist, I think, you just have to keep working.

What has been the biggest break or so far the highest point in your career?
Graduating and getting my degree was a great step for me. It took a long time and a lot of work. Also, getting into the 2010 Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles show was pretty cool. I hope soon I'll find or make that break that will really get my career going.

What is your dream project?
The only one I can think of right now is the one about writing an illustrating a graphic novel idea that I've had for some time. The story takes place in a foreign country and I would love to be able to spend some time in that country and be able to finish the book some time after that.

What memorable responses have you had to your work?
I think the ones I remember the most are the ones that happened during my solo shows at CSUF. One of my classmates was who was doing some video work asked to do a video interview about my work, and some of my professors brought their other classes to see my show. I also liked how everyone had a different piece of mine as their favorite, it was nice to see that each of my pieces were able to find their audience.
Rodolfo..

Wonder Proposal and Research

Wonder Theme Proposal

Definition of WONDER

1 a cause of astonishment or admiration marvel curiousity
2 the quality of exciting amazed admiration
3rapt attention or astonishment at something awesomely mysterious or new to one's experience



Wonder what its like to be a Super Hero

Every since I was young I have been fascinated with the mythology of superhero comics. The ability to be extra ordinary and the feeling what is it like to have a superpower. How does it feel to leap over buildings in one jump or run faster than a locomotive? How does it feel to be unstoppable? Those feelings are something no one could ever comprehend. If I had to choose as a child what would be my superpower it would be to manipulate water. Water has been my favorite element for a very long time its looseness the feel of being in water. How much power water as a element is.
I plan to execute this piece in ink and watercolor. Because of time and a effectiveness water color brings. My image I am trying to depict is a child in a public environment experimenting with his abilities in front of every one in amazement of a child controlling water.


My own Wonderland

I have always wanted to be in my own version of wonderland. I have always liked the fantasy of being in a world that has no set rules nothing has to make sense at all. Pretty much being in a dream like world. Logic is the only thing that doesn’t make sense in that world. Wizard of oz and Alice in Wonderland were made some of my favorite stories as a child and still today because those stories opened another universe that’s parallel to ours existing in only in some ones dream and how it was way more than a dream. Those stories always left me wondering what if they had stayed in that world how big was this world how far does it go.
I want to choose watercolor and inks to execute the image. I want to depict my own dream like world with a child like me trapped in my own wonderland. With made up creatures and made up architecture.


What if my drawings came to life?

Since I was young I always had done character design they had their own personalities etc. I always wondered how it was if I was surrounded by them like the movie Cool World. It’s like the feeling of being surrounded by your own children. Even characters I just doodled from my head what would it be like surrounded by your own imagination what if they had all came to life. That would be the ultimate ability you’d never be alone in a way just keep on creating and be surrounded by creation probably never half do my work id be more inspired to finish work.
I m going to use ink and water color image im going to portray is a young boy version of me drawing and images are flying out of the page. And him being surround by crazy creatures of me.

Metaphors Project

In order:
fear/ Shadow
Leadership/Interior
Age/Sequence
Greed/ Juxtaposition
love/ Animals
Revolution/Hands
Isolation/Landscape
Divine/ Still life

Interview Research

i chose Rodolfo Montalvo III & Andrew Kettler

Andrew Kettler's web page http://www.andykart.com/

Rodolfo Montalvo III blog page http://montalvothethirdstudio.blogspot.com/

I have yet to have contact with either

METAPHORS RESEARCH

Christoph Niemann
Thomas Fuchs
Wesley Bedrosian
Stephen Savage

Tessellation project

Silhouettes

6 Topics Juxtpositions

Main Topic I chose Was..
-How Street Art/Graffiti is is becoming a more accepted art form

Silhouettes

100 circles

In your sketchbook draw one hundred 3” circles in pencil. Color in these circles, using a different color for each of the one hundred circles. Try to avoid repeats. Using strong black lines (either a magic marker or brush and ink), add linear elements to these circles to make each circle into a different recognizable image. Do not limit yourself to images that lend themselves to being depicted by a circle.

Panther Myths

Native AMerican legend
To the Indians of North and South America, the jaguar especially in the form of the Black Panther - was endowed with great magic and power. The jaguar panther climbs, runs, and swims— even better than the tiger. Because it could function so well in so many areas, it became the symbol of mastery over all dimensions. To the Tucano Indians of the Amazon, the roar of the jaguar was the roar of thunder. Thus the Black Panther was the god of darkness and could cause eclipses by swallowing the sun. This reflects the tremendous power inherent within the feminine forces. To those with the panther as a totem, this power will increasingly be experienced. The Arawak Indians say that everything has jaguar. Nothing exists without it. It is the tie to all life and all manifestations of life (thus ties to the eternal feminine within all life). To them, becoming the man-jaguar was the ultimate shapeshifting ritual. The Olmecs created monuments to the jaguar, and the Aztecs and Mayans spoke and taught about the power in becoming half-human and half-jaguar. One who can become a jaguar is shorn of all cultural restrictions. The alter ego is free to act out desires, fears, aspirations. The Indian shamans would perform rituals to borrow jaguar power. One who could do such could do great good or great ill.


Jungle book Link
http://www.online-literature.com/kipling/jungle_book/1/


Whirlwind & the panther

ONCE, in a Seneca village, a party of men was preparing to go on a hunting expedition. In that village was a young man whom people thought was foolish, not strong of mind. He knew that hunters were getting ready for an expedition and he went to one and another and asked to go with them, but no one would let him go.

After the hunters started a young woman took pity on the young man, went to him, and said, "Let us marry and go hunting." He was willing. They started off together and after going some distance camped in the forest. The man couldn't find any big game, but he killed squirrels and small game. He made traps to catch deer and put them down where he thought deer would come.

One morning, when the young man went to look at his traps, he heard some one crying; the sound came nearer and nearer. Soon he saw a woman and two little boys. The woman was crying.

As she came up she said to the young man, "Help me, or we will be killed. One of my little boys stole a feather and pulled it to bits and we are going to be killed for it. I want you to shoot the hawk on that tree over there and when the person comes whose feather my little boy took, throw the hawk at him and call out, 'Here is your feather!'"

The man killed the hawk and no sooner had he done

p. 67

so than he heard a terrible roar and noise, and trees began to fall. A man came and stood on a close-by tree. This man had enormous eyes and long hair, and that was all there was of him--just a great head without a body. The young man threw the hawk at him, and said, "Here is your feather." The Head caught it, said, "Thank you," and was satisfied.

The woman was a panther and the children were her cubs, but to the young man she appeared to be a real woman. She told him that she lived among the rocks and that the Head (Whirlwind) was her neighbor. While he was away from home, her little boy went to his cabin, found his feathers and spoiled one of them. When Whirlwind came home he was angry and chased her.

She told the young man that she knew he was poor, that no man would hunt with him, and she said, "Hereafter I will help you and you will get more game than any of the hunters, I do this because you saved me and my boys."

After that the young man killed more game than any other hunter in the village.

Architecture ideas for esmerelda

Aztec Vs.Rennesance Fashion

Esmerelda

Name is A Z, I live in the city of Esmeralda city of water. I fully have yet to understand how my city works. If anyone describes my city they end up looking like idiots trying to explain that my city is a twisted maze of canals and streets. What I do with my life is help out the family business of transporting goods from one place to another by boat since it is the fastest way to get through town and it’s the best way to avoid pedestrians. I honestly would probably prefer something more stable than how my city is set up I love it but I am just different about what keeps me in high spirits. It just bugs me that there is just way to many ways to get to one place to another other I guess I just do not have that Esmeraldian since of adventure everyone talks about I need order and a better structure.
This place is not as bad as I can complain about it it’s very pretty! The city covered in a lot of our ancestral art and architecture. Sometimes when I am not making deliveries for the family I go grab my sketch book and draw a lot of the buildings from a very high point of view hopefully I eventually fully understand how to navigate through the city through practice of my drawings.
On a typical day my pattern waking up late for work typically, getting fussed at by my dad for being late and do deliveries for my dad. If my destination is two far he tries to navigate the fastest way possible for me to be there and back. On my way back I usually catch a meal on the canal market where they have restaurants located on the canal and chill with a bunch of usual and unusual suspects of this city leave then get back to work.

Tikal Vs Venice with Escher Inspiration Architecture

i do not plan on making my composition of Esmerelda (city of water) as improbable as Escher but show of the complexity that Escher depicts in his images

The City of Los Cielo

{this is the story of the day and life of (Ahuilizi)


Ahuilizi is my name I am a 17year old that resides in the city of Los Cielo (heaven) located in the islands of the pacific. My day consist of apprenticing at my sensei’s art studio, delivering pizzas on my moped, and going home that’s pretty much it. Art is a big deal in our city being an artist was like being a rock star in our culture. Every year the whole city prepares for the big annual Ezyah (illusionism) Bizarre Festival it’s held every spring, and every artist in town and a lot from out of town put in for one of the worlds biggest art shows luckily my sensei was requested to host it this year. So I get to put in my art and my name as one his apprentices that helped with festival.

I practice a lot of my art with Sensei practicing the ancient art of the indigenous tribes and cities of my culture, and majority of our society is based upon their art. In the1950’s Japan and my country export and import a lot of goods with each other and bits of our culture mixed with theirs over time their art started to influence ours. So their art and architecture started to blend with their culture. This is how I make a living as an artist and get college credits before I become a master my self like sensei. This is normal for my culture most of the world go-to school until they’re age into young adult at the age of 18. Our education system is set to where the graduating average is at 15 which is awesome I must comment. After we graduate I college system is set up to where you apprentice for under a profession until you have mastered your profession and it ends up paying off because its cheaper than universities, specially if you just want to specialize in art, doctors I don’t know so much about.

How I make pay? I do some part-time work at he Tsunami Wave Pizza Cafe doing deliveries. Deliveries let me get to go see a lot of the city from the top of the hills of the island where you can see wind power mills and the solar panels that power the city. Sometimes I like going to see the moon set light on to the beach. My city has to be one of the cleanest and prettiest cities in the world I must say and I am proud to call it home.

Reasearch

Will H. Bradley- (10 July 1868–1962) was an American Art Nouveau illustrator and artist. Nicknamed the "Dean of American Designers. because he was that great of an illustrator he pretty much set the rules and the bar for American illustrators. Hea is noted to be the American Aubrey Beardsley with his style of prints . Bradley is most known for his Chap book (Chapbooks were an important medium for the dissemination of popular culture to the common people, especially in rural areas. They were a medium of entertainment, information and (generally unreliable) history. They are now valued as a record of popular culture, preserving cultural artifacts that may not survive in any other form)

Sir Edward Burne-Jones- 28 August 1833 – 17 June 1898) was a British artist and designer closely associated with the later phase of the Pre-Raphaelite movement, who worked closely with William Morris on a wide range of decorative arts as a founding partner in Morris, Marshall, Faulkner, and Company… his paintins / illustrations have influenced many even rumored to inluence the author of lord of the rings J.R.R Tolkein.

Dean Cornwell- March 5, 1892 - December 4, 1960) was an American illustrator and muralist. His oil paintings were frequently featured in popular magazines and books as literary illustrations, advertisements, and posters promoting the war effort. At the peak of his popularity he was nicknamed the "Dean of Illustrators".

Edmund Dulac born Edmond Dulac, October 22, 1882 – May 25, 1953[1]) was a French book illustrator prominent during the so called "Golden Age of Illustration" (the first quarter or so of the twentieth century). He illustrated such novels as the little mermaid

James Montgomery Flagg (June 18, 1877 – May 27, 1960) was an American artist and illustrator. He worked in media ranging from fine art painting to cartooning, but is best remembered for his propaganda posters. He illustrated the Famous or infamous “ Uncle Sam “we want you”

Ludweig Hohlwein- was born on 26 July 1874 in Wiesbaden, Germany he pursued the study of architecture he enjoyed of sports such as horseback riding and hunting. His study of architecture was soon dismissed in favor of illustration. Illustrated books such
Tamara de Lempicka- (May 16, 1898–March 18, 1980), born Maria Górska from Poland in the first woman artist to be a glamour star. She is not really an illustrator more a painter than a illustrator


Joseph Leyendecker- (March 23, 1874 – July 25, 1951) was one of the pre-eminent American illustrators of the early 20th century. He is best known for his poster, book, and advertising illustrations, the trade character known as The Arrow Collar Man, and his numerous covers for the Saturday Evening Post

Maxfield Parrish - July 25, 1870 – March 30, 1966) was an American painter and illustrator active in the first half of the twentieth century. He is known for his distinctive saturated hues and idealized neo-classical imagery.

Howard Pyle - March 5, 1853 – November 9, 1911) was an American illustrator and writer, primarily of books for young audiences. A native of Wilmington, Delaware, he spent the last year of his life in Florence, Italy.
In 1894 he began teaching illustration at the Drexel Institute of Art, Science and Industry (now Drexel University), and after 1900 he founded his own school of art and illustration called the Howard Pyle School of Illustration Art

Arthur Rackham – (19 September 1867 – 6 September 1939) was an English book illustrator.

Frederick Remington - (October 4, 1861 – December 26, 1909) was an American painter, illustrator, sculptor, and writer who specialized in depictions of the Old American West, specifically concentrating on the last quarter of the 19th century American West and images of cowboys, American Indians, and the U.S. Cavalry.

Norman Rockwell- (February 3, 1894 – November 8, 1978) was a 20th-century American painter and illustrator. His works enjoy a broad popular appeal in the United States, where Rockwell is most famous for the cover illustrations of everyday life scenarios he created for The Saturday Evening Post magazine for more than four decades
Egon Schiele- German pronunciation: [ˈʃiːlə], approximately SHEE-leh; June 12, 1890 – October 31, 1918) was an Austrian painter. A protégé of Gustav Klimt, Schiele was a major figurative painter of the early 20th century.

Jessie Wilcox-Smith - (September 6, 1863 – May 3, 1935) was a United States illustrator famous for her work in magazines such as Ladies Home Journal and for her illustrations for children's books.

NC Wyeth- (October 22, 1882 – October 19, 1945), known as N.C. Wyeth, was an American artist and illustrator. He was the star pupil of artist Howard Pyle and became one of America's greatest illustrators

image of my paining