Describe your style in one sentence:
Generous helpings of fun with sprinkles of dark humor and cuteness.
Tell us a little bit about the pieces and the inspiration behind them:
Tea for Two pretty much a combines the awesomeness of samurai and monkeys. Both of which I’ve played with on their own here and here, but they’ve developed a special bond and have now vowed to fight evil side by side whenever they can.
How do you create your characters? Have you created a universe in which they inhabit?
Most of my characters come about through random scribbling and doodling in my sketchbook, the intersecting lines and shapes lend to having forms pulled out from them and the characters can usually determine the settings around them. It’s really fun for me since I don’t always know where the drawings will take me. I don’t have a definite universe for them at the moment, I think that’s something that is still evolving.
What was the defining moment in your childhood when you thought – I want to become an artist when I grow up?
Probably once I realized that there wasn’t any way to stop myself from drawing. Even if I had done accounting or been a doctor or something, I’d still be drawing all the time.
What’s the first picture you can remember drawing as a child?
I used to draw stick-figure G.I. Joes on mountains and cliffs fighting tanks and missiles with faces on them. It was pretty normal boy stuff.
What was your first job?
My first paid job was a grill cook at Dairy Queen, good times!
What tools do you use when creating a piece of art? Are you solely digital?
I still really like starting out with pen and paper and then doing the vectors over that once it’s scanned in. Even with a tablet I just can’t seem to get the same amount of freedom and creation with an all digital workflow.
What’s your process in creating a piece of art?
I start off with sketches and then do basic line art followed by colors and shading. There’s a semi step-by-step for Samurai Monkey on my site
What’s the most unusual thing that’s ever inspired a piece of your art?
Shakey Love was inspired by a milkshake. A little while back, I did an OSX theme named Amora, which was highly inspired by Chris Cunningham’s video for All is Full of Love by Bjork.
What’s the most unusual canvas you’ve painted on?
I used to draw on classmates in high school but probably the blank vinyl toys have been the most fun and unusual to effectively use the space and dimensional areas.
What’s the best compliment you’ve had to your art?
The comments about my desktops brightening up someone’s crappy day at work are always my favorites. It’s like rocket fuel in my creative tank.
If your art was music, what would it sound like?
It’s probably from growing up on Looney Tunes, but I can’t help but associate Classical Music with the cartoonish look.
What music is rotating on your iPod?
Recently I’ve been doing Beck, NIN, The National, and some Weezer.
Which other artists work do you love?
I’ve always liked Ashley Wood’s work, but his latest toys have definitely gotten me to pull out my wallet. James Jean has always been consistently badass as well.
Can you describe your computer?
My main computer is a quad 2ghz mac pro with about 6gb of ram. Icons and desktop are custom ones that I’ve made for an upcoming release on the Iconfactory called ‘Somatic Rebirth’.
What websites do you check out regularly?
Mostly news sites unless I’m looking for something particular, but CNN, NYTimes, Drawn!, ToysREvil, Ars Technica, Daring Fireball, Kotaku, io9, and my Mint stats tracker are a few of my frequent stops.
What are your most treasured possessions?
Trying not to be too narcissistic, but probably my sketchbooks (including the blank ones).
What are your vices?
Bacon.
Are there any upcoming shows or projects you’d like to share?
I’ve been working on updates to my Somatic icons with a new system replacement set and later on some extras and application replacement icons. Those should start dropping in early December and January at the Iconfactory. Other than that I’ve been doing concept turnaround drawings with StrangeKiss for the next toys that should be going into production in the coming year.
Any advice to other artists thinking about submitting artwork out there?
Sketch it ten times, then a few times more for good measure. Then render it out, having as much fun as possible.
David Lanham
