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Lugz
Shoe Fashion Brand
Styleframes and animation |
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Tell us a little
bit about your background? How did you start out
as a designer?
I was born in 1982, and raised in White Plains/Westchester
County, NY. Both my parents are of Jamaican descent.
I was a late 1980's, early 1990's kid. Some of my
early influences growing up were Ninja Turtles,
Transformers, Nintendo, A-team, 1980's San Francisco
49ers. My creative spirit came from watching Saturday
morning cartoons and toys. Since then I believed
in God, that I was destined to do something in creative
arts when I got older.
I didn't start drawing until 1988-89; some of my
favorite things to draw were Ninja Turtles, and
various other cartoon characters. Around 1997, I
started drawing my own versions of Nike sneakers.
But I didn't get serious about art/design until
my final year of high school in 2000. By then, I
put together my portfolio and sent it to Rochester
Institute of Technology (RIT). After a couple of
rejections, I prayed, got refocused, and I got in
on the 3rd portfolio review.
At RIT, I studied New Media Design and Imaging.
I gained great experience in emerging multimedia
and interactive design, as well as animation. In
2004 I graduated, and late that year started work
as an Interactive/Motion Designer at R/GA in NYC.
Being in such a fast and creative agency like R/GA
really helped me to develop my skills as well as
gain confidence as a designer. By the end of 2005,
I left to pursue various freelance opportunities
at various motion-graphic shops.
Recently as this summer 2006, I did Creative Direction
at EuroRSCG 4D Interactive. I am currently doing
freelance art direction as well as design in and
around NYC. It's truly a blessing to do something
you love as a way to make a living. I really like
to think of my work by case-by-case basis, I don't
conform to any media or particular style. My work
ranges from interactive, motion, creative direction,
illustration, etc. Currently I'm open and available
for freelance commissions and collaborations at
various design agencies. |
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Interactive
Ecard
Animated and programmed in Flash |
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The style of
your work seems to have hints of graffiti and sports;
would you say these are what influences your work?
Definitely! I'm really a fan of graffiti and sports.
I believe that, as well as urban/youth culture,
is the driving force behind a lot of companies today.
A lot of corporate and traditional companies five
years ago wouldn't even use those elements in their
commercials are now using it to push their products
into market. It's hypocritical but it sells. They
realize if they incorporate or connect elements
like spray paint, arrowheads, hip-hop/black &
urban culture or some cool trend, it can draw attention
to their products, and make them seem cool, no matter
how bland and boring they may actually be. It has
to be used properly and with a purpose, or else
it looks like fluff, with no purpose. So definitely
it helps having knowledge, skills and understanding
of that market. From time to time I try to mix those
elements into my work. |
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Pixar
and Target
Interactive animation and Flash programming |
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In the past
you have worked with some high profile companies
(Lugz, Nike, Fifa); how do you find working with
clients as opposed to your personal work?
Clients like these really allow for personal freedom
so, to me, it is a personal project. Companies nowadays
realize that, to achieve the best experience, they
have to give artists some kind of creative freedom.
A company like Nike will always be cutting-edge
because they allow artists to really use their imagination
and come up with ideas that are out of the box,
so long as they keep the company vision in mind. |
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Collage
of work |
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Do you prefer
working on motion-graphics more than print? Why?
I prefer motion-graphics because it's moving, not
static. The current generation doesn't want to read.
So to me, print is dead. People aged 7-40 are more
likely to watch a 30-second commercial than to pick
an article on that same product and read it all
the way through. So print to me, if it's a single
image, has to be really eye-grabbing or have a lasting
effect on someone. Whereas, the difficulty and challenges
about motion is that every frame has to look like
a work of art. So it depends on a case-by-case basis;
but for right now I prefer motion just because it's
just more dynamic. |
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Complex
Magazine
Animation and pitch |
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What has been
your most rewarding and challenging project to date?
Why?
Probably my new Flash site. I want it to be the
greatest thing I've ever created. So I'm putting
huge amount of pressure on myself to make it something
that's truly amazing and groundbreaking. I don't
know what it's going to be, but with God's help
it will turn out great. |
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Nike Air
Sneaker
Motion frame |
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What advice
can you give the novice designer?
Stay true to yourself and don't follow trends. A
lot of young designers never achieve their full
potential until they find out who they are as a
person first. Believe me, I've seen a ton of designers
just starting out. Most try to copy people's work;
five years later after college, you look at their
portfolios and they've never really developed a
strong identity. There's no progression or thought
process involved. Just bad design without a purpose.
A ton of times they will look and try to emulate
other people's work without any thought process
on the project at hand.
Good designers have storyboards, sketches, etc.,
and do their homework and research to be the best.
To be good you have to do the little things, and
develop good habits. Opening up the program and
try to whip things out without the initial thought
process is a recipe for disaster. Remember that
no designer is perfect: we all have one flaw or
another; you can never cover all your bases; the
best you can do is to be yourself, keep current
on what's going on in the design world and, eventually,
you will find your niche. |
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To see more
of Andrew's work, please visit:
www.atslopes.com |
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