Tell us a little about yourself and what you do.
I have always been creatively
intuitive, loved colouring-in books, loved the random sketch sessions through
Art History lectures, still love doodling when I’m in Work - A - Day meetings…
It’s funny from an Institutional point
of view I was never really meant to succeed, I was repeatedly told that my
foresight would never amount to a successful & fulfilling Graphic Career, and
that is when I realised that being creative isn’t about fitting the Mould - it’s
about being expressive.
From the beginning I’ve viewed The
Graphic as a ‘ Fundamental Tool ‘ to self-expressionism,
using it’s form & function as a vessel
- a visual word on how I feel & act.
I have always been interested in the
way people communicate through graphic representation, using synaptic symbols
to mesmerise, to persuade, to entice.
A while back I decided to dedicate a
large portion of my time to understanding & developing a semblance between
Visual & Graphic Representation, mixing the finite progressive
functionalism of Computer Aided Graphics & the Visual Precision of
Formative Art. After a bit of self-indulgence I found the differential that I
was seeking & now I’m creating with confidence & really enjoying my
Creative Mind Set.
Who (or what) inspires you to do what
you love in your own creative business?
Life inspires me, the ability to be
creative is what makes me tick, I’m fortunate enough to be able to be creative,
I live in a blessed country where I have the freedom to do as I choose, to be
creative when I like, to take the time out to create, in itself I find that
very inspirational…
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I look to my peers for inspiration - my
Biz Partner, My Work Peers, Family & Friends, Artists I’ve meet along my
ramblings through life. I always get really excited when I meet an Artist
who’sArtWork just clicks;when I can stand back and enjoy the ArtWork for what
it is, then I get really inspired & creative and I usually end up asking
the person or persons if they would be interested in collaborating with me…..
Where do you get your inspiration from when you design?
When designing for Biz Purposes I will
usually gather R&D material from all different material sources, the
internet, graphic magazines & books, graphic novels, my large collection of
GD books which I browse through. I find that it’s possible to gain
inspirational insights from other designers who have developed a look, style
& feel that is their own, they OWN that aesthetic, I find that very
inspirational.
What are the five words that people
who know you would use to describe you?
Creative, Dedicated, Honest, Faithful,
Hardworking,
Tell us about your very first job and
what path have you taken since then?
My first Creative Job involved working
as a Graphic Lead for the Up Late Game Show a subsidiary of Big Brother Show.
The show was Live To Air meaning all behind the scene changes & manipulations
were live within 4 seconds of a judgment change. The job was awesome, I would
rock into work at 17:30 – design all the on air graphics till 19:30 – then I
would go through the schedule with the director, talk to the talent . From midnight
until 02:00 I would sit in the Studio Control Room, working with the Studio
Director & a studio editing suite call DEKO, setting up & sending all
graphics live to screen. It was stressful but a lot of fun - it’s at that point
in my life that I fell in love with the notion of Motion Graphics.
The next logical career step was to
move to another local TV Station - &
that’s where I found After Effects the most advanced entry level Compositing,
Special Effects program – It’s like PhotoShop on steroids.
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I learnt a lot of industry skills
working in an extremely busy TV Studio environment, I met a bunch of
wonderfully creative individuals, who helped me progress both graphically &
technically, advancing my skillset to levels that I never knew existed. Great
Fun / Great Times.
From there I worked at a Digital
Design Studio which was interesting to say the least, I learnt that business
ideals will always trump designs aesthetics & that being honest in business
can bite you in the bum.
At present I’m a Development Specialist
for a Government Department & I really enjoy my work environment. Every day
is challenging, and I’m constantly challenged by technology & I LOVE IT - it’s
a great learning curve.
As an Artist, what is your biggest frustration?
Time Restrictions – I never have
enough time in the day to truly be as Creative as I would like to be.
Ignorant people - THEY REALLY FRUSTRATE
ME.
Tell us about how you prioritise your
work since you have 3 different businesses?
I found that time utilization is
essential for a progressive business model. Once I realized that, I looked to
technology to keep me on track - I have my phone & my cloud calendar
reminding me of my daily tasks. At the moment I’m also looking into purchasing
Project Management Software which will map out my strategic plans– while
capturing & communicating important information to a data base & to my
utilities – phone & calendar. Using this process I hope to be able to setup
a future positive system. This will
assist me further to reach my creative potential and business goals.
I exercise as much as possible and go
for a run at night or after work. I find that once I’ve finished a run I’ve
pretty much time allocated all my objectives for the next day – leaving me time
to focus on finishing incomplete task(s) for the day.
Can you please tell us about how do
you connect with other artists, and your customers (i.e. how do you network)?
Connecting via the internet is a sure
fire way to open up networks with all types of positive people.
Blog’s, websites, forums, online
communities are all inclusive to successful networking. I also find that
entering competitions is a positive way to A. Get your work out there and B.
Great way to meet artist & administrator,it also gives you the opportunity
to develop a marketing approach in the way you promote your work or business.
What advice can you offer other creative people who are just
starting out and following their passions?
Develop an Ideal – stick to the point
that represents you as a creative person, an Aesthetic.
Then find what is essential to you
from a creative perspective. What makes you want to be creative?
Find that passion, focus on that
passion & study that passion & while you’re searching you’ll end up
being the creative person you want to be.
Also never / ever let criticism, be it
constructive or de-constructive, get in the way of your creative person. People
can be bitches & bastards & jealousy is a curse, always believe in
yourself & if you’re true to yourself, then you know what you’re doing in a
creative sense.
Marcus (Right) With Friends
What dreams do you still want to achieve or fulfill in your
life?
I would still love to work in an
ultra–progressive studio environment, working either in Berlin or Seattle for
one of the Big B’s, Microsoft, Google, Nike, NBC, or a niche Production House.
That’s def on the cards in the next 2-3 years.
I would like to expand my Art
Representation through established galleries, it would be most excellent to be
represented by a gallery that knows its business.
I have a list of Artists I want to
collaborate with - I’m working on how to make that happen.
What is your proudest moment so far?
Hard to gauge, I’ll report back at the
end of the year with an update to that question. :}
Who do you most want to meet and why?
I like to meet the Google R&D team
that is responsible for PageRank & its consistent upkeep & future
productiveness. I would have a number of
questions to ask the team, most of those questions would be based on their theoretical
philosophies about PageRank going beyond a computational assemblage???
What is the most important lesson in life that you have
learned?
ALWAYS BE TRUE TO YOURSELF….. &
YOUR LOVED ONES.
What book are you reading right now, and do you have a book
you would like to recommend?
Right now I’m reading PERDIDO STREET
STATION BY China Mieville, it’s a wicked book; it’s the first I’ve read of
China Mieville - I’ll be reading all of his titles.
Number One on my book recommendation
listisAbsolution Gap by Alastair Reynolds, if you’re a SF buff this book has it
all, it’s Event Horizon without the gore, but the same kind of theoretical
intenseness.
Where do we find you and your products?
You can find me at:
