With programs like Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator, people who might not have found an outlet for their creativity are now forging new ground with computer art. Raphael Vicenzi a.k.a. Dead Pony, a Belgium based artist is currently one of the biggest names in the world of fashion illustration.
Raphael Vicenzi spoke with Abduzeedo about his creative beginnings, the frustrations of working in solitude, and important lessons that he believes every illustrator should learn.
Abduzeedo: First of all I would like to thank you for doing this interview, it’s an honor for us to present more about you to our readers. I would like to start asking you about when your interest for illustration and art?
Raphael: Yes no problem, thank you for asking me to do this.
I always wanted to do something creative but I wasn’t sure about what to do really. I discovered quite late in life that you could create art with a computer and I started to get interested in this. I worked my way up but I had to build some personal visual references and world and understand how to make an image.
The ability to express myself in this field has been a blessing even though it is not necessarily easy.
Abduzeedo: Your style is quite influenced by fashion design and paintings. How did you develop this style and how would you describe it?
Raphael: I think it is still an ongoing process, I think at first I was looking for a way to connect my different interests in art, fashion, collages & graphic design. As I just work in digital I found a way to combine all of this but I don’t pretend to have developped an unique style. As there is no chance I can become a fashion designer or a painter I think it allows me to do it in a rough DYI way.
Abduzeedo: How do you describe your daily routine? Do you have nay hobbies?
Raphael: Not very exciting, I wake up early drive my wife to work & child to school then I come home and start working. I live a dull life, the only way to be productive. I am not always very creative, sometimes I just hit a wall and it’s the hardest part to get through, struggling for the inspiration to come back in every possible way by reading something, listening to music & looking for inspiring art on the web.
I am dabbling a bit into music as a hobby but I am really bad at it, I have no rythm but I keep doing it anyway, I am really into dark minimal wave music and 80’s stuff. I am always interested in how people can make great stuff with very few skills and just a desire to express themselves even if it’s awkward.
Abduzeedo: Tell us five lessons you believe are really important for every illustrator.
Raphael: 1 – Keep doing what you do best but fail a lot by doing something else
2 – Put your works online
3 – Don’t bother comparing yourself with everybody else
4 – Look for inspiration everywhere ( books, nature, music, cities, yourself…)
5 – Don’t think that being recognized as an illustrator will solve all your problems
Read the full interview here.