tear sheet 2007 - july 2009

ILLUSTRATIONINTERVIEW

ALTAMIRA | 176 177 | ALTAMIRA

Please introduce yourself, give us a

brief bio, tell us where are you come

from and how you get started in this

field?

My name is Danny Roberts, I have

been alive 23 wonderful years, and I

live in California, USA. When I started

school, the first class I took was Fashion

Illustration. My teacher told me that I

should be a Fashion Illustrator instead

of a designer, and considering that

my sewing skills are not the greatest,

I became a illustrator! Well, I guess

another possible reason could be that

drawing is my favorite thing to do.

Do you have any formal training in

this field, did you go to art school?

Yes. I went to the Academy of Art

University majoring in Fashion Design.

Can you name the work you did so far?

I have worked a wide range of jobs in

the last year, from window displays

to children’s books to fabric prints. It

has been a good learning experience

and has really stretched me. I just

finished some work for Gwen Stefani’s

clothing company Harajuku Lovers. I

did a window display about a year back

for an eco friendly boutique in San

INTERVIEWED BY ALTA

THE PHENOMENALDANNY ROBERTS



Francisco called Eco Citizen. I have currently

been working on illustrating Sophie Ward’s

children’s book, and finishing up my book

“The Character Sketchbook”.

What is your favorite subject to illustrate?

I would have to say the lovely Ward sisters,

Sophie and Gemma Ward. Definitely my

favorite subject matter.

Would you mind to give us a brief walk through

your work flow ( from ideas to the execution)?

I usually do a concept sketch (thumbnail

sketch). Then I will find references or

inspiration to cultivate the idea. From there, I

will redraft the picture, and then do the final

draft of the picture. More than likely, lastly, I

will have the image scanned and then digital

image the picture.



What do you use to carry out your

work?

Oh, pretty much anything, really. I like

using a lot of mix media. For example,

I was doing an illustration for Marie

Claire Spain this week, and on that

one illustration I used pens, ink, water

color, color pencils, acrylic paint, oil

paint, and oil pastel.

Of all your works, which are hit you the

most and why?

I would have to say a lot of the drawings

out of my “Character Sketchbook”

because that is my most personal body

of work. It is sort of my art journal

chronicling my journey of learning

how to draw, so because of that, I am

really attached to those.



Is there any point where you will

stop drawing and look for a new

medium to communicate your

ideas?

I don’t think that I could ever

stop drawing. It’s in my bones.

When I go to restaurants, I get

the kid’s menu so I can color. I’m

constantly drawing. But with that

said, I’m constantly exploring new

mediums. Like just last month, I

taught myself how to oil paint, and

I plan to work as a photographer

in the future. Also, really far down

the line, I want to start directing

films.



We notice that your works are

hand painted, why is that? Did it

ever occur to you to use computer

instead, considering nowadays many

illustrator use computer?

Actually, I think my progression is

sort of the opposite of other people. I

started using Photoshop when I was

13, and started drawing in Adobe

Illustrator when I was 17. I think I

learned the strengths and weaknesses

of the Digital realm at an early age and

now I’ve been exploring hand-made

things. For the most part, I find digital

illustration slightly lifeless.... I’m really

not sure why.

Why do you choose a blog as a place to

record your portfolio?

Well, my brother suggested it to me

so I timidly started igorandandandre.

blogspot.com. Ever since then, it’s been

great. I feel Art is made to be shared. I

like blogs because I can share pictures

I did that day with people all over

the world. It’s amazing how small the

world is in this day and age. Blogs are

just a great vehicles to share.



We know that you like to write musician

that because you are really keen on

becoming a musician, or you just do it

to relax?

It is just a pastime. I started writing

music when I was 15, and ever since I’ve

been hooked. I use it as a cross trainer...

meaning whenever I need a break

from drawing, I like writing music and

doing photography as a way to unwind.

Plus, it’s a great way to express certain

emotions or experiences that I can’t

express through my art.

What inspires you?

I’m inspired by almost everything for

one reason or another. New experiences

and people inspire me a lot. I would

say women inspire me more than

anything. That’s why the majority of

my art revolves around women. I also

find genuine innocence very moving,

and am inspired by anything from the

1920’s.

Name an illustrator, whose work you

respect/admires and why?

Audrey Beardsley and Egon Schiele

are by far my two favorite artist/

illustrators. I love Audrey’s work for

the detail, and I love Egon’s work for

the color and over all “Feel”.



What is your next project (exhibition,

books or photo shoot)?

There are a few big projects I’m working

on right now. Two years ago, I started

the The Character Sketchbook project.

The idea was to pick a few people, to cut

down on the amount of variables, and

draw them in my “practice book” using

the same drawing process, and do this

over a prolonged period to monitor my

improvements in becoming an artist.

For the first 100 drawings, Volume 1 of

the book, I drew Gemma Ward & Lily

Cole.

Then in the next 100 drawings, I added

Sophie Ward along with a few other

models. My goal was to show that

anyone could learn how to draw with

enough time and practice. I’m hoping

to publish it through Paper Castle Press

and then exhibit all 200 drawings next

year.

The other project is a collaboration

project through Paper Castle Press. We

are hoping to have it done some time

next year. Basically, I wrote a story on

the spot, as a bedtime story for a friend,

and it really turned out quiet nice.

At the start of this year, Sophie Ward

and I got together and had the idea of

trying to bring in different artists with

different tool sets to work on making

the story come to life. I ended up

putting together a 350 page inspiration

book for it.

Sophie Ward is going to rewrite it

and put her lovely words to it, and

Stacy Dupree from the band Eisley

has also been working on it. We are

still pulling together everyone who is

going to be involved with it. There is

more information about it at www.

papercastlepress.com, click on “Future

Titles”.



Gemmafrom Volume 2 of The Character Sketchbook.

“The Lily and Gemma Book”

What would you tell other illustrator

that hope to be as good as you?

Oh, I would say be true to yourself and

enjoy every moment of learning. Also,

let art inspire you. I think starting out,

it can be hard to stay true to yourself,

and it’s easy to look at something you

like and copy it. But I would say, the

key to staying unique is to be yourself,

because we all are made differently,

which means if I stay true to myself, I

will be unique.



“The Lily and Gemma Book”from Volume 2 of The Character Sketchbook.

Our pilot edition is themed black white.

What crosses in your mind when we

say black white and why? And which

one reflects your personality the most?

For me Black & White Illustrations are

my favorite to do. When I picture images

to draw, I think in Black & White. When

you said your first issue was a Black &

White theme, my mind first went to my

Chanel glasses illustration. It’s one of

my favorite illustrations.

Online Gallery:

http:// igorandandre.blogspot.com



“Lisa”from Blogger potrait series



“Rumi”from Blogger potrait series



“Lily Cole”from Volume 2 of The Character Sketchbook.

“The Lily and Gemma Book”



“Th

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tear sheet 2007 - july 2009

Documents

work flow

oil paint

fashion illustration

personal body of work

art school

fashion illustrator

color pencils

water color