Here at Shwood we are always on the look out for artists and creatives who are doing what they love in an interesting way. Connor Annal is a perfect example of this with his amazing illustration style and hand drawn typography. Connor is a prolific contributer on flickr and constantly updates his blog http://electricjunkyard.blogspot.com with intricate and colorful illustration. We recently got a chance to catch up with Connor and ask him some questions about his art and his life.
Greg Bemis: First off, why don’t you tell me a little about yourself. Age, location, schooling and Occupation?
Connor Annal: My name is Connor, I just turned 20, I’m currently living in Bournemouth, a seaside town in the UK, and I’m a student the the Arts University here, working towards my Illustration degree. I like to draw, I have a massive collection of zines that has been growing for about four years now, and I wish that I could skate.
GB: How do you go about finding inspiration for your art? What in your everyday life inspires you most?
CA: A lot of my inspiration comes from my childhood, and the things I used to play with. I’m fascinated by colorful, collectible things. I hoarded collectable toys and I played a lot of Sega mega drive, and I still have all that old stuff back home too in case I feel the need to get all nostalgic. Things that inspire me in everyday life are just things I see. There’s a few amusement arcades in the town I live in and I love everything about them, the flashing lights, machines, prizes, and winning a bag full of tickets. But, what’s probably the best thing about everyday life is the fact I’m almost always surrounded by creative people, which has a huge impact on creativity and inspiration. I definitely make more if there are other people in that same making environment with me, and being able to bounce ideas off of each other is rad.
GB: Coffee or Tea?
CA: Coffee, it’s fuel for a creative mind.
GB: What does an average day look like for you?
CA: I don’t seem to have average days, they’re pretty erratic. If I get up early I’ll have a productive day, get a lot of stuff done and be super motivated throughout. If I get up late it’s a totally different story.
GB: Your art seems to straddle the realms of analog and digital very well as it uses different techniques from both to create your pieces. How do you find a balance between the two?
CA: The line work in all my drawings is done by hand and then scanned into Photoshop. I then use pieces of paper which I have painted and scanned to fill the piece with colour. I used to just use paint bucket to fill everything but I find that a bit boring now, I’m trying to steer away from using Photoshop too much. I have a burning passion for artwork with a really handmade vibe, and I want to make more things like that.
In regards to finding the balance, I tend to steer toward things that look textured, but not scruffy.
GB: Pencils and spacey patterns and shapes seem to be an ongoing theme in your work. Have these elements always been a part of your art?
CA: About four or five years ago, when I started my graphics course at college (which I think would be high school in the US) I got really into drawing patterns and complex drawings made out of simple elements. I’d always liked that stuff, but I never really knew what is was, or how accessible it was to me. I’d drawn things like it before then, but I didn’t think they had any relevance and I just saw them as drawings I did for nothing but fun. It wasn’t until I discovered some really inspirational artists that I realized I could do this stuff seriously. Around that time I also found flickr and some crazily good art blogs which filled my brain with creativity and a burning desire to make things, so I did. Since then I’ve really built upon it, and hope to continue developing the way I work for many years to come, I don’t want to ever stop finding or doing new things.
About the pencil thing, I’ve just always loved the aesthetic of a pencil, especially in cartoons I used to watch. I think it works well to express an obsession with making things too, and that’s what I love about it.
GB: If you are not creating art, you most likely are…
CA: Looking at art on radical blogs such as this.
GB: What music are you currently hyped on? Anything on heavy rotation while you are working?
CA: Recently all I listen to is either Dinosaur Jr or Pavement. Dinosaur Jr is great to listen to whilst drawing, I get so into the music that I kind of forget everything else and I really enjoy that. Pavement is just amazing, If I could only listen to one band for the rest of my life it would be them, and I wouldn’t be sad about that in the slightest. They’re just a band that stays awesome no matter how many times you play them, plus I have the discography so I have plenty of tracks to play through.
GB:What project or piece of art are you most proud of that you have created?
CA: Probably my zine Magik, I made it when I was 16 and I’m still really proud of it. It took me a few months to get everything together and get it ready for print but it was totally worth it. I swapped tons of copies of it for zines by artists who I’ve found on flickr whose work I love and they all sent me awesome little packages of stuff along with their zines.
GB: Any parting words?
CA: Just a big thank you, I’m so stoked to be on this blog. After checking out Shwood I can see how passionate everyone is about what they do over there and it really shows. So stay cool, keep doing what you’re doing and keep experimenting with nature because the results are radical.
More work from Connor Annal
