Interview with 86era - Find the Truth

Hey DBH-ers! We have a little sneak peak + interview for you this week. 86era is a majorly talented artist from Russia. If you surf the web for design inspiration or art, you might have already seen his work. His shirt Find the Truth will be out on Friday. You get a sneak peak here.

Your first design at DBH, Find the Truth, was a winner. Have you been involved in apparel design before this? What motivated you to try working with this medium?

Well, last year I produced custom lettering for 8mm Clothing – USA-based t-shirt brand. This was my first t-shirt offer that actually happened to the market. Also, we’re dropping some t-shirts this fall with fellow artists from Moscow and my hometown. 4 designs, all hand-drawn and vectorized – all by yours truly.

As an artist, I find it very appealing that my artwork can be wearable. I always put some meaning into all of my drawings/illustrations, so for me t-shirt is a great medium to spread ideas and make them actually work.

Was there a defining moment on your path to becoming an artist? What were some of the important steps along the way?

My dad was the first person who inspired me to draw. It wasn’t like he attended an art college or school, but he was all into art while in childhood and later. I saw his works in modeling clay, watercolor, all types of pencils and pens you could get in 70’s, inks and god knows what else! He still does some doodles with pens, especially typographical ones. I guess that inspired me too.

Me and my brother, we were just little kids when dad gave us first art lessons, he showed us basic techniques and explained how to work it out. It was one of the first influential steps. Since then I started drawing almost on daily basis: all my school and university writing-books were decorated with tons of stuff – honestly, I was mostly drawing instead of writing lectures. I’ve also got a massive archive of sketches from my childhood to present day :)

After graduation (IT degree), I tried working in a local hip-hop shop as a designer, doing graphics for their web-site and various promo material. It took me like 4 months to realize how boring it was (mostly because I didn’t have much freedom, art-wise), so I quit and decided to go strictly freelance. It motivated me to learn a lot of new things, making it another important step.

You’re located in Russia, do you think that influences the work that you do? Is there a Russian design scene?

Russia has always been the best place for everyone who’s obsessed with DIY principle… Seriously, if you can’t get something – you ought to do it (rather say “create it”) yourself. Growing in Soviet Union, I didn’t know much about computers, printers and other handy tools, but I loved all those logos I saw on goods, countless magazine and book covers (especially the ones that came from abroad) as well as 8bit game graphics. So, as I really loved what I was seeing, I simply started reproducing it with traditional tools like pens, pencils, markers and so on.

As for Russian design scene… I believe we have some kind of “scene” here, but it hardly inspires me. I can count on the fingers of one hand the ones who I respect: 5nak, Pal though he’s from Latvia, Zutto- the first ones that come to my mind.

I really enjoy all the detail in your pieces, it’s impressive that you’re able to capture so much with a ballpoint pen. Do you sketch things out before you ink them? What is your process of creating art?
I usually sketch out some basic shape with pencil and start outlining with pens. All the fancy details come in the process – most of the times I don’t have anything specific in my head, so I just freestyle with pen. Actually, my “Find the truth” design was pure on-the-fly drawing: it came out naturally within a few hours without any struggle.

What do you look for in the t-shirt designs that you buy? Which tees are your favorites from DBH?
In t-shirts I usually look for something that represents my own interests. It can be a good typography, or some elements of urban/street culture (hooray for graffiti-inspired tees), maybe a nicely captured piece of nature, perfect example – The Flitter Flatter Tree by iQuitt, or even a good overprinted pattern. However, it’s my mood that generally makes the final decision.

Oh, and another favorite from DBH – Ekadanta by Ellsswhere

Which artists (either contemporary or historical) get you the most excited about art? What kind of subject matter are you most drawn to?
Historical artists, huh… Well, I’m digging works and ideology of the ones like Dali, M.C. Escher, Boris Artzybasheff, Herluf Bidstrup (again, dad’s books with his “comics” helped me to develop drawing technique). As for favorite contemporary ones, I’d name István Orosz, Roger Xavier, Shepard Fairey, Mark Machado, Jeff Soto, James Jean, Greg Simkins, Chaz Bojoroquez, Augustine Kofie and whole lot more.

Your work with lettering is very intricate and fun, what has been your favorite phrase to draw? What advice do you have for artists looking to learn how to use text well when designing?
Actually, there’s no specific phrase I like to draw, but I usually quote current favorite lyrics (mostly from hip-hop or soul music) when I"m trying new lettering styles. And basically, what I have in my mind is what I get on paper.

There’s one general advice and suggestion I have for all kind artists – love what you do and do what you love. And if you feel letters, draw them with passion! Although it doesn’t matter what you do – my “advice” is somewhat universal principle of success in everything.

Do you have any cool projects underway that you’d like to promote?
I’m gonna be designing a series of t-shirts for our joint line with 8mm soon. Also, look out for Some Type Of Wonderful 2010 project, featuring art by a whole bunch of cool artists such as Luca Barcellona, Jessica Hische, Seb Lester and myself. And keep your eyes on KDU, some interesting projects with my participation are coming in August.

Thank you for the interview and thanks to everyone who keeps rocking DBH tees!

Interview by MJ
Compiled by jimiyo
August 12, 2009

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