66 » OpenRoad Driver
19 Crimes x Snoop Dogg wine launch sculpture | Photo : Hubert Kang
Tell us about the illustrations you love to work on , and why you enjoy them so much .
I love illustrating characters , whether they are people or animals , and my illustrations are usually busy and chaotic . I did an illustration on a mug for Simon Fraser University ’ s Beedie School of Business , for example , that reflects the different campuses of SFU , kids biking to school , a Skytrain headed for campus , students winning a scholarship , and confetti for graduates going down West Hall . My illustrations always have lots of things going on in them , and I love the scope for artistic freedom that these and other projects give me . That ’ s essentially why I left the ad agencies and founded my own company – so I could pick and choose the projects I wanted to work on .
You recently completed a mural for OpenRoad Toyota . Can you tell us how that challenged you ?
OpenRoad Toyota Richmond requested an illustration that would encapsulate their brand on a huge blank wall in their sales space . We selected the Supra sports car , and the challenge for me was to create an illustration that would be sexy and eyecatching and would capture the ideas of speed , energy , some aspect of Richmond and urban architecture . I began with rough pencil sketches to get a feel for the concept , and presented ten concepts to the team , from which they selected their favourite . I refined the concept with ink sketches ,