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Compilation of edited transcripts from recent interviews (2002-9)

Q & A’s about Griff’s approach to technical art and illustration

Questions & Answers - Personal

I have always been able to do this, even before I had even heard of 2D/3D. I do have a math background, and can ‘see’ equations, numbers and lists as though on paper in my head. I used to conceive computer architectures, code, designs and systems this way. I guess it may sound unusual, but that’s how I work. I do all the ‘experimentation’, and concepts in my head, and then when I'm happy I then use computers to make them reality.
 

What is your workflow once you are in the main body of the work?

Griff:  I honestly think my workflow is different for every client I have. Some like to micro-manage, and see progress on a very regular basis, whilst others just want to be wowed... "Griff, it's like a horse race. I'm not interested in all the little details of the race like who fell off, who stayed on. All I want to know is that we're the winner. Give me a winner, that's all I want - and by this Friday! If we win, you get to ride again, and again!"

80% of my work cannot be used for anything except for the client who commissioned it, so I get very little reuse from the work I do.

On a hardware level, I use two workstations, one is personalised for modelling, and the other personalised for assembling, and each has two screens. I use Logitech laser mice and keyboards and also Wacom A4/A3 tablets linked to both systems with a switch. For storage I use a large RAID/NAS with a common linkage to all the systems, Macs, printers etc.

How much artistic license do you get with most of these designs? Or is the look, style, angle of view, etc, pretty much controlled by the client?

Griff: This largely depends on the client, and how well we know and trust each other. I have built up some great working relationships with clients over the years,  so I have some who send me the info and just trust me to get on with it. If they've left some information out, it's usually because the design is not finished yet, and in that case I either extrapolate the design, or wait until they have the information necessary and integrate it later, or even choose views that work with the missing parts of the piece - never spoil a great story for the sake of the truth!

The best projects though are the ones when I am given complete artistic license – and this does happen quite a bit. For example, I was recently asked to create three plausible engine illustrations that had to look convincing even to design engineers, and yet had to be quite fictitious with no part possibly connected with a known example or manufacturer. This was great fun! For me this is the kind of ‘dream commission’ that comes up every once in a while. The real icing on the cake was the fact that the commissioning agency was happy first time, and the actual client signed it off without any modifications at all. Now that for me was pure elation, and another reason why I love my job!

A little personal history:

With a background in computer hardware & software engineering, product design, management and marketing, Griff previously worked for a number of large computer companies around the world, and as such has used both 2D and 3D computer graphics in his career. During school and college, Griff also studied mathematics, music, art, and illustrating, and feels that "this background put him in a good position as a technical artist and illustrator." Also, he studied fine art and art history, specializing in ancient Egyptian and Renaissance art. He now works "creating art and images for companies, collectors, galleries, and museums using traditional and modern techniques." Many of his pieces are based on or from museums or products that don't exist yet, so he is careful to understand the entire subject before embarking on the artwork. His research ranges from "spending days in libraries to travelling to see the objects" so that he can gain a thorough understanding of "how one part interacts with another," an aspect that he finds "is crucial to illustrating. I really enjoy working out new ways of doing things, coming up with new ideas, techniques, effects and new ways of looking at things."

Griff’s other interests include: mathematics, logic, psychology, chess (has played at national level), playing the piano, travelling, space science & astronomy, Gerry Anderson TV series (especially UFO), Renaissance art (especially Leonardo da Vinci), engines (esp. Aero and rocket), jokes, music, animals, and fine dining...

Griff is happily married, and also shares his life with a huge and beautiful white cat, a new Labrador-cross puppy called Millie, two very cheeky house rabbits (Chaz and Jo-jo), some very colourful and relaxing tropical fish, a pond full of unusually beautiful Koi (nishikigoi), and a wise and gentle Palomino horse (Papillon) and many other animals. Griff now lives on a very small and beautiful island somewhere east of the Atlantic...

Ask Griff

What are your favourite projects to work on?

Griff: Well, I think anyone who sees any of my work can see that I have an unrelenting passion for all things mechanical, aeronautical, mechanical symbolism, and electronics. To me a beautifully designed printed circuit board is a work of art. I have some amazing examples framed on my office walls. I believe there is beauty in the logic - the form and the function. I can imagine and trace the pathways in my mind. I count the cycles, and almost visualise them running like a mechanical clock. That’s their real beauty - not appreciated by many! Printed circuit boards, logic, design, or beautifully crafted computer code, all created by the mathematical constraints of logic, electronics, quantum mechanics, and mechanical functionality - real poetry!

How to illustrate it -  I use either Illustrator, or DrawPlus to redraw my own versions track by track - with track width, holes, legends, extensive use of layers, and then create new overlays. I use grids, and construct the artwork component by component, using the same techniques I do for my larger mechanical work. I use digital vernier callipers and high power digital optics to measure components to 0.001mm, as well as using the manufacturer's reference books for dimensions, materials. All this can take a long time, but I'm told the results are worth it, and many manufacturers have used my artwork on boxes and marketing materials. Most marketing and packaging seems to need these materials a long way up front, so at that point only prototypes are available and they are certainly not representative! That’s where my kind of work sometimes comes into play and why it proves so useful for these companies.

What advice would you give to those looking to start out in illustration and design work?

Griff: It's vitally important to build-up a well rounded portfolio of artwork that is representative of you. It’s no good creating a portfolio of work that doesn’t have your heart and soul in it. For instance, I can do organics, people, architecture, but it’s not really my passion and doesn’t get me in the heart. As a result, I don't generally put it in my portfolio, as it would be a kind of lie to include that.

Without a truly representative portfolio, you will get nowhere. One picture really is worth a thousand words, and can mean a pay-check too! Another thing, almost anyone can produce a great piece of work, but ask yourself "Can I really do this full-time, on a day-in, day-out basis?". And,  would you really want to? Remember that hours and hours of hard, solitary work are needed to be successful, hours or research, travel and study. Not many people can spend sometimes up to 18 hours a day doing all this. It has to be a passion, a vocation - not just a job.

You are only as good as your last job, as the saying goes. There is always going to be someone better, faster, more talented that yourself so don’t get lazy or complacent. Don't get blinded by a big fee. Big fees only come with a big tasks, and big fees divided by the hundreds of working hours sometimes don't work out to much!

Know your skills, hone them, know your weaknesses, and tackle your fears. Work out ways to exceed what you think you cannot achieve, and you will surprise yourself - but don't do it at the expense of the client or you will never hear from them again! Read, learn, understand, be brutal with yourself.   ...Oh and work on the hard stuff first!

What about those who already have started in this line of work - what advice do you have to further their career, and perhaps get more notice?

Griff:  Take the time to completely understand what the client is asking for. Read the brief many times (like an exam paper) and try to feel and empathise with what the client is really asking for. Sometimes they don’t exactly know, but they'll know when you've got it right, and will certainly not be scared to tell you when you've got it wrong. Sometimes they may show a previous example of a successful piece, and ask you to emulate that. This is fine if the new piece is for an existing product line, and they need consistency. Sometimes I have done exactly what I've been asked, and they have been disappointed. But, I nearly always say: 'Okay, this is what you asked for, (I may get a deflated or okay that's okay look), but then say: 'but this is what I really think you wanted'! If they smile that smile, Yes! I win, and get to play the game again, next time.

How do you get most of your work?

Griff:  Call me lucky, but so far I don’t think I have ever contacted a company looking for work. Clients seem to find me through my website, or by word of mouth, email, or my existing or new work out in the public domain.

Once you have a piece of work, what is your first step? (pencil sketches, wireframes, mock ups or just straight into the work, etc.)

Griff: I am extremely visually orientated, both literally and metaphorically, and I am able  to ‘build’ and then 'see' the artwork in my minds-eye - I think this is something I inherited from my late father. I guess I have a kind of virtual modeller in my head, and can create objects, rotate, scale, color, examine, and model in my head. I spend hours seemingly daydreaming and I am in fact working out details. I never ever make visual notes – other than at client meetings, when I have to show that I have understood a point or concept.