Interview with Artist Andrew Archer

Andrew Archer is an artist who currently lives in Auckland, New Zealand and has been working as an illustrator since 2007. In his amazing works Andrew is using a mix of traditional and digital techniques.  In the past few years, he has been creating for names like Q Magazine, Saatchi & Saatchi, Vogue FR, Elle and many more.

When did you start your career as a designer?

I started working professionally as a full-time illustrator about three years ago.

What is your educational background?

I never studied art or really took interest in it through my school years. It was only when I left high school I decided to study graphic design because I thought it sounded best in the booklets I read from various universities here. I learned a lot from studying my one year of graphic design which does contribute to my work through form and composition a lot. Everything else is self taught from sketching, painting, screen-printing to Photoshop, painter and the whole business side of things.

Can you name 3 designs from your portfolio you like the most?

Little large Tokyo (sushi one), New Zeeland music month and  the Kumeu cricket club style board are my personal favorites.

Our readers would definitely love to know what hardware and software you use when you create your designs?

Well for electronic stuff I use a Macbook pro plugged into 23’ screen with a Intuos tablet and Epson v700 scanner. My most advanced tools I use a lot of are acrylics, watercolor, charcoal, screen prints and a lot of pencils.

What are the things that inspire you? Can you name a few websites you use for inspiration?

Culture, food, people and memories inspire and influence me the most. I don’t actually have a specific site or group of sites that I visit daily but Drawn, Illustrationmundo and iheartmyart are often first to be visited if I’m on the search for inspiration.

When you began your journey as a designer you probably had a few role models, would you name two of your favorite artists?

Hayao Miyazaki and Toshusai Sharaku.

Designing has its ups and downs, what is the most difficult problem you ever faced as a designer?

I don’t think there has been any specific problem which has ever been too difficult but book review editorial illustration are always quite challenging due to the amount of content your representing through the illustration.

Looking a bit into the future, how do you think people will look at your designs in four years from now?

Hopefully they will still hold a certain amount of value due to the storytelling, idea and relevance to their usage but stylistically I’m not sure how they will be seen – maybe an outdated weird cartoon.

What advice would you give to the newbie designers?

Dedication, persistence and diligence. It’s a competitive industry but I strongly believe that those who are really passionate and love their craft will shine through.

What do you think your greatest achievement is so far?

To me my personal work is my greatest achievement, but on paper/to others my greatest achievement so far is probably a TV ad I recently illustrated.

How much free time you have in a week and how do you usually spend that?

Not much at all and I usually spend it out eating, playing basketball, watching films and scribbling.

What is your favorite PC game and how many hours you spend playing it?

The Age of Empires series has always been great, unfortunately these days I don’t have much time to play it and I only play once a month if I’m lucky.

I really liked this design. What was your drive to create it?

It was for an editorial about families who struggled with rising dairy product prices. I wanted to portray the need and enjoyment of dairy products in a surreal sort of way. The family clinging to a 2 dollar cow children ride outside a supermarket, not wanting to give it up for its price and enjoyment was the first idea that came to my mind.

Check out Andrew’s Behance profile.

Check out Andrew Archer’s portfolio website.