I was fortunate enough to get in contact with Rod Hunt, freelance london based artist who has successfully represented the likes of BBC, Maxim, FHM, Orange and Vodafone..
As well as the cover art for widespread publication ‘change the world 9 to 5’
We have been kindly given a taste of Rod’s retro styled isometric work along with a bit of background and some great advice for up and coming artists.
Rod stresses the importance of knowing your rights as a working artist, along with the need to just get out there and show your stuff to the world.
So without further ado, the much appreciated and insightful interview with Mr Rod Hunt!
DT: Tell us a little about yourself, where are you from and where are you living now?
RH: I’m a London based Illustrator/designer who has built a reputation for retro tinged Illustrations & detailed character filled landscapes with UK & international clients in publishing, design, advertising & new media, for everything from book covers to advertising campaigns, & even the odd large scale installation too!
Some of my many clients include Barclays, BBC, Computer Arts Magazine, Dorling Kindersley, The Economist, FHM, Maxim, The Observer, Orange & Vodafone
Originally I was from rural town of Bridport, in the country of Dorset, UK. For the last 12 years I’ve lived in Greenwich, London.
I’m also currently Deputy Chairman of UK The Association of Illustrators. The AOI was established in 1973 to advance and protect illustrator’s rights and encourage professional standards
DT: When did you realise you wanted to work as an artist full time?
RH: I was always a prolific drawer as a kid, but didn’t consider art as a career until I was 17. Originally I was planning on pursuing Biochemistry & horticulture, & was studying towards that. I thought studying art was just for fun. But the realisation grew on me that I wasn’t really enjoying it [bio/horticulture] any more & as I spent all my time drawing, art college beckoned.
After a one year foundation course at Bournemouth & Poole College of Art & Design, I studied Illustration at Anglia Polytechnic University (now Anglia Ruskin University), Cambridge.
I became a full time illustrator in 1996 when I decided to move to London to be closer to potential clients. These were the days before the internet was prevalent, so the only way to show clients work was to post out sample postcards or take your
portfolio to them! Before that I spent the 2 years in Nottingham working on my portfolio & learning about the industry. My work today is very different to how it used to be then, as I used to paint my work in acrylics.
DT: What people places or things inspire you?
RH:I draw much of my inspiration from humour, retro graphics & contemporary culture. Comics were my big love as a kid, especially 2000AD/Judge Dredd, & that fired my imagination & inspired me to draw.
Things that inspire me, in no particular order:
Edward Hopper
comics
2000AD/Judge Dredd
pulp fiction covers
sci-fi
Terry Gilliam
Tim Burton
robot toys
retro 50’s/60’s/70’s advertising & graphics
architecture
animation
film
Mad magazine
DT: What are your most used ‘tools of the trade’?
RH:All my work is produced digitally, but before I go near the computer I start doodling ideas and compositions in an A5 sketchbook with a pencil or biro. These are very quick and throwaway. Once I worked out the rough idea and composition & gathered any visual reference I might need, I work on a larger finished pencil drawing, which I then use as a guide for drawing the final artwork with a graphics tablet in Adobe Illustrator.
DT: What are you working on at the moment?
RH:I’m currently working on the visitors site map for one of the UK’s main theme parks, & also illustrating a whole book for a major BBC TV show.
DT: Could you explain the inspiration between ‘dreams and nightmares’?
RH:The piece Dreams & Nightmares was an illustrated Shin Tanaka paper sculpture the InkThis exhibition of the same name. I wanted to have the piece being like a mixed up dream, with threats hiding in the shadows. Like a child in their bedroom at night in the dark with only their teddy bear to protect them.
DT: What has been your favourite commission to date?
RH:My favourite commissions have been the cover for the best selling environmental book Change The World 9 to 5 by We Are What We Do & the interactive environmental display for the Lightbox Museum & Gallery in Woking, UK. The Lightbox display was particularly challenging due to it’s complexity & scale.
DT: What’s the best and worst parts of being a full time, working designer?
RH:The best parts are getting that unexpected enquiry to work on a great commission. Being freelance means that you don’t usually know what’s coming week to week, so the next project enquiry could be a big surprise! Also I like being in charge of my own destiny & career.
The worst parts are when the phone doesn’t ring for a few weeks, & also the increasing amount of unreasonable contracts & copyright grabs from some clients that I have to deal with.
DT: Any advice to up and coming artists/designers?
RH: Get out there and get your work seen by as many people as possible. You should never be afraid to show people your work. You maybe the best designer/illustrator in the world, but if no one sees your work, you won’t get commissioned
I’d recommend joining the UK Association of Illustrators (AOI). http://www.theaoi.com (or a similar organization elsewhere). They’re constantly campaigning to protect all illustrator’s rights, and if you need advice on pricing commissions, contracts, promotion, etc, it really pays to get help from the experts.
Maintain control over your Copyright in your Illustrations. There are very few occasions that clients need to own the Copyright in your work. Your body of work is your livelihood, and you should be entitled to the financial benefits of your talent and hard work.
A huge thanks to Rod for showing us some of his work and also for the words of wisdom!
Heya i’mi am for the primarythe first time here. I came acrossfound this board and I in findingfindto find It trulyreally usefulhelpful & it helped me out a lotmuch. I am hopingI hopeI’m hoping to giveto offerto provideto present somethingone thing backagain and helpaid others like yousuch as you helpedaided me.
Hello. magnificent job. I did not imagine this. This is a excellent story. Thanks!
Whats Taking place i am new to this, I stumbled upon this I’ve discovered It positively helpful and it has aided me out loads. I hope to contribute & help different customers like its aided me. Good job.
Ini adalah konten yang berharga!
UsuallyNormallyGenerally I do notdon’t readlearn articlepost on blogs, howeverbut I wish towould like to say that this write-up very forcedpressuredcompelled me to take a look atto tryto check out and do soit! Your writing tastestyle has been amazedsurprised me. Thank youThanks, quitevery greatnice articlepost.
The double entry system makes use of nominal ledger accounts.
great issues altogether, you simply received a emblem new reader. What might you recommend in regards to your submit that you simply made some days ago? Any certain?
My spouse and I absolutely love your blog and find a lot of your
post’s to be exactly I’m looking for. Do you offer guest writers to write
content to suit your needs? I wouldn’t mind writing a post or
elaborating on many of the subjects you write about here.
Again, awesome web log! Tumblr
HiWhat’s upHi thereHello, this weekend is nicepleasantgoodfastidious fordesigned forin favor ofin support of me, becausesinceasfor the reason that this timeoccasionpoint in timemoment i am reading this greatenormousimpressivewonderfulfantastic informativeeducational articlepostpiece of writingparagraph here at my homehouseresidence.
Time — Washing windows is a time-consuming task.
Ena ke litaba tsa bohlokoa!
This is a valuable content!
Dit is een waardevolle inhoud!
I’m gone to tellinformsay toconvey my little brother, that he should also visitgo to seepay a visitpay a quick visit this blogweblogwebpagewebsiteweb site on regular basis to takegetobtain updated from latestnewestmost recentmost up-to-datehottest newsinformationreportsgossipnews update.
Well I really liked reading it. This information provided by you is very effective for accurate planning.
I am always searching online for ideas that can facilitate me. Thank you!
Excellent read, I just passed this onto a colleague who was doing a little research on that. And he just bought me lunch as I found it for him smile So let me rephrase that: Thank you for lunch!
Hi, i think that i saw you visited my web site so i came to “return the favor”.I’m trying to find things to improve my site!I suppose its ok to use a few of your ideas!!
Not all companies supply 24-hour emergency companies.
It’s essential to spend time on Twitter and get
to know people.
GreatExcellentGood blogweb sitesite you haveyou’ve gotyou have got here.. It’s hard to finddifficult to find qualityhigh qualitygood qualityhigh-qualityexcellent writing like yours these daysnowadays. I reallyI trulyI seriouslyI honestly appreciate people like youindividuals like you! Take care!!
Hello, I enjoy reading through your post. I like to write a little comment to support you.
I do not even know how I ended up here, but I thought this post was good.
I don’t know who you are but certainly you
are going to a famous blogger if you aren’t already ;) Cheers!
I like what you guys are up also. Such clever work and reporting! Carry on the excellent works guys I¡¦ve incorporated you guys to my blogroll. I think it will improve the value of my website :)
Hey there are using WordPress for your site platform?
I’m new to the blog world but I’m trying to get started and set up my own.
Do you require any coding expertise to make your own blog?
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Hello, i believe that i noticed you visited my site so i came
to return the want?.I am attempting to to find issues to enhance my web site!I assume its adequate to
make use of a few of your ideas!!
Your waymethodmeansmode of describingexplainingtelling everythingallthe whole thing in this articlepostpiece of writingparagraph is reallyactuallyin facttrulygenuinely nicepleasantgoodfastidious, allevery one canbe able tobe capable of easilywithout difficultyeffortlesslysimply understandknowbe aware of it, Thanks a lot.
Hi there! This post could not be written much better!
Looking at this post reminds me of my previous roommate!
He always kept preaching about this. I’ll forward this article to him.
Pretty sure he will have a great read. Thanks for sharing!
Microsoft Office or are just looking to refresh your skills for any job or the one you’re already in, you’re in the right spot. Our lessons give a mix of text message, video, interactives, and issues to practice what get learned, so you can learn the basics and more of Access, Exceed, Outlook, PowerPoint, Publisher, and Word. You’ll also learn tips, tricks, shortcuts, and more to raised use these programs during working hours and life. Let’s start!
Microsoft Office or are just looking to refresh your skills for any job or the one you’re already in, you’re in the right spot. Our lessons give a mix of text message, video, interactives, and troubles to practice what get learned, so you can learn the basics and more of Access, Stand out, Outlook, PowerPoint, Publisher, and Word. You’ll also learn tips, tricks, shortcuts, and more to higher use these programs during working hours and life. Let’s get going!
Microsoft Office or are just looking to refresh your skills for any job or the one you’re already in, you’re in the right spot. Our lessons give you a mix of text message, video, interactives, and issues to practice what get learned, so you can learn the basics and more of Access, Surpass, Outlook, PowerPoint, Publisher, and Word. You’ll also learn tips, tricks, shortcuts, and more to raised use these programs during working hours and life. Let’s begin!
HelloHey thereHeyHowdyGood dayHi thereHello thereHi! This post couldn’tcould not be written any better! ReadingReading through this post reminds me of my oldgood oldprevious room mate! He always kept talkingchatting about this. I will forward this articlepagepostwrite-up to him. Pretty sureFairly certain he will have a good read. ThanksThank youMany thanks for sharing!
Wow that was odd. I just wrote an incredibly long comment but after I clicked submit my comment didn’t show up. Duch Œwiêty Grrrr… well I’m not writing all that over again. Anyways, just wanted to say fantastic blog!
Microsoft Office or are just looking to refresh your skills for any job or the one you’re already in, you’re in the right spot. Our lessons give you a mix of text message, video, interactives, and issues to practice what get learned, so you can learn the basics and more of Access, Exceed, Outlook, PowerPoint, Publisher, and Word. You’ll also learn tips, tricks, shortcuts, and more to raised use these programs during working hours and life. Let’s get going!
Microsoft Office or are just looking to refresh your skills for any job or the one you’re already in, you’re in the right spot. Our lessons give a mix of text message, video, interactives, and issues to practice what you might have learned, so you can learn the basics and more of Access, Surpass, Outlook, PowerPoint, Publisher, and Word. You’ll also learn tips, tricks, shortcuts, and more to raised use these programs at work and life. Let’s start!
Microsoft Office or are just looking to refresh your skills for any job or the one you’re already in, you’re in the right spot. Our lessons give you a mix of text message, video, interactives, and troubles to practice what you have learned, so you can learn the basics and more of Access, Stand out, Outlook, PowerPoint, Publisher, and Word. You’ll also learn tips, tricks, shortcuts, and more to higher use these programs during working hours and life. Let’s start!
Great article. I am going through a few of these issues as well..
The double entry system uses nominal ledger accounts.
Microsoft Office or are just looking to refresh your skills for any job or the one you’re already in, you’re in the right spot. Our lessons give you a mix of textual content, video, interactives, and troubles to practice what get learned, so you can learn the basics and more of Access, Stand out, Outlook, PowerPoint, Publisher, and Word. You’ll also learn tips, tricks, shortcuts, and more to raised use these programs at work and life. Let’s get going!
Microsoft Office or are just looking to refresh your skills for any job or the one you’re already in, you’re in the right spot. Our lessons give you a mix of textual content, video, interactives, and troubles to practice what you might have learned, so you can learn the basics and more of Access, Exceed, Outlook, PowerPoint, Publisher, and Word. You’ll also learn tips, tricks, shortcuts, and more to raised use these programs during working hours and life. Let’s get going!
Microsoft Office or are just looking to refresh your skills for any job or the one you’re already in, you’re in the right spot. Our lessons give you a mix of textual content, video, interactives, and troubles to practice what get learned, so you can learn the basics and more of Access, Surpass, Outlook, PowerPoint, Publisher, and Word. You’ll also learn tips, tricks, shortcuts, and more to raised use these programs at work and life. Let’s start!
Cash and bank information should also be entered.
Small business accountants for bookkeeping in London.
Money and financial institution information must even be entered.
Money and financial institution records must even be entered.
Cash and bank information should also be entered.
Small enterprise accountants for bookkeeping in London.
Money and financial institution information must even be entered.
The double entry system uses nominal ledger accounts.
Bookkeeping is a truly a subset of accounting.