Today we’d like to introduce you to Kevin Craft.
Kevin, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
My artist origin story starts out with me loving art, and not really discovering my true potential with it until I learned to do it digitally. Sure, I loved to draw and paint, but there was something about doing it on a screen and having the options to change things however I wanted (colors, orientation etc.) that really interested me. I taught myself Photoshop in high school. and was accepted into the graphic design program at UNT. Shortly thereafter my professors told me to change my major. I stuck with it and ended up using that same portfolio to get a scholarship at the Savannah College of Art and Design, which taught me a lot of what I know about illustration and typography today.
Once I graduated, my first real job was freelancing for a rapper trading card company; I couldn’t believe it myself. From there on I did web design for the fashion retailer, Bergdorf Goodman and fell in love with art direction. Eventually I became an Art Director at my current agency, Stripes. I do a lot of my illustrations at home through freelance and personal projects.
We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
I love the mathematical side of design. I like being able to take a shape or angle and apply it to all parts of my work, it makes it feel completely cohesive. I also love grids! A lot of what I do can be dissected into triangles or squares. For process, I typically draw something out on graph paper, an illustration or logo, then build it in Illustrator, and apply textures after. I was greatly inspired by midcentury modern illustrators / designers like Alvin Lustig, and Saul Bass. I love the way they use flat design in an impactful way and try to incorporate that style into my own branding / illustration work.
What do you know now that you wished you had learned earlier?
I think the biggest thing I’ve learned as an Art Director is do the project you’ve always wanted to do on your own time. Don’t wait around for it to come to you. If you do work that you are passionate about, put it out there, others will take notice, and it is more likely to lead to that project. There’s really nothing to lose!
Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
You can find my projects on my website:
http://kevincraft.co/
Or see more recent work on my Dribbble
https://dribbble.com/kevVader
Or just follow me on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/kevincraftco/
Contact Info:
- Website: http://kevincraft.co/
- Email: kevincraftco@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kevincraftco/
Image Credit:
All work done by Kevin Craft
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