INK IV - Coming Soon

So our friends over at INK have been jumping up and down and getting very excited about INK IV. We're not really sure what INK IV is, but we're guessing its their new range which we've heard is due out some time in March. They have released a small INK IV ad which is above. Keep checking their site www.inkclothing.co.uk for more news.

Greg Abbott Interview!

With a client list boasting massive bands like All Time Low and awesome clothing companies like Glamour Kills and Pyknic clothing, there is no doubt that super talented artist Greg Abbott is much in demand. His unique style and creative designs have brought him much priase from art, music and fashion scenes a like. Having just finished some work with our friends at INK, we managed to catch up with Greg to find our what drives him professionally and creativly.

TFS - Hi Greg, thanks for doing this interview. Firstly tell us a bit about your self and what made you get into drawing and creating artwork, and what or who inspired you to first pick up a pencil and draw?

GA - Hello! Thank you for having me. I am a freelance illustrator and designer from England, I mostly work with clothing companies and bands to produce merchandise designs. I specialise in character design but am interested in working on any projects I can. I've been freelancing for about two years now but have been drawing since I could hold a pencil. I've always enjoyed drawing and creating characters but didn't realise that it was even possible to make a living from doing so until recently.

TFS - You’ve worked with some really cool clothing companies and bands, who have been you’re favourite to work with and who have challenged you the most?

GA - Pyknic, Babycakes and INK Clothing are a few of my favourite companies to work with that I have had the pleasure of doing so recently. Pyknic offer really good art direction and often make really good calls on subtle changes to a design. Babycakes and INK Clothing are both really fun and easy going to work with; both gave me quite a lot of creative freedom to produce fairly complex pieces. My favourite clients are the ones who have interesting ideas that they can explain well enough for me to understand exactly what they want. As for challenging, there is good challenging as in the clients who really push me to the best of my current abilities and then there is bad challenging, the clients who ask for too many revisions, drag out projects, are slow to respond and don't communicate a clear idea of what it is that they would like me to produce for them.

TFS - You’ve worked with some quite large companies like Glamour Kills and big bands like All Time Low, how did you build up such an awesome reputation which has lead you to gaining work with these people?

GA - When I started digitally illustrating I didn't have a portfolio, I wasn't that good and was just posting my work online to share my creations with people. The first time someone inquired about purchasing one of my designs I was very excited but didn't have a clue as to what to do, how much to charge or how to conduct myself in a professional manner. I found that being friendly, polite, clear and straight-forward worked well and have tried to continue to conduct myself in this manner since. I produce a lot of work in my spare time and in doing so have gradually become better over the last couple of years and also have become reasonably well known by some online communities for posting so much and for thanking anyone who is kind enough to leave me a complimentary comment on one of my pieces. I owe a lot to https://webmailcluster.1and1.co.uk/xml/deref?link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emptees.com which I joined when it was relatively new. All of my initial clients found me through there and most of my art-friends are from there also. I have found that my working process has been refined and has become a lot more efficient over time and think that being well organised and having a slightly obsessive compulsive mindset has helped me a great deal.

TFS - you’ve got a really unique style, with there being so many other artists out there, how did you grow a style that was unique and different from the rest?

GA - Initially, I knew I really wanted my own style but just couldn't seem to do anything that hadn't already been done or taken. All of the time that I was trying to uncover a unique style to claim as my own, it wasn't working. I eventually went back to just drawing without putting much thought into the style of the pieces and ended up creating my own style through trying out different things and learning different methods and techniques; by drawing things how I liked them to look, I arrived at the style I now call my own. For a while, although I had a recognisable style, my work varied a lot between piece to piece; I would like to think that there is now quite a lot of consistency between my regular pieces. A large contributing factor to my current style is the colour-schemes, I didn't used to put much effort into colour selection and didn't really consider it as being a large factor in the process of designing a piece but have recently discovered how much of a difference a good colour-way can make and how it can change the overall feel of a piece. I'm always trying out new things, trying to be better and to improve my own style but am very pleased with the direction I seem to be going in.

TFS - do you take influence from other current or past artists?

GA - I think I am influenced by everything. I'm not always conscious that my brain has stored something but often find myself applying a new technique or a doing something in different way to how I regularly would. I rarely try to do something like someone else, most of my style evolved from trying not to do certain things like other people but think that I observe certain qualities from art and artists that I like and then try to isolate and recreate that quality in a separate instance.

TFS - Have you got any exciting projects on just now or coming up that you can talk about?

GA - I have a vinyl toy currently in development coming out soon with Pyknic. On my list of things I want to achieve, having a vinyl toy was right at the top so I'm really excited about the project and can't wait to see how it turns out.

TFS - What advice would you give to anyone wanting to start out as an artist?

GA - Practise.
Manners.
Listen.
Acknowledge.

TFS - Finally what music are you listening to right now and what music should we be looking out for this year?

GA - For a long time I've had a lot of new music to wade through. In trying to make sure that I wasn't missing out on anything new, I ended up neglecting my existing collection. Right now I'm listening to less recent releases from: The Shins, The Cribs, Elliott Smith, The Subways and The Offspring.

Thanks Greg, check out his website at http://cargocollective.com/gregabbott

Tom Leishman Interview!

Born and raised in Cannock, Stafford and now working out of London, Tom Leishman is an exceptionally talented young photographer who is now receiving the attention and work load he deserves. Having worked hard for years, mostly with in the music scene, making up and coming bands look cool, hes now finding his time being spent working with massive acts like The Saturdays and Mcfly. We caught up with Tom to see whats been happening and find out what 2010 has in store for him.

TFS - Hi Tom, thanks for doing this. Tell us a bit about your self and how you got into photography and what inspired you to first pick up a camera

TL - Hey! I’m Tom Leishman; I’m a 23-year-old photographer! I started photography when I was 19 I’ve been doing this for about 4 years now. I never did enjoy school I felt I’d never be able to achieve anything with myself once we’d finished, I had bad experiences at school... I never had the stomach for the educational system... So when I left school feeling lost in a dead end job with a huge chip on my shoulder at 19 I only had music and art that I felt any passion for... So it just naturally happen when my cousins where in a popular local rock band and I had just bought a new camera from a police auction website! Haha but I never imagined It would have taken me on this journey!

TFS - you’ve done a lot of work with in the music scene, working with different bands and artists, tell us about your first photo shoot

TL - My first ever photo shoot was with my cousins pop-punk band "NeverSayDie" I only had a camera and a tripod! I believe my weapon of choice was a Canon 350D. It was at a fancy dress party and the guys where all dressed as zombies, we did it in a graveyard, oh dear oh dear! My first shoot with my own lighting equipment was with a Alternative/Metal band from Essex called "Last Nights Recital" I told them I’d just got the lighting so they had to be patient with me... I think the shoot went on for hours! Haha. Nightmare we got there eventually in the end!

TFS - who’s been you favourite band/artist to work with

TL - Any band that isn’t afraid to challenge me like Random Conflict or Heights! Random Conflict let me bury them alive in my back garden! Haha... Heights let me drown them in the middle of winter in a swimming pool! I do love a challenge but I love accomplishing them more!

TFS - do you have any favourite photographers who you take influence from or tried to learn from?

TL - I draw influences from many photographers just to name a few of them Chris Strong, David Lachapelle, Dave Hill, Joey Lawrence, Jill Greenburg and Tim Walker... I spent a lot of time studying and trying to understand their lighting and techniques, these photographers are always inspiring me to push myself, but I think that my biggest influences don’t just come from photography they come from every day-to-day things such as the smallest sounds you hear to the feelings you get when listing to your favourite songs.

TFS - have you got any exciting projects coming up this year?

TL - Yes! I have more work coming up with The Saturdays and Mcfly, which I’m really excited about! It’s only early days of 2010 and it’s already looking bright! I love taking photos of the girls they’re so pretty its hard not to get a good photo of them! Plus they’re really easy to get along with! But who knows what this year holds for me, only more good news I hope!!

TFS - you’ve managed to build up a really excellent portfolio of clinets, like The Saturdays, New Found Glory and Enter Shikari. How did you go about building your name and reputation?

TL - Thank you! Back in the day when Myspace was an addiction rather than just a social networking website, promoting yourself on that was a really useful tool if you knew how to. I used that to network with bands, promoters, models and photo-lovers all around the world (This is how I met Dave from INK). It doesn’t cost that much money for business cards or postcards... So at every rock show I went to I used to whore myself out to the crowd, letting everyone know what I was about, because if you don’t tell everyone no ones going to do it for you!

TFS - have you any advice for any new photographers who are looking to build up their reputation?

TL - Just network, talk to as many people as possible, make friends with people from all walks of life and always give out a business card! If you want it bad enough and you’re serious about what you want to do, anything is possible. Keep positive and photograph everything! Learn from your mistakes and remember what worked! Assisting is a good way to pick up things and learn, I’m always looking for assistants on jobs as are many other photographers; So get in touch.

TFS - finally what music are you listening to right now and what acts do you think we should watch out for in 2010?

TL - I’m a music obsessive so this is an amazing question for me! I love all sorts of music genres! But I’d keep my eyes and ears open for Alain Clark, this guy from the Netherlands who’s bringing back soul the way its meant to sound! Bad Rabbits who are doing this Gym Class Heroes meets Prince thing, its awesome! Sharks from the UK they’re doing this Clash meets The Gallows mix up which is just incredible, really nice guys to! The Heyday, Parachute and Brighten are all amazing pop rock bands, if you’ve not heard these then you’re missing out! Finally this man Sam Little... Believe me... Little might be his second name, but his voice is BIG! Thanks for talking to me TFS!