Ben Jones Interview

Recently I posted about illustrator Ben Jones, and even more recently I emailed him with some questions to which he very kindly replied with some great comments and advice. A huge thank you to Ben for taking the time to share his thoughts!

Here are his comments:

What are the main influences to your work at the moment, both personal and commissioned?

My main influences are Mythology and fairy tales it is the main drive in my personal work. When it comes to commissions its very hard to convey your interests and influences as art directors normally have something in mind before hand. I also love Polish illustration which I am sure you have seen many many times! Oh and also print is a very important influence of mine.

How important do you find “networking” with other people in the industry to be?

In a word, very! Its important when getting commissions to build a relationship with art directors and to do a good, professional job. I still talk to a few people that have commissioned me in the past.

How much do you concentrate on self promotion and have you ever gained a commission from an unexpected or untraditional source?

I have been shit with self promotion over the last year or so. It is the most important thing to do baaaaaaaaa!!!! have no more than 100 places you would like to work for and send emails 3 times a year telling them what your up to and a link to a simple website with no more than 30 images. Also it is a good idea to send out cards a few times a year just don't pester people is the main thing. check out this. I did get a unexpected commission from TFL when showing work at an AOI show I would just say get involved with cool things. But don't do commissions for free from big publications its killing the industry.

Do you think there has been a shift back to hand made imagery and print techniques due to the abundance of digital imagery being produced?

Hand made has always been around even when digital was the be all and end all check out Jeff fisher and Paul Davis. I think there has been a change in astetics there are great illustrators using photoshop to create work that looks like its been done by hand like Stuart Kolakovic. for me it is because I get board on photoshop and like to make allot of mess.

How do you find working to strict deadlines using more time-consuming methods such as printmaking?

I never really spend more than a day or 2 on a peace of work so its fine for me. Once you finnish Uni you start to make work quicker and quicker. When I was a Stockport the idea of having a day to do an illustration was shit scary.

Again a massive thank you to Ben for spending his time answering the questions and supplying some great advice, it is VERY much appreciated!

Check out his work here:

http://illustrationbenjones.blogspot.com/