I e-mailed Benjamin Lande with afew questions and heres what he had to say... and another thing, want that whitechappel t shirt, going to see them live at the end of this month.
How did you go about starting your career after you BFA in illustration?
I did work for free for a few years while working various part time jobs. Once I had a decent portfolio I began charging bands for artwork until it became a full time job.
Is there any illustrators you are particularly interested or influenced by? Who is you favourite?
80's skateboard artists like Pushead and Jim Phillips really paved the way for crude, bright, obnoxious artwork I am interested in. Right now I am really into Alex Pardee's work. I read that you are interested in horror movies, old skateboards, 80's action figures.
What other influences do you have?
I've studied an insane amount of art history, so the classical influence is always going to be there. The darker and weirder stuff is definitely the dominate influence and inspiration though.
You've produced work for a lot of bands, how did you get into that?
I've always been obsessed with punk and metal music and the interesting artwork involved. Naturally I began to do it for fun and after years of building contacts it became a full time job. The internet and myspace have spawned thousands of bands and made the world a smaller place so I owe a lot of credit to that too.
The characters used in some of your work are very unique, how do you come up with them?
A lot of times I will just start with a nose or an eye. I also like mixing different parts of animals that I find interesting. I dont do a lot of sketching. I like to jump right in and see where the piece goes.
And finally Do you have any advice to give to me for when I graduate?
Figure out what the perfect outlet for your work is. It may take years to get off the ground, but if you network and do something unique with your art people will notice.
I did work for free for a few years while working various part time jobs. Once I had a decent portfolio I began charging bands for artwork until it became a full time job.
Is there any illustrators you are particularly interested or influenced by? Who is you favourite?
80's skateboard artists like Pushead and Jim Phillips really paved the way for crude, bright, obnoxious artwork I am interested in. Right now I am really into Alex Pardee's work. I read that you are interested in horror movies, old skateboards, 80's action figures.
What other influences do you have?
I've studied an insane amount of art history, so the classical influence is always going to be there. The darker and weirder stuff is definitely the dominate influence and inspiration though.
You've produced work for a lot of bands, how did you get into that?
I've always been obsessed with punk and metal music and the interesting artwork involved. Naturally I began to do it for fun and after years of building contacts it became a full time job. The internet and myspace have spawned thousands of bands and made the world a smaller place so I owe a lot of credit to that too.
The characters used in some of your work are very unique, how do you come up with them?
A lot of times I will just start with a nose or an eye. I also like mixing different parts of animals that I find interesting. I dont do a lot of sketching. I like to jump right in and see where the piece goes.
And finally Do you have any advice to give to me for when I graduate?
Figure out what the perfect outlet for your work is. It may take years to get off the ground, but if you network and do something unique with your art people will notice.
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