Interview with Richard Roberts (Digital Artist)

Author: Jacques van Heerden \ February 12, 2011 \ Interviews \ 2 Comments

You might have heard of Richard before, he is more commonly known around the web as either theotherstream or ROGUEART, well Richard is a 20 year old digital artist, that has a passion for what he does. He loves Jack Johnson and has more than 250+ Dvd’s in his collection, want to know more about Richard? Read on my friends. (In the interview we will be referring to Creativeoverflow as “C” and Richard as “R”)

C: Hi Richard, welcome to Creativeoverflow, could you please tell us a bit about yourself and also name at least two things that very few people know about you?

R: I’m Richard, and I’m twenty years old. I was born in the U.K, but am now living in the United States. My interests in digital art started about six years ago, and since have worked hard at improving my skills. Two years ago I started theotherstream, which is my company and online portfolio. Currently, I’m working hard on some new personal illustrations and have set some great goals for myself for the upcoming year, so keep an eye out for some fresh new illustrations. One thing that basically nobody knows about me is that I’m an avid tea drinker, bordering on obsession. Another would be that I am a huge film buff and treasure my 250+ DVD collection. I love finding inspiration from films to create art, and am often motivated after seeing a great film. Some of my favorites are V For Vendetta, Avatar, Black Swan, Fight Club, and District 9.

C: You produce some really unique and interesting digital art, has art always been a passion of yours since a young age?

R: I’m actually the opposite of the typical cliché of the “drawing since I could hold a pencil” type, and I was never really into art until I was about thirteen. I wrote stories and drew pictures, so I guess I have always had that creative streak, but I never thought growing up that I would be so heavily influenced by art and that it would someday be my profession. I’m definitely more of a visual learner and thinker. In my free time, I draw and sketch all the time, trying to catch up on all those lost years!

C: What is your preferred choice in music when you work, specifically genre related?

R: I swear by the “Jack Johnson Genre” created by my Pandora station. I’m always listening to chill-type music when I’m working on art, but I also love to listen to alternative rock, indie, and a bit of hip hop and jazz.

C: Do you have a set process when designing? Do you start out with some sketches or do you through yourself at a blank canvas quite often?

R: I usually just have an idea or thought in my head that I think would work, then I write it down along with other words that go along with it, which then leads to some sketching and so forth. I never really give myself a blank canvas to start with, because my mind is never a blank canvas. There’s always some sort of idea in there for a good piece. I believe that the best pieces are created after a lot of thought, ideas, planning and expansion are all put into/considered beforehand. Once I have my sketch, I look for some photo resources because my style is mixed-media (photo manipulation, digital painting) and from there I start manipulating and painting my piece. The process takes about a week to a month of work, but it depends on the piece, and especially depending on a deadline.

C: This could be a difficult question, but where do you see yourself in 5 years from now? Changing the world one illustration at a time?

R: I see myself still running theotherstream, with a grown client base and possibly having a partner in the company. I will definitely still be designing, hopefully more then than ever before. I really do support creating art for a cause, such as my DACS (Designers Against Child Slavery) piece. I can see myself doing more of that type of work, which in a very small way can in fact change the world.

C: What would your career of choice be if something were to happen and you lost all ability to be creative and create?

R: You mean other than the fact that I would be driven to insanity? I would love to be involved with/study politics, culinary arts, or maybe something to do with outer space which really interests me.

C: What is your most favorite piece of art that you have created in the past year? I know it’s hard to choose so 2 artworks will suffice as well.

R: Surprisingly, I can manage to pick one! My “Supernova” piece is my favorite, which I created over November-December 2010. One of the reasons why this piece is so special to me, because while listening to the song “Champagne Supernova” by Oasis, the image of my piece-to-be popped into my head, and thus was created. The finished product was almost identical to the image I first had, and I really had fun working on this piece especially.

C: Do you have work from home or have office space that you work from? Your thoughts?

R: I’m currently working from home. I’m planning on expanding into a bigger and nicer office space as soon as possible! One negative side of having your office in your home is that there are many distractions around and it is very hard to disconnect where you live from where you work. One positive thing would be that it’s convenient and there’s no immediate need to leave home when it’s -10 degrees Fahrenheit outside! I will never recommend traveling to Wisconsin in the winter for this reason.