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Interview with Dacosta!

2010-03-07 12:24
Dacosta is an independent artist currently based in Vancouver and is the founder of Chocolate Soop, Inc. He specializes in vector graphics and character design. This self-taught designer has over 10 years of professional experience. He 8217;s influenced by Japanese culture, graffiti and industrial design. He works in a variety of mediums from toys, concept designs, illustrations, character designs, animated projects and more. Dacosta has numerous playful and bold projects in his portfolio, like his character KidKat, a custom chocolaty, vinyl toy. You can learn more about his vector character design process in his tutorial How to Make the Vector Character Cactus King - Vector Plus Tutorial. In this interview, he talks about his creative growth since childhood, the importance of story in his character design, how he pushes new creative ideas into his work, and his sophisticated approach to developing both personal and client projects. Q Hello Dacosta sir, please tell us a bit about yourself, where you 8217;re from and how you got started in the creative industry How long have you been designing, illustrating, and making toys professionally What training did you get and is this a path you would recommend to others Hmm, well I 8217;ve been doing creative since I was a child. I grew up in eastern Canada - Mississauga, Ont in the 80 8217;s. At that time Japanese anime was all over the airwaves. Grandizer, Gatchaman, Spacekateers, Gai King, Astro Boy, Flintstones, the list keeps going. These shows were some of the constants in my life. I learned to draw by watching and copying and the way I draw and colour forms comes directly from anime. My training was through self-directed art programs in grade school and high school. While I 8217;ve been designing professionally for over 15 years, there was never a single moment where the light went on and I said, That would be a cool job. That would be like trying to figure out when I started breathing. I 8217;ve simply known no other option - although I 8217;m told that when I was seven I wanted to be a firefighter. Would I recommend this path to others Truthfully, if anyone that has any inner yearning to express themselves creatively, denying this expression would be a loss, so absolutely I would encourage anyone who has vision to share it with the world. Q What 8217;s the right mix for you between doing personal and client projects Does it vary, or do you fit your personal work in when you can My focus and goal is on the development of personal projects, but even with client projects, I 8217;ve always made efforts to attract work that I want to do because of the way I do them, so there 8217;s no hard line between these. I basically make everything my own. However, you always have personal needs and your creative goals, and finding the balance between these two, you need to decide at any given moment where your priorities lie. Doing a job that you don 8217;t like to get yourself out there, versus eating kraft...
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