You are an illustrator and graphic designer with a talent for creating fun, colorful characters with a lot of personality. Where does your style stem from? Where do you get your ideas for your characters?
I have always been heavily inspired by cartoons (Tom & Jerry, Dexter’s Lab, Avatar, Rick & Morty, etc.) and video games (Crash Bandicoot, Zelda, Donkey Kong, etc.). Being able to connect with characters and see yourself in them never gets old. I get ideas from everyday activities and people I meet, the secret is being able to capitalize on the idea as soon as possible to keep it fresh. The biggest tip I can give for having a surplus of ideas–pay attention and write down what stands out to you!
We see that you use our Pentalic Traveler Journals. As an illustrator and graphic designer how do you use them? What are the kind of things we could find in your Pentalic Traveler Journal if we decided to take a looksy? What kind of media do you use in the journals?
Yes! The Traveler Sketch is my all-time favorite notebook (and I’ve tried a lot!). Seriously. I use them for basically everything. From thumbnail sketches for logos, to research notes, daily planning, doodles, and personal dialogue. If you looked through mine you would find the purest form of who I am. My notebooks are more or less a catch-all for my life. I like to tape in inspiring illustrations from magazines and slap on cool stickers here and there too. As for media–I’m all about pens and markers. Pencils smudge too much and I like not being able to erase. There’s no reason to! Every drawing has something good in it, no matter how bad it looks.
Bend, Oregon is an amazing place for outdoor sports and activities. Do you utilize the outdoors in your creative process? Can you describe your creative process and what you do to get your creativity going?
Ohh yea! Bend is full of inspiration. Nature definitely serves as a catalyst to get my mind flowing. Just talking a walk works wonders. Like I mentioned earlier–I bring my notebook with me everywhere just in case inspiration strikes. From there, I take ideas that I’ve collected and start turning my favorites into drawings. Music, movies and physical activities are a great way for me to fill up on creativity. Like Jake Parker said “You need to fill up your creative bank account.”
What inspires and/or motivates you to draw?
The two biggest motivations to draw are: seeing my peers make awesome things and the insatiable need to express myself through art.
You are Youtuber as well, what kind of content do you share on your Youtube videos?
I have been slacking on the Youtube videos as of late (working on getting back to it). That being said, I really just want to share my discoveries through tips and tricks that I learn along the way. I also want to inspire others to utilize their creativity and unlock their potential by showing how it has helped me. The conduit to all this being me drawing with commentary.
What is your goal as an illustrator/designer?
My ultimate goal is to share positivity through my art. I would also like to become a successful children’s book illustrator and leverage my skills in whatever capacity possible–clothing design, murals, album art, character design, comics, etc.
As artists and humans we all have insecurities. What are some insecurities you face as an artist and how have you overcome them?
One of my biggest challenges is my confidence as an artist. The ability to bravely draw although I may not have all of the technical skills or knowledge. I get over it by continuing to draw. I think that is the secret. Just keep drawing. Even when I feel uninspired or down on myself I know that I’m only going to get better by drawing.
Follow Brendan on his Instagram @brendanloscar
