Seb Godfrey from Drunk Park

Drunk Park is now the solo alias for Illustrator & Graphic Designer, Seb Godfrey. Since relocating to London in 2006, his ever expanding client base for the Drunk Park studio is growing. With his distinct illustration and style carving out a niche in today’s music & fashion scene, Seb has gone on to have his artwork featured internationally in numerous magazines, books & exhibitions.

What have you been up to lately?
A good mate of mine Joe Hamilton & I just finished an animated music video for producer/DJ Mike Monday.  It’s for a track called “Catnip”, and is taken from his new album, “Songs Without Words: Pt.1″ just released on Om Records (San Francisco) this month.  You can see the full 3:30min clip at www.drunkpark.com.

I’ve also been working on artwork for a few other record labels & music collectives.  Including: Mutual Society Records in London; Bodytonic in Dublin; Greenskeepers in Chicago & Tippermusic in the US.

Apart from that, I’ve been doing plenty of sketching, filling up the ol’ black books… just getting a bit of practice in before my first round of ‘Secret Wars’ in London on the 18th October.  Secret Wars is an Illustration battle between 16 artists, held at a bar called Juno on Shoreditch High St. (East London).  There are 2 contestants on the night, we both get 90mins each to do a black & white piece on a wall which is then judged by the loudest crowd cheer & 2 independent judges.  Should be a fun night!
http://www.secretwars.co.uk
http://www.myspace.com/thesecretwars.com

How would you describe your own work?
Playful & colourful first & foremost.  I guess humour plays a big part.  I try to keep a pretty jolly vibe through most of the work, but with an underlying seediness to some of the characters.

Mike Monday: Album / single artwork & branding (12" vinyl & CD)

How did you first get into designing?
I was always sketching as a kid.  I’d get asked to draw Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for classmates in grade 4 & I guess it started from there.  I knew I wanted to get into design when I was in grade 7 after I did a small after-school course on the basics.  I then went to Uni in 2000 with my good mates Rob Cordiner & Joe Hamilton.  While at Uni I was earning a bit of beer money DJing at a club in Hobart called Syrup.  Syrup was after a new designer for all their club flyers, so after pitching for that (actually my first ever pitch!) & scoring the job, I started doing all sorts of music related work stemming from the headline DJs who’d do gigs there.

How do you start with a new design, what is your process?
I always start with pencil on paper first.  Thats a must.  I went through a stage a couple of years ago where I’d just dive straight into the computer, right from the get-go, then find myself floundering about fontbook for ideas or getting sidetracked online.

After sketching a few ideas out, whatever the job may be… I’ll usually scan in the roughs to Illustrator then develop it further from there.  If it’s a music related job (eg. a record cover, or event artwork), I’ll always listen to that specific producer/DJ/musicians’ music while going through the brainstorming process.  I definitely find the strongest visual ideas come from listening to the relevant music.

Syrup: Bar & Nightclub. Art Direction & Design (2004-2008)

Art Direction & Design for London based Mutual Society Records.

You are currently living in London. What made you decide to relocate and how do you find the city?
My girlfriend & I were both ready for a change of scenery, so we moved over.  That was almost 3 years ago!  I didn’t plan on staying this long, but hey, it’s been fun.  I thought it’d be a better place for me to expand the client base with more open minded clients, giving me a chance to find work that I’m actually passionate about & chase up more illustration work. But yeah, I love London, never a dull moment.  Definitely a great place to network & meet like minded people.

Where do you find inspiration?
Influences are everywhere, but I’d have to say it all started with after-school cartoons & animation.  Shows like ‘Trapdoor’, ‘Inspector Gadget’ & ‘Danger Mouse’ were definitely a huge influence with character development & the use bold bright colours.  These days I find myself gathering influences from real people.  Walking the city streets is a great way to gathering character inspiration.  London is full quirks.

What advice would you have to younger designers entering the industry?
Always keep a sketchbook.  It’s definitely the best way to hone your skills & just generally vent all your ideas.

Links:
www.drunkpark.com