It’s been a while since our last interview, however this one should make up for it! This week we’ve got Graphicriver’s very own Indieground – and incredible designer, highly respected within the Envato community.
Indieground, or Roberto, has an incredible collection of Indie / Rock flyers and posters – many of which were featured in our Top 100 Flyer Templates for 2011 post.
Q: Tell us a little bit about yourself. Where in the world are you and what do you do?
My name is Roberto and I’m 23 years old. I live in Vicenza, a small city in the north-east of Italy. Since I’ve finished high school I started doing some random jobs and in my free time I’ve started learning photoshop and illustrator, so my passion for graphic design started to grow day by day.. and finally came july 2010, when I found a site called Graphicriver and I thought that I could make some graphics just for fun and why not, make a few money! I could never imagine it would become a real business for me.. and so at the moment is my full-time job and I wish that I can continue on this way and even expand my horizon.
Q: Describe your design style and what attracts you to producing this type of artwork?
I love vintage, retro and grunge style designs. And also typography a lot. So I orient my style around these ones. As a Graphicriver author, when I design a new poster I don’t think to the word “SELL”, I always try to do something different from the crowd, something that can be “lasting” on the marketplace.
Q: Can you show us and explain your workspace? (please attach a photo?)
This is my work space! a small room with all the necessary for me.. of course I’ve cleaned the desk before taking the photo because usually is full of stuff since I’m a bit messy. Even if I recently bought a Macbook pro, until now I always worked on an Hp-Pavilion with Windows 7 and I can not complain anything about it! I also work with a Wacom Bamboo tablet. Here is where I made all my works and where I spend most of the day and often have my breakfast :-)
Q: What methods and websites do you use to promote your artwork and attract new clients?
I started posting my works on Deviantart or Flickr. I also use Twitter and recently I’ve created a Facebook page and I’ll start to renew my Behance account.
Q: What preparations do you take before starting a new project and how do you overcome creative block?
I don’t have a specific method, It depends from project to project. When an idea pops in my head I make a quick draft and then I immediately open Photoshop and start designing. Very simple. Fortunately it doesn’t happen very often, but when a creative block overcomes, I put the project in stand-by and just do something else. When I was a newbie I used to continue trying to find a solution, or forcing an idea to come out and getting very nervous.. it was just a waste of time! But now I just.. take a break, sometimes it’s sufficient the time of smoking a cigarette but sometimes it could take even a few hours or more, so I just do something that can give me inspiration and relax me at the same time, like listen to music, watch a movie or read a magazine! Sooner or later an idea comes out..
Q: Many designers use other people’s artwork to inspire themselves, where do you get your inspiration? Do you have any favourite artists?
I usually take a tour on Behance, Flickr or Deviantart to find something that inspires me.. and also I follow a few graphic design blogs. But except this, most of the inspiration I receive it from music. It has a big influence on my designs. I really like the work of James White (signalnoise.com) and I love the various prints of Aesthetic Apparatus (aestheticapparatus.com).
I also find amazing the motion graphics works of Plenty (plenty.tv).
Q: Can you offer any tips to help upcoming designers, especially those who’re designing for print?
I just want to say some banal but very true words.. Never stop practice and never give up! And try to define your own style.. The rest is up to you!
Q: What are your personal favourite pieces of art from your Portfolio?
My favorite is always the latest one :-) but maybe the most important rather than favorite for me is Indie Vol.1 because it was my first top selling item and represented a turning point for me.
Q: What do you do in your spare time, apart from Designing? (any Hobbies?)
I’m a huge music lover and I collect Cds and Vinyl records of my favorite artists. I’ve also been to a lot of concerts in the last years. I don’t miss a match of AC Milan and I also love to watch movies or tv series. The rest of the time I hang out with my girlfriend and my friends.
I’m a quite normal person :-)
Q: Where can we connect with you online?
Email: theindieground [at] gmail.com
Graphicriver Profile: Graphicriver Profile
Twitter: twitter.com/theindieground
Facebook: facebook.com/indieground
and soon on www.indieground.it
Well, thank you for taking the time to complete this interview Roberto!
Hi guys, must admit, I purchase and gather freebie psd’s, but for me it is a quick way of learning layers, filters an masks,m how to incorporate them. Not sure whether I get into naughties here, but I take the guts an put my artwork/designs to them. For me you guys help me learn tech much quicker than reading scripts or looking at vids as I can only learn by hands on.
You do good guys, many thanks, Brian
Thanks Brian, you’re fine to download and use our freebies – glad to hear they’re helping you!
Help us out back and share the blog and it’s posts :) Maybe give a few links back on your own sites :)
inspiring. thanks for the interview. he’s one of my favourote author on envato.