Interview with Designer Guillaume Kurkdjian
I recently posted about Guillaume’s work after just assuming the guy was just too crazy busy for me. But surprisingly, he contacted me and agreed to a quick interview. Guillaume Kurkdjian is an amazing illustrator and animator that I just can’t get enough of. I first saw him on Dribbble and Behance and I really can’t get enough of his fantastically clean illustrations, gifs and animations. Just for a bit of context, here are a few of the drawings I posted the other day to help you get even a better feeling for Guillaume’s gorgeously huggable work:
And here is a video that he only just released this past week:
Come on!? That is brilliant stuff. So very polished and perfectly clean. Can’t wipe the stupid grin off my face.
Makes me want to take a stab at it – 3D animation that is. Looks so fun. But I’m sure that Guillaume pours hundreds and hundreds of hours into these miniature pieces of perfection. Just amazing.
THinc. – Where would you say that your signature style come from? Are there artists or influences that stick out in your mind?
Guillaume – Hm I don’t know this is a mix of a lot of things. Comics, movies, books, illustrations, paintings, street art and also huge quantity of artists on the internet.
THinc. – Yeah, you can definitely see the influence of the comics and illustrations bubbling up from your amazing little designs. You work with some of the biggest brands in the world, what was your big break? Or how do you think you came to the attention of these brands?
Guillaume – I came to the attention of these brands mostly because little by little I began to accumulate a lot of views on creative networks websites like behance or dribbble. And because this is where the creatives in the ad agencies that work with the big brands go to find the style they are looking for.
THinc. – What tools do you use to make your signature animations?
Guillaume – For my 2D works (like my project ‘Bisous les Copains’ for example) I use illustrator, after effects and photoshop. For the 3D (like my last animation ‘Simple Day’) I use C4D.
THinc. – How would you encourage young artists who haven’t been discovered yet to continue?
Guillaume – Ho that’s simple! Create projects, all the time, do stuff, a lot. At some point if you have a little style and that your work is homogeneous, you could be noticed.
Someday, I don’t really know why, someone from Tumblr featured my work and this launched everything I think. But before that, I created a lot and a lot of different projects which never worked.
THinc. – Can you point us to one of your current favorite pieces of yours, and tell us a little about it?
Guillaume – I like the projects I’m working on with my clients but for the moment I prefer the freedom I have on my personal creations.
So, I’ll choose my last animation ‘Simple Day’ which is a 3D isometric animation taking place in a quiet neighborhood. I like it because it’s a mix of several things I love to do : houses, little pieces of environment, cars obviously but also because this is the first time I really animated characters. These are quite simple geometric characters but this is another step for me :)