Thursday, April 19, 2007

Guy Francis -- Illustrator



And lord of the dance...

Now I met this "Guy" for the first time before I went on vacation. I will freely admit that I was kinda sad I hadnt captured the moment on film ( digitally that is )and have been a fan boy of his for some time. The rockin news, he went to lunch with me today at my request. What a "Guy"!! ( I will stop doin that with the quotations now. )

Hes the kinda person that you feel like you've known your whole life and its a pleasure to have finally gotten to meet him. His designs are flawless and spectacular to look at. A true inspiration. I know that I will continue to bother him constantly and see how much magic he will disclose to me. Mr Francis is a person that you should meet if you get the chance. He's flat out royalty. Visit his blog, you will definately be happy you did.

"Most of the work I do is in the children’s market, so I try to think on a child’s level. My wife says I spend a lot of time there.

My clients usually give me an idea of what they want. They give me a concept, a description, or a manuscript. That starts the juices flowing. I think of the overall story, the environment, the mood and the setting. It all seems to play a part in the early design stages. I also try to think of the attitude and personality of the character I’m working on. I try to put myself in his mind and think like he does. This helps me think of the character’s shape, size, postures, and emotions. Sometimes my sketching is very deliberate—I know what I want when I start—and sometimes I just start drawing and the character emerges from the pencil spontaneously. I have a hard time doing anything very serious. Most of my stuff is lighthearted kind of goofy. I like it when my character interacts with the viewer."


His Blog: http://kactiguy.blogspot.com/

5 comments:

Kactiguy said...

Geeez man, "Lord of the Dance" WAS my secret identity! Now what the heck am I supposed to do?

Thanks for the kind words. You are the man. Can't wait for the next lunch.

Jörn said...

wow ... i'm ... i'm ... speechless. You are not only a good illustrator but a good writer! (as fas as i could assess with my limited english skills - i need time to read it all ... and it's much!)
Think, you concept works. Very interesting. Hope you will find more artists for interviewing.

Ken Chandler said...

This is a great idea Mel. It's good to know who the artists in my neighborhood are. Thanks to you, I'll be able to catch up with who's who.

Guy is a great man, and a terrific talent in the children's book market. I hope to follow in his footsteps someday. Again, great blog Mel!

Jason said...

Great interview. Guy's the man. I love his stuff and think it's awesome that you got a 'lil blurb from him. Keep it up Mel!

DINTOONS said...

truly inspiring!
thanx for sharing your creative process, and letting us take a peek into your wonderfully talented mind and heart!!