"Resolution 2012" Q&A With Justin Rudy

Justin Rudy of Dynomight NYC has been doodling up a STORM in 2012 and has posted an entire album up on Facebook titled "Resolution 2012"! Of course I couldn't resist and put him in the interview chair for a quick round of Q&A = Onwards!


TOYSREVIL: What is this "Resolution 2012" about? A resolve to draw one sketch a day?

JUSTIN RUDY: You are correct, good sir! Resolution 2012 is a project dedicated to drawing daily sketches.

I don’t have that much time to sit around and create finished pieces at the moment. I wish I had the luxury of doing that. It’s just a bit impossible with the schedule I currently have. It basically came down to choice. Do I want to spend days obsessing over a finished piece of design? OR, do I want to take the time and put down as many thoughts as possible? I most certainly would rather concentrate on the concept.

The idea for Resolution 2012 came about last year while working at my day job.

I work in advertising. It’s repetitive, very mechanical and borderline soulless a great deal of the time. Creativity depends on how much budget a client has. At the end of the day it’s usually a bare minimum effort involving a lot of body copy and cleverly retouched stock photography. It’s not a very mind expanding experience. Prolonged exposure to this type of environment can very easily create a creative disconnect.


JUSTIN RUDY: Any illustrator out there knows the plight of not exercising the ol’ cranium. You need to do some kind of mental calisthenics to keep that part of your brain in shape. If you don’t, you start to develop creative atrophy. After awhile the symptoms begin to set into the hands. The fingers get lazy and they forget how to properly translate your thoughts. The inner eye develops cataracts. It’s very easy to fall out of practice. I know this from personal experience. It happened to me last year. It’s not cool. Resolution 2012 is the equivalent of taking my brain out for a jog or making it do push-ups. It helps keep everything in check.  



TOYSREVIL: Is it a troublesome task, or absolute joy?
 
JUSTIN RUDY: It’s a little bit of both, my friend. It's a bit of a task. After I get home I have about four hours of free time. I can only limit myself to an hour of sketching. I have to schedule these sessions into my day. Home. Dinner. Sketch. Bed. LOL! However, since I have made these sessions routine, I have discovered each piece has become less and less of a burden to create. I am getting back into the full swing of things, and it feels fantastic!

Now for the absolute joy of the experience…

The feedback has been overwhelming positive. WOW! I just want to take a moment to thank everyone out there who enjoys my concepts. I really enjoy creating them and I am really happy that I can share my creative experiences with all of you. Your feedback is greatly appreciated! :D  



TOYSREVIL: What do you create out of? Your past or thru thin air?

JUSTIN RUDY: The majority of the work that is produced is generally generated out of thin air. I have an exercise I practice that helps develop the process of thought.

Try drawing something without intent. Just draw. See where the lines takes you. Creating something from nothing is one of the most liberating experiences I can think of.

Bumrush, for example, sprouted up from a simple rectangle and a misplaced triangle. The Z0MZ developed out of squiggly lines while testing an old Sharpie. I was not intentionally looking for these characters consciously. The idea presented itself to me. I really encourage people out there to try this method of approach. See where the experience takes you. You might surprise yourself. :)

TOYSREVIL: I have a whole chunk of favorites in your album thus far, but I'll ask you this: WHICH DRAWING is your fave this far, at this point in time? And why? And can you tell us the story of that image? Sorry buddy, Ima gonna need you to pick one! LOL

JUSTIN RUDY: Andy, you should know by now that all of my pieces are like my children. I love each and every one of them equally. LOL! ;D

My current favorite piece would have to be the reflective robot. I love thinking about artificial intelligence. Is it really artificial if the machine displays independent thought? Can artificial intelligence be self-conscious about its own existence? Would it really be artificial? What exactly is existence to something artificial?

One scenario imagined is about a robotic overlord sitting in a quiet out-of-the-way lounge trying to detune from a very long day of assimilating. He’s a regular. He’s reflective. They know his usual. Absolute Octane. He often retreats to his usual booth and gets lost in his usual thoughts. Much “soul searching” is processed. He often thinks about how he ended up getting involved in the whole interplanetary conquering bit. Is it really worth it? All he ever wanted was the quiet suburban life. All he ever wanted to be was an architect. What happened? Where did it all go wrong?!

These are the types of things I like to think about while staring blankly at my computer screen during the workday. Let's not tell my supervisors about this. It will be our little secret…Just you, me and the entire internet. The internet can keep a secret, right?

TOYSREVIL: I'll keep your "secret" for ya, buddy! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA