Ten minutes with: SD Graphics

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Where do you find inspiration?

For me, inspiration comes from multiple sources. I have always loved to create even since I was a kid at 5 years old sketching cars from the Gen 4 NASCAR era. Something about speed, adrenaline, being on the verge of losing control, yet being under control has always astounded me. I love to see improvement in my craft overtime and I can also use it as a source of income hopefully leading to my major goals I want to complete. I always strive to be better on a daily and my competitive nature also keeps me going especially when I see good concepts/content being posted. It’s a mixture of passion, creativity, a dream, competition, and community that inspires me.

Tell me about the projects you’re most proud of and why.

This question can be a little hard to answer as the projects are always changing and improving. I am currently working on a project that if all goes well, I will be very proud of but unfortunately, I have to keep that under wraps until a later date. I however am proud of all the projects I create no matter how big or small as they all take time and effort and I learn something new every time.

What software do you use and why?

For software I use the Adobe Creative Cloud and Blender to make a well-rounded composition for a rendering, livery design, etc. Blender is a MASSIVLY underrated program that is accessible to everyone and Photoshop/Illustrator is the best software in the industry when it comes to logo, brand, and livery creation.

Have you studied design or self taught?

This is a great question. The answer is both. A HUGE misconception people make is that they go to college to be a graphic designer, that is not true. At college you learn the basic tools needed and learn how to layout text, graphics, etc but the real learning comes when you are alone. Experience is the best teacher and critique will iron out the rough edges in your work. Especially in a field where the competition is high, a college degree will only take you so far. I know plenty of students that do well in their courses just to not be a great designer outside of them/not as successful. Reality hits whenever you start searching for jobs and no one is interested in your work as contrast to in school where work is needed and expected from you. Long story short, if you’re serious about it and you want to make it work, you will be willing to put in the time on your own and learn things that professors can’t teach you. It makes you stand out from the rest and you can elevate yourself to greater heights!

What’s your dream job?

My dream job is to work in a sports industry preferably motorsports. Being a creative director is the ultimate goal in mind as I’ve always felt I have good leadership characteristics and I get work done on time with quality. I want to work in a healthy community with various designers and learn and listen to what they have to say and how they do things. I even prefer to be in a community where I am not the best as it pushes me to be better and meet that standard instead of be stagnant and content with my current work. I want my job to constantly keep me on my feet learning and engaging as I work on my craft and improve as a person as well.

If you could design a livery for any team or driver, who would it be and why?

I feel this may be a little biased but it would have to be for Trackhouse Racing Team. I am a massive fan of the creativity that is allowed at the team design wise and the personality of the entire team cannot be matched by any other. Working with a good friend of mine Kyle Sykes on a project would be absolutely amazing as his work is genuinely second to none and his experience is something to definitely take note of. Justin Marks and Ty Norris are awesome owners and the fact that Trackhouse has bought CGR for next season makes it a 10/10 race team you need to design for.

What is the most challenging livery you have ever designed?

For this question I feel there is a different challenge on every individual livery. A few of my designs take days as other times it just comes naturally and I can make something up in an afternoon. I’m sure at one point a certain livery will be extremely challenging but up to this point there hasn’t been a specific one to stand out in difficulty.

What do you think makes a good livery design?

A good livery consists of good colour contrast, space, flowing theme, creativity, colour pallet, and a few other things. When a livery works well around a sponsor and gives it the space it needs, the livery is very easy on the eye and satisfies the viewer/sponsor. Having the design theme be the same along the entire car as well is very important as it ties the whole design together and makes it consistent.

How do you make your designs stand out from the rest?

To stand out from the rest you have to do different things from the rest. Too many designers follow other rendering scenes, styles, looks, and it ruins the chance of them standing out and being unique. My way of standing out is knowing my own style and sticking to it. I love rendering track images and my designs have their own feel to them when compared to others. I try to find things that aren’t being used in the design community and involve that in my own personal work and eventually people start to follow. However, when this happens it’s time to change it up and move on as the community will begin to be flooded with similar layouts and that makes your chances of being noticed much lower. Innovate old ideas or search under different communities outside of your field and take inspiration. New styles, ideas, and layouts will emerge and make you stand out from the rest!

Lastly, for those starting out. What advice would you give?

Do NOT worry about your followers, likes, reshares, saves, that will be the END of you. Too many people get caught up with the dream of having thousands of followers and likes and that is just the materialistic side of social media and it doesn’t always tell the story. All your focus needs to go towards your work and improving and if you do that everything else will follow. I would rather prefer to be a designer with 1,000 followers and be the best on the platform with race teams flying in left and right rather than be up to 10K making fans and people love me but not be a big deal in the real industry. Focus on improving your craft and do it not just out of a hustle or the grind but LOVE doing it simply out of passion. The only competition that is truly out there at the end of the day is yourself from yesterday. If you can be better than what you were yesterday, at one point your work will only be fantastic as you continue to outdo yourself on a daily basis. For everyone new starting out as well, don’t be afraid to DM people and make connections as networking is the name of the game. Best of luck!