Our second "Illustrator Spotlight" installment comes from the Mudpuppy side of Galison/Mudpuppy!
You can get to know him a little just by looking at his illustrations, but you may be surprised to learn a few things.....like he lived in Paris, France; twice!
Brian answered a few questions for us about his life and working with Mudpuppy; we hope you enjoy it as much as we did!
Did you always want to be an artist/illustrator?
Oh certainly. I never realized that an illustrator is what one could be as far as a job goes, so I had other intentions at times. For a while I thought I’d be an NFL quarterback. Much later I wanted to work as a designer and art director. I actually did that for a while until I finally realized that, really, all I want to do is draw pictures and tell stories.
What was the process of creating for Galison/Mudpuppy like?
I surround myself with candy bars and ice cream, first. Then I close my eyes as I eat candy bars and ice cream until I get a good idea. At that point I draw this idea in pencil and hope that the people at Galison/Mudpuppy like it. It’s important that they like it because I can only eat so much candy and ice cream. If the idea is approved, I then re-draw the idea but this time with ink; and then I add color using the computer. I could do all this without the candy bars and ice cream, but why?
What did you create for Galison/Mudpuppy?
I have made several puzzles featuring cars and trucks, dinosaurs, astronauts and aliens, and kids playing sports, as well as a journal with a monster on the cover.
Something else you might want to add?
Just a note about how much I love making these puzzles for Mudpuppy. It’s also worth
mentioning that the Air, Land, and Sea puzzle I made several years ago was a biginspiration in creating the series of books I’m currently working on called Everything Goes, which is all about various forms of transportation, much like that puzzle. There are three books in the Everything Goes series: On Land, In the Air, and By Sea.
Do you have a favorite memory?
I’m not certain if it’s my favorite, but…..
When I was ten years old, we were planning to drive from our house in Little Rock to my grandmother’s in Fayetteville, Arkansas. This is a trip we often made, and my siblings and I were quite familiar with the route. About three hours into it, my sister spoke up that we were nearing the Mississippi River, and we weren’t supposed to be nearing the Mississippi River, since it was on the other side of the state from where my grandmother’s house was. My mom and step-dad asked us to try to guess where we were going. My sister and brother were into the game, guessing the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Atlanta, and probably other weird stuff. Eventually someone guessed Disneyworld, at which point mom gave us each a Mickey Mouse hat with our names on them. It was around then that everyone noticed that I wasn’t guessing destinations nor was I interested in wearing a hat. Instead, I was beside myself, crying that we weren’t going to Grandma’s house and how were we possibly going to have Christmas? All our gifts were there!
Of course, in the end, I had a fantastic time and learned that it is entirely possible to have Christmas in Florida. Plus, that trip really got me into Disney, which is probably partly responsible for what I currently do.
What is a favorite place you have traveled to?
I lived in Paris France twice, for almost a year each time. I love Paris. It is such a fun, creative city.
Is there something people would be surprised to learn about you?
I had a pretty distinct southern accent until I moved to New York City in college. Arkansas and Texas, you know. It’s a long story, but it was because of Al Pacino that I got rid of it.
For more information about Brian and his illustrations you can follow him on: mrbiggs.com, Facebook, Twitter and FlickR.
We hope you enjoy this video of Brian putting together his Crossroads 42 Piece Puzzle he did for us.
~Shannon
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