Featured Artist: StrangethingsA

American artist, StrangethingsA, recently joined us in L.A. to create an awesome Redbubble video and also joined us in the #RBPetMonsters challenge by submitting this adorable mummy puppy.

StrangethingsA’s illustrations combine bold colors and bizarre concepts resulting in some cute and creepy art.

Read on to find out more about what inspires StrangethingsA and to gain some insightful tips on creating a successful career dedicated to what we all love… art!

Where is home?
Boston, MA

What is your weapon of choice?

Pens and the pen tool. Adobe Illustrator is my jam.

Please describe your work in 7 words or less

Colorful, detailed, weird, and sometimes eerie

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given as an artist?

DON’T GIVE UP ON PROJECTS. See everything through to the end even if you think it sucks.

Please share the story behind your favorite artwork on Redbubble.

I like the Triceraboss because it’s just a simple concept that is pretty ridiculous. I guess I have a thing for putting sunglasses on stuff that shouldn’t be wearing sunglasses.

The process behind that was a lot of fun and got pretty messy. I ended up taping 3 pieces of paper together to correct and tweak the initial sketch then taking a picture with my phone to import it into Photoshop.
I always love getting a chance to use my tablet with Photoshop. This was a fun one to tackle with those tools. It took a lot of restraint to keep the color palette limited to 3 colors and not go crazy with shading and highlights.

You recently flew to LA to star in a Redbubble video. Please tell us about that experience.

That was such a good time. Being on camera was way out of my  comfort zone, but everyone made me super comfortable. Met some really cool people. It was amazing and I’m so grateful and honored to be a part of the experience.

It should be noted that the real star of the video is the actual pineapple man from the coffee shop. He’s a true hero.

I also found that I’m not as good as riding a bike as I thought I was.

What is your dream project?

Illustrating for video games. Or learning how to sculpt 3D models for video games. I’m trying to figure that out right now.
Really love concept artwork and storyboarding. I have a ton of video game concept art books that I flip through all the time. I really like creating weird creatures, characters, and worlds.
I also would love to work on drawings for a board game or card game of some sort. Basically I’m happy drawing for whatever.

If you weren’t making art, what do you think you would you be doing now?

I’d probably be doing something with music.  
Either that, or something with helping animals. Especially pit bulls. Love pit bulls.

What artwork are you excited to work on next?

I’m excited to start the process of illustrating a children’s book with my good friend. I’m also thinking about illustrating a really bizarre Choose Your Own Adventure series. I have a lot of ambitious projects that I can’t wait to dive into.

What’s been the hardest lesson you’ve learned while creating a successful illustration career? What advice would you love to have told yourself five or ten years ago?

Don’t get discouraged by rejection. Illustrating is a very tough gig.
Like anything you want to to succeed at, you have to practice every single day. Draw something — ANYTHING every day. If you want to be better at inking, grab a sketchbook and just go nuts. If you want to be experienced with digital art, look up tutorials online and just start doing it.
Don’t stop learning either. Experiment with new mediums and tools, use new techniques, explore different outlets. You never know when you’ll be able to apply your knowledge.

Stop by StrangethingsA’s shop and add some weirdly colorful designs (and a few zombie animals) to your space.