Tim Doyle (US)

AOh yes I know, you will tell me that Tim Doyle is maybe one of the greatest poster artist ever BUT he is not 100% Rock Poster Artist, well, you are right, Tim spreads his talent on many other subjects, from movies to Simpsons, but he worked also for HEALTH, Appleseed Cast, or MC Chris and that's enough, according to me, to wlcome him on the blog and, because I am the one in charge here, I do not feel like putting him aside just because he is doing other things also. So that's enough for now, I say it "loud and proud": I am more than happy that he accepts to answer our questions !!!

Hello, of course as every Crewk interview, first question: what are we listening to when we come to visit you?

As I'm typing this, I'm listening the the Jens Lekman album, "Night Falls Over Kortedala" that my brother, musician Daniel Francis Doyle got me a few years ago.

Can you tell us more about yourself, who are you, where are you from, what do you do?

My name is Tim Doyle, I was born in the industrial wastes of Claymont, Delaware, and moved to the hellishly-hot suburban enclaves of suburban Dallas when I was small. I relocated to higher ground in Austin back in '99, and have been here since. I am a freelance artist and run/own the on-line nerd-art collective NakatomiInc.com.

When did you start drawing?

I've been drawing since I could- my mother spent a lot of time with me as a small child drawing with me, and I kinda took it from there.

Did you follow any course or did you improve by drawing in the margins of your schoolbooks?

I took art all through high school, and a little bit at the local Community College, but I still consider myself self-taught, as I spent all my free time drawing, teaching myself instead of doing normal things like walking or learning how to move my body in an appealing fashion to the opposite sex.

Today are you living from your art, or do you do something else for a living ?

I am completely self-sufficient, I work full time for myself, and I have two employees at the Nakatomi Print Labs who also work for me. My wife does not work out of the home- she does the bookkeeping for the business and takes care of our feral children.

Are you collaborating with magazines/fanzines, regularly?

Not really. That'd be nice, though! I get some press coverage from time to time in magazines, but mostly I'm an internet kind of guy. I used to do a diary zine called "Amazing Adult Fantasy" about a decade ago.

Where does your influence come from? Is there any artists/graphists you particularly like, what are your influences?

I'm heavily influenced by my favorite comic book artists. I pull influences from everywhere, though. Early on in my poster career, I was heavily influenced by guys like Tyler Stout, but I moved on shortly thereafter to new things. I don't have one particular style I work in, so it changes all the time.

What are the principal steps in your work ?

Step One- Idea for an art print. Step 3- Profit.

Do you do everything by hand or on computer?

I do almost every poster by hand at first- I'll draw it on a large sheet of paper, scan it in, and then color and separate the image for screen printing on Photoshop. Even using Photoshop, I use a Wacom tablet, so it feels very hand-done. It's quite the hybrid.

How long does it take you to do a poster?

It totally depends on what else is going on while I'm working on it, really. I'd say no more than 3-5 days, but it can go longer if I have a lot of other things happening, like printing in my shop or one of my kids is sick.

You have a very distinctive style, are you doing only what you feel like or if tomorrow somebody asks you an oil painting with horses running out of water with a sunset backdrop, is it a problem or are you up for it ?

I'm pretty much up for anything, really. I can find an interesting way to depict just about any image, that's part of the fun. I don't do that much commercial illustration right now, so I am mostly able to pick and choose my projects. I have a very supportive fanbase who likes to buy the things I like to draw, so everyone is happy with that situation, most of the time.

For which band have you already worked for?

I just finished something for The Black Keys, but I've done work for HEALTH, Appleseed Cast, and MC Chris.

For which band would you love to work?

I would love to do something for Jonathan Richman, They Might Be Giants, Vampire Weekend, Pixies, etc, etc. I haven't pursued this, though as I've been really busy on a lot of projects, but one of my goals this year is to do more gigposters. I do like to get random assignments for bands I'm not that familiar with, though- it gives me a chance to approach a new music with the pure intent of interpreting those feelings graphically. It can be fun.

Do you choose the artists yourself?

For Nakatomi, every artist on there is someone that I'm friends with, or know personally. It can be a lot of fun finding new people for the site, but I rarely go headhunting for new talent, they usually come to me. I don't really dole out assignments like some shops, I'm a bit more uh...naturalistic in my approach.

What is the most difficult part in designing a poster ?

Finding the time to do it. I've been on a real creative 'high' for a while now, so I'm never at a loss for ideas, it's really just carving the time out of the day to make it happen. Between being a husband, father, business owner, and crime-fighter, I have to make an effort to set aside time!

Do you think you are part of a "Graphic Scene", if so who else ?

I'm a weird animal, I'm a screenprint artist, and I have strong roots in the Gigposter scene, but I don't do a lot of rock posters. I trained for years to do comic books, but never made a serious attempt to break in. I did paintings for years, but really can't stand the fine art world. I feel like I'm becoming more and more of a pop-gallery artist, but that might change. I just draw what I want to draw and people buy it. I guess I'm part of that scene- the 'draw and sell art' scene.

You will attend Flatstock 2012, is it the first time you take part of such an event ? What are you expecting from it ?

This will be my 3rd Flatstock here in Austin, and I'm very excited about it. I like to walk around and take in what the other guys and gals are up to.

A bit of self-promotion, take advantage of it, it's free, where can we see your work , on the web or in real life?

In real life, for the next few weeks, I have art up at SpokeArt in San Francisco, I have some older prints up at Salvage Vanguard Theater here in Austin, and there's a bunch of shops scattered around that have my artwork available. But most of the action is on-line- everything I have for sale is on NakatomiInc.com, and you can see my whole portfolio up on Mrdoyle.com

The best praise you received lately?

I got a really touching email from this guy who grew up in Singapore but lives in LA now, and he said that my Sesame Street piece, 'Sweeping the Clouds' moved him and his wife to tears as they recalled their youth, learning the ABC's from the show, even though he was not from the US. It was great that someone else got my reverence for the show, and how important I thought it was to my country and obviously to the world. I felt like I had a real human connection to this person who I might not ever meet in person. That was probably the best email I've ever received from a fan.