A Joe PItt title card for Nick
Vintage Ray Payton illustrations
I don't know about you, but I can't can't count how many projects get dismissed by 'clients' because they slam-down-the-stamp of RETRO on them. What the hell? First of all, it's not all that simple, and second of all, it's not really retro, it's today.AND, yeah, there is a huge difference between retro and 'informed by movements of the past. Besides, there is no movement today, other than the extreme luxury for talented people to choose from the palette of history, much like new chef's today can mine the past and merge influences- influences that may, or may not 'work' but which also may fuse brilliantly. Dismissing something as merely retro frustrates the crap out of me.
I frequently, if not constantly, find myself fighting the future...the future of the past. I mean, a future which unescapably MUST include the past. As an artist, designer/whatever I am, the past, is what feeds style today, and any of you who create for a living, undoubtedly know this-it all comes down to three things: the influence you you choose to inform you, the reason WHY you select what informs you ( intellect) and the recipe you create ( 1 part mid-century modern, 3 parts textures you create, 1/2 part Mary Blair, a drop of Gergely, 5 parts random 80's influence, and perhaps some circus poster influence in a wood-block way). This defines talent today, in some of the planets most gifted artists and animators.
