What themes run throughout your work? Comedy is usually the theme, but when I'm creating still images, I like to stick with lots of primary colours. They seem to stand out more.
How do you hope your work will affect its audience? I always enjoy it when I hear a “wow, that's awesome, Thank you!” from my clients. It makes me feel like I'm doing the right thing with my life.
What sounds influence your work? Silence mostly. Too much background music is distracting. But when I'm on course and trying to block everything else out, I crank up the Trance/Techno to do my thing in complete isolation.
What makes you decide to create your work? Now, if I were the next contestant in the Miss America pageant, I'd say something like “World Peace.” But because I'm poor and not curvy enough, I'll have to go with pay-check and ego; the two largest forces in the world.
Where do your talents lie? I keep a lot of them under my pillow but when I'm not using them, it's generally all visual. I work full time as a graphic artist so everyday is a challenge to create new and interesting artwork.
What successes have you had so far? I've picked up quite a few new clients due to the popularity of the Muppet Matrix. People find it amazing that Donnie Yeoman, Chris Leone and I were able to create the entire video in two months. It has definitely propelled our careers in the right direction.
What was the first creative thing that you ever did? That's probably a question for my mom. She most likely still has that ashtray I sculpted for her back in kindergarten.
Has anyone taught you how to use your talent better? Every day! The internet has been my biggest influence. There are tutorials everywhere that will to some degree explain the process of what it is that you want to do. And when I'm not on the internet, I'm in class learning from the instructor. (Insert stay in school slogan here)
What makes you creative? Bipolar disorder? I dunno really. Most of my time is spent taking in all of the creativity I see around me, then transferring bits and pieces of that into my own work.
How did you get started? The graphic communications industry... I spent 11 years behind a printing press watching paper come out. All that down time just drove me nuts so I doodled constantly until I had pissed my boss off enough to fire me. In the two months of unemployment that followed, I worked furiously to convince people that my talents were worth paying for. Eventually I lucked into creating t-shirt designs and have been doing so ever since. Most of the clients I currently have came in at one point to order shirts. With a little sales convincing and the display of my portfolio, I've managed to propel my career to the next level. I just cant wait to see what the next step is and get the ladder out again.
What inspires you? Books, music, movies, the sky… Just about everything, actually. If it was created, it took an artist to make. By just paying attention to everything around you can pick up a lot of visual cues for art.
Who inspires you? My girlfriend and children. They're the reason I keep going.
What are you trying to achieve? Eventually, I'd like to work for Pixar or Dreamworks. It's always been a goal of mine to create 3d animation ever since I first saw the two movies entitled “The Gate – To the mind's eye.”
Do you collaborate? All the time! If ever I feel doubtful about something, I always let someone else take a look and have them give me an honest opinion. Of course, I doubt everything I create and think it horrid until I get some degree of validation from another.
Ignoring money and all of life’s woes, what would you want to be? A Shaolin monk.
Accepting the need for money and all of life’s woes, what do you want to be? A creative director for Pixar or Dreamworks.
What’s the most amazing thing you’ve ever seen / heard / experienced? Women…
What do you consider to be the most important thing in life? Education… I spent too many years working for someone else while they took advantage of my back, legs, and arms. After seeing the chiropractor one too many times, you come to realize that what is in your noggin is a whole lot more precious than how many pounds you can lift.
Who/what is your nemesis and why? Time… I always feel like there aren't nearly enough hours in a day to do the things I want to do. Even though at 2 am when I'm exhausted, I keep working because things have to get done and I can only rely on myself to make it happen.
Name://
Derek Carr
Age://
31
Profession://
Graphic Designer Favourite Website://
www.break.com Type of work displayed on Magnus://
The Muppet Matrix (& more to come!)
Work:// - The Muppet Matrix
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