FAQ
There's nothing more to know.
The following publications feature Jon Burgerman:
A persons passport. I suggested they might prefer me to draw on something else but they were insistent and are now bound to never leave the country.
The work. Either in their hands or, in the very least, their heads.
No really, it is! My parents thought it'd be a laugh to call me Jon, what jokers eh? You can only imagine the playground taunts I endured.
The style I draw in is simply my natural way of drawing. It has become more refined over the years as anything would if you do it everyday. If there is a method / system of abstraction it is applied whilst drawing and thinking at the same time.
I hand draw pretty much everything and scan the work in. Sometimes I'll use something like Live Trace in Illustrator to turn my black and white drawings into vector shapes. Recently I've also experimented drawing on an ipad pro with Procreate.
Once I had graduated from University (I studied Fine Art) I built a website and started to add my work to it. Every so often I'd email a few people I knew to let them know I'd updated it.
The more people I met and chatting to about work, I'd email. Over the course of time my website had a lot of work on it and more people were becoming interested in the work.
I picked up some jobs here and there, and when I wasn't working, I just kept on practicing my drawing and adding to the site. There was never a big turning point when I suddenly got lots of work, it just all slowly built up over time.
Inspiration, like chewing gum, can be found everywhere. Sometimes you don't even have to look for it, you'll just be walking along and -bam- you'll get some inspiration... or some chewing gum on your shoe.
Nope. I might have a rough idea in my head or very occasionally I'll have a loose sketch in my sketchbook but most of the time I have no plan whatsoever, which for me, is part of the fun/challenge. Plans slow things down and it would be impossible to plan a really intricate work and then follow it when drawing on a big wall.
It wasn't exactly the same but obviously related, my style has evolved over the years and will continue to do so (I hope). The way that I draw is linked to the way I write and sketch, think and speak. The style is built upon a natural way of working and was not designed or strategically worked out.
Sleep, run away, do something completely different.
Straining causes pains so sometimes it's just best to take a break and re-approach the problem later.
A good lunch and a walk outside can solve most things.
I think it might be; Less waste, less haste, less hate, less work.
Time is so short so you should try and have fun whilst not ruining anyone else's fun at the same time.
It varies but generally I'm very lucky and get to have a lot of control over what I produce for companies. I'm not very good, creatively, when a brief is very exact and specific. I work best when I can use my imagination and the client trusts me to do so.
Both techniques offer excellent and different qualities - why not cherry pick the best things each medium has to offer?
Digital can save a lot of time and allow for easy amendments, scaling of work, adaption to digital media etc.
Analogue is warmer, more human, allows for a easier emotive expression.
I'm sure my surroundings have an influence on my work. I think we can't decide what we're inspired by, it's not as easy as that.
We should try and experience as many interesting things as possible and see what sticks. Inspiration can come from unexpected places. I'm sure the culture, noise, colours, sounds and visuals in NYC have filtered into my brain and out into my work. It's almost impossible for that not to have happened.
Hmmm. I love a lot of food but sometimes only a fresh, hot slice of New York pizza will do.
Entertained, intrigued, emotionally engaged, delighted, happy, uplighted...
Some do. Some exist across my books, animations, drawings, stickers, doodles and artwork. All of the characters are related to each other in someway, exactly the same as how all humans are connected.