I was asking Otto questions about how he starts coming up with ideas as this is the most important and often the hardest part of a brief. Otto explained that if he had been set our brief (which was to illustrate a short story from a text) he would read through the text drawing in it and around it, recording every idea and every possible piece of imagery. He would draw objects from the story, record any description about places or people, and also record the mood of the text using colour and pictures."This way", he said, "you never run out of ideas". I took his advice and drew everything even if though I didn't think I would use most of it. This way of working was very helpful in the way that if I came to a dead end or run out of inspiration, I could look back at all my initial sketches and it would start me thinking again.
Otto does a lot of work for magazines and newspapers, he also does advertising work and campaigns. His work is a mix of photography, shape and flat bold colour. Otto believes that it is this mix of media that makes his work unique and different. The thing that impressed me most about Otto is his ability to think of numerous ideas for every brief he is set. When answering a brief for a newspaper or magazine he said he tries to come up with 6-8 final ideas to present, giving the company commissioning him the choice to pick their favourite image rather than him submitting one image which they would have to use. This way of working also shows people his different styles and that he is strong at creating multiple different answers to the same question.
Otto spoke about his studio and how he prefers to work on his own as opposed to being in a team or sharing a studio because he finds it easier to concentrate and come up with his ideas. He told us how sometimes the most simple things are the hardest to do, such as getting a photo of a swimming pool for one of his commissions, where he said that it took him days and he eventually had to climb up onto a swimming pool roof and take a picture through the skylight.
Otto went into some detail about his commissions and his earnings, saying that it was difficult to keep a steady amount of money coming in as an illustrator because the work is not always guaranteed. He also spoke about how important self promotion was to make sure that you reach enough companies that could possibly give you work. Otto still does a lot of self promotion work now even though he is quite well known in the Illustration world.
His images are often very simple and free of clutter, much like the work of Gillian Blease who came in to discuss her work a couple of months ago. Otto's work differs to that of Bleases' in his use of photography and mixed media whereas Blease tends to stick to flat colours and sometimes incorporates a bit of pattern or texture in her work. Both designers are very good at coming up with ideas quickly and producing images that are easy to read and understand.
Otto explained that when you are producing an image for a text, you do not simply have to draw what is in the text, you can leave it a little more abstract. This is because, unlike other types of art, Illustration normally has an explanation with it, such as a story or an article. The text and the image work together to form a whole with the 'story' explaining the image and the image there to attract and draw in readers.
The talk gave me a huge insight into the life, the mind and the work of a practicing illustrator and I would like to thank Otto for giving up his time to present his work to us.
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