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AoM: Jay Rivers

Wow…it’s August. Does anyone else feel that the months of May-September fly by like nothing but the months of January-March crraawwll by? Here at BitB it has been hot, steamy, and busy. We are gearing up for our inaugural appearance at Intervention Con in September which we can hardly wait for. In the meantime, we are pleased to have Jay Rivers as our Artist of the Month for August.

We quickly decided that Jay was cool in our books when we discovered that he is a huge fan of Adventure Time and The Regular Show, just like we are…possibly even a bigger fan? Nah, that could never happen! Jay is a digital artist from Georgia. After five years in a retail job, he decided to quit and put all of his talents and energy into his true passion-digital art. With hopes of having his art featured one day featured in television, games, or movies, his art blends Eastern and Western influences.

Many thanks to Jay for his creative designs for the month of August here at BitB. Be sure to read the full interview to learn more about Jay and while you are at it, make sure you cruise his links on his page at BitB to see more of his work.

Bored in the Basement (BitB): Hello and tell us about yourself:

Jay: Born and raised in Bruswick, Ga. Lived here pretty much all my life. I have been drawing since I came out my mother. I never really knew what I wanted to do with my talent when I was younger; I just kept it as a hobby of mine. It was not until my 5th year of working at Wal-Mart that I wanted to do more and the doors of that place were slowly closing in. Now free from that job finally, I am now devoting myself to building an art business of my own.

BitB: So when it comes to shopping Walmart, Target, or don't shop?

Jay: Walmart for food, Target for gadgets and figurines

BitB: Describe your art style and inspirations.

Jay: I try to blend western and eastern styles together. I want to do more realistic drawings, but the anime style is too alluring to give it up yet. 

BitB: What caused your interest in anime so much? Also are you a fan of Chocobots!?

Jay: The fluid of the animation, the ideas that go into every flick, the boldness to put a little suggestive content in cartoons..something that shook our Western-ish ideas about what age group cartoons are made for. When I first saw Vampire Hunter D and Robot Carnival almost 20 years ago, I was SOLD. I don’t know about Chocobots..but I want a Chocobo..are they the same thing??

BitB: How long have you been doing this work and how did you get started?

Jay: I have been doing digital work for over 11 years now. I saw a tutorial Long Vo made about digital airbrushing and it was a wrap :-)

BitB: This stuff is above my head... So I divert to a different question…Clubber Lang, Mr. T, and B. A. Baracus... Kill One, Marry One ,F*ck One... Go!

Jay: WHAT!? NOOO SIR!! lol! Well…I guess you gotta marry Clubber...he will protect you from Mr. T after you had that one nighter...and you gotta kill B.A before he kills you…or after he kills off Clubber and Mr. T to win your affection…yanno?

BitB:Is art your main career or would you like it to be?

Jay: I am working on making it my main career. I don’t think I can be happy if it is not.

BitB: Well would you be happy with 2 Million dollars? But it’s just to hold...no keeps.

Jay:  You know what, that temporary feeling of not worrying about bills would be nice. I would be happy for a minute.

BitB: What were your inspirations for your Artist of the Month t-shirt designs?

Jay: Something cool, slick and new. Wanted to dazzle and show people what I can do.

BitB: I'm rarely "dazzled" however big fan of the Be-dazzler... thoughts?

Jay:  I would be a fan of Be-Dazzker too if I was either a grade school girl.

BitB: What is your most and least favorite mediums to use?

Jay: I love pencil and pen. Oh and I.LOVE.PHOTOSHOP. My least favorite is paint I can’t stand the mess.

BitB: Well.... now we have an issue... see there is an old saying going around that says if it can't be done with paint then it ain't worth doing. It's just a fact. Leonardo Da Vinci's Mona Lisa, The Last Supper, even most of Vincent Van Gogh's work was done with paint. I do a workshop on paint every other Tuesday of the month. However it just occured to me as Lenard just pointed out you may be actually talking about paint paint not Microsoft Paint... which for your sake better be the case... or else...

Jay: I'm a big Microsoft Paint fan... BIG…lol. I am talking about paint paint. I just never really have been a solid hand painter.
BitB: Where do you see your artwork leading you?

Jay: Hopefully, I could showcase my ideas in television, movies and games.

BitB: What kind of games would you like to see your artwork in?

Jay: Open world adventure and flight simulators.

BitB: What is the first random fact about yourself that comes to mind that you are not afraid of being shared on the internet?

Jay: I am a shameless procrastinator.

BitB: And the second and possibly fifth random facts?

Jay: I am a hopeless romantic, dreamer, nerd and a geek <<I use these natures to prey on women unsuspecting of my deviant nature :-)

BitB: In your opinion-most influential ninja turtle, food, and Simpsons character and why?

Jay: Michelangelo: free will, loved to have fun and the most gifted of all the turtles..but you can never tell because he goofs off too much.

Food: I love food...ALL kinds except liver..and orka..yucks. Why? Because it is food and I am  fat.

Simpsons? Maggie. She doesn’t say anything...but says a lot, lol.

BitB: Nuff Said.

BitB: Your favorite homemade remedy for the common cold (some of us here at BitB are sick this week).

Jay: Moonshine and honey.
BitB: You may have to send some of that Moonshine up here... You know for uhhh research.

Jay:  I do constant research. Oh yeah, 6th thing about me: I am a professional alcoholic.

BitB: Do you like the tv shows Adventure Time or the Regular Show?

Jay: !!!!....OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHH!!! YEAH-YUH! ..I’m sorry I just had to. Those are my FAVORITE shows.

BitB:OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHH!!!! YEAH-YUH!!! /--:QI -- FISTPUUUMMPP!!

BitB:Any other information about yourself that you would like shared?

Jay: Thank you for this opportunity to showcase my work. :-)

BitB:And where can we find you?

Jay:  deletionofthesoul.deviantart.com / emblem.redbubble.com
BitB: And let us end with you giving a shout out to your favorite Grape Flavored Beverage?

Jay: Splyuck! gimmie some orange juice..or a margarita :-)

This months Q&A was conducted by our very own A&E, we hope you all enjoy!

Have anothe great month and keep your eyes peeled for BitB's upcoming contests for August and September!

as always,

Love

Tom & Ant

BitB Crew

July AoM: Jini Manard.

Hello, Gentle Readers-- I'm baaaaack. I'm not going to ask if you missed me; I will just assume the answer is "Yes" and get this show on the road. Summertime is upon us! Summer is a funny season. Depending on where you live in the world, your winter-times can actually be pretty nice. Florida, for example, maintains a nice balmy climate while northern states are snowed in and huddling together naked for warmth. However, it seems that no matter where you live (well, unless it's the Southern Hemisphere and your summer is really your winter..), summer is pretty miserable. It's always at least 10 degrees hotter than what is comfortable and it is usually also humid. Sure, some areas are less humid than others but let's face it, being hot is bad enough without having to deal with your underwear sticking to your butt crack because your ass is so sweaty. 

I digress.

The coming of summer also means vacation! For school aged kids and teachers, at least. And also for college students, which is what this month's Featured Artist is. Jini Manard is a recent graduate from Old Dominion University in the great state of Virginia. When asked about her education she explained that her original intention was to earn a BA in Art Education. She eventually decided to turn it up that extra little bit to 11 and go the double major route, and graduated with both a BA in Art Studio and a BS in Psychology. (And a minor in Japanese, to boot! Color us impressed.) We inquired as to what her career goals are now that she's got all those fancy diplomas on her wall, and she told us that she STILL isn't finished with school! She is making preparations to take the GRE at some point this summer, and is also shopping around for a Master of Library Sciences program in which to enroll-- Good luck to her on that!

I have the pleasure of knowing Ms. Manard personally and got to follow her progression through her art coursework via her Twitter (which, coincidentally, is also how Bored in the Basement found her!), so when I heard that she was going to be July's Artist of the Month I was pretty excited to see what she would come up with. Her designs do not disappoint! She describes her style as varying between art nouveau and minimalist, depending on what type of art she is producing, and says that between her education and her extensive experience designing art for t-shirts really wasn't anything new to her, although it does require some attention to the amount of detail in the design (to ensure that it prints correctly and clearly on the shirt.) 

One burning question in my mind was "What's up with the buttstache?" I'm sure you can all relate. Jini says that the credit for this one goes to her boyfriend, who uses that term as a reference to tramp stamp tattoos-- You'll notice the super bitchin' totally hardcore kick ass tribal design incorporated into the 'stache. As for her other designs, she tells us that they're more or less just stuff she likes. And let's face it, octopi (octopuses, whatever) and tigers are pretty darn fantastic. Seemingly a little random, yes, but she also told us that the inspiration for her art generally comes from "all over" (that's a direct quote) so in that respect, I suppose it makes plenty of sense! 

As far as how she got into the whole art thing, Jini's response isn't too terribly different from what I find most of the artists tend to say. I don't think I've encountered one yet who has told me that they just randomly picked up art as a hobby in their twenties, discovered they were really good at it, and ran with it. Which isn't to say it doesn't happen! Just not all that often, it seems. She cites both of her parents as influences, saying that while her dad is very left brained with some technical artistic ability, her mom is very right brained. Seems to have resulted in an excellent combination! She tells us that once she got her hands on a decent computer as a teenager she began doing coding and web design, and from there developed her interest in art and graphic design. So, for the most part, it has been a life-long passion. 

When asked what her idea career would be-- art, psychology, or both-- Jini says that her career plans as they are right now more or less fulfill that ideal for her. She plans to obtain a Master of Library Sciences degree and begin work in creating educational media and/or preservation, the best of both worlds if you will. However.. if she had to pick a dream job it would be one that involved "an average desk in an average office where I can just sit and make clip art all day." Well, Jini.. whether the former or the latter is what comes true for you, we wish you luck either way, and thank you once again for being July's Artist of the Month here at Bored in the Basement! 

- R. Riot.