Hey Will, thanks for joining us on Talking With The Pros. Can you please tell us a little about yourself, where your from and how you got started in the industry?
My name is Will Fernandes, I live in Sao Paulo/Brazil, I’m 31 years old and since I was a kid I’ve seen signals that I would live up to work with art. I started drawing since childhood supported by my father and also by the old school cartoons and animes. My family did not have much Money, so I had to work hard to buy my first PC. When I could buy it, in the late 1990s, I discovered the Microsoft Paint tool, and that’s is the point when everything changed. I had discovered forms and lines, and within internet I started to study by my own about colors and graphics. Later on, new graphic design softwares had helped me to become a professional, adding fun to the job! I’ve worked for some Brazilian advertisement agencies, and had been invited yet to live and work in Portugal, but I decided to start my own business agency as a freelancer in 2009 in Brazil.
Can you walk us through your process and execution for the "Jotacom agency" project where you created a massive wall art full of rich and vibrant illustrations for the agency?
It all started with an invitation of the board director, who proposed that I illustrate a wall in the agency. They wanted that art communicate an Young and modern style, as that is the mindset in the agency, and also that the customers could have the feeling of wandering a creative and artistic workplace. So the creation process started with the creation of a concept of a brand new identity. I let the turquoise blue as a the prominent color, adding touches of yellow and black, and giving twisted strokes characteristic of my style to the final touch. Art was well received by everyone in the agency, and I’m very pleased for the opportunity of assuming the project.
What is your day like as a full-time freelance illustrator in Brazil?
I have a very steady routine. I usually wake up early, around 8 am, and start my work for the day, which include illustration, front-end design, graphic design and film-making. I manage accounts for eight ad agencies, besides my own customers. My day includes normal routines of any office, with the advantage of having a video-game at hand for a chill out in cooler days. At 6 pm, usually I turn off. Except in bustling days, when I could work up to one or two sleepless nights. It happens.
How long does an average piece take you to complete? and when do you tell yourself this piece is all finished?
Often, to create the general lines I take from 2 to 2.5 hours. The challenge is to choose the right colors. As my work mix up different and usually vibrant colors, it’s not easy to combine them, so my goal is to balance them to not harm the look of those who gonna appreciate them. I had already issues to end up some jobs that took three days-long, but when everything goes smooth, in less than 6 hours the job is done. The truth is that I never can say when it’s done. I just feel it when the art seems to be finished.
What would you say is your favorite illustration you have done to date, and why?
I guess that is one of the hardest questions to answer by any artist. I like all of them, because all of them bring me a meaning by all means, but if I had to choose, I would say Ray-Ban – Girls Will Love It. It’s only because it had marked my life this year of 2015, and that’s why I had chosen it as the flagship of my portfolio.
Where do you see yourself in your career in the next 5 years?
I’ve been seriously thinking about traveling abroad to see the world. Discovering new countries and unknown people to me, meeting new friends, opening up my eyes to art within new cultures. I’m planning of moving out to Europe by the end of the following year, so to start a good and more vibrant cycle in my professional life.
Thanks very much for joining us. Do you have any final words for our readers?
Karim, congrats for the website (TWTP)! Thank you for the opportunity of participating among so talented people of this project and also for your interest in knowing more of my job and myself. For your readers, I would say: there’s nothing more grateful than doing what we love. Devote yourself to study and to improve every time now. There will always be more to learn and to teach as well. Don’t keep your experience in a treasure chest, open it up to everyone wishful of learning, share with them all your efforts and hard work then you’ll be rewarded naturally soon.
To view more of Will Fernandes’ work visit his portfolio site at www.willfernandes.com.br