|
| |
|
Roger Harvey's illustrative talents go way (way, waaay) back. I know, because there were times during our early high school years when we would to sit together and try to out-draw eachother.
Since then Roger's truly unique style of cartoon and caricature drawing has matured and eventually developed into a profession that now spans decades.
Take a good long look at Roger Harvey's web site to get an idea of the diversity of his work and the depth of his talent.
Artist: Roger Harvey
Business or Trading Name: Roger Harvey
Email:
Business PH : 0404 620 230
Address: 76 Kentwell Road, Allambie, NSW 2100
Region: Manly area , New South Wales, Australia
Age: Born September 1956 |
|
A Short Bio:
I failed high school, dropped out and did labouring jobs. I went back to college, became a draftsman, tried the police force and then journalism. Through all this time, I was doodling away on paper and text books ... and never realising that people did it for a living. Now, I've been making a crust from cartooning for around two decades. I still enjoy it. Especially since graduating to digital art.
Current Professional Engagements and/or Directions
Freelance illustrator and cartoon artist. |
The BBQ 2008 by Roger Harvey
An Interview with Roger Harvey (March 2008)
How many years have you spent perfecting your art?
(and/or do you think you've perfected it yet?)
I've been drawing since I was a toddler, but started to get serious in 1990. By 1992 I was working as a professional cartoonist, and my work dramatically improved during next decade. (It was woeful in the early years!) I didn't get a computer until 2002, and now find myself on a new learning curve. So, yes, there is still room for developing my style.
How do you see the significance of the artist in today's world?
(eg: purely for amusement, for social comment, etc.)
I'm not sure where artists stand these days, what with the internet (immediately available images) and amazing animation (movies and gaming). There is also a surge of graphic colleges churning out students around the world, so competition is immense. I think I'm becoming a little marginalised by it all. Time will tell exactly where cartoonists like me end up.
What made you decide to turn your art into a profession?
I was a journalist by trade at the time, when my editor asked me to draw a cartoon for her. It was lame (but she liked it), and a door opened. The graphics girl at our magazine asked me for more, and one day she even suggested I do a cartoon centrespread. I did, and it was hugely popular. I found drawing much more enjoyable than writing, and during the space of about two years, I had gradually become a professional artist. I still see myself as a writer though, drafting scripts for my multi-framed cartoons.
In what ways have you found becoming an established artist to be a challenge?
My drawing business seemed to grow of its own accord, via word of mouth in the 1990s. These days, however, opportunities are not so great. For instance, I believe about 15 publishers have closed in Melbourne since 1996. One factor that has been unique and useful for me, is that I am a "one-trick pony". I have a fixed style, and I stick to it (as it is all I can do) ... as opposed to copying anything and all in the industry. If the industry likes my one trick, they know where to find me!
Is there any advice you would offer to aspiring cartoon and caricature artists?
(for example relating to education, studies, gaining experience, getting work, etc.)
I believe you should draw daily. If you love drawing (as I do), this isn't hard. Nothing beats hours at the drawing board, as opposed to doing little and instead just dreaming of success. Also, if you are starting out, target areas that you know and love. (It is obvious from my website that I like motorcycles.) For example, if you love horses, target horse magazines. Seek out a horse club and offer free work for their newsletter. I did about 600 free drawings for friends in the 1980s, before it became a business.
How significant do you feel it is to have "a good education" when aspiring to be a professional artist?
I regret not going to art school, if only for the fact that it would have got me started when I was 20 years old, as opposed to beginning so late ... at the age of 34.
If you had the opportunity to start over, would you do anything differently?
I would have gone to some sort of art college in the mid 1970s, and I would have tried to get in with a newspaper. Perhaps even trying this in London or New York. I wasted a lot of the 1970s in pubs. Also - in a perfect world - I should have sought intense career guidance. Unfortunately, I couldn't be told and was largely without direction until the age of 30.
Are there any personal traits or abilities that you feel help you in creating your art?
(eg: observational skills, sense of humour, work ethic)
I have noticed that creative people often come from a traumatic childhood. I did, and creativity was a way out ... a place to hide and enjoy. I wouldn't call this a particularly positive tip ... just an observation.
How do you get most of your work?
(eg: advertising, referrals (word of mouth), internet, self-promotion)
All my work comes from existing clients, word-of-mouth, or via internet searches that hit on my site. I am loathe to go and look for it, although I should. It has always seemed to show up, when I don't expect it. Also, it pays to do the best you can for a client, in order to encourage on-going gigs.
In what ways do you think the "Digital Age" has made life easier and/or harder for artists?
The digital age has created "image banks" which in turn see the publishers stealing your copyright. If you don't sign over works, you don't get the job. It also means that every publisher and advertiser can do an enormous amount of work in-house. It has definitely crippled the industry. However, parallel to that, I am still learning what incredible options I have since working on computer since 2002. I could NEVER go back to producing art manually. These days, I draw quickly, in anticipation of the moment I can scan my job into computer and then start having the real fun!
Do you think that artists are all essentially "crazy"? (... and why or why not?)
I think most humans are crazy (thank goodness). I mean ... what is normal? Artists get the opportunity to live it out loud a bit more. But yes, I also agree that artists are crazier than the average nutcase on the street.
What things in life matter most to you?
(eg: work, family, hobbies, personal mission ... like saving the planet)
- Being able to cartoon for a living
- My children
- Keeping fit
Do you think the world "as we know it" will survive into the future, and why or why not?
I don't see how it can. For example, people blag on about not using plastic bags, then they drive home in a car made 35% of plastic ... enough to manufacture maybe 30,000 bags. Everywhere you look, man's hand has blighted the planet. The only people who existed in harmony were the indigenous tribes. Their reward? Ironically, their lives and cultures have been ground into paste by us westerners, which is insane logic. Mother earth will survive no matter what. As to what is living on the globe in 150 years' time, perhaps only Mad Max or Arthur C. Clarke could predict.
Where would you like to be ... in say, five or ten years from now?
(places, accomplishments, anything)
I'd like to be spending 12 months in New York, living in a small grungy flat, emailing work, and sleeping about four hours a day.
A Parting Message to Readers
It is indeed no small thing to be able to do what you love for a living. I wish you all the best ...
back to the top
|
All web site assets are
All artist provided images remain the copyrighted property of the interviewed artist
|
|
