This is the first of many posts featuring the artists and designers involved at Weapons of Mass Creation Fest 2011. Some very cool people. Today we’re featuring Glen Infante, designer and illustrator and founder of I Love the Hype. If you were (or were not) at the gallery at WMC Fest, you must have noticed (or missed) two things:

1. One of the tables had a (free) claw game on it.
2. The picture of the nude smurfette on the wall.

Both of these belonged to iLTHY. Clearly, they’ve got an interesting little setup that you just have to take notice of.

Glen Infante, founder of I Love the Hype (iLTHY), has become an established figure in the Cleveland music scene as the designer behind rappers Machine Gun Kelly, Chip Tha Ripper, and Kid Cudi, among others. From being a designer at HotCards.com to developing a website to generate funds for a billboard of LeBron James to try to keep him in Cleveland, Infante has proven himself to be a versatile and capable designer. His intent was never even to start a business, but to sell shirts on RealCavsFans.com. However, by January of 2010, iLTHY was a legitimate company and one of the top artistic forces from the Midwest.

When asked what he thought of WMC Fest, he acknowledged that he hadn’t had the opportunity to be part of something like this and didn’t know what to expect, but that he wished it would happen more than just once a year, explaining that he got to be a part of something that wasn’t purely client work and “I feel like an artist again.”

When asked to describe his work, he described it as “cartoon-y” and “bright” and expressed a love of vibrant pieces. He went on to say “My art is very simple. I don’t do a lot of intricate artwork…very thick lines, not a lot of detail…I can do a lot of detail, but I really don’t have the patience.”

For you designers who aren’t so into drawing things with a pencil, it’s ok. While Infante can, he mentioned “I don’t really like to draw with my hands a lot, but if I do, it’ll be a quick sketch and I try to make that quick sketch the coolest quick sketch I can make.”

It’s not surprising then that when asked about where he draws inspiration for his work, he described watching cartoons with his father when he was a kid and how it often came back to what caught his interest during his childhood. “I’m bringing all that stuff back.”

What I learned:

• Don’t use filters. You’ll lose street cred and look n00bish.
• Don’t get sidetracked. You could lose a lot of time and delay a great career.
• If you’re good at art, do it a lot. You’ll always have that talent, but when you get older, you’ll start forgetting things. Keep it fresh.
• Showcase as much as you can. Just show off your art.
• Just make things. A lot of things. It’s the best way to become great at what you do.

Check out Glen at gleninfante.com, follow him at @ilovethehype, tumble with him at gleninfante.tumblr.com, and buy stuff at ilthy.com.

Also, I managed to snag a picture with him.