Recap: Vectips Interview with Go Media’s Jeff Finley

I thought I’d repost the recap of the interview I did with Vectips that took place over Twitter on Wednesday, August 27 at 1:00 pm EST. The interview was pretty fun, and definitely interesting to hold over twitter. Read on for some of my thoughts on designing and illustration. If you got a chance to watch the interview live over Twitter we’d love to know what you thought about it!

The Interview

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    Vectips: Hey Jeff, how is it going?

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    jeff_finley: I’m good, excited for the interview. Let’s do this.

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    Vectips: Thanks again for doing this interview with Vectips! First I would like ask you some questions about Illustrator.

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    Vectips: You are a master with the Wacom in Photoshop. Do you use the Wacom features in Illustrator?

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    jeff_finley: I do use my Wacom in Illustrator, but surprisingly I prefer to draw in Photoshop and Live Trace my result in AI

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    Vectips: Is there a benefit to using a Wacom with Photoshop Brushes over the Calligraphic Brush with a Wacom in Illustrator?

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    jeff_finley: I like the way PS handles pressure sensitivity. But using brushes in AI can be awesome. Like tapered brushes for hatching

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    Vectips: When you place the Photoshop file into illustrator, what is your Live Trace settings like?

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    jeff_finley: Nothing fancy, I usually leave the Live Trace settings as default. My art is black and white anyway and 300dpi, so it works fine

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    Vectips: In the “Bold is Beautiful” t-shirt, did you have to build the files as vector art for the screen printing?

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    jeff_finley: Surprisingly no, Design by Humans took my layered PSD and somehow managed to separate it into 9 colors and screen print it.

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    Vectips: Wow, that is impressive.

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    jeff_finley: Yeah DBH did a great job. Vectorizing things would have tripled the workload and made it hard to get watercolor effects and such

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    Vectips: Go Media gives free samples from the Arsenal Packs. Do you feel sites giving away free resources hurts the design industry?

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    jeff_finley: I could talk for a long time on this. In a way, yes because it devalues the hard work that designers do. No because…

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    jeff_finley: No because it can be viewed as helping new designers break in. As they grow they’ll move past the freebies do their own stuff

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    Vectips: Well said, it will also push designer to keep pushing the boundaries of design.

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    jeff_finley: It inspires me to do things differently. If my style is being replicated and given away for free, it’s time to move on.

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    Vectips: Do people steal your artwork?

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    jeff_finley: Yes, sadly, quite often. I know people steal our vector packs and such. But sometimes people steal work I’ve done for clients.

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    jeff_finley: My friend @RandomEntity says to beware of the Manticores! Don’t steal artwork unless you want to get publicly humiliated…

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    Vectips: If some of these people stealing your work are listening now, what would you tell them?

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    jeff_finley: Unless they want to have a penis photoshopped onto their nose and sent to all their Myspace friends, they should stop right now

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    Vectips: Ha! Penis noses are never a good thing.

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    jeff_finley: Yeah I stopped calling myself a Manticore after that incident. Pretty unprofessional. Some Manticores can be brutal about it.

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    Vectips: What is the worst thing about working for Go Media?

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    jeff_finley: Worst? Gosh, probably working in a cramped townhouse with 12 people. It can be loud and distracting. Can’t wait for the new office

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    Vectips: The best thing?

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    jeff_finley: Best? Probably the freedom and opportunity to succeed on my own terms. It’s open ended, so every day opens new doors.

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    Vectips: So what is a Manticore? Is this weird thing a Manticore? http://poprl.com/Vj. Is there any Manticore at Go Media.

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    jeff_finley: Yup that’s a Manticore. But the Manticores “club” started on Emptees to promote artist rights. http://tinyurl.com/2r5pt4

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    Vectips: What rights does it promote?

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    jeff_finley: Scroll down to the bottom of the wikipedia article to “real life applications” to understand what it’s all about.

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    Vectips: That’s great! Didn’t even know about it.

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    jeff_finley: When word gets out a design was stolen or another designer ripped off another, members would attempt to police the situation.

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    jeff_finley: Read more about manticores on emptees http://tinyurl.com/62z8nl

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    Vectips: I’ve read you are a movie buff. What movie or director would you associate your work with?

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    jeff_finley: My fav directors are Werner Herzog, Mike Leigh, Andrew Bujalski, Harmony Korine, Alan Clarke, Dardenne Bros, Lukas Moodysson

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    jeff_finley: Their style of film is real, raw, gritty, honest, and sincere. That’s how I want my work to be, but I’m not sure if I’m there yet.

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    Vectips: What aspects, if any, of your designs reflects part of your personality?

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    jeff_finley: The subject matter, the details, the technique – I feel it reflects my personality and my interests in music/film. Tough question.

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    Vectips: We are nearing the end of the interview. Got anything you want to say, products to plug?

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    jeff_finley: Awe too bad. I feel like there are a lot of questions I could answer but not enough time in the day. If you think of any more lmk.

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    jeff_finley: Some plugs: we’re converting all our vector packs into Photoshop Brushes, should go on sale this week. More apparel templates soon

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    Vectips: I would love to keep going if you want. I have more questions, I just don’t want to take up too much of your time.

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    jeff_finley: Yeah keep em coming. like i said, bring it on!

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    jeff_finley: Also I can take user questions if there are any…

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    Vectips: What is your best website resource for inspiration?

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    jeff_finley: I really like http://www.ffffound.com

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    Vectips: From dickieadams: Have you tried inkscape as an alternative for your original sketches?

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    jeff_finley: I’ve tried it once, but I have Illustrator so there is no reason for me to use Inkscape. Although Manga Studio is up and coming.

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    Vectips: You say you have a knack for generating “buzz” around products. What is you most useful online tool for generating this “buzz”?

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    jeff_finley: Well, it’s our blog first off. Twitter is working its way up too. Social Media is still king of generating buzz, esp in design.

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    jeff_finley: But generating buzz is never automatic, building real relationships with people is the best way and it takes time.

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    Vectips: From betterthanhuman: Speaking of inspiration, what other designers do you consider your influences?

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    jeff_finley: As always Aaron Horkey and Horsebites r big inspirations. I also like Cristy Road, Alex Trochut, John Baizley, and Vania Zouravliov.

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    Vectips: From StellasEmpire: What gives you hope to carry on a project if frustration is high, deadlines are freaking out and you could tell everyone to fuck off?

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    jeff_finley: Sometimes when all that stuff gets me down, I find something I believe in and donate my work for free. Makes me feel good

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    Vectips: From wkdown: Who’s Twitters do you enjoy the most?

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    jeff_finley: I like punknews, collis, and to be honest, most of my fav artists don’t have twitter, or not that I know of.

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    Vectips: How is the Designer Help via Twitter going for Go Media?

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    jeff_finley: Good, a little awkward cause multiple staff use it. It can be tough to catch questions when following hundreds of designers.

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    jeff_finley: But we’re enjoying the experiment. We can filter to see only tweets directed go_media. surprised we’re not getting more questions.

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    Vectips: What do you do if you are not feeling creative?

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    jeff_finley: Surf for inspiration on ffffound or get away from my desk for awhile. maybe take a nap.I go through phases of on and off.

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    jeff_finley: I have time for 2 more questions and I should get back to work :-)

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    Vectips: What is you worst habit as a designer?

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    jeff_finley: Probably doing too much at once. I’ve constantly got a dozen windows open and feel overwhelmed and distracted.

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    Vectips: What is you single best accomplishment in your design career so far?

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    jeff_finley: Being featured magazines is nice. But my career is made up lots of small accomplishments. But moving into our new office is nice.

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    jeff_finley: We move in next month, so that’s going to be a BIG accomplishment for all of us.

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    Vectips: Well, I will let you get back to work. Thanks again for doing the interview!

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    jeff_finley: Sure thing! I had a good time. And just for kicks, people can subscribe to the GoMediaZine blog’s RSS http://tinyurl.com/687vz8