A Kirk Wallace Recap

Photo Credit Monica Justesen

Let’s take a step back to CreativeMornings/Boston June edition. It was a lovely Friday morning, the theme of the month was minimalism, and we had the talented illustrator/designer, Kirk Wallace, as our speaker. Dan and Rich from Dribbble came out to join the fun and a glorious morning was had by all. 

To follow up Kirk’s talk, we wanted to give a little more insight into his process and workflow. The first thing Kirk will tell you is that he does what he does because it works for him. Take it or leave it, he’s not here to preach, but rather to share what has worked for him - a process which he says is always evolving. One thing Kirk stressed is to always keep the ball rolling. Don’t let it [your work, ideas, skills] get stale. 

PROCESS. 

Process from start to finish of an illustration, from sketch to digital, textures to lighting and color correction.

With a degree in computer science, Kirk has always been meticulous and detail oriented. He looks not just at the final product, but the intricacies of what went into creating the final piece. His workflow is actually quite simple. He starts with a “horrible sketch.” The best medium for getting ideas out is pencil and paper. Although he’s drawn to fancy sketchbooks and pens, he says he usually ends up using some crappy pencil and whatever paper is around. Once he gets the idea on paper, he snaps a photo with his phone and brings the image into Photoshop to play with the levels. From there he takes the image into Illustrator to create a vector drawing. Then it’s back to Photoshop to add that gritty, organic, handmade feel. The entire process is very organized, efficient, and logical - his technology background plays a huge role in this. Design relates directly to computer science because it is all logic and solving problems. There are infinite solutions, but the skill comes in finding the best, most efficient one that cuts out the unneccesary and leaves you with a clean, seemingly effortless end product. The key to his workflow is to keep it non-destructive - to use the computer as a limitless tool. For example, using smart layers from Illustrator to Photoshop and using masks instead of erasing. Always be able to edit, know that any problem has an easy solution. Basically, he says, “you can make your computer your bitch.” Wise words, Kirk, very wise. 

SO WHAT’S NEXT?

Well, it’s looking like the next logical step in the Kirk Wallace journey is animation. Pretty sweet, right? His work is rooted in storytelling (if you were at the June talk, you know what I’m talking about, if you weren’t, that’s cool, check out the story behind his “minimal” tattoo, here.) Kirk is driven by intrinsic motivation, always learning and evolving his craft. He is fascinated with the idea of bringing his illustrations to life with the inherent storyline that animation creates. As a self-taught designer/illustrator, he knows the process by which learning this new skill will take. Finding the time to learn with the detail and precision required to really hone the craft, is really the barrier to entry at this point - not to worry though, Kirk has a brute force work ethic, so I’m sure he’ll make the time. For now, he’s having fun collaborating with animators, and when the time is right, we can expect to see some Kirk Wallace original animations. And I bet they’re going to be pretty amazing. When he’s not working on commissions, working as creative director of Wagepoint, or teaching himself animation, he works on the prints for his online shop - trzown.me/store. This is what he is passionate about, this is what he makes him happy, check out the store and see for yourself. 

REFLECTION.

Photo credit Zac Wolf

A brief recap on how Kirk feels a month after his talk. 

The talk was awesome! Response was insane. People actually cared, they actually looked me in the eye. The fear almost instantly went away after Keith introduced me. I locked eyes with a few people in the audience and felt relieved. It felt like we were all talking together. People were nodding their heads in agreement, that validation was so important for me. It was the right demographic. The people willing to get up and come to a lecture at 8:30am on a Friday means they actually wanted to be there - to learn, listen and be inspired. It was a touching experience, everyone was on my side, it was humbling. I was surprised how interested people were in talking shop and hearing about my process. I loved using my tattoo as a catalyst for teaching a different lesson - looking at the bigger picture, it’s all about doing what you love and living the experience. 

A FEW TAKEAWAYS.

Interpret these how you wish:

• Have a spine, but always be open. 

• Be yourself, for yourself.

• Be human. Don’t preach. Don’t come off as more than you are. We are all amateurs. No one knows exactly what they are doing. 

• The design industry shits on itself. Stay humble.