Going strong with our illustrator series! Get to know Kärt Rumvolt aka K2rte, who believes in staying curious, setting goals you don't share with others, and always finding small challenges to overcome.
Your first drawings as a kid?
I don't remember the very first one, but there was a solid period of time when I loved princesses, magazines, and cutting paper. I drew my own magazines and even the ads.
Is illustration a tool or an art form, and why?
Any work of art is surrounded by context, but illustration is often guided by a brief and meant to be accompanied by other content. So it is both - the practice of using art as a tool in communication. But in individual cases, to determine whether I am looking at a visual tool or a work of art, it always comes down to taste:)
What do you think about when you draw?
I have to keep my focus on what I am drawing the entire time I'm drawing it. That's the really hard part about drawing. And it's why I have so many unfinished works.
Keeping the focus on the drawing is most effortless with mural painting since there's actual paint and usually a tight deadline. Mistakes happen as soon as my mind wanders, and I have to clean up, take a little break, and restart with full attention. Holding the concentration is hardest with working digitally, because it is incredibly easy to be distracted. Drawing is a good way to practice mindfulness. Thoughts must be linked to your hands, and the result is that all brain departments work together in the moment towards the goal.
How did you find your style?
I guess my style happened when my habits met choice. Personal patterns got worn into practice over time, combined with conscious preferences. Somehow, I always fail when I try to draw with style in mind -- or when the creative brief is 'I like your style, now draw in it". I get stuck trying to arrive at something that is supposed to be a side effect. To get unstuck I have to think about anything else the work has to convey - mood, message, what is this moment stuck in time I am capturing.
Color or line?
I start with making big blocks of color, which I then erase into shapes before sketching any lines. Or I make many messy lines to form shapes and then start blocking in big chunks of color.
Character or situation?
I like to draw characters more than situations, but I prefer sitcoms to stand-up:P
Your favorite artists?
There is a horde of good ones out there. I change favorites often, and with the condition that my previous favorites should be kept from being demoted to less-than favorites. So “my favorites” is more like a special club of 5000 or so that started when I was 6. There are sections, sub-sections, sidebars, special mentions, and jury prizes, but no grand prix yet, unfortunately:)
Your favorite movies?
Some comfort films in my holiday season rotation: Conan the Barbarian, Akira, the Thing, Chicken Run, Mars Attacks, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Song of the Sea, The Fifth Element, The Predator, Groundhog Day, Paprika, Howl's Moving Castle, The Million Dollar Hotel, Leon the Professional, a good ol' LOTR marathon, Pulp Fiction and pretty much any movie set in space.
Your favorite places in Estonia and the world?
My favorite beach since childhood is in Vääna-Jõesuu, where the river meets the sea.
I've only seen the world as a tourist, which means I've been to most places just once, which isn't long enough to define a favorite. I've seen cool places, but I prefer to go to a new location if given the chance. I have experienced just two climate zones so far, so I need to do more research.
Advise for beginners?
Keep being curious, set goals that you don't tell anyone else about, find small challenges to overcome, and document and celebrate every bit of progress!
When you make the decision to become better at a skill, everything the brain learns helps you improve. Never feel bad when you haven't had the chance to practice. Instead, think about the moods, settings, people, and conversations you've experienced. Time can never be wasted, no matter your age or progress. Maybe you haven't been practicing but doing necessary fieldwork.
What do you need to have a productive workday?
Peace in my mind and quiet in my space.
Do you think of drawing as of work or as of fun?
I've always drawn for fun, but after getting a graphic design degree, I learned which kinds of drawings can be turned into work. It's been a challenge keeping the work styles fun.
True fun can never be bound by deadlines or monetary compensation, so I keep some drawing methods firmly locked in the fun section. Like making my own custom stickers, slapping them on the streets when I travel, and trading them with other sticker enthusiasts. No deadline or reward other than the fact that it is fun for me:)
Have you ever been stuck creatively, and how have you dealt with it?
I will always be stuck on something, and I have dealt with and coped in all the sucky ways. I used to cope by starting something new, which means I now know how to express my creative vibes in a myriad of forms. After going through so many iterations of bad, I've started approaching stuckness with radical optimism instead. Worry just makes it worse; you cannot be dramatic about it - gotta keep the flow going in other streams and be in touch with what your mind and body needs.
I'm like a park ranger of a creative park that is bigger than just one clogged pipe. I do a lil´ mental check on what's stuck and just move on with other stuff that isn't.
The challenge I haven't solved yet is communicating stuckness in a corporate work environment.
How do you combine different skills and professions of yours? Is it helpful, or do they sometimes become competitive with each other?
Graphic design and illustration are very different professions.
As a graphic designer, I mostly get clear instructions; the job is categorizing and defining chunks of content into different formats. I'm relatively fast, pretty much know what to do in most cases, and it is a job I enjoy doing a lot. But it's not long-term satisfaction.
In illustration, it is rare to get a brief with clear instructions, and every project so far has been completely different. Choosing the right technique depends on how the illustration is going to be used, so there are so many questions that I have to ask before even agreeing to the job. Sometimes, the job means staring at the screen for 16 hours, refining hidden vector details in a big detailed illustration - because it is going to be animated and zoomed in. And, at other times, it is planning a mural that I also have to shop paint for, somehow get on location, and physically paint on a clunky ladder - and oh, it also might be raining that day.
So atm I'm a little torn and lost in the mix. I am not sure where I'll end up in the next chapter of my life and career. I started in advertising when I was young, so impatient to grow, I had to quit to become better. Now, I've been my own boss for 10 years, and I've greatly enjoyed the freedoms that come with it. I've used that freedom to learn as much as I can. I am harder, better, faster, stronger.... and I am 35 and tired of being the boss. I'm feeling the same thing all these years later; I have to quit to become better. I need to work in a team with other people to keep growing. So I'm looking for a job. Hopefully, there is one out there where all my skills can be useful:)
Please draw Trickster as a fantasy character:)
