Skateboard Graphic Design Ideas – Dylan Anderson is an artist and illustrator from Atlanta, Georgia and has been a graphic designer on April Skateboards since 2021. We had the opportunity to speak with him to learn more about the aesthetic of the brand, co-created by Australian skier Shane O ‘Nil, join us as we explore Dylan’s creative process, inspiration and art.
I did a lot of graphic work for the band and the musicians, like the album cover and the artwork, because I had a background in music and music production and everything natural. That’s what got me at the beginning of my career in digital art, putting it online and making Instagram kind of my central hub where people could find me and offer my work. Then one day, Shane O’Neill approached me and said: “Hey, I really like your work, I want to talk to you in more detail about your graphics and if you are interested in creating some opportunities for us. “With time, good relations with him were repeated here and there in the skis as graphic artists.
Skateboard Graphic Design Ideas
I think it was around January 2021, I made a graphic for them but then officially joined the company in March.
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It’s interesting because from what I can gather from previous panel graphics, they really like the 80’s airbrush inspired look. They have artists like Keith Rankin and Patrick Savile. Shane really wanted the brand identity to be an 80’s airbrush style, and I think that’s what he saw in my work since I really liked the art of that time. I don’t do artwork with an airbrush, but he likes to show it through the digital artwork that I’m doing. Because they are a new company, they are trying to create a brand identity, so we are gradually exploring the idea of what these graphics will look like. You know when you see a painting and you say, “Oh, this is a Baker” or “Oh, this is a chocolate bar,” they have a very special style.
I don’t know if they gave me a clear signal or not. We get a lot of ideas from real skiers myself, sometimes it’s through Chris Middlebrook [April co-founder] or Shane, sometimes it’s just an idea I created myself. I think we are all kinds of creative leaders in our own way [laughs].
No, so I have to master the world of skiing on my own because I have no previous experience in skiing. I know almost nothing about the world of skateboarding, so this became a big challenge for me. Especially when it comes to the type of fabric I work on, it is a new challenge in how to put graphics on board and make it look tasteful. It’s something I’m still trying to master. It was really interesting to see the artists who did it before me and how they applied the graphics on the board. So that’s what I’m trying to do to get used to thinking outside the box, which you’ll see on the album cover.
I think it’s interesting that you really don’t have a ski background because you’re not influenced by any ski company.
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Well, this is the interesting part about it. They are so comfortable and amazing, like showing me graphics that they are really emotional and that they really love. I tried to learn what works and what makes a good graphic board.
Did you first find MacSky for inspiration or did you just keep doing what you do best?
I really get a lot of influence looking at people like the FA and hockey and all these big companies. I know there is a clear difference between what the graphics look like and how you put them on the board, either horizontally or vertically. I’m trying to figure out how to incorporate my own style and put it on the floor in a tasteful way, kind of how these other companies are doing their work.
Besides spending time working for them, I feel they are very open. They really let me explore the realm of creative freedom. I like Shane’s clean and more personal approach. I like when my clients are with me, especially when it comes to commission work, because if what they want is vague, we can work on the graphics for months and nothing will be achieved. Having an important idea in your mind is an idea specific. it helps them to reach this idea quickly.
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Ish Cepeda has a great idea, the idea he sent to Chris was very imaginative, he was actually in the same wheelhouse I was in. He loves space and space exploration and National Geographic, and a lot of science inspired work, and he’s right up my alley. Guy Mariano I love his passion for his graphics. He can talk in your ear for hours about what he wants in the graphics, but sometimes we’re trying to follow Maturity and he can be against us [laughs]. Ish and Guy’s ideas are very creative and I always like their taste and how specific they are in what they want as far as the graphics go.
Unfortunately, apart from Chris and Shane, I really didn’t have a good relationship. I’m sure it will go down, but we don’t talk much, especially since I’m on the East Coast [of the United States] and you live in the West. Shane is kind of a broker out there and he tells me what their ideas are or if they like graphics or not or if they’re dealing with it.
Well, I hope in the future we can really have a better relationship with some skiers. I mean, they’re great and talented, I want to pick their brains and know what they’re interested in and what music they listen to when they ski. Because all of that really informs who they are and gives me a good sense of the kind of inspiration I can create for them.
Yes! Avril was very kind to send me all the cabinets I made for them and the merchandise because I also make clothes for them. So I was lucky enough to be able to keep them all, I had some of them hanging on my wall even though I didn’t ski myself and I didn’t have a truck on them [laughs]. There are some that I really like and am very proud of.
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“Artist Jon Baken did this graphic for Sci-Fi Fantasy and it excites me. It’s the best graphic I’ve ever seen. I don’t know why this graphic speaks to me the way it does. But Jon did something that really inspires me. to do great things for the company Jerry [Hsu] is doing this and I respect his work very much, it has no bells and whistles, it doesn’t have to be crazy or complete The thing. Nonsense, it’s just the simplest style graphics in a field, and for me there is something very beautiful about it. For sci-fi, but I love this graphic, and that’s what motivates me to this day. .
That’s amazing, they become another fabric, and that’s what I love about them. It’s another special fabric that I can hang on my wall and I even have rugs from other companies that I really like and that help me feel more motivated.
You know, whatever it is, you have something you did in the past and you still think your current job is better. I know it wasn’t like this all the time, but I was a little hard on myself during those early graphics. Like the first year of graphics, I felt I could do a little better, but I still learned a lot. Now I feel that I have a better understanding of what my graphics are in the scope of the skiing world. One of my favorites right now is probably the Guy Mariano graphic I did from Hummingbird, I love putting that piece in. Or the newest graphics Ish Cepeda, geography with him throughout the deer in nature. I really enjoy doing it, it takes some time, but it is a great challenge.
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