The Magnificent Illustrations of Andrew Bannecker

Posted on | August 1, 2009 | No Comments

I’m so excited to present to you the work of Andrew Bannecker. His illustrations captured my heart from the moment I saw them. They are vintage, modern and oh-so-cool. Be sure to check out his website as his portfolio is huge and every single piece in it deserves to be seen.

I love the characters you create. Where do they come from? They seem to have a depth of emotion that defies their 2-dimensional state.
Most of my characters are accidents. I start drawing a banana for a project and the next thing I know I have this monster that looks nothing like banana but I love him. Then I go back and draw that damn banana! As for the emotion that I create… I love to bring emotion to these flat beings. I think that the emotion in the characters helps to reveal their story.

What is your process for creating a piece? Do you work from sketches?
To be honest I’ve just started to sketch a little bit. I’ve never taken any art classes so my process is really pretty simple… I sit down at my computer and just start playing. After a few minutes things just start to come together.

What is your favorite workspace?
My favorite workspace is my home studio that I share with my wife. My desk and walls are covered with inspiration, from old French puppets to vintage glass beakers full of skittles. Being able to work across from my wife everyday is essential to my creativity. She’s my muse.

How do typography and hand-drawn letters play into your style?
I’ve always loved typography. I started my career as a designer so I guess I’ve always seen type playing a key role in story telling.

Your portfolio is so vast and consistently “you”. How long have you been working in this style and how did it come about?
I started working as a full time illustrator 2 years ago. I think my style has changed dramatically throughout that time. If you go through my website folio from the back and move to the front you can see how my style has changed. Some of the artists that have inspired my style are amazing people like Edward Gorey, Miroslav Sasek and Fernando Botero.

The colors you use have a definite time-gone-by feel. How do you choose your palette for a piece?
I choose colors that just feel right to me. I’m a huge fan of vintage illustrations… the colors are just so beautiful. When I start working on a new piece I usually start with brown and then expand from there. I think I have a bit of an obsession with brown.

When did you recognize your artistic tendencies?
That’s a tough one. I’ve been a jazz musician since high school and my degree is in communication. I started to design right out of college and it all went from there.

What other forms does your creativity take?
Well just recently I’ve taken an interest in letter pressing. Oh and I have a bit of an obsession with interior design as well.

What would we be surprised to find out about you?
I think that the first thing that people would be surprised to find out about me is that I’m self taught. Another surprising thing is that I used to work as a zookeeper, taking care of everything from elephants to vampire bats!

Anything you would like to add?
I’ve just launched my new website with a ton of new work and a store with lots of prints for sale!