Featured Artist - Diesel Laws

Second for our featured-goodness is the super cool vector stylings of Perth soon to be Eastside Diesel Laws! We sat back in the personal bean-bags of the Vector Goodness Lounge, and sipped Milos, and shot the breeze..........

Where do you get your inspiration from?

Anything and everything. I am in love with smooth lines and bold designs (see Thickblackoutline's work) and anything that jumps off the page. Great characters really inspire me too. The kind of characters that when you see them, you feel 'drawn' to them and you want to find out their back story.




I have always been interested in music and Dj's, mixing up a storm in the clubs. There is something cool about Dj's that can't be explained. So with this piece, I wanted to put 'Diesel' right in the action, mixing like a pro. It was quite fun to construct and a little bit challenging in working out what to keep (the audio meters) and what not to include (the wires). As I had already created 'Diesel' on another shirt (DIESEL MP3 - http://www.redbubble.com/people/diesellaws/clothing/1520818-1-diesel-mp3), there were only a few modifications to move him across to the decks. For me, this design really symbolises who I am, animated, unique and in love with music - so much so that I have also started painting one for my home in the same style as the art piece "DIESEL ON DECKS ART - http://www.redbubble.com/people/diesellaws/art/1524803-1-diesel-on-decks-art".

What is your design process?

To understand my design process, you must first understand my brain. It never sleeps. NEVER. I constantly think about design, for example, the other day i got an idea for a character from a crushed soft drink can! From that point, I sit at my dual monitor computer (how did I survive with only one?!), listen to some music (mainly dance/DNB/Breakbeat) and start work with a massive blank canvas in Photoshop.

Nowadays i use the pen tool for everything. It is such a great tool for smooth curved lines and also ideal for resizing without loss of quality. I was scared of the pen tool initially, but once I got my head around it, it improved my work flow and designs by 200% easily.

Then, I turn into a zombie for 2-10 hours, excitedly clicking the mouse as I watch the design come together. Rarely will I throw away a design, I simply modify the hell out of it until it's right.

Then, I present it in the best possible way - and what better way than to put it on a t-shirt!

I had wanted to create a 3d robot for some time but 6 months ago my skills weren't up to scratch. So, after months of studying and learning the pen tool I was able to create the piece that is AUDIO BOT. It took me 10 straight hours to complete (ok, I may have stopped for lunch), and it was all crafted in Adobe Photoshop CS3. To give it that 3d edge, I customised the Styles (Blending Options) heavily.

The inspiration behind Audio Bot, was the lack of, well, Audio and Robot designs merged together!
This design is one of the first designs that I used my logo with (The X with the Circle around it) and I'm very proud of this robot and have received a massive amount of positive comments since.

When did you decide that this is what you wanted to do with your creative self?

I was never good at sport. So instead I chose Design (thinkingdiesel.com), webpages, music (fixdmusic.com) and acting. I figured that was the least I could do. Initially I got into all that because my parents were helping me get onto the safe path - stable, successful job - but I wasn't happy working for someone else's dream and not being able to focus on my own! I guess I just decided to never let my life get boring.

What can I say about Felix Flame - HOT! She is one gorgeous robot chick! Felix was actually created due to a friend request, and since, I have created a few different versions of her on the shirts. There really is endless possibilities with her and I will create more works with her in the future. To get the 'metallic' look, I used similar effects to that of Audio Bot.

Who are your fav designers/illustrators on The Bub?

My favourite designers on RB are the ones that put in the effort to get known by producing quality designs consistently; I would have to say thickblackoutline's work is amazing, Ben Lucas has some great simple artwork, Simon Sherry has the most amazing character designs, BigFatRobot has a great in-your-face character style and Jess White has some of the cutest characters around!

His back story - Made initially from junk parts, Scrappy, the robot inventor was always an outcast from the group. However, over the years, he gathered new materials for his bodykit and went to work customising his suit of armour to what it is today.

Now, having the best parts in the city, he branched out and created the thriving business OUTCAST PARTS. He now supplies fresh and exciting bodykits Planetwide and is one of the most sought after customisers in the GALAXIAS.

I have always loved this simplicity yet impact of this drawing style. I love the characters you can create with this type of 3d and they almost have a life of their own! I think if you watch Diesellaws.com you will eventually see most of the gallery turn into these type of characters - I love them!

Be sure to check out Diesel Laws PLETHORA of websites, here, here, here and here :) :)
Thanks so much DL for spending sometime in the personal beanbags today :) ...now there's an idea!