[Carmen:] You’ve doodled on so many things: canvases, murals, sculptures, toys… How did you get into illustration?
[Jon:] I studied fine art so it was a bit of an accident. A design studio knew I painted, so just after graduating they asked me if I wanted to have a go at making some art for an LP cover. I said yes, I made a painting, it became the cover, and that was my first “illustration” job.
The cover was for Charles Webster’s “Born on the 24th of July” — and went on to inspire Burial’s “Untrue” LP cover.
[C:] Where does your inspiration come from? Is there a design process?
[J:] Doodle, tea, worry, day dream, fiddle about online, doodle, nap.
[C:] You’ve got an instantly recognisable style. Is there anything you’d like people to know about it?
[J:] Nah, just enjoy it and have fun with it!
[C:] What tools and materials do you normally work with?
[J:] Generally a black pen on white paper, then a cheap $50 scanner into Photoshop CS3 if it’s for digital things. Otherwise, I try and use the computer as little as possible.
[C:] We’re curious to know if there’s anything you’re working on at the moment. Any projects you care to share?
[J:] I’ve just made some iMessage stickers for your newly updated iPhone devices: 20 funny, colourful and cute character stickers to liven up your conversations.
Check them out — animated pizza slices here and lots of cool character stickershere and they’re free!
[C:] What caught your eye about Joto?
[J:] I love getting a robot to doodle, there’s something nice about not having to look at a screen. I’d like to do a collaborative live drawing with a Joto, that would be fun: Jonoto!