Hallo Malo_and_The_Whale,

Can you introduce yourself in a few words? Who are you, where are you from and why/how have you become an illustrator?

I am Malo, and I work as a freelance illustrator. After graduating from art school, I have been able to implement a lot of those great things that learnt about, such as illustration, video, animation, drawing… I have always been pretty fond of drawing, and I have actually never been able to imagine anything other drawing.

Can you tell us how the design ‘The Bad, the Good and the Geek’ is about? What was your source of inspiration?

At the time I was into watching these cheap spaghetti western movies from the 1980s. There you could do anything with a pistol, and I felt like expressing something similar. There was a movie – I think it was called ‘Two glorious bastards’ – where this one guy embodied a cliché cowboy with blond hair and blue eyes. And he made me think of a nerdy anti-cowboy hero.

Your designs are as different as ‘À la recherche du temps perdu’ and ‘The Photographic City’. Your creativity seems to be quite diverse! I mean, there is a wealth of different sources of inspiration in your work; where do you get it from?

I never need to look long and hard. With laFraise it is always possible to submit images and ideas that stem from any sphere of your imagination.

Are you a fan of Clint Eastwood and westerns in general?

In general I’m a fan of the cinema, and I love so-called bad taste stuff such as ‘Toxic Avenger’ and ‘Troma Entertainment’ just as well as independent movies. My latest discovery is an Iranian film called ‘A Seperation’ – just great!

How long have you known laFraise? And how did you become aware of this little fruit?

I have known laFraise ever since the early days, since Patrice Cassard has been part of it. When I was younger, I was fascinated by the stylistic surety that the early Fraisians showed, and my first contribution was mauled and ripped to pieces. But I didn’t give up, and I took to entering different designs by using a number of pseudonyms.  After I had finished my studies, I rediscovered my love for laFraise.

If you were to recommend laFraise to someone, what would you say?

I would say that laFraise is a fantastic platform that gives aspiring designers both freedom and access to a broader public. Submitting a design at laFraise is a bit like building a ship for Vikings. If you launch it, it either sinks immediately or there are a few friendly Vikings who help you fight for your design. With their assistance you can then navigate, row and mend a leaking fuselage until you reach the Promised Land… then your reward is your design printed on a t-shirt!

Do you have any hobbies other than drawing? And if so, which?

I spend quite a lot of time on creative projects, but I also like cooking, going to festivals or simply going out for a pint and eating mince pies at the local.

What projects are in your pipeline for the year to come?

Next to submitting my work to laFraise, I am currently involved with creating a board game inspired by Alice in Wonderland. Here I do the illustrations and mechanics. I also prepare travels to Montreal and New York. And I cannot wait until I will eventually finish my first comic.

Could you sketch your version of strawberries and cream for us? Thank you for this interview, and for the sketch!

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Hi Zilone,

Can you introduce yourself in a few words? Who are you, where are you from and why/how have you become an illustrator?

I am originally from the Alsace area in France, and now I have moved to the Haute-Savoie region where I am married with 2 cats :) I used to work in the printing industry for years, but then I got bored with it. This is why I did some further education in the multimedia sector and later in illustration. I’ve taught myself how to draw, and drawing has been a passion of mine ever since kindergarten. I have never been able to get a proper education in this field, unfortunately. This is the drama of my life!

Can you tell me how the design for ‘formula 0’ came about? What was your source of inspiration?

Well, all I can say is that there is not necessarily a logical approach to my creations. I see something, and then I think ‘okay, here we go, try and error and succeed :)’!

Can you tell us how you got the idea for the design ‘Revolution’?

Woe, that’s been a while! I just took the word kangeroo slip (French for underpants with fly) and thought about how this may have evolved.

What type of humour makes you laugh? Black humour, dry humour, slapstick?

I especially like dark humour, i.e. this little masterpiece called ‘Man bites Dog’ that has been filmed without any big budget. But I also like French classics such as Sémoune-Dieudonné and Les Deschiens, which I’ve started watching again on youtube.  That’s really nice and refined humour!

How long have you known laFraise? And how did you become aware of this little fruit?

I registered in 2008. A friend from a multimedia course introduced myself to the site. I took to the concept immediately, and I’ve been hooked ever since.

If you were to recommend laFraise to someone, what would you say?

I don’t really wear t-shirts myself, so that’s a difficult one ;)

Do you have any hobbies other than drawing? And if so, which?

Sport! I’m really fortunate to be able to go snowboarding all winter since I have moved here. And in good weather, I will try to go mountain biking. There are some really sweet spots for this in this area. Moreover, I also want to start climbing and of course hiking! Apart from sports, I like the cinema, TV series and documentaries. I never read novels, I just like non-fictional books, magazines and comics.

What projects are in your pipeline for the year to come?

There’s a plethora of projects I feel like doing, but implementing all of them is the hardest part. Next to the time effort, there’s always the question of financing as well. And I miss manual labour as I really like working with my hands. Tinkering about is one of my greatest passions. I like refurbishing old furniture before people throw them out. And then there is this dream of moving to New Zeeland that my wife and I share. But apparently they are waiting for a giant earthquake down there, so I’m not in a hurry ^^

Could you sketch your version of strawberries and cream for us? Thank you for this interview, and for the sketch!

Thank you for taking the time!

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Hi Harantula,

Please introduce yourself in a few words, tell us who you are and where you come from. How and why did you become a graphic designer?

Harantula is the fusion of Héctor San Andrés & Javier Sanz, two Spanish young minds which enjoy creating and sharing their works. We both have studied a Biology Degree, and by the time we ended it up, we decided to start running in the designing world. Creating, drawing, painting is what we truly love…so why not try to make this passion to become a real job?

How did you conceive your design “I don’t like this game” and how did you get the idea? What inspired you and what is the story behind it?

Well, when we were Biology students, we used to spend a lot of hours making jokes in the Faculty café about the weirdest animal shapes, and how we usually make a connection between something very common in our normal life and the animal morphology. Of course there are plenty of sexual comparison (worms, squids, snakes and many others).

Do you like products of the Sea?

We definitely love fish and seafood! Specially, the typical Spanish “pescaíto frito”. You are invited to come here to try it!

And could you please speak about the design “Seven” with which you won the 7 sins contest? How did you get this particular idea and how did you conceive it?

That week, we were talking about doing something more “artistic” than we used to do. The 7 sins have too many interpretations, but we wanted to do a rough design with a powerful combination of colours, and that´s exactly what it came out!

How long have you known laFraise and how did you find us?

We have known laFraise since last year, and we finally signed up last summer. We didn´t come across the site, it was a friend of us (Wirdou), who told us about this site. He is a good friend and he also studied Biology with us.

If you would recommend us, what would you say?

The thing we like the most, is that you have to give your best if you really want to get printed in here, because of the high level of the designs that you have up for scoring every week. As a result, you host one of the best t-shirts catalog in the whole Internet.

Do you have hobbies other than drawing? What are they?

Of course! Both of us play basketball in  different teams. Hector loves playing bass guitar and me (Javier), I’m mad about alpinism.

What are your expectations for this year?
We hope we will learn as much as we can, reaching highest levels. We would love to have hundreds of prints too!

Could you please draw us your interpretation of strawberries with Chantilly cream? Thanks for the interview and the drawing!

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Hi ifanknight,

Please introduce yourself in a few words, tell us who you are and where you come from. How and why did you become a graphic designer?

My name is Ahmad Ifan Rofiyandi. I’m from Indonesia. I’ve loved drawing since I was kid. I don’t know why, but it’s really fun and enjoyable. I am self-taught and just happened to naturally grow into a graphic designer.

How did you conceive your design “Aces down” and how did you get the idea? What inspired you and what is the story behind it?

In most popular card games in the English-speaking world, aces have the highest value of all cards in a suit. So I though how to defeat Ace, and I saw an Ace Club’s shape (§) looks like a tree. So, it’s easy to defeat an ace with a lumberjack and his strong axe.

What is the relationship between the tree (ecologic part) and the cards? Is it because the Ace represents death and because you need to destroy trees in order to manufacture paper?

No, it’s just mashes up/represents shape of the ace  of club’s shape as tree which falls down and I can win in a card game.

Do you play cards? And what is your favourite?

Yes, I do. But, I rarely play. Poker

How long have you known laFraise and how did you find us?

I accepted suggestion of many Facebook friends to submit one of my designs to laFraise about 1.5 years ago. So I got to know laFraise.

If you would recommend us, what would you say?
LaFraise is cool site that has many of the coolest, smartest and funniest designs on shirts.

Do you have hobbies other than drawing? What are they?

Yes, I love watching movies, cycling, and I really love to play games (digital games).

What are your expectations for this year?

I expect to be much better than previous year and get more designs printed. Also, I want to learn more and be able to make art with digital painting.

Could you please draw us your interpretation of strawberries with Chantilly cream? Thanks for the interview and the drawing!

You’re welcome.

Hi Graja,

- Please introduce yourself in a few words, tell us who you are and where you come from. How and why did you become a graphic designer?
I’m Eduardo and I’m from Spain. I’ve always been interested in all creative endeavours. As I was good at drawing, I focused my studies towards design from a very early age.
- How did you conceive your design “Making a mark” and how did you get the idea? What inspired you and what is the story behind it?

I’ve always been fascinated by Zen gardens. In fact, I’ve already created a design based on them which has a touch of humour about it.

We use our fingerprints like minute trademarks that represent us – I liked the parallels with Zen gardens where a monk makes his own trademark on another scale. It’s amazing that something which could easily go unnoticed is connected to something big and spectacular.

- Do you practice the Zen attitude yourself?
Sometimes. For example, I try to be Zen-like when I’m waiting in the supermarket and someone jumps the queue.

- What do you do to stay Zen in life? Any tips?
When I’m sitting on the sofa with Gara, my little dog, I turn into a Buddha who’s achieved inner enlightenment and peace.

- How long have you known laFraise and how did you find us?
Around four or five years ago. I used to read a Spanish blog about T-shirts and other things and it mentioned the shop being one of the best in the world and the best in Europe. I love design, so I looked around the blog and still enjoy doing so today.

- If you would recommend us, what would you say?
I would say that the shop has the best products out there, as its T-shirts are the result of designers fighting it out! It also values humour and more artistic, daring designs.

- Do you have hobbies other than drawing? What are they?
I love writing short stories, but I’m just an amateur.

- What are your expectations for this year?
I’ve just recently moved to a new city (Barcelona) so my list is all about getting to know the city better, learning languages like Catalan, the language that’s spoken around here, and, of course, seeing more of my designs on laFraise, hahaha.

- Could you please draw us your interpretation of strawberries with Chantilly cream? Thanks for the interview and the drawing!
Of course and thanks for the opportunity of participate in this community.

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Hi Pigboom,

Please introduce yourself in a few words, tell us who you are and where you come from. How and why did you become a graphic designer?

Hello, I’m Pigboom and from Philippines.  I’ve really loved to draw and doodle since I was a kid. I love to explore different styles and processes of making art pieces both digital and traditional. I became a graphic designer by accident. I’m an Engineering graduate, but I didn’t take a licensing exam. My first job was in an outsourcing company, doing some web thingy stuff like SEO, website administration and some graphic designing.  I left my job to become a full time freelance graphic designer and it was not until 2011 when I decided to make more of my art and started joining t-shirt contests.

How did you conceive your design “Machine gun bloom bloom” and how did you get the idea? What inspired you and what is the story behind it? What is the message of your design, it’s more an appeal to peace?

It was last year and Machine gun bloom bloom was initially for a design challenge on another website. It didn’t get printed so I submitted it here. The theme was political and I thought about war, peace and hippies. I came up with a concept and started working on it. And yes, the message is all about peace and against war. War is destructive. Don’t let this destruction erase us and the beauty and wonders of the world.

I guess that you would have been anti-war in the 70’s and hold “Make love not war” signs?

Yeah.

Are you politically engaged? Do you think politicians should show a way against war?

Not really. I sometimes hate political stuff and those government issues. I want to be part of it but only if the system is cleaned up. Graft and corruption, greed and political propagandas exist and control our freedom and made us slaves. This sometimes leads to war and rebellion. Some politicians just took over, have the power to rule and brought war and violence. Definitely politicians should show a way against war and become leaders of peace.

What action would you do if you had to convince people to shake hands and make peace?

I’d draw things that show how pointless it is to make war and make them see the effects it can bring to us.

How long have you known laFraise and how did you find us?

I came across laFraise from my newsfeed. I joined last 2011 but it was a year later when I started submitting designs.

If you would recommend us, what would you say?

Hey guys, you should check out laFraise.com for lots of great out-of-the-box shirts. You get to meet artists that produce underground shirt designs based on mainstream concepts. Graphic designers can get their designs printed and make money and the site’s great to build a fan base too.

Do you have hobbies other than drawing? What are they?

Screen printing and collecting books/magazines.

What are your expectations for this year?

To make much more art and hoping for much more prints.

Could you please draw us your interpretation of strawberries with Chantilly cream? Thanks for the interview and the drawing!

Hi Eyesore427,

Please introduce yourself in a few words, tell us who you are and where you come from. How and why did you become a graphic designer?

My name is Morgan Satria and I’m from Indonesia. Previously I was a comic artist and t-shirts designer in my town. But I think that having two professions at the same time is very troublesome. Then I decided to choose graphic designer as my profession and I’ve enjoyed it since!

How did you conceive your design “Catch me” and how did you get the idea? What inspired you and what is the story behind it?

I imagined a giraffe’s neck as a long and flexible strap. Moving followed the bee and ended up stuck in a difficult position.

What is your favourite animal at the zoo? Giraffes?

No. My favourite animal is the tiger.

Can you please also speak about the upcoming design from the pin-up contest? What is the story behind and was it simple to find out?

Because the theme of the contest is the pin-up, first in my mind is a beautiful woman with a sexy pose. I saw many classic pin up styles, but I wanted to do it in other styles. I think piles of candy and colourful stockings will make my design look more modern and fun. After I was 100% sure about this concept, I started by making some rough sketches on paper and then choosing the best one of them. working on inking, colouring on the computer and submitted it to the contest. That’s it! A few days later I received the great news from laFraise. My design won!

Does this pin-up correspond to the girls you kinda like?

Yes. She is exactly what I imagined.

How long have you known laFraise and how did you find us?

I think about more than one year. I know laFraise from my brother who is already a member in here.

If you would recommend us, what would you say?

laFraise is a great site contest for artists around the world. The selection of winners is very transparent based on the highest score, and this is very fair.

Do you have hobbies other than drawing? What are they?

Yes. I love cycling.

What are your expectations for this year?

Be much better than the previous year.

Could you please draw us your interpretation of strawberries with Chantilly cream? Thanks for the interview and the drawing!

OK.

Hi Chicharo,

Please introduce yourself in a few words, tell us who you are and where you come from. How and why did you become a graphic designer?

I am a graphic DesigNerd and illustrator from Mérida, a little city in Yucatán México (the place where the meteorite hit and destroyed the dinosaurs). I’ve been drawing since I can remember, I’ve always liked character design and lately t-shirt design and web design.

How did you conceive your design “hot bath” and how did you get the idea? What inspired you and what is the story behind it?

Well here in my city is very usual to sink cookies into hot chocolate until they get soft and we call it “chuc” and that’s where the hot bath idea comes from.

Bath vs shower?

Bath, I prefer to take my time =)

Would you prefer to dip your biscuits into a cup of tea or hot chocolate?

Hot Chocolate for tradition.

Do you like cakes, biscuits etc and do you have a sweet tooth?

Yes I do very much like them, especially chocolate and ice cream combinations.

How long have you known laFraise and how did you find us?

Since 2011, I believe I found it by googling web sites about funny t-shirt designs.

If you would recommend us, what would you say?

I’d say that if you are looking for fun and smart tees, laFraise is a great choice.

Do you have hobbies other than drawing? What are they?

I like science fiction flicks, collecting notebooks of drawings, and playing video games. Actually I’m stuck with portal 2 :P

What are your expectations for this year?

I’d love to enhance my illustrations skills and to get more jobs related to it.

Could you please draw us your interpretation of strawberries with Chantilly cream? Thanks for the interview and the drawing!

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