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A graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, Beck says her style is constantly changing: "My work is a hybrid of computer and hand done. I will often take sculptural pieces and digital photography and combine those elements into the illustration." Her illustration process begins with many quick thumbnail sketches, including "words or anything else that comes to mind," she says. "I will look at art books for inspiration just to get my mind moving in different directions." Beck's illustrations have garnered a wide array of clients, including Nickelodeon, Nike, MTV, Entertainment Weekly, Rolling Stone and Newsweek. Her work has received awards from, and been included in, such annuals as American Illustration, ID Magazine, The Art Directors Club and the AIGA. "I am aware that I have to be constantly looking for work while I am on a job. It's important not to get lazy if you want to keep working," she says. Beck spoke to altpick.com from her at-home studio in Brooklyn where she lives with her husband and two children.
Before getting a BFA in Graphic Design from RISD I went to the pre-college program at Philadelphia College of Art, and from fourth grade through high school I took classes in drawing and painting at the Art Students League in Manhattan. Did you do anything else besides graphic design to support yourself when you were starting out? No. However, when I started out I wasn't doing exactly what I wanted to do. I was doing more corporate stuff and that really isn't me. It took me awhile to do the type of work I wanted to do even though I was in the same field. Do you ever collaborate with your husband? Yes, we did a series of book covers; I did the design and he did the illustration. Have your ideas about the creative process merged with your husband's? Definitely. And if we didn't do things similar when we started - after being together since our sophomore year in college, which was 17 years ago - we sure do now. How long did it take for you to develop your individual style? I believe that my individual styles - I create more than one style of work - are a culmination of all the years I have studied art. It is a continuous process and always changing and developing. If I don't keep myself moving forward I become bored.
Yes, but most of my work is illustration. Do you see a trend in the use of illustration now? I notice trends in magazines. When I was first starting there were a lot of music magazines, and then during the dot.com era there were a lot of business and finance school magazines, and now there's a lot of health and fitness magazines. You can really see the trends in what is popular. I do a lot of work for health and fitness Magazines. Red Herring and Industry Standard are two examples of magazines that are gone with the dot.com area. As far as the computer and illustration goes, it has definitely made a huge impact on illustration. It went from Fed-Exing stuff to e-mails with very few exceptions. I don't know when was the last time I mailed an illustration to a client. It was a very long time ago. Do find you have to educate people on the use of illustration?Most of the art directors who hire me are a little more risk taking. I don't want to say experienced but the type of people who hire me are definitely risk takers and have a mind of their own. My illustration is less conservative. So the people who tend to hire me are usually more sophisticated.
No. Any award is good. At what point of your career were you most pleased with what your accomplishments? When I was able to leave my full-time graphic design job to work at home. Where do you see yourself in the next five years? One of the great things about art in my life is that is not pre-planned. It will take me where it takes me, and so far I have not been disappointed. - Contributed by Mary-Beth Holland >> See more work from Melinda Beck >> See other member spotlights on the member spotlight index >> Find out more on how to become an altpick.com member |
