Reporting live from the last serotonin molecule in your bodacious brain - It’s The Inspo Report! I’m your host Ryan Evans. Now first the weather with Ryan Evans…
Slept on Studio Ghibli Classic
The Porky Prince of the Italian Skies
Above is an image I have had on my phone for as long as I can remember. It’s from one of my favorite Studio Ghibli classics “Porco Rosso”. Porco is one of the lesser known movies from Ghibli. With films like Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, Howl's Moving Castle, sleepy little sonatas like this one tend to get overlooked. It’s like a combination of “The Talented Mr. Ripley” and “Babe'“ with dog fighting action sequences squeezed in between. Did I mention the American dub is voiced by none other than the Dark Knight himself, Michael Keaton!? And yes your eyes are not decieving you. He’s a dapper pig, dressed to the nines ready for an espresso and a red baron style crash landing into your heart. He was disillusioned with humanity, and cursed himself to be a pig. Creator Hayao Miyazaki stated that "When a man becomes middle-aged, he becomes a pig". Totally looking forward to that! Pig Batman flying in a red Italian fighter plane, seducing Italian women off the coasts of golden shores. Air pirates!? No problem when you are Porco Rosso!
I luckily grew up with a babysitter that purchased as many random dusty vhs tapes of the animated variety as humanely possible. One lazy summer afternoon she popped in “My Neighbor Totoro” for her infantile clientele. I was hooked on Ghibli ever since. There’s really nothing like the shell shaded animation, or fantastical ideas soaked in Japanese tradition. I’m afraid to admit how many posters I have hanging on the walls of my apartment that have to do with the Ghibli catalogue. Miyazaki may be the Japanese Walt Disney, but he still has some overlooked gems up his sleeves!
Porco Rosso is now streaming on Netflix and HBO MAX. Enjoy!
Sk8 or Die Bae
80s Skateboard Graphics for your Head Top
When anyone asks me “What inspires your work?”. One thing I’m always referencing heavily, is skate graphics. Growing up with a brother so entrenched in the rich skateboard history of Philadelphia, ie. Love Park, FDR etc. I have a high level appreciation for skateboard artwork and graphics. It’s a deep dialect, filled with visual characters that almost anyone can appreciate. Ron Cameron’s 80’s California graphics often come to mind. Rich heavy strokes covered his wide boards, perfect for bombing downhills in San Francisco. His style that of a surfer hippie with an eye towards street art and graffiti.
I love the fearlessness of the brush stroke in Cameron’s work. It reminds me of sitting around watching t.v. carefree doodling with a sharpie in my notebook. Skater, Artist, Designer in that order. Ron Cameron is like the visual guru descendant of the the Lords of Dogtown. The eighties Stacy Peralta!
Ron Cameron was also a freelance graphic designer, working on campaigns for Skate magazines and brands. Above is a heavy typographic piece he designed for Blockhead Skateboards. I love how the type forms interact with each other simulating shredding an empty California cement pool. I may not push mongo like I used to at the Cherry Hill Mall but I can always look back and appreciate the art and graphic design of skateboarding.
Mentor? Yay or No Way
Tips on finding a mentor
Out of college I was lucky enough to find a job as a junior designer for a commercial real estate company in center city Philadelphia. There I met the senior designer who taught me almost everything I know. She schooled me more than college ever could in the span of a week. I learned professionalism and poise, both of which come in handy during freelance work. So I benefited heavily from having a professional mentor. That doesn’t mean I think you NEED one! I have found that Google and Youtube can be the best mentors of all. Learning to teach yourself can be just as helpful and probably more fulfilling in the long run. BUT if you are looking to get a mentor here’s a pretty easy suggestion to try out (maybe when there isn’t a pandemic out there ya know?)
If you are a designer, join your local chapter of AIGA. My mentor at the time bought me a membership to the Philly chapter. When you are a member you have access to really rad speaker events, happy hours, and film premieres (I met designer/artist Stefan Sagmeister while watching his documentary “Happy Film” at a local school theatre). You can meet a lot of like minded people at these type of events. Some people will often be a little older and further along in their creative careers. Introduce yourself and ask questions! (WHEN THE PANDEMIC IS OVER of course.) Who do you admire on social media accounts? Who do you smash the like button for? DM them and ask them questions well. Everyone is a mentor and you will forever be a student. That is the path to becoming a true creative master. Namaste - Until next time I’m Ryan Evans and this has been The Inspo Report.