The American tattoo artist Tim Strafford, from Austin, Texas, is at 35 one of the most talented American artists specialized in the New School style. Some of you already know him from his appearance on the TV show Ink Master. Today, for Inkers, Tim talks about his passion for drawing but also about his way of working and his tips to stay focused in an increasingly competitive environment.
Can you tell us a little about your background, how did you learn to draw?
I’ve always wanted to be an artist in one form or another. I’ve been drawing since I was 4, I remember even telling that to my kindergarten teacher In school growing up. I’m 100% self taught. I drew most of my inspiration from Saturday morning cartoons, comic books, video games and caricature artists. With that being said, I really thought my career was going to be in animation. But tattooing essentially fell into my lap, one day when I brought a tattoo design, that I drew, into a shop. The design seemed to really impress the owner and the artists that worked there. They offered me the opportunity to be an apprentice and the rest is history.
Your work stands out in particular by the numerous caricatures that you make of public figures. What you call "toonicature", isn't it?
Yeah so about the name Toonicatures, I didn’t coin that term, if I must be honest. But the reason I have adopted it, and suits my style, is because I believe there is distinct differences between caricatures and cartoons. I like to create cartoons. For instance, if one of your favorite musicians or movie characters were too have their own Saturday morning cartoon or animated series, I try to create my characters through that lens. When Steven Spielberg showed up in Animaniacs or Lebron James showed up in Space Jam, those were cartoons. I emphasize style and simplification over feature exaggeration. There is a bit an overlap though, like squares and rectangles, and say that technically all caricatures are cartoons, but not all cartoons are caricatures. So that’s why I use the term “Toonicatures”.
New School is fun, so it's not surprising to find comedians in your cartoons, but there are also politicians and historical figures. How do you choose them and why?
There’s many different reasons why I draw who I draw. Whether it’s a musician, movie star, or political figure. Love them or hate them, everyone is up for grabs. I really like to draw for the times though and stay current. Classic figures have been done so many times and often a bit predictable. If I’m going to draw a rap artist, the last people I wanna draw is Tupac and Biggie. I’m a big fan, love them, it’s just been done over and over. I’m also very drawn to expression, and emotion. So I often like to reinterpret movie scenes and moments that’ll give you the same emotional response as the film while looking at cartoons. I’ve always been fascinated how Disney can create a cartoon about….anything, a knife and fork. Can have you crying in seconds as if they where human ? What ever that connection is, it’s super inspirational to a artist like me.
What technically makes a good cartoon and how do you go about it?
It definitely must have a consistent style through out the whole piece. The character must be believable, can it function i.e. can those arms bend ? Could they stand on those legs ? I love a good interaction in a cartoon between subject matter. I can’t stand a stoic/ statuesque looking characters when it should be responding to each other. If you draw love birds, make them look like there in love. If a boy is running from a dog and he’s terrified, can you connect to the fear in his face ? That makes a good cartoon to me.
Have you always done New School?
New School whether I knew it by that name or not. has pretty much been the basis of my art from jump, ever since I was a kid. I’ve toyed around with other styles here and there but I’ve always gone back to New School.
New School offers a lot of creative freedom. Is that the most important thing for you?
As a New School artist I love the fact that, yes there’s technically no limits, when it comes to style. You can have a room full of a New School artists and the style choices can be infinite. It allows you to really stand out amongst the crowd. I can create my own world. Realism is bound by the laws of reality, otherwise it would cease to be realism. Traditional styles are bound by the laws of traditional art. Those limitation aren’t as inspiring to me. However, I’ve definitely used elements of other styles to push my New School further along and that’s very inspirational.
Tell us about your references, in which universes do you like to look for inspiration?
I typically use photos from reality or films for 90% of my references. If a client requests a his/her cat dressed as a mad scientist, I’ll have photos of that specific cat, photos of a scientist attire, different examples of posture, expressions as well as dramatic lighting if need be, all to create the full environment for the piece. I don’t use other references of cartoons, or tattoos of the same concept.
What are the points you focus on when you approach a new piece?
Top 3 lists of priorities when creating a piece : #1 emotions and expressions. Can I connect with the character ? Can I feel what there going through? #2 Movement. Is the action believable? #3 lighting and mood. The lighting and color pallet is essentially the soundtrack to the piece. The right color pallet can made a sad character look sadder, a happy character look happier. Nailing these three things are crucial.
Clients are more and more demanding as to the inventiveness of their piece. Are they the ones who push you to surpass yourself?
No one pushes me harder than I push myself. I have a very high standard for what I create. If I can impress myself with a piece, then I’ll usually exceed my clients expectations without a doubt.
How do you stay fresh creatively when you always have to push the limits?
I keep myself surrounded by art, music, movies, and dance, other art forms that keep me inspired. Seeing creatives being good at what they do makes me wanna be better at what I do. It keeps me thinking outside of my box and I get inspired in ways I wouldn’t expect.
How do you continue to work on your design?
It’s kinda weird to say but I continue to work on my pieces by how deeply I can connect with the piece. Do I feel like I right in the room next to these characters? Do the emotions read strongly? Is everything clearly understandable to all viewers?
You participated in the Ink Master show, what do you take away from this experience?
My strongest take away from my experience on ink master. Was how well I feel I can perform under pressure. I know I’m not the most competitive person. But I wasn’t expecting how well I’d perform under stress and time constraints. + Tim Stafford IG : @2cartoony4me www.timstaffordtattoos.co
