Exclusive: Interview with Rugman About Isaac Asimov's Influence for "Make Your Mark"

Normally I focus on artists in the movie and television industry, but I heard about a project that I'm very excited about and thought I'd share it.

It's a promotional campaign for NVIDIA's new Tegra NOTE 7. I'll start off by saying this is not an endorsement. I'm sure it's a fine product, but I've never used it, so I can't say if you should run out a buy a dozen of them. I'm mainly interested in the goal of the project and it's focus on science fiction legend Isaac Asimov.

NVIDIA has launched an exciting new project to inspire the artistic dabbler in us all. "Make Your" Mark gives visibility to the creative potential of illustration, graphics and animation using the Tegra NOTE 7's DirectStylus technology, allowing smooth lines and strokes to flow seamlessly from your hand to the device. #YourMark

I'm all about promoting artists and I'm so impressed by the mission that I jumped at the chance to interview one of the artists featured: Rugman.

Click on the images to enlarge

 Maurice Mitchell: When did you know you wanted to be an artist?
Rugman: I've been drawing since I was a little kid and always wanted to do something with art. I think once you get to an age and realise there are certain jobs that strike a chord with you and you can get paid for it then the idea sets in. I remember experiencing skateboard graphics for the first time and thinking I want to draw those and get paid for it. I also was a collector of comics and my brother and I would spend hours in Forbidden Planet looking through magazines like Fangoria. It was very much commercial art that struck that chord with me and from about the age of eight, I wanted to be a graphic designer/illustrator.........

MM: Those were two of my favorite magazines when I was growing up. How, if at all, has Asimov's work influenced your designs?
R: I have to say it's very rare for me to have time to read as I am dyslexic and takes me a little longer. With this project I was given chapter three which I read and enjoyed. Asimov's writing in this instance was very influential, I found it to be very helpful for the Make Your Mark project as it is detailed and he paints pictures/scenes with words. I had heard of I, Robot and Asimov but before this project his work had not influenced me.

MM: Well, since you got to read part of I, Robot, what did you think of the movie?
R: I am not a massive Will Smith fan but I will judge this on art and graphic content which I thought was pretty cool. The CGI in scenes showing the room full of robots in lines is pretty awesome.

MM: That was one of the best parts of the movie. Would you want to live in Asimov's future world? Why or why not?
R: I really don't think we are very far from Asimov's future. Each day we are drawing closer with robots gaining more and more prominence in our society. I was chatting with my brother about the Technocrat theories in which we see there is a certain amount of programming in us all... Anyways yeah I think I'd like it, I suppose it would be down to the individual and how they emotionally educated their Robot - there's good and bad in us all.

MM: Truth. Would you ever work on a feature film? Why or why not?
R: Yes, I would love the chance. I have a friend who worked in the industry for years and was lucky to work with Ridley Scott. He tells me the hours are crazy and work load massive, all sounds good to me as a workaholic.

MM: OK, you guys heard it first here! He could be the next big concept artist! So, let's focus on your part of the project. Tell us about Make Your Mark?
R: Make Your Mark is a great project and I am so glad I was asked to be involved. I was set the brief of creating three illustrations drawn from chapter 3 of Asimov's I, Robot. All drawings had to be created on the Tegra NOTE 7 on both drawing programmes "Sketchbook Pro" and "Tegra Draw." This was a little daunting at first as I've never really used a tablet before as I am traditional pen and paper. I loved the tablet and have now started using it as part of my set up. From chapter 3 I looked at the robot Q-T and his Messiah complex and his beaming red eyes. The first drawing was of Q-T looking to sky reaching into a god like glow from the heavens. The second a close up of his hand and the glow and the final a direct close up of his glowing red eyes of insight. I am looking forward to seeing each artists' style and translation of each chapter.

Here's the first video from the campaign:


Here's the full press release about the project

NVIDIA Inspires Its Fans with Help from Artists

Make Your Mark is a new project meant to inspire a global movement by making visible the creative potential of illustration, graphics and animation on the NVIDIA Tegra NOTE 7 tablet. With the device’s DirectStylus technology, smooth lines and strokes flow seamlessly from hand to tablet, giving creators more power to imagine than ever before.

NVIDIA has invited 10 remarkable artists from all corners of the world to make their mark by producing three illustrations, inspired by Isaac Asimov’s I, Robot, on the Tegra NOTE 7 tablet, highlighting the DirectStylus technology. What’s more, their journeys will be made into a series of short films to encourage creative exchange and inspire the artistic dabbler in all of us.

Artists involved in the project range from students to accomplished professionals, excelling in different mediums and genres – from computer game designer Wes Louie to cartoon artist Jing X Hu. These 10 artists will take us on a journey as we get to know them and their works, offering tips and techniques to accomplish basic and more complex works of art.

Artists involved in the project, include:

Experienced Artists

Rugman - www.rugmanart.com
Rugman is a London-based artist, designer and founder of Rum Knuckles StreetWear. At an early age life was all about skate, punk music and drawing. He spent his 20's working as a graphic designer for the fashion industry, his trademark style of culture-inspired graphics and parodies of familiar cultural icons accompanying him during an extensive tenure in the US and Europe. He spent a notable period in New York working for a London-based textile house; collaborating with designer labels like Donna Karan and Calvin Klein. Rugman now paints from his studio in London and has been known on occasion to stencil or paste the streets of East London where his art came to fruition. He has exhibited in Barcelona, Berlin, California, Dublin and London.

Kako - http://www.kakofonia.com
Kako is an award-winning Brazilian illustrator and graphic designer based in Sao Paulo, working for advertising, publishing and editorial clients around the world. Awards include the Gold Lion at Cannes Advertising Festival 2008, the Gold Medal at El Ojo de Iberoamerica Advertising Festival and Best Illustrator of 2007 at HQMix Awards. His work has been published in several illustrations/design books and annuals such as Communication Arts, Society of Illustrators, the SPD and the Lurzer's Archive 200 Best Illustrators Worldwide book. From time to time Kako likes to flirt with the comic book world doing covers for unusual books or telling very short stories.

Kathrin Jacobsen - http://www.kathrinjacobsen.com/
Kathrin Jacobsen was born in Cologne, Germany. She is a highly accomplished graphic designer and illustrator with clients including the Royal Academy of Arts, Sony, MTV, the University of Arts and Fabriano. Kathrin's graphic design projects have included books for Anthony McCall and David Hockney and the exhibition catalogue for one of the Royal Academy's most successful shows, Van Gogh. Kathrin has also created exhibition graphics for Sony, Samsung, MTV, Nokia and NVIDIA. Her illustrations grace the pages of a range of books, University of the Arts brochures, stationery and origami sets! She has recently been commissioned to write and illustrate her first picture book.

Luke Waller - http://www.lukewaller.co.uk
Luke Waller is an illustrator, working mainly across Europe for clients in the editorial, advertising, fashion and publishing sectors. From his base in Winchester, England, Luke works regularly for clients such as The Financial Times and Panorama Magazine (Italia). As a side project he is currently illustrating his own book based on true stories from his father and uncle's time in the British Police. Clients include Nike, Footlocker, Samsung, Like The Wind Magazine and La Revue (France). Exhibitions: Not For Rental - 71a Gallery (2013), Affordable Art fair (2013), Yangtze River Spring Arts Festival - Wu Han China (2009)

Ahn Zhe - www.ahnzhe.com
Ahn (born Tu Tse-wei) has had a passion for drawing throughout his life. He discovered his love of comics in junior high; while his classmates were copying the drawings of popular artists, Ahn was already using comics to record his life, drawing the girls he liked, the teacher nagging away in class, or whatever dramas came to mind.

Ahn's work is strongly experimental. His passion for historical elements can be seen in all of his work, be it a frame of an old film, lyrics from an old song or the people and places that have been left behind in the advances of technology. His work includes graphic design, illustration and storyboard design, but what he enjoys the most is art, drawing and writing. In 2013 Ahn won first prize at the Fumetto Comix-Festival, Lucern and was nominated at the Angouleme International Comics Festival.

Game Designers

Wes Louie - http://www.weslouie.com/work.htm

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Wes Louie is a concept artist and illustrator currently working in the entertainment industry for companies like Zoic Studios, Digital Domain and The Walt Disney Company.

Wes has created concept art for film projects such as The Dark Tower, Thor, Buck Rogers, Aliens in the Attic, King Lear, Captivity and many more. His video game storyboarding and concept work includes Halo 4, The Bureau: XCOM Declassified, Skylanders, Infiniti Blade II, Resistance: Fall of Man, Ratchet, SimCity Creator and many more.

University Students

Jing X Hu - http://pinkjellyo.daportfolio.com/

Jing X Hu is a graphic novel artist and painter who “strives to make in her art a surreal wasteland, ravishing with pseudo‐organic ornamentation and rotten opulence”. Jing has written and illustrated a comic strip for the Singapore Newspaper {早报逗号} since 2010. She is a published Manga artist and her graphic novel ‘Lament' was published in 2009. Her works have been shown in galleries and publications in Singapore, Chicago and London.

Jing is currently listening to Purple Passion and Beethoven virus. She likes to watch Sherlock, eat mulled wine candy and drink iced tea.

Vaan Tsao - http://www.vaantsao.co.uk

Vaan was born in China. She has a diverse practice, with a proficiency in both ceramics and drawing; disciplines which have been strongly influenced by her obsession with cubism, futurism and constructivism.

Currently studying for a BA in Illustration at Camberwell College of Art, Vaan’s experience as a graphic designer and illustrator includes product design typography and graphics for a game developer in China and design and illustration for solo exhibitions at the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou. She has recently enjoyed an internship as an editorial illustrator with The European Business Review.

Close to graduating, Vaan’s current focus is on overlapping patterns, the natural world, fragments and puzzles. She was published in Sassy Zine in 2013.

School Age Students

Ray Chadwick

Joseph Baker

We’ll be sharing video documenting the work of these artists on our YouTube Channel starting April 28. Tune in and grab a Tegra NOTE 7 to create some art of your own.

Doug MacMillan, director of Worldwide Mobile Marketing at NVIDIA, commented: “DirectStylus was designed to make digital inking and drawing more natural for creators, capturing fine details with pressure sensitivity. Make Your Mark taps into the work of some very innovative and visual minds as inspiration for a global community to imagine digitally.”

Artist Rugman commented: “There’s a fear of anything new, because you’ve been so used to your existing technique and set of processes. I’m really surprised by the actual definition of the line on the Tegra NOTE 7. I want to use it like I use a piece of paper. It will definitely become part of my repertoire. It’s so cool!”

The films will be shared through NVIDIA’s YouTube channel, with the first launching on April 28.

Why I, Robot inspire
For two decades, NVIDIA has pioneered visual computing, the art and science of computer graphics. Visual computing has heavily influenced science fiction over the years and Isaac Asimov's I, Robot of 1950 is one of the most influential books in the history of the genre.

The stories contained here introduced the Three Laws of Robotics (and the word “robotics” itself), and even now these form the starting point for discussions of machine ethics and machine learning across contemporary science and art.

What do you think of the artwork and interview? How has Isaac Asimov inspired you?

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