I met illustrator Liam O'Donnell at a private, post-college illustration course taught by Caitlin Kuhwald, one of my instructors at California College of the Arts. Liam and I quickly connected over our love for illustration, sketchbooks, and mostly because he would (very kindly) give me a ride home after class.
I've seen Liam in action, and he loves to burn the midnight oil... and the daytime oil. He cranks out new zines, creates detailed, clever, and beautifully executed illustrations, and doodles on every scrap of paper he comes across. After recently completing his MFA in Illustration as Visual Essay at the School of Visual Arts in NYC, he's taking a much needed trip home to California, to surf, relax and recharge before he dives head first into the freelance illustration world.
Learn more about Liam's illustration process, success for the MFA program, and secret love of bees in our interview below.
1) What did you eat for breakfast this morning?
Four eggs, an avocado, two cups of black tea, and a baked Japanese sweet potato.
2) For those that don't know you yet, could you please tell us a bit more about yourself? Also, although you're in the thick of it now, you weren't always interested in art as a profession, could you tell us how you caught the creative bug?
I am from Oakland, California. My family is full of creative people but was never in any art classes until college. At UC Davis I took one drawing class and got hooked. I have been drawing ever since. Before art was on my radar as a possible career choice I was very interested in physics and the other physical sciences.
3) You recently completed your MFA at SVA (congrats!). What was favorite part of the Illustration as Visual Essay program? What was the most valuable piece of advice or take-away from your professors or the program itself?
Thanks! It was an incredible 2 years. Marshall Arisman has built a truly magical community over the 30 years the program has been around. I am honored to be a part of their alumni. Being around so many other Illustrators was definitely the best part of the program. So many ways of working and seeing the world. So much excitement about drawing.
I just did an interview with [my] department at SVA and they asked the same thing. These three things really stick out as important.
1. It’s all about the people. Illustration can be an incredibly lonely pursuit so make friends and be social along the way. Learn from your peers as much as your professors (probably more) and be nice.
2. Fail. Push yourself out of your comfort zone. You are not in the program to do things you could have done on your own. Take some risks and mess up some drawings instead of playing it safe.
3. Work hard and work in the studio. While a number of my classmates work at home I think one of the most important parts of this program is the studio environment. You are paying for the space and to be surrounded by other illustrators. Don’t waste that opportunity. Build the community you want it to be because that is one of the biggest take aways from the program. Who you meet can be as important as what you make. 2 years fly by. Make them count.
4) Your recent work, particularly your thesis, looks at multitudes and repetition. A great example being "Too Many Cooks" (above). What fascinates you about crowds, abundance, and tension?
I always considered myself a city kid but moving to New York really brought the increasing density of humans to my attention. Especially evident in NYC are the systems and the byproducts of this density. I started with that general premise and started to riff on different images based on density, overpopulation and problematic human systems.
5) Could you walk us through your process for an illustration? From concept to final image.
There is a bunch of doodling, thumbnailing and list making. Once I arrive on an idea that resonates I try to explore it compositionally and conceptually, poking and prodding it until I feel like I understand the essence of how it will read. From there I take the thumbnail that is in my sketchbook and scan it. In photoshop I colorize it and make any rough changes to composition and proportion. I print it and then draw over that. I do this as many times as it takes to flush out the details I want in the image. Once the rough has enough information in it I print that on the surface I want to ink on and use microns to draw over it.
Every step of the way I am adding more to the image. Working like this allows me to refine the picture and to add the fun little details that come to me spontaneously as I draw. After inking I scan it and color it in photoshop. I sometimes work in traditional media and in that case I follow a similar process but instead of inking over the rough I use watercolors, gouache and colored pencils.
6) Quick, look at whatever music streaming source you use: What's the last song you listened to? What band or artists have you been jamming to recently?
I am all over the place with music. I will often find a song I like and find every remix or version I can and let them run. Recently, did that with Bobby Hebb’s “Sunny". But I have also been listening to the Punch Brothers, Sarah Jarosz, Millk Carton Kids, Paul Desmond, Jimmy Cliff, Allah-Las… The list goes on. One of the things I miss most from growing up was the very intentional way I used to listen to music. There were records, tapes and CDs that were a refined object and experience that were meant to be listened to all at once. I remember that one of the most telling looks into someone’s tastes and personality was through the carefully curated mix they burned for you on CD. Recently, I have been wanting to start something equivalent to a book group but with a person making a mix for the others every few weeks.
7) What do you do to recharge? How do you stay motivated and energized to pump out new work?
I swim almost everyday. While in NYC it hasn’t been a possibility but I also surf as much as I can. The energy to make new work comes from a limit on Netflix consumption, and having good friends, good food and enough sleep.
8) Let's talk about zines. You're a zine machine. What attracts you to the zine as space for your work?
I am doodling in my sketchbooks constantly. Zines to me are an extension of that. A bunch of my favorite drawings are tiny little quarter inch scribbles that have an energy that leads into a whole project. The small zines are a great place to experiment with book forms and design ideas or to dump a bunch of those tiny drawings together. Because I have not published any books yet I figured I shouldn’t let that stop me from printing and binding small projects on my own. My most recent zine is a little underwater adventure that I am planning on turning into a coloring book but also works really well at quarter size.
9) What's a book/movie/album that's on your list, something you've been meaning to read/watch/listen to?
I still haven’t watched Birdman but have been meaning to. I am looking forward to reading H is for Hawk. I also am looking forward to catching up on the latest podcasts on Design Matters by Debbie Millman.
10) If you could have any other job, what would it be?
I would work with plants and/or bees. Farming, botany and apiaries are really fascinating and close to my heart.
11) What're you most excited for in the coming months? Any cool personal projects or events?
Having just graduated I am excited to continue with the momentum built during the program and see where that leads me. I am working on a short story/comic about a character named Terry that is a terrarium. I am planning on starting a bi monthly zine subscription and hopefully kicking off a few collaborative projects with some other Cool Friends I know.
12) Final question: Who's your cool friend?
Anyone who sends me a playlist or zine is cool in my book. *hint hint*
Make sure to connect with Liam on his Instagram here
