Ryan O. Hicks Creative | Designer | Photographer

Interview with the Creative Josh Sommers

Let me introduce you to Josh Sommers, who currently resides in California.  Josh is a photo illustrator, photographer, graphic designer, and software developer.  I have personally been watching Josh’s work for 17 months from his flickr account, where he continually inspires individuals and has built up a hefty list of followers.

Josh was kind enough to sit down and answer a few questions for us to enjoy.

Have you always been interested in art or was there a transition at some point in your life that you said, this is going to be my future career?

Both of my parents are very creative and artistic people. I believe that I inherited those traits from them and I don’t think there has ever been a time in my life where that creativity was not being put to work in one way or another. There was not a moment when I decided that I was going to be a professional artist, in fact quite the contrary. When I graduated high school, I really wanted to pursue a career as a musical theatre actor, but I also knew that I had expensive tastes and didn’t want to be a starving artist, so I did the exact opposite and got a degree in Computer Science. I figured a solid career would provide me with the income I would require to do all of the fun and creative things I would invariably get myself into- such as photography.

Tell us a little about what exactly you do or whom you work for?  Do you mostly do freelance work, or do you work for a firm?

My main source of income is still my career as a software engineer. I work for a small firm in Northern California called Interbill where I develop software for the legal billing market. Outside of Interbill I work primarily as a freelance artist taking in projects as they become available and when I have time. However, for the last year I have been working with a boutique branding firm called Branditecture, on retainer for a single client. The work I do with Branditecture is all design, photography and illustration based creative work like packaging design, advertising photography, photo illustration, etc.

What is the toughest project you have taken on?  What was your favorite one?  Any others that stick out in your mind that you liked more than others?

They are one in the same. I did a 2 page photo illustration spread for the May 2009 issue of Playboy magazine. I had just 5 days to complete the illustration. It was really the first time that I worked under an art director and with a tight deadline for a major publication so that was a new and daunting experience. The first three versions of the illustration I came up with were partially rejected by the Art Director, something that was also new to me. Up to that point my art had always just been my art- I never had to go back to the drawing board to make sweeping changes. But because of this art direction, the final image was much better than any of the earlier versions. Of course the fact that I now get to say that my work has been published in Playboy contributes to making it my favorite project to date.

Where do you get your inspiration?  Do ideas just pop into your head, or do you have other artists you look to for that magical spark?   What sites do you frequent?

It comes from all over. Sometimes an idea just pops into my head. Sometimes I am inspired by the work of others. Sometimes a random doodle morphs into a creative concept. I find plenty of inspiring work on flickr, though I’ve been known to poke around DeviantArt as well. In general I don’t go looking for inspiration but I can’t help but be inspired by great work.

What type of hardware and software setup do you use for work and home?

I’ve got pretty similar setups at work and home. Windows Vista, 24” LCD monitor (dual at work), external RAID array for redundant data backup, Wacom Intuos3 tablet. Photoshop CS4 is the main program I use for photo manipulation/illustration work. Others include Illustrator, Photomatix, Hugin, PTGui, Artizen HDR and Flexify.

You seem to have a wide range of skills making you versatile for any employer.  If you had to choose one side of you that you favor the most what category would that be?

This is a difficult question because I don’t really see these things as different sides of myself. The thing about me is that when I do something, whatever it is, I put my all into it. This is often perceived by those on the outside as obsessive, and perhaps to some extent it is, but ultimately it is that to which I attribute all of the various successes I have had in my career and in my life. When I was a student, I gave it my all and was successful. When I am writing legal billing software, I give it my all and have found success there. When I got into photography, I once again was obsessed with it, and gave it my all, my whole world revolved around it. The same cycle has repeated many times in my life from job to job, hobby to hobby the obsessive drive to be as good as I can possibly be at whatever it is I am doing is the one thing that has remained constant. That being said, I also view this as one of my biggest weaknesses. For all of the various interests that I have focused so intently upon, there is not one that has raised to the top to be the one that I truly master. I consider myself a jack of many trades, but a master of none. At least not yet.

What is the one thing you most enjoy about your career?

Well, making a consistent living is certainly high on my list, but being able to earn an income doing something that I enjoy doing- which is the case for both art and software engineering, is the most enjoyable aspect of my career by far.

Is there another other side to you that not a lot of people know about?  Do you have any hidden talents that are not showcased?

It all depends upon the context of how you know me. Many people I work with in the software field have no idea that I am an artist. Most of my flickr fans have no idea that I am a software engineer. Most people from both camps have no idea that I am a classically trained vocalist and pianist. But most people in general don’t know that I am also an avid Texas Hold’em player and have a lifelong love affair with video games, from Super Mario Brothers to Call of Duty Modern Warfare.

What advice and insight can you give other individuals wanting to achieve your level of work and status in the design community?

Always believe in yourself and set high expectations of yourself. Always seek perfection in all that you do and success will find you. As cliché as it is, aim for the stars and you’ll reach the sky. I also think it is very important to remain humble, gracious and thankful when success does find you.

What is your middle name?

Paul

You can find Josh’s flickr stream at the following link.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/joshsommers/

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About Ryan O. Hicks

I am a creative, designer, and photographer. My life revolves around being emerged in visual imagery as well as creating it. I have a B.S. in Computer Graphics Technology from Purdue University, in West Lafayette, Indiana. As well as a minor in Organizational Leadership and Supervision.