Awesome Artists We've Found Around The Net: Adam Stothard

For years, Awesome Art We’ve Found Around The Net has been about two things only – awesome art and the artists that create it. With that in mind, we thought why not take the first week of the month to showcase these awesome artists even more? Welcome to “Awesome Artist We’ve Found Around The Net.” In this column, we are focusing on one artist and the awesome art that they create, whether they be amateur, up and coming, or well established. The goal is to uncover these artists so even more people become familiar with them. We ask these artists a few questions to see their origins, influences, and more. If you are an awesome artist or know someone that should be featured, feel free to contact me at any time at [email protected].This month we are very pleased to bring you the awesome art of…

Adam Stothard

Adam is a UK illustrator based in the artistically vibrant city of Bristol. Having never truly grown up, his design inspiration comes from a long-standing obsession with comic and film. With his trusty Wacom pen, Adam uses dramatic composition and a bold palette to capture the magic of pop culture. Working in the commercial design industry for over a decade, Adam’s work, since venturing into poster illustration, has appeared in print campaigns for film and television.

As a member of the esteemed art collective, The Poster Posse, Adam has had the great privilege of working with leading clients in the entertainment industry and continues to create new and exciting work in the fields of film and popular culture.

Adam’s impressive client list includes Disney, Pixar, 20th Century Fox, Studio Canal, Second Sight Film, Shout! Factory and more.

JOBLO: What got you started as an artist?
ADAM: I have always had an aptitude for art, which I think I got from my father. He was a press photographer and has a great eye for composition, but also he is a wonderful draftsman and so, growing up, he would often be drawing or painting and I would join him. Like anything you want to be good at, time and practice play a key role, and so I have been working at becoming an artist for as long as I can remember. Through my time at school, I was mostly known as ‘the guy who was good at art’ which was encouraging, so there was never any doubt when uni came around, I followed my passion for art and chose to pursue a degree in Illustration. This led me to my first job as a Designer for a branding agency. Fast forward 15 years and I still work for a branding agency, but 5 years ago, alongside this, I began to create the work I’m now best known for, my illustrations for alternative movie posters and pop culture.

I was fortunate enough to be born in the 80s, a decade rich in pop culture, and from a young age, I was captivated by shows like Thundercats and Turtles and would spend hours redrawing the characters. Later, comics captured my imagination, especially the early 90’s X-Men comics, and I think this is where my love of pop culture has stemmed from to this day.

So 5 years ago I began illustrating film posters, just for fun, and putting them out via social media. It was also at this time, I came across a poster art site called PosterSpy, and discovered other like-minded artists who were playing with alternative movie posters. This community was hugely supportive and so I kept making my work and overtime big things started to happen. I was asked to become a member of The Poster Posse, an insanely talented collective of artists and it was with them I turned a hobby into a new and exciting career path. I have since worked with many film studios, had my art used in the advertising for major Hollywood movies and more exciting projects are rolling in every day.

Who were some of your favorite artists growing up?
Back in the 90’s I was an avid collector of X-Men comics, so artists like Jim Lee were an inspiration for me. I was also fascinated by the rich world of Terry Pratchett books growing up and so artist Josh Kirby had a big influence on my art at the time. Later I became captivated by people like Alex Ross and how he combined his hyper-real style with a Golden Age of comic aesthetic. Now, Robert Mcginnis is a major influence on my work, I just love how he captures his subject, there’s such an elegance to his work that I love.

Who do you really dig these days, follow on Instagram?
Instagram is wonderful, it is just a constant stream of inspiration right there in your pocket. My fellow Poster Posse members are always putting out inspired work, so I would certainly recommend heading over to the Poster Posse Instagram page and checking out the great stuff on their feed. Also, check out the four very talented artists working under the handle spainters.collective, their work is always blowing me away. Drop Mag Official is a podcast which does a great sum up of recent poster art releases, so definitely worth taking a look. Then there is PosterSpy and Printed in Blood, both are doing great things to support the thousands of talented artists who are trying to break into the industry and whose feed is always chocked full of inspirational art.

What advice would you have for budding artists today?
It is funny when you work in a design roll, you end up drawing each day for others and it doesn’t leave a huge amount of time to draw for yourself. It is very important to make the time. Draw what you are passionate about. For me, that’s movies and pop culture, but whatever your muse, your interest in the subject will come across in the art. Also keep working, keep making, keep drawing. I am better today than I was last year, and a year ago I was better than the year before, I do not think I will every be the the best I can be, because I am constantly learning. So keep practicing and you will find new ways to approach your image, new compositions that are waiting to be tried, new colour ways to experiment with. Also, keep putting your work out into the world. Instagram is an amazing platform and a lot of my success has come from commissions off the back of past work I’ve shared. Check out PosterSpy and upload some of your work. The community of artists there are so supportive which can help drive you, and PosterSpy will often share new work via their platform which is a great way to get your stuff out in front of the right people.

Another way to get your work seen is to contact the team at Printed In Blood, who for a few years now have been putting out some fantastic art books. Recent books include The Thing art book, Visions from the Upside Down: A Stranger Things art book, and the upcoming Halloween and Hannibal art books. As well as a great source of inspiration they can really help showcase your work. I myself have had a number of opportunities come in off the back of my illustration work in this book. I hope that some of this advice helps.

What should we be looking out for from you in the future?
I have just finished a piece of work for a certain dinosaur franchise which I hope will be well received. I have also just worked on some tour posters for Elton John and The Who, via Collectionzz, which was a bit different to my usual film stuff. This last year I’ve been incredibly busy and a large amount of my current work is waiting in print queues yet to be released. I do have a series of Bond prints, from a private commission, which I am particularly excited about, and I cannot wait for people to get to see these. I also have a Lord of the Rings commission on the go and I honestly think it may be the best thing I’ve ever drawn, so I’m very excited to get to share this down the line. Then I have a 4K boxset for a very popular horror movie in the works, but I cannot say more about that until it has been made public. So, yes, lots on and lots to come, I cannot wait to share what I’ve been working on.

Being a fansite, we have to ask you… What are some of your favorite movies/TV shows of all time?
Wow! Where to start, you do not get into drawing for TV and movies without a deep love for both. For TV, my top three are, Deadwood, which is just superb, Yellowstone, and Firefly. All western themed as it turns out. I’m a bit obsessed when it comes to the show Firefly and my studio at home is surrounded by a whole bunch of Firefly collectibles.

As for movies, my choices can change wildly based on my mood at the time, but here are some of my favourites; The Shawshank Redemption, Robin Hood; Prince of Thieves, Young Guns 2, Braveheart, and The Labyrinth. Nothing too highbrow here, but each one I will go back and watch again and again.

Scroll down to check out some of our favorite art pieces from Adam as we continue to follow his journey across his Website and social media hubs: Instagram / Twitter / Facebook / Store / Echo / Moore-Art Gallery

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