Yea, we’ve got spring break on the brain. Is there anyone in the world who doesn’t? Especially now that it’s March and officially
SPRING BREAK SEASON. Well, for all ya’lls with snow still on the ground and no vaca in sight, we thought we’d bring a little dose of spring break to your doorstep. His name is Sharkbro and there’s a good chance he’ll eat your face off, but he’s the winning design of the Spring Break design challenge and he’s pretty rad! Read on to learn more about Sharkbro himself and Tony Riff, the artist behind the design, and don’t forget to snag the new tee here!
Congrats on your winning “Sharkbro” design for the Spring Break challenge! The last we chatted, you had just won the Lowbrow challenge. What have you been up to since?
Cheers! I’ve been doing more of the same really; freelancing, and trying to do more graffiti (and failing miserably due to the cold weather). I’ve also been focusing a lot more on selling prints and clothing from my own website; just taking small steps at a time, but the response has been pretty good so far.
When you saw the Spring Break challenge pop up, why did you think, “I just gotta make something for this?”
I tend to gravitate towards drawing summer themed designs. Plus, I already had the idea for the Sharkbro character jotted down somewhere, so it felt like the perfect time to bring him to life!
What comes to mind when you think “Spring Break”?
Impossibly good looking people getting impossibly drunk. I’d fit right in of course, minus the whole “impossibly good looking” thing.
What types of ideas did you consider pursuing for this challenge?
I have an anything goes approach to challenges. As long as ideas fit with the theme, I just try to not overthink them and have fun with the process. The designs I spend the least amount of time fussing over tend to end up being my personal favourites.
How did you come up with the idea for your winning design?
That winning combination of partying hard and watching shark documentaries.
What’s a typical day like in the life of Sharkbro?
He just wants to have a good time, but people get the wrong idea and tend to run away whenever they see him. Then again, his idea of having a good time is eating your face off, so it’s probably wise to avoid him. Basically the moral of the story here is to always judge a book by it’s cover… I can’t stress that enough.
Would you mind taking us through the process of creating this design?
Pencil sketch>ink it up>scan> colour bits with photoshop> boom!
What’s the craziest thing you’ve done during spring break?
I like to think that the craziest stuff was too crazy to remember. (I’m just saying that to sound slightly less boring… did it work?) Incidentally, I did crash a lot of house parties last year, which is my favourite pastime now. So look out for me this summer, I might bring Sharkbro.
If you could spend your spring break doing anything in the world, what would it be and why?
I’d orchestrate a yacht party that cruised around all the Caribbean islands. I’d be the captain of course, which means it would capsize within an hour of the party, but what a way to go.
Any other shout-outs?
The same person I shouted out last time. I’m writing this at 2:32 am on a Friday night, so I’m too tired to think of anyone else right now. Goodnight, kids!
