In the world of monsters, size does matter. Even if you’re as awesome as Batman – Godzilla’s still gonna step on you with his (her?) little toe.
The winner of our Infographics Challenge, Grant – “Gamma-Ray” – Shepley, made a handy (and rad) chart to show how some of our favorite creatures and characters measure up against each other. Because infographics are cool.
We talked to Grant about his winning design, working at Guess Jeans, and about his Artist Shop designs. Check out his answers below!
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I see that you design for Guess Jeans! That’s awesome! What’s that like?
Yeah, I do, in South Africa. It’s great having a job in a field I’m so passionate about. I design and alter graphics for mens, ladies, Boys & girls.
How do you balance your work life as a designer and doing art for fun?
They both kind of fuel each other. I get to practice in Photoshop & Illustrator all day and then take a style to a personal (fun) design. And when I work on my personal designs after hours & on weekends, I often take styles & ideas from those sessions to work.
Favorite creature/person on this design and why, GO.
Although I like them all…I would say the T. Rex! Mainly because I’m fascinated by dinosaurs. And the interesting thing about the T.Rex is that it was only slightly bigger than an elephant…not as gigantic as shown in the Jurassic Trilogy, haha.
What attracted you to this challenge?
“Size matters” is a design I did a while back and is personally one of my favourites. I realized it would be a perfect challenge to sub it to.
What monster face-off would you most want to see?
As a kid, Voltron from Power Rangers was the giant to beat! So I always wanted Godzilla and Voltron to have a showdown.
Your Instagram has a lot of inspirational quotes – what inspires YOU and your art?
Yeah I am kinda a quote fan. Those particular ones were quotes from poets that I redesigned into a poster series.
I am inspired by a wide variety of sources, like film, books, music, ads and much more. I can be watching a movie and something insignificant in a film can trigger a concept for a design. I love the idea of experimenting, so trying new styles and ideas is important to me (I often get bored doing the same style too often).
You have so many great designs -how did you pick which ones to put in your Artist Shop?
Thanks. It’s a combination of some of my favourite designs and ones that got a great reaction from the Threadless community.
How did you get started in graphic design?
I’ve always been curious and creative. I used to draw a lot of cartoons, animals and cars. When I was about 11 or 12 I used to design my own cars (sketched the cars from all angles etc.) When I finished school I was unsure what I wanted to study. I settled on architecture, but my marks weren’t good enough. Graphic design was suggested to me. I’ve never looked back since starting.
Why the name “Gamma-Ray”?
I really struggled finding a name, haha. But when listening to a Beck song where he sings “C’mon little gamma ray” I decided that would be a rad name.
Nice! How is the art scene in Johannesburg?
I’m not really that sure as I’m not really in the loop. Cape Town is where it’s happening. It’s one of the art capitals of the world. The legendary “Haasbroek” is from Cape Town.
Besides your own art, what do you like to do for fun?
I’m a sucker for random knowledge! Mainly on science, geography & history. So I consume as many documentaries, podcasts and books as I can on these…ironic how I disliked these subjects in school.
My girlfriend and I love traveling and hiking. I have recently taken up rock climbing, it’s something I’m really enjoying.
Shop the winning design here!
