RikkiB

Andy from Thunderfrogs recently interviewed Australian designer RikkiB for us. Rikki’s work is typified by this awesome t-shirt; swirls, rainbows, and shooting stars, lightning bolts and geometric shapes.

TF: Hi Rikki, thanks for agreeing to the interview. How long have you been designing t-shirts? Can you tell us a little about how you got into it?

RB: I started off making iron-ons when I was a youngun, then graduated to screening until I realised it’s much easier when someone else does the printing. That’s when I decided to focus on the drawing. I think I started making them because I wanted something that no one else had.

TF: Your designs typically have a hand-drawn look. How do you achieve this? Can you talk us through the process?

RB: I’ve never been one for drawing stuff digitally, it’s all pen and paper. My scans are usually pretty crappy so there’s a hell of a lot of fixy uppy in photoshop. That’s basically it, a bit of colouring and all done.

TF: I love the colour scheme of your “Booyah!” t-shirt. Can you tell me a little about how you choose your palette?

RB: I can’t recall exactly, but I often visit http://www.colourlovers.com for palette ideas, it’s a great resource.

TF: Which is your best-selling design? And which is your personal favourite? (My favourites are the Duck Hunt tee and the 42 tee)

RB: My best selling tee is any sold at shirt.woot, a couple of thousand tees in 24 hours… more a function of the website than my designs I’m sure! My favourites are Marilyn Sane and my very newest design All the Way to London which doesn’t have a home yet. Anyone? Anyone?

TF: Does the feedback from the design competitions help or hinder your creativity?

RB: I generally won’t place much credence in one opinion (unless it’s someone I respect) but it’s useful to have a bunch of people tell you that they like/dislike the same thing about your design. I didn’t actually read any of the comments on my last shirt.woot design, because that bunch can be terrible. Some competitions can produce harsher critics than others, but you can’t take it to heart.

TF: Do you envision launching your own store some day?

RB: Probably not, I really draw for fun rather than to make a living.

TF: You’re also a tee-blogger. How do you choose what gets posted on Funky Duds?

RB: I don’t have any rules, I just post what I like. I do get a crapload of emails with new tees every day, but when I have time I like to go hunting for independent tees that people might not normally find.

TF: I loved the funny comment on this tee from your fellow Australian designer (and Pop Culture Tees favourite) James Lillis.

RB: That James, he’s a card.

TF: Your anti-racist t-shirt has attracted some positive media attention – and rightly so. Would you like to tell us about it?

RB: There’s a large and disturbing racist movement gaining momentum here in Aus. Everything seemed to come to a head with the Cronulla Riots in 2005 where around 5000 people showed up after recieving this text, “Come to Cronulla this weekend to take revenge. This Sunday every Aussie in the Shire get down to North Cronulla to support Leb [Lebanese] and wog [Italian] bashing day”.

Since then racist stickers and t-shirts like this have been growing in popularity.

I’ve designed this tshirt in a small effort to show people that Australians aren’t all ignorant dicks. Hopefully it’ll help some people to feel welcome here.

TF: One of your t-shirts features a pop-culture mashup of Marilyn Monroe and David Bowie, but which celebrities (living or dead) would you invite to a dinner party?

RB: Assuming I have one of those extra long deluxe tables, I’d have Nick Cave (he has to sit at the piano), James Randi (for some science and some magic), Bret & Jemaine from Flight of the Conchords, Joss Whedon, Tim and Eric (they can bring the Spaghett), Neil Gaiman, Douglas Adams, Amanda Palmer & David Bowie.

But I’d probably be too scared to talk to any of them.

TF: There aren’t a lot of other pop-culture elements in your designs – though I think we share a love of Douglas Adams’ HHGTTG?

RB: We most certainly do!

TF: Who inspires you as a designer? Whose work do you love?

RB: Ray Frenden, Jimiyo, Ray Fenwick, Sean Morris, Emily Glaubinger, Gemma Correll, Mike Perry, Olly Moss And all the hundreds of other ones

TF: What’s been the best thing (so far) about being a designer?

RB: I once saw someone wearing one of my tees in a supermarket. That’s not that weird to you I’m sure, but most of my designs are sold in the US, so to see one in my home town in Australia is pretty awesome.

TF: Are you wearing a cool tee right now?

RB: One of my favourites, ‘Evolver’ by Olly Moss from Go Ape Shirts.

TF: Awesome – I bought that one for my dad a couple of years ago. Do you have any tips for aspiring designers?

RB: Learn to take criticism, it’s about your design, not about you. And keep drawing, because you’ll look back at the stuff you did last year and it’ll be awful!

TF: What are your favourite websites, tee-related or otherwise?

RB: Can I list my favourite podcasts instead? I LOVE podcasts right now… nothing to do with tees though!

• The Bugle
• The Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe
• The Moth
• Skeptoid
• Stephen Fry’s Podgrams

TF: Thanks, and good day to you, madame!

RB: Thank you for having me!

Check out more of Rikki’s work at rikkib.net, redbubble, and emptees.

RB: And Design By Humans & Twitter!