Today's the day we have a quick insight into the mind of one of the most sought after Sheffield based illustrators. From his own clothing range to his custom office art pieces, this is one of the guys to watch! First came office spaces, where next? Buckingham Palace? Who knows...

How long have you been creating innovative art pieces?
I've been creating artwork since I was a nipper, if I count random doodles and scribbles as art that is. I suppose I've always put pen to paper from a young age as my parents bought me little in toys, but made up for it in video tapes of Tom and Jerry cartoons so my imagination was pretty active.

Who/where do you take inspiration from?
I'm inspired by other peoples work, in particular the Sheffield based artists of Kid Acne and the persona of Pete McKee, these are more recent influences on my outlook on being a freelance illustrator. I'm always inspired by work I see online in blogs and individual portfolios, there's so much of it out there - it's tough to pin point exact artists but whatever work leaves an impression on me I take ideas from, but mould my own take on it.

Which piece of work have you most enjoyed creating?
I enjoy all the live mural pieces I get commissioned for, especially the one at the Hair Kandi studio in Sheffield, as well as a recent commission in London by Cheil Worldwide, an ad agency, I've enjoyed these the most because the clients have given me total freedom to do what I want. Giving me this freedom relaxes me and allows me to just create with no hassle.

Which piece of work are you most proud of?
I'm proud of a lot of my work, as I see each commission and individual project as a progression of style and self. I think personally I'm most proud of the Tea Bath tea towel design I've done for the Millennium Galleries - it was for their Teatopia exhibition and the towel was printed by To Dry For. Getting the prototype print sent to my house was a good feeling!

Whereabouts can people see your work?
People can see my work dotted about on different walls and displays, The Common Room, The Harley, The Wick at Both Ends, Hair Kandi and Paris Sheffield - a new bar I've recently worked on. Other places would be online on my website and hopefully in the future I'll be aiming for more editorial commissions, fingers crossed.

How would a budding artist go about owning his own clothing range like yours?
Clothing is a very individual thing and the key is to make clothes that have a sense of self and a message that others will be happy to latch on to. So rather than designing for the clients, design for yourself, design clothes you'd want to wear and if it's good people will buy and wear it. That's my take on it. I suppose it's always good to have some business knowledge or to have a partner; I have little knowledge in business but luckily I have a partner and a small team who contribute to my own label. Sometimes the business side is tedious but it's part and parcel of fashion, it just has to be done.

How do you get your work noticed? Mostly personal promotion or word of mouth?
I'm lucky in a way; I'm rubbish at promoting my work but somehow I have people talking about it. I suppose having your work online helps and social networking helps too. Whenever I've done a new piece or worked on a recent project I'll always write about it if it's good and hopefully people take notice and pass it around. A lot of my work in Sheffield I've got from word of mouth, such is the way up in the north, good work should always speak for itself and in my opinion the less you have to talk and explain your work, the better your work suits the commercial world.

How would you sum up Hantu Collective in five words?
Community, creative, Northern, humble and fun.

Ha, sweet - we love Northern. How would you some up yourself in five different words?
Hmmm… (that's not a word), naïve,
doodler, odd, relaxed and busy.

What do you expect from Hantu Collective in the future?
I'd like Hantu Collective to evolve like any other label, to have more stockists and to sell internationally. Who knows; maybe having a notable celebrity being papped in one of our garms, that'd be nice.

What was your last commercial job?
The last commercial job was for Cheil Europe in London, they're part of a bigger ad agency group based in South Korea so they were the biggest client I've worked for. They commissioned me to draw murals around their new office space to liven the place up with little characters running around causing mischief, much of what may happen in
the office environment.

I've seen the Rotherham art space you used to present up and coming artists' work, what was the strangest art piece there?
Haha this is a tough question, I wouldn't go as far to say any of the work was strange but I like the work of Louise Wheeler, she's a Graphic Design student and her illustration work is weird but wonderfully drawn. A lot of her exhibited boards are dark and eerie but they're great because of that!

If someone came up to you saying they could draw better than you, and you had a blunt pencil in your right hand and a wet fish in the other, with a choice of stab or slap which would it be?
Depends on my mood - if in a bad one, I'd draw, stab and slap, give them a triple whammy. But most of the time I believe there are much better doodlers and artists out there and that's the reality of it, if people are good at what they do, they shouldn't be seen as a threat and you respect them. If people aren't so good and they give it all that, it's just best to be humble still.

Canvas or print?
Print

Sharpie or paint?
Sharpie

Illustrator or Photoshop?
Tough… I can't survive without either

Mac or PC?
Mac, a hundred times Mac

Nikon or Canon?
Canon

Black & White or colour?
Colour

CMYK or RGB?
CMYK