Artist Cove Q&A: Tony Rodriguez
learn more about Tony Rodriguez through dipity's monthly art interview spotlights
Introduction
Cuban-American illustrator and educator Tony Rodriguez brings a dynamic blend of flat color and bold lines to his depictions of pop culture icons, both past and present. His distinctive work has garnered acclaim from prestigious organizations including The Society of Illustrators New York, Communication Arts, NBC Universal, Creative Quarterly, 3x3, American Illustration, Latin American Ilustración, The Illustration Academy, Visual Arts Passage, Illustration Age, Applied Arts, Entertainment Tonight, The Society For News Design, Gallery1988, Gallery Nucleus, and the UK's World Illustration Awards.
U.S. & International Clients Include: Rolling Stone Magazine, The L.A. Times, The Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker, GQ, Smithsonian Magazine, The Village Voice, Johns Hopkins Magazine, The New Republic, The Boston Globe, The Washington Post, The Dallas Morning News, American Cowboy Magazine, Computer Arts Magazine, WIRED Magazine, Country Weekly, DAS Magazine, Blow Up Magazine, Yankee Magazine, Nurant Magazine, Ace Entertainment, Facebook TV, Videodrome, Humanities Magazine, Rhapsody Magazine, Misc Magazine, Peeps Magazine, The London Evening Standard, Common Good Magazine, BBC Focus Magazine, Milk X Magazine, Flaunt Magazine, Black Key Group, The Beach Boys, and Red Light Management.
Q: What is your name? Where are you from? AND What is your current title in the art world?
I’m Tony Rodriguez. I’m living in Murfreesboro, Tennessee and I’m originally from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. I’m an illustrator and currently an Associate Professor of Illustration at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU).
Q: How did your art journey begin? AND How long have you been at it?
Man, I’ve been at this since I was a kid, I think. I don’t have a memory of not drawing. In terms of really going for it, I’ve been at it for about 15 years now. It started with a willingness to buckle down and mature, I suppose. It’s easy to get stuck in the rut of being a student, and it’s hard to move on from that and just start taking control of your professional life. It was tough starting, but I pushed through it by aiming to achieve small goal after small goal and by just being conscious of what I was spending my time on. I made sure to block out specific times of the week where I would dedicate time to building my portfolio, contacting potential clients, agencies, etc.
Q: What do you use to create your artwork on a day-to-day basis?
My favorite medium, I think, is film-making, overall. But in terms of illustration, digital media, i.e., Photoshop CC and a Wacom tablet, have been the most practical for my avenue of the industry. I’m sure I can transfer my client workflow over to an iPad; I just haven’t done that quite yet. I really like drawing and painting on an iPad in Procreate, and [a video link to an example experiment is below], but it’s more for experimentation and play there. In the editorial sector, you need to pump out finishes pretty quickly, and the Photoshop + Wacom tablet combo has always been the most effective and comfortable way to deliver, in my experience. If there [are] no illustration constraints to this question, I think oil painting is the most therapeutic, and I often imagine a time in retirement where I just bust out the paints and have at it on a traditional canvas.
Q: How long does a typical artwork take you to complete? AND Describe your process.
[It takes] 15-20 hours for commercial work. I narrowed that down at the start. With illustration, you want to be able to churn out a product. It’s like a recipe. After a lot of trial and error in the early days, I was able to narrow down a level of finish that I was satisfied with within a 15-20 hour window. My process is pretty straightforward—I familiarize myself with the goal of the project, I look at reference, I sketch, look at more reference, take notes, I refine my sketch, refine, refine. I usually go from what I refer to as a “garbage” sketch, to a “spherical” sketch, to a “hard edged” sketch to find any tangent issues, and then, if the likeness of the person I’m drawing is working, I move into primary contour lines. After that, I close each line, and I fill color in each little pocket, usually a dark, mid, and light for each area. [An example illustration process video is below]:
Q: What’s your favorite project you’ve ever worked on thus far?
I think my book, VIDEO FOREVER was just a ton of fun to do! I’d never published a book of my art and I’d never written anything to that extent. I drew video stores every day in October, 2024 and I journaled about video store culture as well as the health benefits and how-to’s of drawing challenges. I think that project, although self-generated, was such a big, involved, and fun experience. Working with Lunchmeat VHS and my designer, and my editor, and getting the book out there was so much fun! It was all just a great experience and super rewarding. There’s just five copies left at lunchmeatvhs.com and you can watch the promotional preview video of it [here].
Q: Where do you draw inspiration from for your art? AND Who has inspired you over the years?
Sterling Hundley, Rich Kelly, Gary Kelley, Joe Ciardiello, Mark English, John English, George Pratt, Ed Kinsella, Steve Casino, Scott M. Fischer, Bill Mayer, Alan Feldmesser, Jon Foster, C.F. Payne, Patrick Morgan, Ryan Adams, Air, Fleet Foxes, Radiohead, RJD2, Cuyler Smith, Conor Langton, David Moscati, Craig Welsh, Chris B. Murray, Amy Sol, Nicolas V. Sanchez, Ian Fennelly, Thomas Fluharty, Jason Seiler, Andre Carrillo, Miles Johnston, Stavros Damos, Cool 3D World, Will Picaro, Wylie Beckert, James Jean, Britt Spencer, Ken Taylor, Rodney Ibarra, David Hughes, Bill Carman, Erik Jones, Jonathan Twingley, Alexander Jackson, Jeremy Sorrell, J.A.W Cooper, Jacob Jeffries, Benjamin Bjorklund, Olivia Kemp, Sam Kossler, Rob Benigno, Sofanisba Anguisola, Judy Chicago, Rosa Bonheur, Seymour Chwast, Amos Lee, Ray Lamontagne, Andrew Bird, Animal Collective, Bon Iver, Daft Punk, Michael Jackson, Primus, The Strokes, Wilco, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. The list goes on but I’ll stop at Arnold for now.
Q: Out of all your artworks, which is your absolute fave? AND Why?
I don’t have a favorite piece, but if I had to pick one, it’d be the Bill Murray cover illustration I did for The Washington Post in 2016. It was really well received by the art director and other folks online. That image was also my first piece that made it into Communication Arts, and it also won the Best in Show editorial category via the Association of Illustrator’s World Illustration Awards in the UK [which was] such a wild honor. As a result of the World Illustration Awards recognition, the piece traveled to a variety of exhibitions worldwide and my inbox didn’t quite stop after that project. I don’t consider it my best work but it was definitely one that was well received by many, and I’m super thankful for that and all of the opportunities that came after that project wrapped.
Q: Are there any exciting upcoming projects or events you’d like to share with us?
Yeah, I just wrapped up a piece for a book on the history of women in rock n’ roll. I wrapped up a JAWS piece for Printed In Blood too. They’re not out yet so I can’t say who I worked on for those, but it was a couple of fun projects and I’ve worked with the author and Printed In Blood in the past so it was a nice and easy set of projects. I’ve also got a few pieces that’ll be available for purchase in a few upcoming group exhibitions with Gallery 1988 in LA, all pop culture related. The shows are titled “I Want My MTV” and “Crazy4Cult.” The show I’m most excited for is a two-man exhibition that I’m working on with a friend and fellow artist, Adam Harris @adamisdrawing. We’re designing cassette cases that’ll house our illustrations from both the golden era of TV and film. All of those pieces will be officially licensed and available to purchase via nineteeneightyeight.com within the next few months. Follow @galleries1988 on Instagram (IG) for updates on all that stuff. There are so many cool artists on their roster.
Q: What are some fun facts about yourself or hobbies that you have outside of art?
Oh man, I love making music and arranging music on guitar, mandolin, drums, bass, all that stuff! My wife and I have a band called TV Queen. I’ll leave one of the music videos here, haha! You can hear our stuff on our IG: @tvqueentheband too. It’s kind of a joke band but we have a ton of fun making TV Queen stuff. It’s her on bass and me on drums and there’s a video component to it all. Hopefully we’ll play a show soon.
My wife and I also make really bad horror films. Our friends and family get a kick out of them. I’ll leave a trailer for one of them. You can actually rent one of them at a cool video store in Atlanta called Videodrome. We made a film called Halloween: Michael Myers Comes Home From Space Camp. It took eight months to casually make this 20 minute horror film. What makes it extra hilarious is that my wife became real-life pregnant at the start of filming. So, in 20 minutes, she goes from being Michael Myers, to the most pregnant and lethal Michael Myers you’ve ever seen on screen! It’s pretty hilarious.
Q: What was the last song you listened to?
The last song I listened to was probably “Cold Slope” by a band called Wilco.
Q: What’s one movie or book that we should check out?
We actually saw the new Nic Cage flick recently called The Surfer and it was just outstanding—highly recommend [watching it]. I’m also considering picking up a book by a guy named Mark Fisher called Ghosts of My Life.
Q: How do you typically get out of artist block?
I don’t think artist block is real.
Q: Do you have a fave poem? OR Are there any poets that you’re a fan of?
I’ve been kind of on a quiet, guilty Bukowski kick lately. Not because I relate to his writing all that much anymore—I’m not in my self-loathing early 20s any longer, but I still love reading his stuff. He just says a lot of powerful things really quickly, and I wish I could come up with such colorful sentences like he does. It’ll take me three paragraphs to try and reach the emotional depth that he reaches in just one sentence, and that’s just super impressive to me. I read one recently called “The Man With the Beautiful Eyes,” and I loved it.
Q: Lastly, what advice or tips would you give those wanting to pursue art as a career?
First and most importantly, an illustrator should know what they like to draw about. This is a job that you can cultivate from the ground up based on the imagery you enjoy doing! A career as an illustrator can put you in situations where you’d get paid to draw what you love to draw. If you like to draw dragons, DO IT! There’s always a market for what you love to draw about. If not, there will be one tomorrow. Second, it is very important to research and become familiar with the market(s) you want to work within. For example, if you’re yearning for editorial, your research is sitting at a Barnes and Noble, CVS, and Publix, make it a habit to flip through the publications on their shelves, and you will notice a pattern of what these magazines consistently purchase when it comes to illustration. Third, take advantage of social media. And no, I don’t mean an Instagram account that showcases some artwork and primarily hosts images of your cat and or your night at a bar.
Today, serious Illustrators are devoting their social media presence specifically and exclusively to the work they want Art Directors to see. Fourth, think globally—it’s very easy to limit oneself to U.S. markets; however, the Gulf and East Asia are huge emerging markets. Stay ahead of the curve and research them. Lastly, at some point, this becomes more than just drawing pictures. You must think and act like a business. Professionalism is key for obtaining repeat clients and procuring new ones. Be organized, consistent, and learn to balance your portfolio with both the narrative and conceptual. Also, Art Directors find it very useful to see your process via the internet. If you showcase your process from start to finish, they’ll have a better idea of what to expect.
Overall, Anyone who professes to be interested in illustration as a career MUST work as much as possible in order to obtain success. As you’re starting out, make work for yourself and imagine whether or not it’s good enough for the clients you’re wanting to work with. Research what your dream client has purchased in the past and imagine how you can fixate yourself to that particular market of illustration.
To Check Out More of Tony Rodriguez’s Work, Visit:
Instagram: @tonyrodriguezillustration
Website: https://www.tonyrodriguezillustration.com/
Purchase Tony’s Work At: [Gallery1988 Here]
Any other thoughts, comments, or shares after reading the interview?
[Interview Processed By VFORROW]
Thank you so much, Tony Rodriguez, for sharing and submitting to Dipity Lit Mag! ~ Jazz Marie Kaur.
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