CSJ89 Interview

Here today with Christian San Jose, otherwise known as CSJ89. You can check him out at http://csj89.com/. Christian, thanks for your time. To start can you tell us a little bit about yourself, like age, sex, location-the whole nine yards.

I’m Christian San Jose, from Manila, Philippines but currently living in Virginia Beach. 18 years old male, took one year of college but dropped out to pursue freelance design and illustration. That’ll only be for a while, I’ll go back to college within this year or the next.

What would you say has been that one thing that really draws you to art?

The challenge to innovate, really. I like doing all different kinds of art styles especially in illustration, from flat and simple, to abstract, and even comic-influenced or straight-up portraits, and creating something new or never seen before with that style.

Your color schemes and abstract pieces are quite unique. Where would you say you draw your inspiration?

Other artists inspire me, most especially Adhemas Batista, Joshua Smith (of Hydro74), Jared Nickerson (j3), and the guys of GoMedia. And then I mix all those and add a bit of my own stuff to it. For my color combos, I really don’t know where I get it, it just seems natural to me.

How would you say your work has evolved recently? It seems that you have really risen to that next level.

I wouldn’t say it has risen to the next level just yet, there’s much more to improve on, but yeah there’s been a change to my work recently. Like before, I used to focus too much on planning out the piece itself, but now that I’ve got the hang of things, I just design and create as I go, I just design with what’s on my mind at the moment, and finish a piece as fast as I can, with detailing and adjustments or revisions to the composition later on. It’s a bit rewarding because all the pieces are spontaneous and you surprise yourself afterwards. I get more work done this way (instead of all the time wasted on the preparation the piece), and quality doesn’t suffer either.

What is your favorite graphics piece that you have done and why?

I like my “Emo” piece so far because it takes a stab at a stereotype and it was fun to illustrate, and many others have liked it too, maybe because they can relate haha.

I understand you do a lot of freelancing work; what do you like more about freelance work versus studio work?

I worked in a graphic design studio for 8 months before going freelance full time, and I found it kind of limiting. Although there’s lots of perks in a full time job like proper work management and being part of a team, what I like about freelance which isn’t apparent in studio work is that you have the time in your hands. As long as you get everything organized when doing freelance, it provides, more productivity and less hassle, and more often than not, more cash too. Working without office politics, the long commute, and insane company policies doesn’t hurt either.

What are your future plans in the graphics community? Where do you ultimately want to take your graphics?

For now I’d like to continue doing illustrations, and hopefully creating a streetwear or tshirt brand soon. I really don’t know if I’ll be doing this in a year or so, just like I said before, I like to experiment on new stuff. Just about a year ago I was focusing on webdesign and development, and now I don’t even think about web work, so just like that you never know.

What are some of your favorite things to do outside of graphics design? What really makes CSJ tick?

Watching movies, and watching NBA and NFL almost everyday. Going out with friends and whatnot, that makes me tick.

What is at the top of your most played list on your ipod?

I have Anna Molly by Incubus with 497 plays and Carry You by Jimmy Eat World at 475 plays haha

Famous last words?
Innovate. And don’t steal my stuff.

~ by uadotus on February 2, 2008.