From paper sculpture, detailed draughtsmanship, papercut, and plasticine modelling, they have been keeping it exciting with a spectrum of different ideas, we can’t wait to see what they have in store for us next. They tell us more about their studio and the project, and give us a glimpse of the backstage process.

The studio began in 1998 in Verona, the romantic city of Romeo and Juliet. In recent years we have worked with both large and small clients, for local agencies and major international companies.

Our approach to design is always the same: designing a logo, an advertising page, a wall or directing a commercial offers the same opportunity to deal with a problem. With time we have become quite good at solving problems. 

Mixing complexity, order and fatigue is our formula for beauty. Always, in addition to the commissioned work, we spend plenty of energy in research and testing. Visual art, typography, graphic design, illustration, animation, film direction and music. We like contamination between creative disciplines and diversity in general.

We don’t like to do the same thing twice and prefer to go beyond what we are already able to do. It is tiring but satisfying. 

We started collaborating with IL – Intelligence In Lifestile Magazine, supplement of Il Sole 24 Ore. Under the creative direction of Mr. Francesco Franchi, each month we develop the title typography for the brand new column “Remo Contro” written by the italian philosopher Remo Bodei. 

© Happycentro, 2012

We were eager to find out more about how they work as a collaborative pair and how they’re pushing Brosmind as an all-inclusive brand.

Having studied art separately, did you actively try and develop a cohesive style or has your work always been similar to one another?

We have been a creative couple since our childhood. When we were kids, we spent all day making comics, building vehicles for our action figures and creating our own movies with a domestic camcorder. 

Juan is only three years older than me (Alejandro) so we have the same background and influences, we think in the same way and share the same kind of ideas. Having said that, it’s true that there were some slight differences between our drawing styles, but when we started our studio we naturally developed the actual Brosmind style.

How does your process as a duo differ from how you’ve worked previously?

Now is easier for us. We can quickly explain an idea to each other and be sure that he is going to understand it perfectly. The cool thing about being brothers is that we can be totally sincere in our criticism or have really big arguments and still be friends. That helps, for sure, to take our work to a higher level than before.

Is all the work produced as Brosmind totally collaborative or do you sometimes allocate individual parts of a project to one another?

We develop all the ideas in common and also develop the pencilled drawing together. When we decide that the pencil stage is finished, Juan does the ink and Alejandro adds the color on the computer.

As well as your work, you get a lot of positive attention as yourselves as artists. Is this something you’ve always thought would be part of the branding of Brosmind, or is it something that’s happened naturally because of people’s interest in you?

We would love being only artists, but for the moment  it’s easier to live from commercial work. For the moment, we’ve just reached a balance between commercial and personal work that makes us feel really comfortable.

Would you recommend working as a team to other artists out there?

Each person is different. For us, it’s great to work together, but our relationship is so special that it would be really difficult to have anybody else in the studio. We also know really talented artists who work alone and also other studios, which create amazing things being a big team.

Continuing from your venture into other products, such as Brosmind Army and Brosmind City, can we expect to see any further expansion of the Brosmind universe in the near future?

Of course. We have two great projects!

We got invited to do the Main titles for the OFFF Festival in Barcelona 2012. And we’ll be working together with Upper First, and that’s going to be big! We are really excite about this project : ) 

We”ll be presenting them on May 2012, so stay tuned!

And, probably on the same dates, we’ll launch an amazing personal project, but unfortunately for the moment we can’t say WHAT’S INSIDE?, so stay tuned!

© Brosmind Studio, 2011.

It seems to have also been quite an undertaking but definitely presented well, having not only a collection of miniature installations around town but also a screen printed, embossed book documenting the project and a larger installation within the walls of the degree show. He tells us more.

I love ideas. The final outcomes of my projects tend to be driven as much by ideas and concepts as aesthetics. Much of my recent work has focused on reusing objects, materials and spaces in ways that give them new life or meaning, allowing them to serve new purposes. I also enjoy physical, tangible objects and being hands on and making things, which is why I think a lot of my work recently has taken a three dimensional form.

This project looks at how today space is at a premium, especially in towns and cities, and with available land steadily disappearing to development, free space is becoming increasingly hard to come by. With this project I aimed to seek out dead spaces, unused spaces, spaces with no visible purpose; spaces that may usually go unnoticed unless brought to your attention, and offer them up for rent as a tongue in cheek comment on ‘free space’.

I found a variety of these spaces in different shapes and sizes around Brighton, settling on 12 to use for my final selection. I then recorded all their measurements and constructed a Perspex fascia to sit in each space. The dimensions, details, prices etc. are all screen printed onto the Perspex and are specific to each individual space.

After installing and photographing all the ‘free spaces’, I collated them into a 26 page estate agents style catalogue with their dimensions, details and prices. The cover is screen printed, embossed and debossed, with screen printed end papers and yellow page details.

Photo of Brighton in the lego model village, from a club excursion to Legoland. 

© Matt Lyver, 2011.

I think it’s great to see an artist working in such a specialised way. There is a unique quality to 3D illustration, especially opposed to digital imagery. Apart from feeling like it being from a children’s book I’ve never seen, Irma’s work inspires me to try something new.

© Irma Gruenholz, 2011.

You may at first think they were digitally created but, upon closer inspection, you can see that they are actually complete miniature sculptures. Close-ups are required to see the level of detail he has gone into. Even someone with an aversion to slim, bugs, or gore wouldn’t disagree that these are masterfully created pieces of art.

After his first sculpture on a Vans shoe five years ago, which he describes as a shoe diorama, he has produced sculptures for other advertising campaigns. However, he is also a skilled illustrator and designer, having produced work for Computer Arts Magazine and the BBC.

I know it’s the inner child in me speaking, but a bit of goo will make me buy anything.

© Jethro Haynes, 2010.

I especially like the humour that is created through her work, and I think this is emphasized through the medium she works with. I’ll leave further detail to the below interview with Jessica.

How did you develop into using sculpture for your illustrations?

Sculpting just came naturally to me. I’m a horrible drawer (most of the time) and it’s just far easier to render things in 3D. Strangely it wasn’t until after I graduated that I was aware of this.

I discovered the work of Chris Sickels and Liz Lomax and was instantly smitten.  I tried a number of methods and material until I found something that worked for me. Combining digital production methods with the hand sculpted elements really creates a image that blurs the line between reality and fiction.

I think that when people see my work they don’t instantly know how it was made, it could be 3d, painted, digital. I like the ambiguity. It also creates a unique surreal feel that you don’t often see.

What do you do to prepare an illustration?

First off, it’s important to make sure I have all the materials I’ll need to make the illustration. I usually keep extras of everything just in case I need to do something unexpected. If there’s something special needed, then I usually head out and get it.

I always use the same tools when I’m sculpting. I have a bunch of silicone tip shaping tools (which I love) that I use to smooth surfaces and crevices, and I use dental tools for the fine details.

There is this great place in Toronto called Active Surplus that sells anything that you can imagine from dental tools to old computer hard drives. Of course I always use a block of Super Sculpey, armature wire, and aluminium foil.

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How do you work through and complete your sculpted illustrations?

I always start out with a sketch of a rough idea that I like and a composition that I’m happy with. Then I’ll begin by sculpting the characters in the illustrations.

After constructing a wire armature, I layer tinfoil and Super Sculpey on top. Using dental and silicone tip shaping tools, I’ll form the clay into the desired shape. I sculpt the head, hands and feet first. The body of the characters are constructed out of foam and cotton, and then fabric is stitched over top as clothing etc.

I like to use as many different elements as possible in the illustration to create a textured and surreal feel. I use insulating foam and other materials to create the sets and backgrounds. After the pieces have been baked, I paint them and begin to set up the shot.

Once the photo is done I add the final touches in Photoshop.

How did you apply that stereoscope effect to your work?

To get a stereoscopic (3d) image you need two photos from slightly different angles.

Normally you would take a picture on your tripod, then shift it one inch say… to the left and take another picture.

In Photoshop I composite the two images into a single stereoscopic image that can be viewed with 3d glasses. Because I work at a much smaller scale (usually 3d is viewed relative to the distance between your eyes) the distance between the two pictures must be less.

© Jessica Fortner, 2010

Really this depends on the size of the sculptures but generally the distance is miniscule (about a half a centimetre). All the other principles apply.

What are you working on at the moment?

I am working on an illustration to submit to “Life in 2050″, an exhibition created by Transmission for the SCI-FI-LONDON Film Festival.

There was an open call for submissions and I’m taking advantage of it. The project is to envision the world in 2050. I’m also in the midst of putting together a self-promotional mailer and redesigning my site. I love when I get the opportunity to do design.

Thanks Jessica!

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I asked him a couple of questions to accompany these excellent photographs covering some of the work process and the finished products.


How did you get into creating wooden toys?

I’m a senior industrial design student at Carnegie Mellon University and I was able to do a project of my choosing for one of my classes this past semester. I worked at Radio Flyer this past summer where I learned the value and fun involved in making toys.

After seeing the work of Take-g (a Japanese woodworker) I decided to learn how to inlay and sculpt wood through the creation of toys. After researching preexisting toy forms and themes I decided to choose a theme rich with information and meaning, hence, the theme of recently extinct animals, rich with interesting forms.

What was your work process in making these?

Step One. I chose four extinct mammals I found interesting in terms of form, pattern, and information about the behavior, habitat, reasons for extinction, and so on.

Step Two. I collected all the images I could find of each animal.

Step Three. I sketched until I found forms that I liked and I thought I could make.

Step Four. I sculpted a foam model of each toy to evaluate size and form helping me to make changes to the wood ones to come.


Step Five. I made the wood toys first as block elements cutting (table saw) and gluing different types of wood together.

I cut (band saw) front and side profiles out of the block elements. I drilled (mill) holes for heads, arms, tails. I sculpted (rasps) the wood into final shapes. I sanded, oiled, and steel wooled all pieces.

Step Six. Packaging: I purchased different size glass display domes and turned (lathe) a base to fit each one.

I hand drew (copic multiliner sp size .1) an information graphic for each animal, printed it on thick paper, cut out the package template, and folded it into its final shape.

ⓒ Josh Finkle, 2009

What are you working on at the moment?

This is my last semester of school. I am working on exhibits for the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh and more furniture for my furniture class.

MoonApe.

I like the depth of the works and how light diffuses realistically on all the elements of each scene.

Irma shared with me her secret of floating objects in these pieces. That is to use wires to hold objects up before photographing the sets and digitally removing the wires. Nice!

Thank you Hiyoko

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3D toy designs at Gumliens sprung out of various ideas and paintings made a few years ago by the two members of the group: ‘Gumtaro’ and ‘Hirayama’.

The work process involves alternative work by each of the two designers. Gumtaro starts of with a ‘scribble‘. The lines are cleaned and drawn out clearly by Hirayama. Gumtaro will then paint the character out with acrylic paint.

The image will be ‘made more beautiful with a computer‘. Both Gumtaro and Hirayama will then get to work crafting a 3D model out of clay based on the computer design.

In terms of the actual manufacture of the toys, most work is done in house with the stone dust clay and resin modelling in the early stages done in their home studio. The soft vinyl toy is produced with toy manufacturer ‘One Up’.

Gumliens’ toys will be exhibited at both ‘Fewmany‘ and ‘One Up‘ in Japan from June 29th 2009 to July 5th. Their vinyl toys will be on sale at the ‘One Up’ booth at the Taipei Toy Festival in July.

Gumliens is also currently working on toys for a personal booth for an event called ‘Popbox’ held in ‘Loft‘ in Shibuya, Tokyo in August this year.

Good luck Gumtaro and Hirayama!

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