The Creative + Coin Coefficients of a Digital Artist
A 28 year old Illustrator and Digital Artist from Goa, Yash Pradhan exhibited his doodling passion into a full-blown career in the design industry with his vibrant mesmerising artworks. Having worked with one of the biggest brands in the world like Adidas, Coach, Netflix, Boat and Flipkart, Yash is levelling with nobody else, except his signature odyssey. In this interview, we get to know his journey, his admiration for South Indian Temples and a quick insight into the making of Rexy.
The Yash Pradhan version that we know today is not the same as in 2017. What preceded the change of heart - the transition from a commerce and banking career to digital art?
Yash: It all happened when I got an offer letter to work in a bank, which made me realise that it was getting too real for something I was not sure I wanted to pursue but was merely good at it. With support from my parents, I was able to take out a couple of months to reassure myself and find a path that I cherished and will continue to do so in the long term. Doodling seemed to me as only thing I enjoyed for a long period. Consequently, I educated myself with digital art and discovered the possibility of a career in graphic design. And, it all started from there on.
A common, or let's say "easy", method of applying passion is to opt for characteristic educational background. In your case, you opted for the other way around. Looking back in time, now that you have broken up with your banking and commerce "situationship", would you suggest a degree in arts? Do you find it important to have an academic setting in one's field of passion?
Yash: I feel like I never had a situationship with banking and commerce as even today, I utilise it in my daily practice. It helps me to navigate as well as expand my art into a business.
However, I would suggest a degree in art if you are at an early stage and have this option for you, as it creates an amazing foundational base. Having peers in the same field can play an important role in your career.
How does your home ministry (P.s.: hope you get the pun, here.) entangles with your artistry? Does your hometown plays an essential role in shaping your interest in illustrations and graphic art?
Yash: Of course! My home ministry plays a big role. I extract my artistic fuel from the real world. For those who do not know, my ancestral hometown is Goa (more towards the South) where you will find more trees and temples than beaches. The architecture and arches in Goa or South Indian temples deeply fascinates me. The arched floors and patterns, derived from the cultural heritage of my homeplace, can be seen in my illustrations and designs.
Belonging to the city of dreams, there is always a tug of war between gatekeeping your personal best and the abundant competition surrounding you. We call it the sugar rush of high hopes and low blows on tight ropes. How challenging it was for you to make it in the city? And, have the city's aura and communities grown onto you?
Yash: Gatekeeping anything is just a big NO. I prefer sharing knowledge, and experience. I would probably draw my line on food (I will buy you a different plate, but won't share mine).
Personally, it was a blank slate for me to begin with in the city of dreams. I had no peers to compare myself with, but Mumbai, definitely, has one of the most actively amazing communities. And everyone inhabiting the city loves the pace as well as the sugar rush we get through loads of ups and downs. It keeps us going. In the end, it is all about the journey, isn't it?
There is a cultural reset almost every other week. More so, a funny predilection states that Generation Z would be teaching the Art of Rizz as an elective subject in the near future. Now, when we put the words, "ART" and "RIZZ" together, your style fits seamlessly into the creative frame. After almost 6 years of being a digital artist, how would you describe your art style?
Yash: As an illustrator and designer, my style revolves around the mixture of very minimal geometric shapes and fluid bold lines with vibrant colours. My goal is simple - to create things that make me feel good, not just in the moment but also in the long run.
My art is a depiction of the timeline of my experiences based either on daily occurrences through people around me or occasional inspiration from the people of creative arts industries (music, arts and films). Collectively, all of it becomes a part of me that implores to represent these ingenious nuances through work of art.
For years, the artist's community were devoid of speaking out loud about the “money” business, and yet, the ancient artists, preserving Indian Heritage, do lack the financial stability and recognition that they deserved. But, the modern course of artists has brought Moneydom to the forefront. As an insider, can you confirm the evolution of financial element in the world of artists?
Yash: Absolutely! There's a small but noticeable amount of evolution in the financial element of artistic community.
A major contributing factor is being transparent and speaking more about financial liberty. Your exposition can further help to balance the industry of artists where they can understand whether they are undervaluing themselves and more importantly, by knowing the industry standard commercials, it would help artists preserve their craft and sustain well.
This could be a bit intruding....since your first paycheck to the recent ones, how do you balance the charm of materialism with the creativity of an artist?
Yash: The first paycheck I received was during the early days of my freelancing journey. It was solely used to support me and save it for rough times.
The charm of materialism arrived at a later stage, where I started collecting toys of McDonald's Happy Meal. Buying these trinket things and objects would fuel my creativity, making the expense a win-win situation. I visualise it more like an investment. Apart from this, in recent course of my career, most of my paychecks are spent on travelling or food.
You have specialized in fluid designs with one of the major brands across the globe - Coach, GAP, and Adidas. Take us to the Yash's inventory and walk us through the brainstorming sessions and creative process of how an idea comes to life from scratch onto the digital canvas?
Yash: I worked out of my home where I have turned one room into a studio so, there is not much of an inventory happening. Basically, my inventory consists of a lot of books, comics, and art that keeps me inspired to create artworks with such innovative brands.
Moving on, the primary step of Yash's creative process is to understand the client's needs and brand identity. From here on, I lead onto the secondary step which is to research and gather inspiration, explore design trends, and analyse the market.
Brainstorming sessions steer into the refinement of ideas, advanced onto the digital canvas using different software, mainly Adobe Suite and (sometimes) Procreate.
Iteration and feedback helps to shape the design. And, once we establish a finalised outline in detail, it is delivered for implementation. Throughout this process, Collaboration, Research, Ideation, and Iteration are key elements in bringing the ideas to life.
Rexy installation for Coach is an excellent example of how independent digital artists from India are bringing the stream of creativity with chimes of technology. How did the concept of Rexy entangled with your artistry? What was the most challenging aspect of designing Rexy?
Yash: Creating and Indianising Rexy was such a fun and challenging task. Rexy, The T-Rex mascot, is the brainchild of creative director, Stuart Vevers and has become a staple of the brand, ever since its inception in 2015.
The idea was to retain the concept of Rexy from scratch to welcome it to India into the festive season of Diwali. It was quite an interesting brief which resulted into an installation that you can still check out in Coach stores across the country. Along with this, you can also find an AR game for visitors to interact with.
The most challenging aspect of Project Rexy was alignment of the 2D design into a 3D printed 10-foot sculpture, while retaining and integrating Coach's brand identity and its elements to construct a friendly T-Rex reflective of the brand Coach.
Can you explain the idea behind the 36 Days of Type?
Yash: A 36-day celebration of typography and creativity, involving designers, visual artists, and creatives from all fields in a global and simultaneous act of creativity around type and letterforms. For 36 Days of Type, you create 36 letters, 26 alphabets, and 10 numbers in your creative way and share them during the challenge once a year.
You successfully hosted a workshop for denim tote painting at the GAP's spring collection launch in 2023. Taking it a step further into sustainable art, do you plan to host workshops in your category to teach the fundamental skills?
Yash: Yes, I would love to host more workshops where the specific focus lies within the realm of sustainable art. From painting, upcycling, eco-friendly printmaking, etc., it will be an amazing opportunity to be able to impart some wisdom out of my specialization pocket. I do not have a rigid plan on hosting a workshop, yet but perhaps, post monsoons.
Your work is a detailed embroidery of strokes and bold colors. And, on close observation, it can get quite cluttered in your mindset. What is your immediate escapade plan when you are exhausted and faced with creative block?
Yash: This might be a funny one but I do not believe in the concept of creative block. On the contrary, for me, it seems like an excuse to not look after your mental health and procrastinating the importance of safe space. There is way too much inspiration around us for one to be creatively blocked.
In the meantime, I do admit that social media can be overwhelming for anyone, having to feel judged or compare oneself. You just have to take a break and rest, to overcome this exertion and get back into the game. When taking a break, I move, quickly, on to cooking, going for a stroll, or cleaning. It helps me to get a clear headspace before resuming the artistic hustle.
If you were to be a movie director creating a dystopian story where the opening scene shows the protagonist sitting in a café reading an AI version of Thomas Harris's Silence of the Lambs, as a jazz music plays in the background, what would the title be?
Yash: Echoes of the Algorithm.
And.....we are almost six months into 2023. What upcoming projects are you working on? Can you share some deets with us?
Yash: I have worked on a couple of projects that will come out soon. One of these projects is a merch line featuring my artworks. Another one is a fun packaging design. I will be able to share more concrete details once these final designs are released.
