Interview – Samuel Mensah-Bonsu a.k.a Crymz1

Kicking off 20-10, we’ve interviewed the young, talented and upcoming artist, Samuel Mensah-Bonsu a.k.a. crymz. At 19 he’s already building a steady fan base and a great portfolio. His work ranges from photography, digital art, to traditional art.

Tell me a little bit about you, your art, where you’re from and how you got into designing.

Hi my name is Samuel 19 and live in London. My passion for art has always existed from a very young age. Back then Saying you wanted to be an artist always seemed so weird even for me when I said it. I guess the big question was turning art from just as a hobby to career. I remember I fell in love with graphic design when I was 12, as early as then I had an inkling that this was what I wanted to do. I actually didn’t see it as a full career until I left school when I was 16. Until then I was very much an academic who loved Maths & Science etc. I had a love & talent for design but was never brave enough to pursue it as a single career. I had plenty of ways to go but I realized I could change the world the most by being a designer.

How would you describe your style and where do you get inspiration from.

I don’t think I have a specific style yet. I’m still young and getting to know every inch of design from vector illustration to digital imaging and web design, so I haven’t really settled on a specific style. To be honest I don’t believe in settling on a certain style a good designer should be able to be diverse and create designs of varying personalities. a certain approach I go for is a style of professional design. I’m a big fan of clean, sleek, modern design. As for my inspiration, all types of design, photography or film inspires me to create. Music is my biggest inspiration. So I have a very diverse taste of music. As long as its good & I like it, it can inspire me.

Tell me a bit about your work process, what’s your general work flow like? Do you research and search for inspiration or do you just go for it?

Believe it or not I’m actually a world class procrastinator. I try not to instantly delve into a project head first. I do tons of research to make sure what I make is in context and up to standard. I usually say that for every hour I spend designing I spent 3 hours researching and thinking about what to design. I’m very good at looking at something and learning how it’s done that’s probably the main reason for my success. My ability to really study something in & out and then able to break it down is what I do best. For that reason inspiration is a HUGE part of my design process so I do spend an ungodly amount of time on design blogs soaking information and learning. Although in the last stages of a design I do tend to do something completely instinctive and spontaneous to give it a touch of originality.

What’s the best part of being a designer?

Hah! Big question. For me the best part of being a designer probably is knowing that no one really understands what you go through apart from other designers. We as people make choices everyday but No one makes more choices in life than artists/designers. We are known for making choices that effectively shape life and the world we live in. I guess that being a part of that small but irreplaceable section of society is pretty cool.

Would you say being an artist influences your perspectives, do you see the real world differently?

I think any profession you have makes you view the world differently. For me personally being an artist has made me concentrate more on the little things that nobody notices rather than the obvious in your face things. I considered myself weird and different way before I decided to be an artist. I would always understand the harder things in the classroom quickly and be slow on the easy average things that everybody knew. I guess it was just the dormant artist trait that I didn’t know I had. I also have an unusually strong memory but only remember useless facts that nobody else remembers but for some reason stick in my head for years, this means that I know a lot of b/s that no one my age should know making me a genius in pub quizzes which is great because girls love big time geeks these days, right?

What about your software and tools of the trade, what do you use to make those amazing renders

I’m acquainted with most design programs out there. Specializing in most adobe packages from InDesign to Flash & AfterEffects (when I’m making films). The biggest tool in my arsenal is Photoshop, it’s my Kung Fu and it really is the one stop shop for me when it comes to design. The more experienced and educated you become with it the more you see that you can do almost anything with it. Although I’m still a sucker for awesome photography and F**kin’ love my Canon SLR camera. I still want to get to know the more exclusive tools like Xara 3d etc. It will be cool to combine the two to make really interesting work.

What are your upcoming projects?

I don’t have any specific projects that I plan for. Most of the things I have in my gallery are pieces that were spontaneous and fresh in the mind so I try to get it out on a screen before the idea starts to get old and stale. I’m doing a lot of client work at the moment that I might decide to upload at a later stage. My university work is a big part of what I do as well. I have recently discovered the amazing world of silkscreen printing and could be the next big move in terms of mediums for me. I have plans to start various ventures such as t-shirt designs, web design and even film projects which is another big obsession of mine. As for now I’m just trying to get my name noticed as much as possible and establish myself, thanks to this interview I’m one step closer.

List a couple of your fave websites and why.

My favorite sites are Deviantart (obviously), fffound.com and abduzeedo.com. I owe my entire success of the past couple years to deviant art and cannot really stress enough on how much I have learnt and how much potential I’ve gained from it and still do gain everyday its an infinite source of inspiration.

On a final note, any tips you’d like to share with budding artists and otherwise?

The best tip I can give to other budding artists is to soak as much design as possible
breathe design eat and sleep it. Be educated as much as possible with the world of design. The same way a young doctor endlessly studies his textbooks and journals to the point of exhaustion so that he knows how to do his job properly, is the same thing a young designer must do to achieve success. Finally don’t listen to the one hater that puts you down. The answer always lies with what the majority thinks that’s why democracy was invented.

See more of his work on DeviantArt

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