Meet Andrew James Woodyard | Illustrator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Andrew James Woodyard and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Andrew, let’s talk legacy – what do you want yours to be?
I want to leave a body of work behind that adds to the collective idea of what the sub-genre of cyberpunk is, and to a lesser degree to high fantasy works. When people think of cyberpunk as a genre, they often think of novels like Neuromancer or Snow Crash, artists like Deathburger (a huge influence of mine), and films like Tron and Blade Runner. To have my illustrations included within that greater body of work would be something I would be proud to be remembered by.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’m a very technical artist, but at the same time somewhat loose with illustrative elements like linework and anatomy. The result is that colleagues of mine have described my body of work as having a grotesque quality, on top of being extremely graphic in nature. I produce a lot of cyberpunk portraits, figurative drawings and narrative illustrations, plus a few sequential pages here and there, which overall don’t always confirm to the norm of what society expects from an illustrator to produce.

Developing my work as an illustrator into presentable, finished and clean looking drawings was relatively easy, but getting that work out to the world and making a career out of it has been very difficult. When people see my work they often give me a lot of praise for its originality and complexity, but relatively few people have ever seen it to begin with. I have maybe a thousand followers across the vastness of social media, and a few small galleries in Southern California have shown my work on occasion, but it hasn’t led to any major success or a career breakthrough. Despite this, I intend to continue developing new illustrations based on my interests, desires and how I want to express my inner thoughts and feelings.

One of my biggest takeaways from putting my work out there is that despite how polished and professional illustrative my work may be, people often won’t give it much interest unless there’s a certain amount of notoriety or prior recognition to it before-hand.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I’m a native of Southern California, and have lived up in the San Bernardino Mountains, in west L.A. and in the O.C., so I would recommend a number of locations, most of which would not be well known to the general public.

There’s a little known hiking trail location up in the mountain where I grew up called The Narrows, a small canyon and swimming hole, where I often found peace as a child. The trail begins in the back of a small town, winding passed an elder black oak that I’ve come to call “The Grandfather Tree” (which I’ve illustrated before), then to a dead end look-out, which surveys an expansive forested landscape. From there you descend down a steep cliffside to the water four hundred feet below, where there are natural swimming pools and a narrow gap of the canyon itself. Few outside my hometown have had the privilege of venturing there.

I used to work for a family owned pizzeria in Newport Beach called Gina’s Pizza (the family was a pleasure to work for), and I’ve been smitten by their food ever since. Locals to the area tend to choose to go to Gina’s over other pizza joints due to their quality, originality and flavor. They have several locations in the O.C. so go there if you have the chance.. and try the fried ricotta balls with a slice of the Godfather (my favorite).

I have occasionally shown work for a small art show called W.O.C.A. (Warehouse of Contemporary Art), based out of Anaheim. Most of the artists there are little known, but a few like Sam Bernal have developed large bodies of work and a significant following. I don’t show with them as often these days, but I find the work there to often be rough, yet developed (often amateurs who have spent years perfecting their craft, but also often finding themselves on the periphery of the Art World – what one could call borderline outsider artists).

I’m also a huge fantasy nerd and a 25 year veteran DM (dungeon master) for games like Dungeons and Dragons. There’s a cafe and gaming store that’s an utterly amazing experience in downtime Anaheim called Requiem. There you can get unique drinks, play old video games at your table with friends, or watch an actual D&D game play out.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
One of my biggest supporters has been the modern surrealist artist Brian Cooper, who was an instructor of mine as I worked on my undergraduate degree. He encouraged me to pursue illustration as a career, and ultimately led me to finish my B.F.A and M.F.A in illustration. I’m a huge fan of surrealism in general, and many of my work have surrealist elements, and Brian’s work influenced my use of linear perspective as well.

Website: https://www.deviantart.com/falconire/gallery

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/roadkilraven/?hl=en

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-woodyard-2a8565164/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AndrewWoodyard2

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063543818105