We recently connected with Duncan Campbell and have shared our conversation below.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
So I have several branches to my creative work. I do photography and graphic design, and the occasional videography. But probably the work I’m most excited about is being a caricature artist. On the surface level, you could say that I make fun of people for a living, and you would not be too far off the truth from that. But my brand is more about creating a great experience they will remember forever, not just make a funny drawing. I’m not interested in a chuckle. I want to create side-splitting laughter and tears of shock-joy. But I also want to create a drawing that is so stunning that their grandkids are going to fight over one day. I’ve worked very hard on my stylistic choices and skills to be able to craft a live, original piece of art that captures the likeness in an entertaining way in fewer than 3 minutes. I’ve been doing this for about 10 years and I would estimate I’ve done probably 10,000 drawings at this point. That experience really helps me because I’ve learned not just how to craft a great drawing but also how to interact with the client to create a great experience. From the time they sit down, to the time I show them the drawing, I’ve learned how to create tension in their expectations, so that by the time I show them the final product, the payoff is fantastic.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Definitely cultivating an attention to detail, but also curating the details and figure out which details matter and which don’t. That’s the difference between a 3-minute drawing and a 60-minute drawing. That’s true for graphic design as well to a lesser extent. But an essential skill, and one that my parents taught me, was never stop learning. Caricature is exaggeration, but I studied a fair amount of facial anatomy, because I needed to learn how to do it right before I could do it wrong. In my field, there will always be artists who are better than you, but instead of being threatened by that, just go learn from them. See how they draw, fists, and calf muscles, and cheekbones, etc.. the same applies to graphic design and photography. There are so many resources out there nowadays you basically have no excuse to be less than excellent. And of course graduate school taught me there’s no substitute for hard work. Sometimes it just takes applying the seat of your pants to a chair for long period periods of time.
Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?
I know this sounds so random and weird, but actually the book of Exodus has really inspired me as an artist. Two of my favorite characters in the whole Bible are there,
”The Lord said to Moses, “See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft.“
Exodus 31:1-5 ESV
”And Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in whose mind the Lord had put skill, everyone whose heart stirred him up to come to do the work.“
Exodus 36:2 ESV
Bezalel was like the da Vinci of the Old Testament. The guy could do anything artistically, with skills imbued to him from God himself. And then both he and Oholiab were stirred to do the [artistic] work. I love that phrase. I think we all long to be stirred to do the work. That’s where the great art lives. That is very inspiring to me.
Contact Info:
- Website: duncancampbellcreative.com
- Instagram: @duncan_campbell_creative
- Facebook: Duncan Campbell Creative
- Youtube: Duncan Campbell Creative
