Meet Richard Leard

We were lucky to catch up with Richard Leard recently and have shared our conversation below.

Richard, so happy to have you with us today. You are such a creative person, but have you ever had any sort of creativity block along the way? If so, can you talk to us about how you overcame or beat it?

Creative block isn’t something you can truly “beat” it’s more about learning how to manage it and keep the creative spark alive. I look for inspiration anywhere I can find it: music, art, video games, and movies. With movies, I pay close attention to the environments, backstories, and character designs. When it comes to video games, I’m especially interested in the concept art and creature/monster designs.

I also look at other artists’ work to get inspired. I’ll save images and take notes on what stands out to me such as layout, composition, and specific elements that catch my eye. Another method I like is writing down 3–5 random things (objects, animals, locations, etc.) or using a random word generator and seeing what I can mash together. The unpredictability can lead to new, unexpected ideas. But when nothing seems to work, I take a break. Sometimes the best thing you can do is give your brain some rest as ideas will to come back naturally in time.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

My name is Richard Leard (Tony), aka Leard Design. I’m a self-taught artist and graphic designer with over 10 years of experience in the music and action sport industry. I work in both digital and traditional formats from digital painting, photomanipulation pen/ink drawings, etc. My biggest sources of inspiration are horror movies, horror video games, rpg video games and skateboarding culture.

My art journey started as a kid with a book called How to Draw Dinosaurs by Marit Claridge, illustrated by Val Biro, Philip Hood, and John Shackell (Usborne Publishing). That sparked my interest, which then evolved into comic books (Spawn, X-Men, Batman, Spider-Man) during my early school years.
In the early ’90s, I had a cassette player and started going through my parents’ tapes. What caught my attention was the artwork so I picked tapes purely based on the cover art. That’s how I found bands like Iron Maiden (Somewhere in Time), Judas Priest (Screaming for Vengeance), and Megadeth (Peace Sells…but who’s buying?). On the skateboard side of things, I was heavily influenced by skateboarding itself from skate videos, deck graphics, Thrasher magazine, Transworld magazine, and pretty much anything that related to skateboarding.
What excites me most about making art is the freedom of expression. One of my favorite moments was seeing a band’s merch printed with my design on it and displayed at their table as it was a surreal feeling.

I offer services like merch design, album artwork, band logos, and skateboard graphics. If you’ve got a cool concept, let’s chat.

This past year, I’ve done more art exhibitions and events, and I have some unreleased projects in the works (can’t share details yet, so keep an eye out).

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

1. Learn your tools early.
I had to teach myself Photoshop and Illustrator since Youtube wasn’t a thing as it is now the main source to find tutorials. It was all books and magazines when I first started to learn the programs. Which many at that time were rather outdated and covered the basics. With the digital age its easier to stay in the loop on finding a specific skill you might want to learn.

2. Know your print specs.
If you’re planning to get your artwork printed on a shirt make sure to get the specs from the printer of your choice ahead of time. If your file isn’t sized properly, fixing it later is a huge headache. Always work at a large resolution (example: 16×20 inches @ 300 dpi) ; as you can always scale down later without losing quality, but not the other way around.
3. Don’t overlook the garment itself.
This is a big one. The shirt matters just as much as the artwork. I always research garment brands to make sure they meet my standards. Fit, fabric, and feel make a huge difference. There’s nothing worse than buying a shirt with sick artwork only for it to feel cheap or fits weird. That kills the experience. Some personal favorites of mine are Next Level apparel, Bella Canvas, though they are on the more pricier side of things but totally worth it. If your on a budget then check out Gildan Comfort fit as those are more budget friendly and fit great.

How can folks who want to work with you connect?

Absolutely. I’m always down to collaborate with other creatives. If it involves dark art or skate culture, that’s a big bonus. One area I’m really interested in exploring is upcycling clothing. I’d love to team up with someone who has cut/sew or screen-printing skills. I want to make one of a kind pieces with unique stitch colors, patches, pins, etc. and eventually offer custom orders.

If that sounds like your vibe, let’s connect and make something cool.

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