Illustration We Love: Joi Fulton
Hi pals, here’s an interview with one of our favourite illustrator/animators, Joi Fulton. We’d love to transmogrify ourselves into Joi’s world of cute and colourful characters. Failing that, we’d definitely play any computer game that Joi designs! Keep reading to find out about Joi’s influences and work process, tips on getting into 3D art and what’s fun to do in Chicago.
1. Joi, can you introduce yourself for us please!
For sure! So my name is Joi (pronounced like joy), and I’m a 2D/3D illustrator and animator based in Chicago! I’ve been making art for as long as I can remember but I didn’t start taking it seriously until 7th grade [age 12-13]. I’ve been freelancing for almost a year now, and it’s been a wild ride so far! But I’m really glad i made the jump and decided to do it! A lot of my work consists of bright punchy colors and fun nostalgic characters!
2. How do you go about creating a 3D piece? Do you start analogue with sketches or go straight into your 3D software?
It honestly depends on the project! For client work or commissions I usually have to start with a sketch but when it comes to personal work I usually just jump right into it! Sometimes I might make a small doodle in procreate or a sticky note but most of the time I just improvise as I go.
3. Do you have any advice, tips n tricks for budding 3D artists out there? Where should they start?
Hmmm I don’t know where to start haha, definitely join 3D art communities or make some friends online so you can share what you make and get feedback! r/blender is a good place to share work and actually my friend Harry Bhalerao has a great Blender discord and i’ve met a lot of cool people there! And actually Harry has a great intro tutorial on his patreon as well. Also with Blender being free there are so many awesome tutorials on YouTube as well!
4. What does a typical day in the life of Joi Fulton look like?
A typical day for me usually starts at 9am, not all the time though haha. I’ll get up, eat breakfast and then check my phone for any new emails and hop onto instagram and twitter. After that I’ll hop on to my laptop to answer emails, and then jump in to any projects that I might be working on at the moment. I usually try to stop working around 9 ish but sometimes i’m just really into what i’m doing and stay up all night. After my work is done I’ll hop onto YouTube or play my Switch for a few hours and then pass out haha.
5. What do you listen to or watch while you’re working? Any recommendations?
It honestly varies. Usually just YouTube but when I get bored of that I’ll watch some anime! Back in January I binged watched all of Attack on Titan up to the recent episodes. When it comes to music I listen to a lot of lo-fi/deep house jams but when i really need to focus I listen to Solange‘s album “When I Get Home” or Blood Orange‘s album “Negro Swan”! I definitely recommend those two albums and also DJ Physical is pretty good, my favorite song from them is “Alligator Swamp”, and “I Swear”.
6. Please tell us about Chicago! We’ve heard it’s windy but where would you take us on a day out?
Aw man it’s definitely windy haha gotta be careful when you turn corners because the wind will smack you in the face haha. But I would probably take you all to grab some food! Some of my favorite places are Joey G’s Mac n’ Cheese, Ramen san is also a super good place, and Harold’s Chicken is so good with mild sauce on the side! Then to walk that off the next best thing to me is to check out the museums ! My favorites are the Art Institute, the Museum of Contemporary Art, and the National Museum of Mexican Art in Pilsen, which is free but it’s alway kind to donate! Also the Chicago Cultural Center and Harold Washington Library always have cool things going on as well! There’s honestly so much to do you guys will have to stay for a while.
7. How do you feel about the impact of social media on your work? How do you balance making work and the need to post on social media?
I would say for the most part it’s been pretty positive. If it wasn’t for social media i wouldn’t have found out about Blender! And while it’s been positive for the most part I have had my low moments and waves of imposter syndrome that still happen from time to time haha. When it comes to posting I don’t really have a set format for that, but I usually always like to post my works in progress because I think it’s always cool to get a glimpse of the behind the scenes! But I don’t really have a balance, I kind of just take it day by day.
8. Running a Patreon must be a lot of work! Is it something you’d recommend for other artists?
It definitely is, but I’ve really been enjoying it! Funny enough this is my third time starting a Patreon but this is the first launch that is actually doing well haha. It’s been a lot of trial and error but I’m really happy with how things have been going. I would for sure recommend artists to try out Patreon! I would say the hardest part is trying to figure out what to offer to your patrons. I’ve always loved collecting stickers and I just thought why not do a sticker club, and there are a few artists who I like that have sticker clubs on Patreon so I looked to them for inspiration (punimelt, mushbuh, bempo).
9. What are your biggest inspirations and influences?
Oh man this is gonna be a long list! When it comes to artist people I’d say: Natali Koromoto, Cobysoft Co, Harry Bhalerao, Doug Alberts, Sarlis, Likrot, gobo3D, Patrick Edell, Warrick Harvey, Billy Budgen, Worthikids, zee yorke (doozical), Art Egg, Austin Storie, Julian Glander, Halien Jackson, like there are so so many more! And a really awesome thing is that while all these people are my inspirations a lot of them I can call a friend which is so crazy because they are all so talented! I feel so bad I can’t include everyone but that would be pages and pages of people haha.
10. What would be your dream project?
A dream project for me would be to either make a game of some sorts or create a bumper or mini short for like cartoon network or Nick Jr! Or just make my own cartoon short!
11. What are you working on at the moment? Any exciting projects coming up?
I’m going to be working on a super big project soon but I can’t really talk too much about it, but it’s gonna be super cool. But besides that I am also working on a small animation project with Worthikids which is honestly a dream project for me!
Woo thanks very much Joi, that was very interesting!
If you’d like to see more magical artwork, have a browse of Joi’s website. Go and follow Joi on instagram and twitter too!
Wao! Thanks for discover me this incredible artist with lovely style! I really like it.
Thanks for reading! YES Joi is awesome!