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Let's Talk, Ryan Cox

New York City illustrator Ryan Cox captures a childlike sense of wonder in his brilliant body of work.

By Matthew Newton, Senior Editor

Ryan Cox' art looks like it could have been pulled from the lost archives of Hanna-Barbera studios. Well, perhaps the not-so-safe-for-kids archive, the one located at the end of the hall past all The Flintstones and Hong Kong Phooey animation cells. His knife-wielding hippies and cigarette-chomping bikers have a more R-rated vibe than the villains Scooby and the gang encountered, but they inhabit the same aesthetic space. There is a certain power and clarity in Cox' work that appeals to our desire as humans to view things that are beautifully rendered. His color choice is one of the hallmarks of his work. Without it, his characters would not leap out at you with the same type of immediacy. But Cox also displays a great sense of story in his illustrations. When you look at his work, you get the sense you're only being shown a small slice of a larger, more complicated world. I recently caught up with Mr. Cox, just as he was settling in for a relaxing New York City summer.

What I really like about your work is how it succeeds on two levels: It's fun and bright and colorful, but it also tells a story. What do you do to prepare for creating a new illustration?

Obviously, for the client-based work my first objective is to communicate what they've hired me to communicate. My job is to do that, and to make sure it looks good.

I always start a project by asking myself "what would I want to see?" I begin by trying to please myself, assuming that if I like it, chances are somebody else will too. Hopefully.

What first attracted you to art and what about it has kept your interest?

Everybody always says this, but as a kid I drew all the time. Constantly. I'd draw on anything. It was like a sickness, like I was afflicted or something and I was kind of embarrassed about it. My teachers used to scold me because I'd hand in my homework and the margins of the paper would be filled with doodles. They would tell me that I should be an artist when I grew up. And so I said "OK. I will. That's what I'll do." And that was that.

There's a great 1970s era vibe to a lot of your work -- I get a sense that you watched a lot of Hanna-Barbera cartoons as a kid. Can you talk about some of your influences and how honed your style?

I could talk for days about influences, but, yeah, I was definitely exposed to a lot of Saturday Morning television as a kid. And, yes, I had a strong affinity for the Hanna-Barbera stuff. I had an unhealthy love for Fred Flintstone, McDonald's Happy Meals, Nickelodeon, and weird PBS programming from the 1970s & 1980s. And, quite honestly, I still do.

There is a certain warmth to things from that era (1970s & 1980s) that I definitely try to instill in my drawings. And I do like to play around with a kind of visual vocabulary that's familiar to people. That being said, it's never been my intention for my work to be too overtly "retro" or nostalgic. I'm not at all interested in trying to copy stuff from the past, stuff that's already been done. But, yeah, my influences are definitely in there.

I saw that you collaborated with Digital Kitchen to have your illustrations animated for a Target spot. Your work seems perfectly suited for animation. Do you have any other plans for such projects?

I have actually been doing some character design work lately for a few animated projects. Some of them are top secret and some of them should be ready to show the world soon.

You've exhibited your work in forums like Pictoplasma. Do you have any more exhibitions on the horizon?

I really don't get invited to participate in a lot of those. I'd love to though.

What do you like about your job and what do you dislike?

Sounds cliché, but I feel really lucky to be able to do what I love for a living. Even if I sold insurance or worked construction or something totally unrelated, I'd still constantly be drawing in my spare time (like I said, it's a sickness). I love what I do so much, I sometimes feel like I'm getting away with something; like the cops are gonna bust in at any minute and force me to get a job in an office somewhere.

Dislikes? Dorky art directors that don't know what they're talking about. Luckily, those are few and far between, and I've been lucky enough to work with some super smart, super cool, super talented people.

What projects are you working on that have you really excited?

Summer's finally come to NYC, and to be perfectly honest, I'm really looking forward to taking things slow for a little bit -- but just for a little bit.

Related links: www.ryancoxusa.com | More Interviews

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