Meet the Artist. The place where I introduce YOU to an artist through a virtual interview. Our featured artist is David Zydd. *Note: The images in this post link to David's product shops.
David Zydd
Budapest, Hungary
Who are you, and what is your background?
Hi, my artist's name is David Zydd. I've never wanted to be an artist; the whole thing came by accident.
My story began at elementary school. Maybe my drawing skills were a little bit above average. But then we had to paint out our drawings, so my work became below average. In high school, I made a few pretty good drawings when I was sitting in brutally boring Literature or Mathematics classes. (When I hadn't fallen asleep.) I had Literature problems while reading many books and I've also tried writing. I also had problems with Mathematics, where I almost always wrote down the correct results, but I didn't know (and I was not interested in) how to calculate them.
Nonetheless, I got into college and graduated as an architect. That's why I hated drawing for the next 10-15 years. I've even boycotted my graduation ceremony: the school was very difficult, however, we didn't learn anything useful about our profession.
My story continues one decade later. I've worked for 10 years in the building industry. When my last employer didn't pay my salary for almost one year (This was very common in the building industry in Hungary at that time.),
I started to think about building another source of income. I wrote blogs, I tried Google Adsense, affiliate marketing, and numerous micro-revenue sites. I also tried 3D modeling. Then - accidentally - I've met with vector graphics. It was in the fall of 2013. I immediately started to create vector images, and a few months later, I started selling vector images on Shutterstock (right after my honeymoon). I had engineering and programming jobs at that time. I also joined the Mensa organization in Hungary and included it in my CV to get the positions.
I've experimented with many styles, some of which looked artsy. So, I finally joined Society6 at the end of 2014. Two months later, I finished my last job as an employee and became an entrepreneur. In the last months of my employment, I spent more time with my business than the company. I have no remorse because the company worked for financial institutions. :)
Meanwhile, I played beach volleyball at the semi-pro level. My best results in the Hungarian Championship were 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th places. I played in the championship in 4 different decades. When I was very good, there were 1 or 2 much better players. When the competitors were a little weaker, I was also weaker. :)
What is your favorite medium?
I only use SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) vector graphics. It's more like programming than drawing. I type in words and numbers, and then nice, colorful graphics appear on the screen. After a few attempts, I added a very unusual twist: I used a PHP programming language to write SVG files. This way, I can add much randomness to my artwork. Any other programming language would be suitable to accomplish this. It must be capable of writing text files. I chose PHP only because it was pretty simple to install in a comfortable environment. So, I write a little (sometimes simple, sometimes complicated) algorithm, then I run it several times. When I like the result, I keep the image.
Has your practice changed over time?
Currently, I use the 8th generation of the methods to create my vector images. The 1st was to write the SVG file directly. In the 8th generation, I wrote the software (it runs in the browser) for myself. I can easily connect existing algorithms; then, I change a few parameters, and the results are very different. Usually, there is minimal programming in the process. This program is primarily for stock graphics, but my newest artistic works were also created this way.
The program copies and moves the files, making the needed conversions (.EPS, AI, JPG) almost automatically. Then I click and type for a few minutes, and the software creates titles, descriptions, and 40-50 keywords for dozens of images.
I can create even 500+ brand new images with titles, descriptions, and keywords in one day. However, I make it very occasionally. I spend less than 5% of my work time creating, and more than 95% goes to uploading, marketing, and other boring tasks. Since the birth of my second daughter, I have very little time. The lockdown even halved this...
What do you most enjoy painting?
I love to do experiments with geometric shapes and colors. My artist logo represents this.
Sometimes, I dare to try "normal" artwork when I create images without randomness, but I do this only occasionally. For example, I created minimalist line art for my daughters last year.
What jobs have you done other than being an artist?
I was an architect, facility management expert, virtual constructor, and GDL (Geometric Description Language) programmer. The latest gave me the idea of the whole vector programming thing.
Then, I worked as an engineer and as a SQL database programmer. During college, I was a waiter, callboy, etc... for short times.
What food, drink, or song inspires you?
I've never thought about drinks or foods as inspirations. :)
My favorite drink in the colder half of the year is red wine; in the hotter half, it's beer. (Except Heineken-owned brands, for political reasons...) My favorite food is ribs and fatty meats.
My favorite music styles are power metal and folk metal. These are sometimes very inspiring music, but there is no way to connect this inspiration to my artworks. :)
What has been your favorite response to your work?
When my family members like my artwork, I hope I can differentiate between politeness and real enthusiasm. :)
Of course, everyone's mom will love her son's/daughter's work.
Professionally, what is your goal?
My income is around 80% from stock vector graphics and 20% from artwork. My goal is to reverse this proportion in favor of art. And I'd like to spend more time with creation and experimentation.
I can make hundreds of artworks in a few hours. But I have no idea which is the best of them. I'm very bad at choosing the good ones. So, I'm open to collaborations with anybody who would like to browse and sell my artwork with a 50%-50% revenue share.
I can provide hundreds of - even unique - images for this collaboration.
Thank you so much, David. My readers are grateful that you shared your vector graphics with all of us. Colorful, symmetrical, spiraling visions to dazzle the eye.
Readers, be sure to visit all of David Zydd's sites:
Behance: David Zydd https://www.behance.net/davidzydd
Society6: Mandala Magic by David Zydd https://society6.com/davidzydd
Zazzle: ZyddArt https://www.zazzle.com/zyddart
CreativeFabrica: davidzydd https://www.creativefabrica.com/designer/davidzydd/ref/
VideoHive: DavidZydd https://videohive.net/user/davidzydd/portfolio?ref=davidzydd
Contact: davidzydd@gmail.com
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by Sean Adams | Peter Dawson | John Foster | Tony Seddon Paperback, Illustrated
