BIO
8fish is a jack-of-all-trades creative workshop that has been producing mind-blowing animation, design and illustration for more than ten years. The secret to 8fish’s success is a feisty team of incredibly talented and versatile artists who constantly challenge themselves and each other. Their clients include Nickelodeon, Writer’s Digest, Wendy’s, DirectTV, among many others.

Name: 8fish
Latest IMPACT book: Making Faces: Drawing Expressions for Comics and Cartoons
Nickname: Those guys at 8fish (said with enthusiasm)
Hometown: Sandy, Utah
Current residence: A 3,000 Sq. ft. creative studio packed with lots of goodies!
Kids and/or pets? Between all of us there is too many kids to count, including ourselves.
Favorite food: Were easy, it’s just whatever our in-house chef is cooking for the day.
Favorite candy bar: Anything with chocolate or granola!
Favorite TV show: We once spent every lunch hour watching episodes of The Office, which made us happy.
Favorite movie: If Pixar makes it, we like it!
Favorite website(s): We’re all fans of everyone else’s work, so this could be a long list, but here are a few of our own:
8fish.com
8fishanimation.com
bensimonsen.com
petersakievich.com
designkeep.com
monkeygrinder.biz
Favorite blog(s): Same thing here, but check out some of our own and find links to more:
bsills.blogspot.com
mbdayton.blogspot.com
blakeloosli.blogspot.com
crowsmack.blogspot.com
bronzeswallow.blogspot.com
Favorite comic(s): Danger Girl by J. Scott Campbell, it’s everything to everyone.
First job ever: Most of us started out doing sign painting, or some lowly designer job. Unless you want to count that time we got suckered into standing on top of a float during a Fourth of July parade waving to everyone while wearing a sparkly cowboy outfit.
Best job ever: Working at 8fish of course!

When did you know you wanted to be an illustrator?
When we found out that people will actual pay us to draw.

Give us a taste of your latest project?
We’ve been working on a reality television show called Maverik Kick Start, which premiered May 3rd, 2008. We also fill in the gaps with other stuff like working on our own intellectual properties for animated television shows along with storyboards, editorial and advertising illustrations for our clients.

Talk about a time you felt star struck in your line of work.
This happens every year down at the San Diego Comic-Con when you happen upon an artist you really respect and then after you worship them with praises you find out that they are just like you in many ways.

What’s the best piece of career advice you’ve received?
Draw every day. Draw the stuff you are passionate about and keep improving and growing as an artist even if you don’t get paid for it.

Click here to visit 8fish online!

Click here to check out Making Faces: Drawing Expressions for Comics and Cartoons

Making Faces: Drawing Expressions for Comics and Cartoons by 8fish