Dave Comiskey

Dave Comiskey is a Dublin-based illustrator/artist who graduated with a degree in fine art from NCAD in 2004. Since then he has shifted his focus from painting to illustration and graphic work. His witty and individual style of drawing has resulted in Dave receiving a number of well respected clients including Mongrel Magazine, Turtlehead t-shirt company and Darklight Film Festival. Currently, Dave is working on film and animation character design for Syn Studios. We dropped by one afternoon to ask him a few questions and to video him drawing one of his characters.

Tell us a bit about yourself name, location, affiliations, personal stuff.
My name is Dave Comiskey, I work in Dublin, I make pictures and illustrations. I’m not too sure what affiliations means and I’m not telling you any personal stuff.

Apart from creating things, what do you do?
As little as possible.

What first made you want to become an artist?
I enjoy it. And I still do, so I’m still doing it. It’s as simple as that really.

Please describe your creative process: how, when, materials, etc.
My process is a pretty normal. First it’s pencil and paper, then either a scanner and Photoshop, or else fancier paper with markers, if it’s exhibition work. I do it whenever I can find the time to, in a studio I rent in the city centre. And I keep a couple of notebooks going all the time, I find them really useful. There’s never any real ‘eureka’ ideas part, things tend to just trickle out, slowly.

In ten years I'd like to be...
At least ten years older than I am now.

How would you describe your style of design?
Slipshod. Great word, that.

Do you have another job?
Yes, I do three days a week in a bookshop, also in the city centre.

What would you be doing if you weren’t designing?
No idea. Probably doing five days a week in the bookshop.

What’s a typical day like for you?
Unmerciful, from start to finish.

What’s your favourite day of the week?
My dolmio day.

Are you living your ideal lifestyle right now? If not what is your ideal lifestyle?
I’m not. Ideally I wouldn’t need another job to support myself, and all the studio work I get would be a very well-paid breeze. But if I could manage to live off just drawing pictures, I’d say that’d be pretty ideal.

What’s your favourite drink?
It’s a tie, between coffees and pints. No it’s not, pints win.

What would be a special treat for you?
A mixture of coffees and pints.

What is your latest obsession?
My bicycle. Never going back to the buses again.

What can’t you live without?
The people who are important to me.

What’s your best selling design/product?
The t-shirt I did for Turtlehead. Rumour has it Tom Waits bought one a couple of months ago.

What’s your usual way of cooking a potato?
Toaster.

Your favourite/most interesting supplier?
A4 Art, on Thomas St. It’s two minutes from my studio, always has what I need in stock, it’s cheaper than most, and all the staff have lovely bottoms.