Introducing: Boys and girls, meet illustrator Jack Sachs!

Jack Sachs studied Illustration at Camberwell, graduating last summer full of youthful energy and with more than one string to his bow; his work ranges from the drawn and painted to digital animation, making him an excellent example of the versatility that can burst forth from the loins of a creative degree. He makes images about footballers, wizards, crisps and funny-looking people, with a stylistic tendency to lean towards the weird and grotesque – so he fits right in on It’s Nice That. We interviewed Jack about his working day, and you can have a read below!

Where do you work?

I recently finished working for an illustration agency, where I was making drawings for Key stage 2 maths books, which was fun. I’m now in the early stages of some freelance work for FoxADHD which I’m pretty excited about! Currently I’m lucky enough to have a big empty flat as a studio/home. I think this is slightly wasted on me, though, because I make the majority of my work at a desk in the corner.

How does your working day start?

If I’m making work at home I’ll find an excuse to leave the house and come back before I start; I’ve always really disliked getting out of bed and sitting straight down at my desk. I like to do emails and serious stuff away from where I make work. Recently the Barbican library has been my destination of choice.

How do you work and how has that changed?

Just before I started my final year at university I had a pretty drastic injury involving a shard of glass and a severed nerve in my wrist, I was unsure if I was going to be able to hold a pen again so I started experimenting with motion graphic software, specifically Cinema 4D & Maya, which I’d always had an interest in. I learnt my way around it through awkward YouTube tutorials and a short evening class at Morley College in south London.

Luckily I made a full recovery so I’m able to draw again, but I would say that working in motion graphics has had a huge impact on my output, and where I see my work going. When I first started using rendering software I found it difficult to make work that I could relate to my drawings and paintings. It was like learning to walk again. Now as I’ve learnt more and more about this type of software I’ve been making work that feels like my own, and isn’t limited by technical ability. My advice is to set yourself small projects and learn by doing!

Where would we find you when you’re not at work?

Watching How It’s Made or putting googly eyes on things.

Would you intern for yourself?

I’m going to say yes. My work varies loads from image to image so every day would be different, although my doppelganger intern would probably get quite bored when I’m making work on the computer, and I’m not a huge fan of hot drinks.