Introducing…Illustrator Thomas Slater will turn that frown upside down

Not only does Thomas Slater have the cutest dog ever, his illustrations are rather brilliant too. Thomas’ desire to put a smile on people’s faces has certainly paid off, especially Bad Guys Doing Not So Bad Things, where you come across Bond villian Oddjob casually walking his neighbour’s dog (what a nice guy!).

We really love the zine influenced by rush hour in London, capturing the glorious sights and sounds of our lovely, crowded city in its peak moments and if you leaf through it you are left with smudges on your fingers mimicking the smog or newsprint of the city’s free newspapers. We wanted to delve a little deeperc so tracked down Thomas to ask him a few questions…

Where do you work?

I work in my living room/studio in my flat in Camberwell, London. It’s a real sun-trap and I’ve got a great big desk, definitely my favourite workspace so far. I keep the studio side of things nice and tidy so people can come over and kick it in the evenings without having to dodge wet paint etc.

How does your working day start?

Up at half six, walk my sausage dog Henry, and then go out for a bike ride three or four times a week (Im trying my best to avoid the obvious perils of working from home and sitting on your butt all day). Then breakfast and emails by 9:30am or 10am, but quite often I end up working late so this schedule doesn’t always go exactly to plan.

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

When I’m not working, I’m either watching YouTube or listening to gangster rap in my flat, in one of the local drinking establishments or coffee shops, at Elephant and Castle bowling alley, walking in the park, out on my bike, or at Stockwell on my skateboard.

How do you work and how has it changed?

I try and keep my process as varied as possible and avoid sticking to one exact method, for commercial and for personal work. But almost everything starts from a pencil, a rubber and some cheap paper. But I would have to say that the light box is probably my most used tool. Whilst at college I was very reluctant to use the computer but when working as an illustrator in 2013 you have to embrace it, and now I really enjoy drawing straight into the computer sometimes. I can’t think of another medium where you can draw a bold and confident permanent marker style line and then get rid of it without a trace.

Would you intern for yourself?

I think I would get fed up of interning for myself due to the odd hours, but there would always be good sandwiches for the intern at lunchtime and the dog to play with.