Get to Know the Artist: Jeff!

What's your current gig: I'm an illustrator/character designer for Disney Learning which is part of Disney Publishing Worldwide.

Name 3 pop culture influences that effect you and your work currently: Hmmm, I'd have to say Batman, Hulk, and Disney...I don't know if that answers the question. But I have noticed that if I manage to find the time to draw random artwork, if it's not an original idea of mine then I tend to lean towards those topics.

One word that best describes how you work: Always or non-stop haha. Does that count?

What do you need in order to work most effectively? I definitely need my Cintiq or my tablet and depending on whether or not I'm at home or at work, a great selection of tv shows to have running in the background while I draw.

If you weren’t an artist, what would you want to be? I honestly have no idea. I've always wanted to be a Disney artist for as long as I could remember. However, there was a time when I wanted to play professional football as well...but I wanted to work for Disney at the same time sooooo yeah...that wasn't possible haha.

What everyday thing are you better at than anyone else? I'm the best at being Jeffrey Thomas...unless there's an even more awesome Jeffrey Thomas...if there is, I don't wanna know.

What motivates you? Watching a good movie or tv show or reading a good comic or book always motivates me. It's one of the main reasons I like to have tv shows on while I draw so it can help fuel my imagination.

What inspires you? I'm inspired by the work of my three favorite artists: Glen Keane, Bruce Timm, and Chuck Jones.

What's the best advice you've ever received? There's actually two bits of advice, the first is best summed up by Ron Swanson from Parks and Rec - "Never half ass two things...whole ass one thing." I use to have a problem trying to decide a focus in my field and because of that I was just okay at a bunch of different art styles. It wasn't until I picked one style to focus on did I manage to become more than okay haha. The second bit of advice is actually something that Celeste and I came up with when combining a Walt Disney quote with the premise for the movie Speed..."Keep moving forward, or the bus explodes!" I think that's pretty self-explanatory haha. Always strive to be the best because if you become complacent and stop you explode...yep.

Have any more questions for Jeff? Leave them in the comments!  We'll add them to the list, next time. :)