I was browsing the net for talent one day when I came across Sleepy Takeover, the personal site of Daniel Park via Mr. Kim‘s site. I found it to be very interesting in the sense that he actually showed off his talent, and displayed his work from the initial stages right thru to the final product. More than that, he showed the public the process of graphical illustration from start to finish. Everything from hand-sketches, vectorization to photo manipulation is well documented and displayed. This I find is really important for people like myself, as an extra source of inspiration and a place to learn how to execute things the professional way. I decided to give him a go, and was not disappointed: he is in fact a very open and generous person who is every bit dedicated to what he does.

PERSONAL INFO:

Name: Daniel Park
Age: 27
Country of Origin: US
Genre: Mixed Media
Forms of Art: Isn’t this the same as the above?
Mediums used: Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects, Pencil & Eraser, Acrylics

Website: sleepy takeover | FR*A
THE SERIOUS BIT:

FM: Good Morning, Daniel, how’s it going? How did you come up with a name like Sleepy Takeover?

DP: To tell the truth it was random, but as soon as I said the name outloud it sounded like me. At the time I had been spending my whole life going to school, and finally I felt like I was ready to enter the real world as a professional.

FM: Tell us a bit about yourself: what do you do for a living?

DP: I do design, from apparel to editorial to video. Recently I quit my full time job to start up a company with some friends – Future Rockstars of America. It’s about to launch soon so I’m pretty much a slave to it.

FM: I love caps [got a small collection going, all from Japan] and I noticed that you do a lot of design work for caps. Did you study this or was it something that came naturally for you?

DP: I used to work for an apparel company that specialized in caps. To me good design is good design. The fact that I had to design on caps just meant that I had to take a different canvas into consideration.

FM: You also design tees as well as do tons of drawings and illustrations. Are the ideas your own or does the client give you an idea of what they want?

DP: 90% of the time the client gives me a vague description of what they want. From there I’ll sketch out some comps in pencil and review them with the client. Once a direction is approved, I’ll do a detailed rendering. Then we’ll usually haggle over what revisions need to be made before a final is produced.

FM: Where do these clients come from? How did you first start out your career?

DP: Clients come from everywhere. I’m a workaholic, so whatever small lead I get, I’ll usually follow up on. Before I started designing professionally I was in a band for 8 years, it totally consumed my life. During those 8 years I met a lot of people in the entertainment industry. I guess those connections lead to my first handful of jobs.

FM: Have you ever tried street art? If yes, what sort of form?

DP: I tried to get into it when I was in junior high, but it never really lead to anything. I did however try out an experiment with a friend and postered certain spots in LA for a bit… that was pretty fun, I went under the moniker “K-Town Cowboy”. It was basically a racist quote from Adam Corolla in huge bold type. Once it got plastered on to walls, people started reacting very violently to it; it was awesome.

FM: I would think that you are a highly rated apparel designer, since people like Mr. Kim often blogs about you [yeah, one of my weekly readings, I draw huge inspirations from his site]. You’ve got friends in high places… what are they like?

DP: I haven’t been doing apparel professionally for long, so I’m still paying my dues. As far as Mr. Kim goes – I met him a while back in San Diego. I read some articles he wrote and was blown away. I immediately contacted him via email and he told me about this idea he had for a new website/forum; that idea evolved into Evil Monito. Being one of the first to hop on board the Evil Monito crew was what really opened the doors to all of these “friends in high places”.

FM: What inspires your designs? Other than money, I mean

DP: Music, revenge, other designers, the written word… I probably get most of my inspiration from reading.

FM: What have you been up to lately? Working on any projects? What’s the next big thing happening in your ever evolving life? When are you ever going to start your own brand [you should] or company, or do you already own one?

DP: Yes, I am starting my own brand – Future Rockstars of America. This basically gives me the excuse to fuse my two passions in life – Music + Design. The brand’s home site will have an extensive blog consisting of writers from all across America. It will have in-depth interviews/articles with artists every month, and that’s just half of the company! The other half involves a full clothing line from T-shirts, to hoodies, to caps. The clothing line is being built slowly, but hopefully we’ll have everything in place by spring next year. Our motto – “Authentic Artist Wear”. For now visit the online shop.

FM: What’s your advice for people like me who would like to one day delve into the wonderful world of apparel design?

DP: Stick with the aesthetics that got you interested in the first place. I’m getting ready to launch my line (FR*A – Future Rockstars of America) but finding it’s easy to forget your original intent. Once other people get involved, everyone’s trying to tell you to do whatever is trendy at the time. I say fuck that! Stick to your guts and what you like, and convince everyone else that your shit is the new trend.

THE POTSHOTS SECTION:

FM: I’m from Malaysia, have you ever been here or any other part of Asia before?

DP: Never been to Malaysia, but I have been to Korea, once… when I was 15.

FM: What are the top 5 sites that you visit daily?
DP:
1. Mrkimsays.com
2. Processrecess.com
3. Hydro74.wordpress.com
4. Riottt.com
5. Motionographer.com

FM: Sony PS or XBOX?

DP: Ms. Pacman and anything ZELDA!

FM: Ever tried your hands at screen printing?

DP: Oh yea. I love fresh ink – but I leave that to the pros for the most part. What up Tony Zepeda!

FM: Rock or Rap?

DP: I grew up on Hip Hop but it hasn’t been quit the same since 2pac died. Now I can’t listen to music unless it has some dirty guitars on it. I love Iggy & the Stooges. You can trace down my musical tastes from there.

FM: [If you are really bored or have spare time. ] Draw a self portrait.

FM: Would you please send me a cap to add to my collection?  [My thick skinned-ness in full blown action!]

DP: Believe it or not, I currently don’t have ANY of my own designed caps. Sorry! If I get my mitts on any new Donkey Tattoo caps, I’ll send one you’re way.

FM: Oh, that’s just too kind! Any Last Words?
DP:
visit sleepytakeover

visit future rockstars of america

visit fra clothing

Thanks again, Daniel. Do keep in touch!

*Update: Future Rockstars of America is now officially up and running… cheers!