Tell us a little bit about yourself: who are you, and what is it that you do?
My name is Žiga and I’m a designer and illustrator from Kranj, Slovenia. Most of my time consists of doing anything that is connected with creativity. My day starts with a good cup of coffee and a drive to Ljubljana where I work in a company as a 3D jewelry designer designing new unique products per request. Besides working as a 3D designer I freelance in graphic design and illustration from my studio in Kranj. When I’m not working I try to skateboard as much as I can and spend time with my pet dog named Miško.

How did you start with design / illustration?
I kind of  knew from the beginning that I would eventually do something that was connected to drawing. I was always better at explaining what was on my mind through drawings and visual representation rather than using words. The day I started Middle school for design and photography in Ljubljana, was the day I was introduced to design. So over the years of going to school and meeting new people and gaining new friendships I started to shape my idea of what design and illustration mean to me and what I want to do with the knowledge that I have gained.

What separates you from other artists?
Every artist has their own unique style and expression for presenting their creations, so in a way we are all different from one another,  however we are all looking for that small spark of inspiration to produce something mind blowing. That spark of inspiration for me is the environment that I’m surrounded by. All the people, events, places, emotions, noises and all other small things that don’t seem important – I have the ability to soak everything in like a sponge. Your character develops on how you behave and act from the environment and society you live in and if you are aware of your surroundings, you are constantly getting new information that you can filter and process to produce something that comes from inside of you and shows you as you are, so every time I’m in some place I try to focus and feel the energy, vibe and events that are transpiring around me at that moment and soak them in.

You are a skateboarder – how does street culture affect your creativity?
I think that spending time in the streets doing anything, not just skateboarding, opens your mind to different vibes that flow around the city. It had a very big impact on my way of how I present my art. Skateboarding by itself is a creative lifestyle mixed with different culture, music, characters. You have so many different people, places, emotions to observe. It really is one big place to get some fresh new ideas from. It gave me the power to always keep moving forward, no matter what and it taught me that if you try hard enough and if you put the energy into it you will eventually succeed. It helped my mind and body to balance physically and mentally on where my limits are and how I can overcome them and if you add the creativity to it – which skateboarding has a lot to offer – it is, to me, just the perfect combination for spending free time and hanging out with my crew and friends. It helps me relax and clear my mind of irrelevant things.

What do you want to become in future, what is your biggest dream?
I really don’t have an ultimate goal or a dream. To me having an ultimate goal sounds like you are limiting yourself to just one achievement and when you accomplish that your path stops. So I kind of see my own path as some sort of journey from one lighthouse to another, if you will; always being on the move, always finding something new, trying different things that put you out of your comfort zone, because that’s when you really begin to know yourself, see yourself as what you are and realize what can you do. (My biggest dream is) to do what I love and what makes me happy.

Do you have a motto?
Success is meaningless if you lose yourself in the process of achieving it.

 

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Interviewed by Anja Korošec; Illustrations: Žiga Rautner