At Home With: Daggers For Teeth
Daggers for Teeth
Hello Craig (Also known as Daggers For Teeth in the creative industry)! How are you right now?
DFT: Hey Skye! I’m doing pretty good thank you, considering the state of the world right now I’m definitely counting my blessings.
RIA: Can you share with everyone a bit about who you are and what you do
DFT: Yeah, I guess I am predominantly an illustrator with a fairly substantial focus on how things are “designed”, meaning that I like to approach the work I do from a kind of nuts and bolts start. I’ve often had clients mention that even though they like the content of the illustrations, its the layout and balance that really strikes them, which is great because its something i actively try to do. On a personal level, I’m a Yorkshire born resident of Liverpool and have been working as an illustrator for a decade this year after graduating from Liverpool’s John Moores university.
RIA: show us your WFH area:
RIA: Top snack
DFT: I would be lying if I didn’t say fried bread or chips and a pint. Actual snacks though, I would vote for mini cheddars, they are the best and those little packs you get mean you can eat loads and not feel too bad hahaha! (SO TRUE! Top snack!)
RIA: WFH / Quarantine tips
DFT: Routine is essential and breaking routine is also essential. You have to be sort of single minded, and focused to get work done in a place that is usually centred around relaxation and time off and anything but “work” - So get up on time, get showered and dressed at a reasonable time, and work like you would normally in a space dedicated to the work you’ll be doing. Have an “end of day” that matches a reasonable day of normal work. As my agent you’ll know I decline to take all of this advice from time to time. (Yuppppppppp we know) that being said every day isn’t going to be as expected and not being a productive power-house is normal. Don’t be afraid to give yourself the necessary time away from work that you need to recharge, well rested and happy people make the most efficient and productive workers!
RIA: How has the recent quarantine impacted the way you work and have you had to change your working behaviour much?
DFT: There hasn’t been too much that has changed from my day to day other than having my girlfriend working from home also. We still wake up for work at the same time and try to eat together at the same time, its been fairly nice actually, and we are adjusting way better than I expected. As I expected actual paid work has dropped off somewhat, but these kinds of things can happen when you are self employed, so its a case of weathering the storm.
RIA: What is keeping you sane at the moment?
DFT: All the usual things that people rely on to keep sane really: decent music, exercise, routine. Enjoying the small things that make you happy, and pushing the existential dread of a global pandemic deep down inside and pretending its not there at all.
RIA: Podcast recommendations?
DFT: “turned out a punk” (Damian from Fucked Up interviews people about how their lives intersect with whatever they think “punk” is)
“Conversations with Coleman” (Coleman Hughes interviews and sometimes debates guests on all manner of political and social questions) “This Past Weekend” (rat king Theo Von has celebrity guests and comedians and talks shit for ages, sometimes surface level nonsense other times really surprisingly deep)
I tend to listen to a chunk of political podcasts and tend to enjoy it when people disagree or are approaching an issue from a dissident position.
RIA: What can you see from your window
DFT: My back garden which could use a bit of love now its started to come back to life with all the recent sunshine. we get a ton of birds and squirrels which probably eat better than I do
RIA: Dream client
DFT: Ive been lucky enough to work with a couple of dream clients over the past ten years but the ones that are left are mostly bands or skateboard companies… I think I would like to make a range of work with deathwish records or isolation records, maybe a collaboration with Vans or Levi’s or Carhartt or Redwing shoes, something I wear every day would be cool to add to and having a signature version of an existing shoe or jacket would be amazing!
I would really like to do some more work with Santa Cruz skateboards or Creature skateboards going forward and it would be really cool to design some designer toys or sofubi.
RIA: Show us a WIP and tell us a bit about it.
DFT: I’ve got a few drawings on the go at the moment and the lockdown has given me the chance to make some more un-prompted personal work, here’s a few I’ve inked over the past week, they are exercises in iconography, little collections of images that don’t have a strict meaning but seem to have a mythology or story attached. I like it when people can add their own narrative to something.
Before “all of this” I was making things for a solo show that was due to be part of an arts festival in Liverpool, I’m not sure of the status of anything surrounding that so i might end up making some of the work available in advance if its postponed indefinitely.
RIA: advice for creative right now?
DFT: I guess my main bit of advice: don’t fall down the covid-19 hole… you don’t have to add a facemask to your logo or draw a pithy illustration about people hoarding pasta… I think we need escapism more than ever at the moment and it’s a bit selfish but i would like my creative output to not add to the constant barrage of virus content. On a less selfish note I think that creative people can be prone to neuroticism and depression and this crisis is obviously going to amplify this, for me it helps to frame it as an opportunity, I know its sort of re-hashing advice that can come across as patronising BUT it is a good opportunity to expand your skillset or develop a new set of work that’s just for you or even to pick up a hobby that’s not work related. All these things are good for your creative mind and a productive, positive focus is essential in the face of panic.
RIA: Tools of the trade
DFT: Pencils, POSCA pens, brush pens (my favourite is a Japanese Kuretake brush pen with platinum carbon ink), photoshop, I use a HUION graphics tablet connected to an I-mac for digital work.
RIA: What are you doing for your mental health?
DFT: exercise, cooking decent food, good sleep routine, reminding myself to let the small things that bother me dissipate and hold onto the small things that make me happy… the usual stuff I guess!
RIA: TV/Film recommendations?
DFT: really really enjoyed the lighthouse at the cinema before all this. caught the new “invisible” man movie and was very impressed, some of the shots are fantastic and really make you feel like someone is there in an empty room. I think I’m going to watch Ari Aster’s “Hereditary” and “Midsommar” back to back at the weekend too, I’m looking forward to what he does next! And the guilty pleasure is the chronicles of Riddick trilogy.
RIA: Your favourite piece of work / job
DFT: I’m not really sure what my favourite would be, its difficult to choose because I feel like there are things where i really got the feeling right and things where i got the project right, there’s jobs that I’m proud of completing because i met the brief efficiently and jobs that I’m proud of because I pushed myself creatively.
I really liked the work i made for Smith Optics, we designed goggle straps for ski goggles and it was part of an artists series so it was directly attributed to me as a creator. the actual image i made for it was pretty representative of my style and interests and how they used it across the products was really innovative and sensitive, it was a job that was completed about a year before it was launched and i was still into the work when it was made publicly available.
RIA: Who is giving you creative inspiration at the moment?
DFT: this weird period of pandemic lockdown has forced a lot of amazing tattoo artists to transition over to painting and illustrating and its amazing to see how many brilliant bits of artwork are coming out of it, i think there is going to be a cool tattoo age after we all emerge with tons of fresh designs and flash available. i think its more a work ethic inspiration rather than creative, I get really motivated when i see other people knuckling down and getting things done!
RIA: Do you have anything you think our readers should know?
DFT: Its ok if you want to call the monster in frankensteins monster... "Frankenstein" and anyone who corrects you can get kicked in the shin.
RIA: Let us know the best place people can view your work
DFT: Aside from my Roar Agency page you can view a snapshot of work over on my instagram @daggersforteeth
