Today we’d like to introduce you to André Greppi.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I’ve been putting ideas down on paper for as long as I can remember. When I was a child, I would wake up before anyone in the house, grab paper and crayons, turn the tv to Bob Ross, and do my best to follow along long enough before my attention span ran out and my serene imitation devolved into a chaotic battle of superheroes and bad guys wielding weapons and shooting lasers from their eyes. I suppose my art has come a long way since then haha. However, every now and then I still try to inject my work with the same irreverence and subversion that made art fun and enjoyable as a kid.
In the early 2000’s I began sharing my design experiments and drawings on various online platforms and have since been fortunate enough to amass a modest following from around the world who support my work and encourage me to keep creating. Looking back, I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunities to connect with people and the ability to network with such a vast creative community through my work.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Growing up, I had a ton of support from my parents, who always encouraged me to be creative and told me I could grow up to make a living as a creative professional. As a kid drawing comic book characters and copying panels out of Cracked magazine, I could never imagine what that life would eventually look like and how technology
would advance and completely change how art is consumed and the opportunities it would present to connect with a global audience. Although, it wasn’t exactly a linear path to where I landed. With a few false starts looking into various art schools and trade colleges specializing in 3D animation, I eventually settled on an associate’s degree in graphic design at Valencia. Unbeknownst to me, this is where I would begin to define my style and develop a love for digital illustration, design and typography. Finding my way professionally involved a ton of hustle, which paid off resulting in a nearly 17 year career trajectory that landed me roles as a Walt Disney Imagineer, freelance Art Director for Nickelodeon Themed Entertainment, and ultimately at my current role serving as Associate Creative Director at Say It Loud here in Orlando. Throughout all of this I was concurrently putting in work on my visual arts hustle as DRES13 creating illustration and design for various brands and building a following showing my work wherever I could, ranging from local gallery shows to Art Basel Miami. There were (and continue to be) many challenges and hurdles throughout the journey, but I do my best to be resilient and keep pushing forward. I’m a big believer in the idea that if you put in your time, put in the work, things will happen and opportunities will present themselves so long as you remain present.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I like to think of myself as a designer by trade with an affinity for art and illustration. This translates visually into my work as my aesthetic style can range from purely illustrative, to a graphic blend of typographic design elements and hand drawn illustration.
Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
I enjoy listening to creative professional podcasts like Ash Thorp’s Collective podcast, Learn Squared, and Art Cafe, where creatives across different industries talk shop and discuss themes related to their work and what inspires them. I also enjoy listing to Akimbo with Seth Godin, as well as The Futur with Chris Do for marketing and design insights and general inspiration.
Contact Info:
- Email: dres13@dres13.com
- Website: dres13.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/dres13
- Facebook: facebook.com/dres13visual
- Twitter: twitter.com/dresthirteen
- Other: dres13.storenvy.com
Image Credits
@DRES13
