Design Insights: Amrit Pal Singh

Here is another instalment in our Interview series but today is not just another contributor of Iconscout, but it is a very special person who is sensation in the 3D Illustration world. Here we are with none other than Amrit Pal Singh. He recently rose to fame with his 3D illustration style which is simple chic and attractive. We feel lucky to have a chance to interact with him.

Here is our interaction with him in an interview form. We had a lot of fun doing it, it was a great experience. We hope you enjoy reading it!

Tell us a bit about yourself, Amrit.

I am Amrit Pal Singh, a 3D Illustrator and Creative Director with an immense love for play, experimentation, world cinema, and Nutella.

I have previously worked for clients around the globe as a product and brand designer for more than 10 years. Since July 2019, I have been focusing on creating 3D Illustrations, Design Assets, and Card Games.

In 2014, I founded Mister Bumbles Interactive a company making products focusing on storytelling and childlike wonder. Our diverse set of super-fun products include card games, interactive apps, printed books, mobile games and apparel.

What’s your artistic background ?

Growing up I loved Studio Ghibli, Disney, and Hanna-Barbera. So my interest in 3D was meant to be. I got into design and animation when I was 16, I ended up graduating from Vancouver Film School at the age of 22 where I learned most of the tools and techniques. I was lucky enough to get a full-time job right out of college at Fueled based in New York City. I worked with Fueled for two-years as a motion designer and eventually returned to India to start my own design practice. I spent the next few years as a Product Designer working for clients from all over the world and doing a bit of 3D on the side.

From 2017 to 2019, I worked as Head of Design at a Fintech startup based in New Delhi. After selling design assets with an online marketplace as a side-hustle for one year, I left my job in 2019 to pursue a solo practice focusing on 3D Illustrations and Design Assets.

What’s your creative process? What inspires you?

I spend a lot of time thinking and chalking out my ideas and I keep a detailed Notion journal. Then there is a research phase where I make mood boards on Pinterest and see what is out there and how I can be different. Once I have a sense of what I want, I get into the software right away

What programs, tools or techniques you use?

I usually use Cinema 4D and Adobe Illustrator. I usually first draw my ideas in Illustrator and then take them to Cinema 4D to model a 3D version of the very same sketch. Then I think about textures and lighting and what kind of look I want. After the final render, I give some touch-ups on Photoshop and yup I am done.

There are a variety of tools I use, I feel digital journals are the best and I journal every decent idea I get.

Productivity: Notion, Airtable, and Grammarly
Design: Adobe Suite and Cinema4d
Website and E-commerce: Squarespace and Gumroad
Other Tools: Pinterest and IFTTT

What are the keys tips you use to turn a 2D concept into a complete 3D illustration?

I usually keep my 2D drawing very simple, I just block out a basic shape for 2d and the rest takes life in 3D. Since my work is far away from hyper-realism, I enjoy the liberty I get to be spontaneous and playful while creating my characters and scenes.

Who do you look up-to in the 3D character modelling artist space?

Ironically I take more inspiration from graphic designers and 2D illustrators than 3D modelling artist. If I would have to name some of my favorite designers then those would be Malika Favre, Studio Muti, Jessica Hische, and Oliver Jeffers.

Your work is quite out of the box, Do you think it’s important to represent diversity in your work and why?

Yes, it was absolutely intentional. I have a mission to represent and be more diverse in my work. We need to consciously think about representation on every stage. On my website, I request everyone to give constructive feedback on how I can make my work more diverse and inclusive. Illustrations and character design over the years have really established wrong standards of beauty and importance. Almond-eyes, fair skin, and particular body-type; we all have grown up watching cartoons that establish these biases. As creators and artists, it's our duty to fix that.

What are your strengths and weaknesses?

I thinking one of my strength is spotting out design trends way before they are main stream and  using my laziness in a smart way where I end up doing less work but it looks like I have done a lot. My biggest weakness would be that I can only focus on one thing, I am like a kid at a candy store. I get excited by several things and I want to try out everything.

According to you, what are the most exciting things you've accomplished in your career so far?

Since the launch of Toy Faces Library in June, I have had several job offers from the best of companies and fortunately I have been in a position where I could politely decline them and not get major anxiety about it. The current major accomplishment for me is the the ability to thrive without a job and turning the corona crisis into an opportunity. I am very glad that I have been commissioned by some big companies like Google, NFL Teams, Snapchat, and Ola.

What’s the biggest lessons you’ve learnt from becoming a 3D illustrator? What's your advice for other fellow designers? who wanna explore 3D Illustration.

All I want to say is that play on your strengths and stick to your natural style. If your work is cute and not provocative, focus on being as cute as you can or vice versa. As an illustrator, your unique style will make you stand out. Don't worry about what's trending or what the other person is doing just master your style and try to be great at it. This is going to take time, be consistent and things will eventually flow. And turn on auto-save for all your projects.

Where do you see yourself in five years?

Well, indeed it is hard to plan the next five years of your life when you don't even know how the next 5 months of 2020 gonna be like. First of all I just hope things are well and back to normal. Work wise, I want to have a decent library of design assets and games. I love working on my own products and projects so my aim would be to continue that and expand my customer base.

Fun question: How do you feel when you avatar pack got famous this much?

For first few days I was quite overwhelmed and thankful. When I finished the faces I knew they were special but I had no idea that they will get so much love from the community. It's been very inspiring to see the response and it has always made me push myself to do more. It feels very very nice.

It was a fun interaction with Amrit. We thank him for taking a time for us. You can visit his website to see his latest work. You can follow him on the social media websites Behance, Instagram, and Twitter. We wish him good luck for all his future endeavours.

Check out our Designer Interview series where we have interacted with some of the leading designers and design teams from all around the world.

We will be back with another interview soon. Till then Happy Designing!