3DTotal: Your passion for automotive design started way back when you were a child and has played a huge part in your professional career through your work for the likes of Hot Wheels and Mazda, as well as in your personal life through the restoration of your 1967 Pontiac Bonneville! Could you tell us how this passion came about?
Dwayne : Right from when I was a little kid it seemed like it was in my blood. I was always drawing exotic cars like Ferraris, Lamborghinis and so on. Then I tried to draw cars and combine them to see what they would look like! Most of them were hideous, but then I was trying to design them back when I was about nine! Then I saw an Art Center catalogue when I was in JR High and decided that was what I wanted to do: draw things for a living. My dad and I restored a 1967 Mustang together when I was in high school, so this only fed my passion for cars. Then later on in my career I got a job at Hot Wheels and it was the best fit for me because it was a mixture of entertainment meets automobile. And yes, my 1967 Pontiac Bonneville is my current project, just because I needed a cool car to work on! As a designer I am adding my own flare to it, as well. I still have a huge passion for Hot Rods and Muscle cars so I do artwork based on that genre of stuff. Then I also run and own a website called www.Octane456.com, which is an online Hot Rot and Muscle car website.		  
    3DTotal: Did you ever consider forging a career in creating concepts for big named car manufactures?
Dwayne : Yes I did. I had an internship at Ford when I was in school and realised then that I wasn’t a typical car guy. I even had an offer from Hyundai to work for them after school. I love sci-fi stuff too much to stay in the car industry. I did some pretty crazy cars when I was in school and the car companies didn’t like that too much. But I was okay with that because I knew deep down inside that I wouldn’t stay in the car industry long. In fact, when I was at the Art Center I wanted to take entertainment design as a minor, but the program was shut down by the time I reached it. So I continued with transportation design. Now the Art Center has an amazing entertainment design program and I am jealous!

3DTotal: If you could sum up your style of art work into one sentence, what would it be?
Dwayne : Good question! My slogan for my company is “high energy art and design”, so I’d like to try to stick to that.

3DTotal: Throughout an artist’s career, they will always look at artwork by there favourite artists, whether for research or inspiration. So which do you find your inspiration from?
Dwayne : Oh wow! Yeah, I have looked up to several people out there and there are so many good names to choose from. I can tell you that whilst I was at Hot Wheels I got to meet Syd Mead and sat next to him at a Hot Wheels convention, and we talked for a long time. In my mind he has always been the Godfather of entertainment design. So at an early age I saw his work and always loved it. Other names that come to mind that have influenced me are Scott Robertson, who I had as a teacher and he really pushed and inspired me; Craig Mullins, Ryan church, Mark Gorner, Sparth, Vyle and all the guys from Steambot. Those are probably my top picks! I am constantly looking at people’s work for two reasons: one, because they are my competition; two, to be inspired and to push myself harder.

  

 
 
3DTotal: You mentioned you met Syd Mead whilst at Hot Wheels. If you could work together on a project in the future, what would it be?
Dwayne : Wow, another big question! Well, Syd Mead is known for his sci-fi stuff, so I guess some sci-fi game or movie. Maybe if someone wanted to expand the story of Blade Runner and do a new movie based on the original that would be awesome, since Syd is so well-known for that movie. I would also love to expand the story of my Arc Mechs; I really like the story that goes a long with it and I think it would really lend itself to some great visuals. So it would be really be cool to see Syd’s take on it!

3DTotal: Well it has been a pleasure talking with you, and I wish you all the best in the future with your company. I have one last question before we wrap things up, though! Over the course of your art career, what has been the most influential piece of advice that you have been give, and by whom?
Dwayne : I think the most influential piece of advice would be from the Bible and that is, “love your neighbour as you love yourself”. I know that might sound weird, but let me explain... If we all treated each other with respect, it really would go a long way. I have always tried to help out people, other designers and artists that are students or just want to start designing. One thing I can’t stand is cocky designers and I have met plenty of them. But on the other hand I have met plenty of great designers that didn’t have an attitude at all, and those are the ones I really look up to. So thank you again for allowing me the time to tell my story and I wish you guys all the best, as well!
    
 
 
 
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