3DTotal: Hi, thanks for agreeing to be interviewed by 3dtotal. We always start with the obvious question so can you tell us a little about yourself and how you ended up doing digital illustration?
David: I currently live and work in a small town just outside of Melbourne, Australia. Here, through the magic of the internet, I can create, deal with clients and enjoy the clean country air as well as the occasional pile of horse droppings on the pavement outside the local shops, and the threat of devastating fires in summer.

I studied to be graphic designer and worked as such for a number of years in Melbourne, but in one of those “when life throws you lemons, make lemonade” things, I utilized the contacts I had made in the

design world and took up freelance illustration. It turned out to be an easier switch than I thought - as a designer I drew in any spare moment, and as an illustrator I could draw all the time, spare or otherwise!

3DTotal: I have to ask about your name Loopy Dave. Where did it come from?
David: I did some work some years back for a company that dealt with more than one David. I rang the office one day and apparently the secretary yelled out that it was David on the phone, to which my friend replied “the normal one or the loopy Dave?” I’ve been Loopy Dave ever since.

3DTotal: Your work is really unique and you obviously have your own style. Would you say that you were inspired by an artist or group of artists, or that it just sort of happened?
David: It’s funny, but the less I worried about developing a style and just enjoyed my art, the more I seemed to develop one, even though I have quite diverse interests - I enjoy drawing “simple” cartoon characters as much as I do far more realistic illustrations and every shade in between.

There is no one artist who I would say I’ve modeled myself on and I’m largely self taught. It’s been

morea case of soaking up lots of sources, my natural curiosity leading me to try different things and years of constantly drawing and painting (hardly a day goes by without me drawing, doodling or scribbling something). The people who I admire, inspire, and challenge me is really too long to list, but I idolized many of the great fantasy illustrators growing up - Frazetta, Boris, Jusko, Luis Royo - I love Gil Elvgren, Robert McGinnis, JC Leyendecker, Norman Rockwells’ work, though you see less of their “fingerprint” in my work than some lesser known artists, such as Dan Decarlo, Joe Staton, Chris Archilleos, Fastner & Larson etc.

3DTotal: Is it true that you use a mouse to paint rather than a Wacom? If so, why? And does this mean that you sketch out a lot of your work and then scan it in to paint it?
David: It’s true! I played around with a Wacom tablet many years ago, but back then there was an annoying lag between hand action and movement on screen, so I taught myself to paint with a mouse, which I still do today. I sketch out all my work on paper first then scan it in - I love the feeling of drawing pencil on paper, so I don’t really see this as a negative at all.