Tom Judd 5oup www.5oup.net Tom Judd, co-founder of 5oup and all-round creative powerhouse, gives us the lowdown on his diverse range of creative projects. At what point did you start to consider yourself a professional creative? For as long as I can remember I have enjoyed drawing and making things. This steered me towards an art foundation course, where I found that illustration best suited my open approach to image construction. My first taste of professional practise came along two years ago. I worked to a script, producing illustrations to be used in the graphic sequences for a BBC history program. Being asked back to work on the following four episodes along with other developments, such as an up-and-coming show in New York, have induced a slight feeling of professionalism. However, I am extremely aware that I have a lot to learn and am keen to make the most out of my remaining years in full-time education. Where did the idea for 5oup come from? It evolved from an idea that James Chambers (co-founder of 5oup.com) and I had back in January of this year. We were looking to produce a collective including work from ourselves as well as a few of our talented student friends. We knew a lot of people who had the talent yet lacked the knowledge of how to get their work online. We struggled to cut down the number of contributors to fewer than ten. This spurred us to thinking about a submission-based site that included the best student talent from around the world. 5oup.com was born and everyone rejoiced. I have to pass on a lot of praise to James who has managed most of the design and production of the site, leaving me to get on with my other projects and maintain my sanity away from all the CSS and PHP madness. We are working on databasing the entire site. We have been busy working on version three, which we plan to have up and running before the end of June. Our main objective is to allow the successful applicants to update and control the contents of their profiles. However, due to time restraints and lack of experience in this area we are currently looking for support. If anyone fancies helping out a good cause in exchange for some healthy promotion then get in touch! Your Everyday project, in which you drew an intricate illustration for each of the 365 days of 2005, is a bit of an achievement. Where do you get your energy and creative stamina? Thankfully I have the kind of imagination that draws inspiration from everything and anything I see. I was keen to allow each page to evolve without worrying too much about the content or construction. This spontaneous process meant I never became stuck or without something to add to the page. I also found myself drawing whereas before I would have just been sat watching TV. Come on, was there one day that you did a few drawings to give yourself a few days off? There were a few days when I had to finish colouring the pages the following day. There was one occasion when I had to completely fake an entire page. See if you can spot which one. What tools do you use in your design work? My sketchbook is where it all begins. I love to experiment with all sorts of materials, from paints to tea bags. Photoshop is probably the program I use most for image construction – it is a great tool, however I am always aware that it can be over-used. I use Dreamweaver for my web-based projects, and I am currently learning and developing my HTML and CSS skills. You use online portals for self-promotion, merchandise sales and as a way to realise innovations such as 5oup – do you think that today’s creatives see the web as the main way to sell themselves? I definitely see it going that way. The Internet is fast becoming the second home of the creative world. Every design company out there uses the Internet in some form or another. It makes a lot of sense to get your work online and give everyone the opportunity to see what you have to offer. contact: info@5oup.com visit: www.5oup.com, www.tomjudd.co.uk