Artist Jeoffrey Magellan should be a familiar name within the Chillhop community. The French illustrator contributed to both of the covers (and concepts and booklets) for beatmaker L’indécis’ most recent projects: Plethoria and Playtime. We interviewed the producer last month and he spoke about their frequent collaborations. Additionally, Magellan assisted (alongside Tevy Dubray) with our YouTube live stream, formulating and crafting our Chillhop Raccoon inside of his relaxing bedroom.
While Magellan has plenty of dazzling pieces of art readily available in the world, he also has a great deal of work around the corner. This includes an animated film as well as participating in last month’s Inktober series. Communicating via e-mail, I asked the talented artist a bit about his creative process, his passion projects, and his current road trip with his girlfriend as they travel from Canada to Louisiana.
Hey, how’s it going? Thank you for taking the time. How has 2018 been treating you?
Hey! I’m feeling good, thank you! I got a cup of coffee with me, ready to answer your questions.
2018 was one of the best years for me. I worked on an animation movie as a lead background artist, and that was a fantastic experience.
I traveled a bit and I’m preparing new trips. Pure happiness!
How would you describe your style to a stranger on the street?
THE big question that people ask me and that I’m still asking myself. I think I found the beginning of an answer that suits me: I have no predefined style, I draw according to my mood, and the style comes naturally. I have often been criticized for not knowing which style to assume, but now I have decided to use it as a force, and to adapt my drawings to my desires. I get bored quickly if I keep a style, so I need to experiment a lot with my influences of the moment. Maybe it will change, I still got a lot of things to try.
Your conceptual pieces for Plethoria are truly stunning. How long did a typical piece take?
Oh thank you! That was a great project. I worked side by side with my friend L’indecis, we’ve been working together for a while now! I’m becoming more and more of a fan of his music, and he always trusts me. Working on Plethoria was really fun, we had to take our time and find a main thread, and tell a story related to the music, we took a couple of months to create this baby. But for a typical piece, including sketch, inking, and digital colorization, you had to count for 3 or 4 days of work, even more if there where some adjustments to make. But the process was pretty fast cause we were on the same page. I’m glad to talk about this project again cause it was a great moment, I wish I had more like that. I think the format is original and creates a beautiful complementary between music and drawing.
Is that how you first became introduced to Chillhop?
Absolutely. You gave us full trust. It’s a pleasure to work with you guys!
Recently we (Tevy Dubray and I) worked on the new visual for the YouTube stream, with the little raccoon, that was fun too. I worked on a new cover with L’indecis, for his EP called Playtime. Go check it, it’s dope.
In a word, I’m proud to work with Chillhop. You’re hard workers, trusted professionals, and nice people.
What’s the rest of the year looking like for you? Are you currently working on any other large projects?
I just finished working on a movie, it’s not released yet (next year, I’ll talk about it on social medias), but I can say that the title is “I lost my body” and it’s produced by Xilam studio. But for now, I’m focused on more personal stuff, it goes hand in hand with my idea about style and what I want to do. I’m lining up some new drawings for a series, big size, and I’ll try to contact some Parisian galleries. I’m thinking of doing a book, or trying participating in some illustration collectives, and more musical collaborations are coming, stay tuned! The next two months are dedicated to a trip with my girlfriend, between Canada and Louisiana. We intend to meet some new people. I’m bringing some sketchbooks with me and I’ll fill them with new inspirations.
I see on your website that you participated in Inktober last year. Have you been participating this year?
Depends on the time that I’ll get, cause I’ll be on Canadian roads with a big bag and potentially no reception, so maybe I’ll catch up later.
What’s your studio setup? (instruments, programs, coffee, music, etc.)
Drawing on paper is my favourite thing, then I scan it and do the colorization on Photoshop.
I like the randomness of paper, digital tools are insidious because it pushes you to perfection, and there are few places for improvisation. You can’t zoom in with paper! But I don’t need a lot of things to create, and because I’m constantly moving, I can work everywhere. The fact that I spent the past few months in studios, in different cities, didn’t allowed me to create my own working space. Normally, when I’m “sedentary”, I like having a huge desk with a lot of useless stuff, but it quickly becomes a dust trap.
On the top of my desk, I like to put some inspirational pictures, or some drawings of my friends. Most of the time, I play some music when I draw, I choose the right mood and…here we go! I dress comfortably, jogging suit, big socks, hoodie or a cap: I like to have something on my head when I draw. I isolate myself a bit, drawing in front of people makes me a little uncomfortable, but I’m not shy when I have something to show, especially to my girlfriend who helps me a lot, she has a good eye and she knows me well.
Oh! And I always wash my hands before drawing!
Outside of your own art, what else have you been enjoying?
Everything I like outside of drawing feeds it intrinsically. I listen to a lot of music. I used to read a lot of comic books, but it became complicated buying and carrying books these days because I’m moving a lot. I watch a bunch of television series. Thank you Netflix for being a part of my life, I bless your existence.
When I need to relieve my stress, I go climbing. I started a year ago and that was a real discovery for me. Otherwise, I spend some time on Instagram to find new artists. For now I’m reading a book about trees and forests, and on how they work and communicate. That’s fascinating.
Do you have any advice for artists working on their craft?
Keep drawing, and when you don’t want to, don’t do it. Go out and enjoy the world and people around you. Don’t forget to eat vegetables, it’s good for the brain, and do some naps, it can be inspiring. And go listen to Chillhop artists, it relaxes. And brush your teeth before going to bed!
Any final words of wisdom / shout-outs?
The tool is not what makes the good artist , but a sharp pencil can help.
Thank you for giving me the floor. Many thanks to Chillhop, keep it up! And shout-out to my friend L’indecis, go listen to his brilliant work.
You can follow me on Instagram, by searching for @magellan_illustration.
And go check Tevy Dubray‘s work, she’s the one I worked with for the stream on YouTube.
