UTA alumnus David DeGrand has always been drawn to the sillier side of art. In fact, he first began finding his footing as an artist in his fifth-grade art class after drawing a comic strip as part of an assignment.
Before long, DeGrand had filled up notebooks and sketchbooks with what he calls his "weird ideas and silly art," saying, "I just fell in love with it."
Over the years, DeGrand's style evolved along with his interests, but his discovery of MAD Magazine, "The Simpsons" and "The Ren and Stimpy Show" dramatically changed the way he drew. His unique style has led to some amazing opportunities, from writing and drawing for comic books like "SpongeBob SquarePants," "The Simpsons" and "Garfield" to personal career highlights of contributing to MAD Magazine and designing the animated series "Death Hacks" for Augenblick Studios. He also illustrated "The World of Weird Animals," a book series by Jess Keating.
DeGrand said that UTA has been a big part of his career successes.
"I chose UTA because I really fell in love with the art program, and I felt it would help me become a more well-rounded artist by not only teaching me fundamentals, but also exposing me to different media and forms of art," he said. "All of my professors were instrumental in helping me to improve my art while also helping me learn to approach making art in different ways."
While on campus, DeGrand was also an illustrator for The Shorthorn, UTA's award-winning student-run newspaper. He said that experience was invaluable to his development as an artist, as it taught him what to do and what not to do when communicating complex ideas in an easy-to-digest way.
"I learned a lot by working in that environment and having to come up with how to visually represent tons of different ideas," he said. "The main thing I carry with me today from my time at UTA is to not be afraid to go with your gut instinct creatively and not to overthink an idea. That has served me well as a professional illustrator."
DeGrand's newest work is in the graphic novel "Snot Goblins and Other Tasteless Tales," by Rob Kutner, which was released July 25. The early praise is already glowing. From "Weird Al" Yankovic: "I have not read this book, but based on the cover alone, I'm just going to go ahead and predict that it will be crowned the next Great American Novel, on par with 'Moby Dick' and 'The Great Gatsby.'"
"I saw that adults could get away with drawing incredibly disgusting yet hilarious art and get paid, and it became my No. 1 goal to do that for a living," he said. "I wanted to discover more art that was outside of the mainstream, so I got obsessed with underground comics from the 60s, vintage animation and midcentury modern styles. All of these weird influences just got mixed up in my brain and now serve as inspiration when I sit down to draw."
