We caught up with the hard working Will “Mr. Fancy Pants” Bryant this past week. He’s a freelance illustrator and a new “student” at Public School, a collective that we’re excited to see develop.
Run us through a typical day for you.
Now that I’m married and the wife has a solid job I’m slowly becoming a morning person. I wake up around 6:30 AM, zombie around in my undies and then make my wife’s lunch. I usually stick around the house, make the bed, and get things in order before going for a run or heading into the studio early. I try to arrive at Public School around 8AM set the coffee for 9:10AM, attempt to catch up on e-mails and get my Things.app organized so it will tell me what to do for the day. Sometimes I catch up on my blogging duties in the morning and then just set sail into the freelance ocean. Sadly, i’m a slave to the inbox so I’m constantly checking it throughout the day (while working or pretending to work). There’s loads of interaction and male bonding while working until I head home at 5:30 PM to greet my lovely bride. In the evenings we might go for a bike ride, cook some yummy food, watch the Cosby Show or Friends or Diagnosis Murder or Home Improvement while the kitty lays on his back to air out his belly. Throw in some giggles, snuggles, and maybe some late night e-mailing before bedtime.
We really like your MSNTCE work. How did that all come about? Is it easier making something not that cool? Do you set a time limit for yourself?
Thanks! I think I was camping at the wrong blog when the MSCE came about. I kept seeing all this awesome stuff coming from all over and felt a little bummed that I missed it. So I decided to just start making stuff under this crappy umbrella and I feel no pressure about uploading these sometimes terrible ideas/executed thoughts. It’s so easy! You’re already admitting, yeah this isn’t that cool, but it made me laugh for a bit. Plus it forces me each day to experiment with something. I haven’t really set a time limit, but I’ll quickly kick my own shin if I get caught up in some minor detail. Most of these pieces have been created in a last minute rush (as if you couldn’t tell). You should join!
Maybe we will! As type dudes ourselves, we’re always curious how people find this weird practice. How did you get into graphic design and specifically drawing type?
I honestly feel like my life was constructed and composed before I even knew what design was. Little circumstances and experiences have led me down this incredible path. What got me started on type derives from two people. Kate Bingaman Burt sensed my interests in undergrad and totally took me under her wing. Her enthusiasm and aesthetic poured into my work from the beginning. Then she goes off and brings in Mike Perry to be a judge/guest lecture at Mississippi State in 2006. I was able to meet him and he critiqued what little work I had at the time. I was working on my first (terribly unsuccessful) threadless submission. It was all hand drawn and Mike encouraged me to keep with that, then my soul was glowing from his lecture. I had never seen such wonders and coolness! So that experience definitely had a HUGE impact on me and my work.
S’s are really difficult to draw consistently, what’s the most challenging letter to draw for you?
S’s are tough! They never look the same. I really just love drawing all the letters, but I think C’s look stupid. Well, i mean that, unless there’s some goody face or drippy goo hanging out in the counter space.
You listen to a lot of music, what music makes you the most productive?
Oh man I do listen to loads of music. It’s somewhat slowing down, but i’m still finding treasures everywhere from running the music blog. If I HAVE to focus and really fire something out I really on psychedelic droning jams from Black Dice, Animal Collective, Deerhunter, Junk Culture, Pocahaunted, White Rainbow, etc. On the other hand sometimes I have to bring in the sunshine with Caetano Veloso, El Guincho, Dent May, Devendra Banhart, and Beach House.
We noticed on Public School’s Attendance list (your members) that most of you have moustaches, what kind of school is this!?! Do you have a moustache (yet) or is that a Senior thing?
Before I moved in there was a one month period where everybody grew mustaches, but a couple of the guys couldn’t. Within the school context it sure puts the creep stache into perspective! haha. As far my stache, no chance. It hardly grows now and it’s like a reverse hitler with a big space in the middle. It’s sad.
What’s coming up for you and your schoolmates? What are you looking forward to working on?
We’ve got a Public School Exhibition at Thunderbird Coffee in August and I’m very excited to display work here in Austin. Everyone here is a freelancer but sometimes collaborate when the project calls for it. So i’m definitely looking forward to collaborating within the same studio! I’ve loved working with great people over the internet so I’m sure this will lead to some good stuff as well.
You told us you really enjoy home cooked meals, do you have favorite recipe?
YEEEES! The wife cooked some awesome mediterranean quesadillas recently. They were full of flavor and ultra satisfying. Ingredients: costco’s frozen chicken breast, onions, classy tortillas, greek dressing, olives, feta, oregano.
Sounds amazing! Explain your nickname “Fancy Pants”.
One the first merch gigs I landed was for Rare Device. I drew this rad old man and a speak bubble that said, “Oh, Hello Mr Fancy Pants!” Then a few months ago this blog was confused by the wording in my bio and assumed I called myself Mr. Fancy Pants. I thought it was so ridiculous that I quickly took it and i’ve now got my own tax ID as Mr. Fancy Pants!
If you weren’t illustrating or designing, what would be your next choice for a career?
Realistically, I could sell shoes. I worked at a cool shoe store during high school & college summers and was pretty successful in knowing the products and interacting with customers. But, why be real? I’d TOADALLY be deejaying, painting murals, and running my own Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle’s pizza place. I’d have to get the rights, but how sweet would it be if all the characters worked out the hip restaurant and the Foot Clan delivered all the pizzas. Just imagine all the decor, well designed menus, and themed drinks!
Werner Design Werks came out with a book entitled “
Amazing work from Joachim Baan. Always worth a visit and bookmark.
We did an Illustration Grant last month at Society6 and this month we did a Typographers grant. 
