Artist Feature: Julian Glander
by Yuliya Veligurskaya
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Julian Glander builds worlds of fluorescent bits and pastel blobs that make us feel nostalgic for something imagined. His florescent scenes are surreal, thoughtful, comforting, and sometimes a little disturbing.
We were thrilled to talk to Julian about his weird world of wiggles and waves. ☁️🙂🦠
What's your name and where are you from?
I’m Julian Glander, originally from Detroit now living in Brooklyn.
How would you describe your style? How did it develop into what we see today?
Pastel, gooey, acid, candy, Gumby, clay-like 3D figures experiencing the ups, downs, and middles of life in a perfect isometric world. I started out making T-shirt designs by tracing stock photos when I was a teenager and learned 3D a couple years ago by watching YouTube tutorials.
What are you greatest artistic influences? Could you tells us a little more about them?
I learned how to draw from the Ed Emberley books, which are step-by-step drawing instructions for kids based in super simple geometric principles. A couple of artists who I think about all the time: Corita Kent, Misaki Kawai, everything on Koyama Press, Miranda July, Jeron Braxton.
We adore your color palette. How do you pick your colors and what advice do you have for creatives who struggle with that?
Picking colors is usually one of the last steps in my process after I’ve modeled everything and nailed down the composition — I just sort of move the mouse around the color wheel until I get a visceral reaction. It’s kind of hard to explain but sometimes when I put the right colors together I can feel a kind of buzzing in my eyes. My pupils get bigger like a little cartoon. Follow the buzz is my advice.
What programs do you use to make your work?
Blender & Garageband and a few other widgets, I am a big believer in open source & free software, power to the people!
How did you start accumulating your Instagram following? What advice do you have for other artists trying to get their work exposed online?
Idk, I think it’s best to just keep your head down and make the work u wanna make and not think about it too much. I know that sounds like a disingenuous answer but it’s true.
We have to ask about ART SQOOL (Julian's video game where art assignments are generated & graded by artificial intelligence). How did you come up with the idea to make a game about a BFA program?
It’s funny you should phrase it that way because the working title for the game was GTA MFA actually. I had been kicking around an idea for a figure-drawing game for years, and one day it all clicked together. Generally I’m really interested by the current DIY games community and the people making games on itch.io that are based off of their own lived experiences and interests outside of traditional video game subjects.
Do you have a favorite scene that you've created?
Maybe this one:
What challenges do you experience when creating art?
I used to sit at my computer and work for days and days at a time until my eyes burned and my wrists hurt and I fell asleep at my desk. I’m a little bit better at maintaining balance and taking care of my health now but still not so good at it. Working on it every day!
What does the future hold for you? Are there any cool projects you're currently working on?
Top secret, sorry! Working on some cool longer-form projects but the steady stream of gifs and doodles will continue in the meantime.
What's your favorite meme right now?
Frog and Toad F The Police, but this is subject to change at any given moment. Actually it’s Me And The Boys now.
You can follow Julian at @glanderco and check out his website here.