Meet Robert Decker | Illustrator, Designer, Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Robert Decker and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Robert, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
My desire to start my own business had been in the back of my head for a long time. I didn’t know the form it would take, or even really how to do it. I had gotten a few freelance gigs, but nothing that was consistent, unfortunately. Then the Covid epidemic came along. All the freelance I was doing dried up, and I was barely finding anything new. Luckily I was working for a place doing t-shirt designs already and they kept me on, and that kept money in my pocket. While all of this was happening i was coming to a realization that i loved doing portraits of people, and animals, real and imagined. and I loved movies and science fiction types of things. So i started doing these realistic portraits of movie and tv characters. Marvel, DC, Star Trek, and others, and people started commenting about them in a very positive manner, so I decided to start an Etsy shop where I could sell prints of them since my work was all digital. I also decided to do some research and start putting my images on more than just paper, and have added a few things like stickers, and mugs, and t-shirts to my product line up. One of the other oars moving my boat was pursuing some graphic design freelance gigs, mostly logo design, and I have made just enough in that realm to keep pursuing it, even though the portraits are my true passion. In January of 2021 I started looking at the next phase of what I wanted to do with my business, I made it official as Robert Decker Studios, and registered it, and did all of the related stuff for that, and started putting the pieces together to start having a booth at local weekend craft and vendor fairs. so far it has gone well, and I have made some great connections.

Currently, I am in the planning stages of setting up/applying to the smaller cons in the region, and hopefully, down the line, I will be able to be part of the larger cons. I am still also pursuing freelance opportunities to expose my art to a wider community.

I have been accepted to Atlanta Comic Con in August 2021. I am very excited to be part of this awesome event. Over the last few months, I have also been doing a lot of research and planning, and I will continue doing portraits but I am moving away from doing other people’s properties going forward unless they ask me to do some for them! IMy next steps include working on some mythologies, monsters, and a few other ideas that are still germinating. Keep an eye on my Instagram to see what is coming out of my head.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My art continues to evolve. I have a set style for the portraits I create, which is realistic, but not hyper-realistic if that makes sense. I want people to be able to tell that it is an artist’s creation and not a photograph, so there are visible brushstrokes and marks within the image. My biggest challenge is dialing it back and simp[lifying, which I will tackle in my next series of illustrations, as soon as I am done with the current set of portraits. One of the things I hear from people when they have seen my work for the first time is that they are amazed that it is digital. They often think that it is either a traditional oil or acrylic painting, or that it is a photograph at first glance. I take both as a compliment as I spent years as a traditional oil painter and still love the medium, although when I vacation now, I take gouache as it is a much easier medium to deal with while traveling.
I am a 30-year overnight success. Hah! I honestly do not think I am successful yet., I am consistently selling my work, yes, but it isn’t at the volume I want it to be yet. so, I keep plugging away and doing my best to figure out the next step.
One of the hardest lessons I have had to learn is that it is OK to say “NO.” I cannot do everything everyone wants, in the way that they want it. I have learned to be OK with that, even though I am most often a “Say yes, and figure it out as you go” type of thinker.

The thing I would like the world to know about my brand and who I am is that I am deeply curious about the world around me. My art teacher in high school once said that as an artist you had to know (observe deeply) a lot about what you are drawing. Just looking at the surface of things was not going to get you very far. I have always believed that, and follow that idea to this day. I have a deep-seated need to understand what that thing I am drawing/painting is made of underneath. in some ways what that means is “what is the story O am trying to tell” Narrative drives us all, I think, whether we know it or not, and it is what draws people into your image.
Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
if I had a friend visiting the area for the first time, I would take them to downtown Atlanta, maybe ride the Ferris wheel. If we have time, a ride of the hotel elevator, you know the one that is glass and on the outside of the building. It is a great view of the city from the top, especially if the restaurant is spinning. Depending on the friend, there are so many places to see and things to do, from the museums to the shopping, to some really awesome food, so the options are endless. As for favorite spots, I don’t think I really have one in Atlanta. My wife and I do try to get out and see new things in the area when we can, and most of those are centered around historic events, like Stone Mountain, or Kennesaw Mountian, both of which have great walking trails. We do have tickets to the Van Gogh experience next month, so we are very much looking forward to that.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I continue to connect with my former classmates at SCAD. I am excited about their successes and look forward to their growth. I am also deeply appreciative of my professors at SCAD. Their patience and encouragement are nearly boundless! I would not be where I am without the knowledge and support they have given.

Website: www.robertdeckerillustrator.com

Instagram: @robertdeckerillustrator

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/robertdeckerillustrator

Other: https://www.etsy.com/shop/RobertDeckerStudios