Raw Talent With Max Löffler
18 June 2024
Interview | Daniel Pront
Introduction | Andrew Fairclough
Portrait | Hannes M. Meier
Multi-talented German Illustrator Max Löffler is having a moment. From collector's edition novels to posters for some of the biggest bands in the world, Max's grainy brand of atmospheric surrealism seems to pop up in all the right places, with the perfect amount of regularity.
When Max first slid into our DM's in 2018 to say how much he was enjoying our brushes, I immediately went on a face-melting journey through the darkest reaches of his portfolio, only to come up for air 4 hours later questioning the very fabric of the universe. Since then we've watched in awe as his body of work has stepped up time and again, with every poster, editorial illustration and brand collaboration.
We recently sat down with Max via Zoom and many, many emails for chat that ultimately became our first Raw Talent profile film and the wide-ranging interview laid out for your reading pleasure below.
Let's get the obvious stuff out of the way. Who the heck are you and what do you do?
Hallo, my name is Max Löffler, basically I’m a freelance illustrator, sometimes graphic designer, and for the moment, mostly a gig poster artist.
How did you come to find yourself working as an illustrator?
Well…I guess I need to still find a definite answer to this question. My father is a kind of creative jack-of-all-trades and as a kid his studio was like a cabinet of curiosities for me, so creating art was the most accessible and kind of natural way to find fulfillment. I never really thought about doing anything else as a profession, and apart from many changing hobbies drawing was the constant. For many years I drew because I knew I was good at it, not necessarily because I enjoyed the process itself a lot….a bit sad haha.
IN GENERAL I ALWAYS STRIVE FOR FINDING AN ICONIC IMAGE RATHER THAN IMPLEMENTING A SUPER HIGH AMOUNT OF DETAILS.
Your work has an otherworldly feel to it, almost as though it was created in another dimension. How do you approach the subject matter of your work?
In general I always strive for finding an iconic image rather than implementing a super high amount of details.
When I’m confronted with the hectic and ugly man-made world of our current times, I find comfort in (re)visiting a nostalgic parallel universe that I can explore and that I built over the years. In that universe pretty much everything is possible, but you won’t see any humans, so I guess it’s almost a classic case of an artist’s escapism from the world. If I had to bring it down to three words: nostalgic, surreal, weird.
You've created an enormous body of work for a growing and enviable list of world-famous bands and musicians. What draws you to applying your talent to this medium?
I always wanted to play in band, because I feel the combination of word and sound to me is the most direct, emotionally captivating, comforting and uplifting art form that hits me like no other. I admire the capability of musicians to create these immersive experiences, live or on record. For some reason I never got up off my ass and learned to play an instrument, so that's why my illustrations for album covers or gig posters act for me as a kind of loophole through which I eventually am able to play a tiny part in a band. Creating something from within yourself, is a great feeling of self-fulfillment, especially when you can create for one of your favourite bands. If it also resonates with other fans, I pop a beer and am satisfied.
Do you see your art somehow representing a deeper part of yourself?
I’m sure it does represent a deeper part. I draw the things I feel attracted to. I remix images that are hidden in my subconsciousness to create something (hopefully) new. If I’d need to nail it down, I would say my artwork represents an inherent feeling of melancholy. None of my artworks transports pure happiness and ecstatic sunshine, there’s no "Good vibes only“, it always comes with a crack or dent, however subtle it may be. And I think that represents me as a person quite well, like everybody I struggle a lot, I fall into dark places from time to time, and this can be seen behind the cracks of my artworks (at least that’s what I like to think haha). Mediocre vibes only.
MY WORK IS STRONGLY INFLUENCED BY THE CLASSIC SURREALISTS SUCH AS MAGRITTE AND DALI, BUT ALSO BY OLD SCI-FI BOOK COVERS OR ART NOUVEAU.
Where do you find inspiration for each project?
I would like to think I can find inspiration everywhere, but usually it’s in an art book from my collection, old sci-fi book covers, Pinterest, the internet.
Who or what are your major influences and heroes?
My work is strongly influenced by the classic surrealists such as Magritte and Dali, but also by old sci-fi book covers or Art Nouveau. The references to bygone times that appear in my work simply come from a great fascination with the culture of the past, be it aforementioned old science fiction book covers, the work of the Big Five from San Francisco, films like 2001: A Space Odyssey or the graphic design of Milton Glaser. I think the aesthetic of yesteryear radiates a warmth and just feels much more familiar to me than all the stuff that's popular today.
Posters from influential San Francisco artist collective known as the Big Five. Clockwise L to R: Victor Moscoco, Stanley Mouse, Rick Griffin, Wes Wilson, Alton Kelley & Stanley Mouse.
The illustrators and artists I admire clearly hit in that same spot and carry something from the past into the present, e.g. Aaron Horkey, Vania Zouravliov, Moebius, Eyvind Earle, Kilian Eng, Neo Rauch, Edward Kinsella, Daniel Danger, Pat Perry, only to name a few.
What does your creative process look like?
It obviously all begins with a good briefing. Then I typically try to nail down a vibe for the piece by creating a moodboard, if that already works, good, if not I dive into my art books for a few hours. If this also does not help to get me going, I can end up in despair and it gets really hard and frustrating.
If I have 2 or 3 images in my mind that I think could work, I start sketching in Photoshop. These tend to be super rough, no colours, as in this stage for me it’s only about getting the idea across.
After the client made a decision, I directly start finalizing the illustration without showing any work-in-progress images, as this typically would not be helpful at all due to the chaotic look in that stage. When I present what I see as final artwork, the revisions start where I discuss every detail and mainly colours with the client, but usually this is a quick process.
I THINK THE AESTHETIC OF YESTERYEAR RADIATES A WARMTH AND JUST FEELS MUCH MORE FAMILIAR TO ME THAN ALL THE STUFF THAT'S POPULAR TODAY.
Your work has a sense of familiarity yet it's almost aggressively original. Do you think you’ve consciously adopted a signature aesthetic?
I don’t think it happened consciously, but subconsciously out of a phase of trial and error. Walking down the path that felt most enjoyable and natural, slowly led me to the scenery that I wander and enjoy nowadays.
How did disembodied eyes come to be a recurring motif in your work?
I can remember a particular Future Islands shirt design where I first used an eyeball in a jumble of objects. From there I always came back to the eyeball, and soon realized that I can use it as the perfect distillate of a character that is reduced to a simple shape, but that can still express emotions and topics through looking at and interacting with other elements in general. Needless to say I also like the awkward effect of an eyeball glancing at you.
Does it feel different working on commercial projects vs personal?
It usually does, however there can be commercial projects where I feel the same freedom as in personal ones. The main difference for me is, that only in personal project there is the legendary empty white paper, a carte blanche where everything seems possible and where I do not need explanations. I can put the images from my head straight to the paper without having to check if they fit a briefing.
THE MAIN DIFFERENCE FOR ME IS, THAT ONLY IN PERSONAL PROJECT THERE IS THE LEGENDARY EMPTY WHITE PAPER, A CARTE BLANCHE WHERE EVERYTHING SEEMS POSSIBLE AND WHERE I DO NOT NEED EXPLANATIONS.
How much creative freedom do you generally have with your commercial work?
It changes, but usually I have quite a lot of freedom. However even a pretty precise briefing can give me a feeling of freedom, if it perfectly fits my visual language and world. Then I’m just stoked to work on the project, and if you’re stoked you don’t feel unfree, right?
Who are some of the clients that you have been most excited to work with?
Difficult. It was definitely something very special to work with the Austrian studio Soild&bold on a luxury edition from German publisher Heyne, an imprint of Penguin Random House, last year, namely Stephen King's IT. Plus, as an avid but lousy surfer, it was insane to create an illustration for Dylan Graves' signature Haydenshapes surfboard. I'll never be able to surf this weapon, but it's still a kind of accolade for me. And of course, it's just awesome to create a gig poster for a concert that you attend as a fan. This has happened to me twice so far, in 2022 with Pearl Jam and this year with Queens of the Stone Age.
Do you have a vision for ways your work might continue to evolve?
After a long period of struggle with liking my own work, for the first time I am quite content with what I’m doing. So I certainly would love to continue creating posters for some of the greatest and some of my favourite bands out there. A possible evolution would be to create the album artworks for these bands. Ultimately I would like to arrive at a place that let’s me release personal work as screen prints and find people who like to hang it on their walls.
What advice do you have for all the illustrators out there who are developing their style?
Don’t ask your parents or closest friends if they like it. No seriously: Find a thing that you’re crazy about or well-versed in outside of illustration, and create a personal project of 20 illustrations based on that thing. Make it the best thing you can do. Then make it better. Then show it to the world on Instagram or Behance. That’s what worked for me in the beginning.
That's pretty good advice even for more established illustrators during less busy times. What can established artists do to keep pushing their work forward?
Focus on creating great work. Always try to make it better. If you’re not working on the projects or fields you like to, create a personal project of 20 illustrations based on that field.
You've been a long time user of our brushes and tools. What specific TGTS tools do you currently use in your work?
At the moment I mainly use the Grain Shader and Stipple Studio brush sets for Photoshop. I love the natural feel of them. They add a sense of comfort to my process, and an analogue feel to the aesthetic of my work.
Over time I developed such a routine with them, shading brings me to a meditative-like state of mind. I don’t think, I just draw.
THEY ADD A SENSE OF COMFORT TO MY PROCESS, AND AN ANALOGUE FEEL TO THE AESTHETIC OF MY WORK.
Do you think digital tools have changed the role of an artist?
I think digital tools clearly lowered the threshold of creating art or even becoming an artist. As I use them myself, I can cherish the relief of working with digital tools, but I think it’s important to take care that the main creative decisions and actions are still performed by us humans. It may be a grain brush, but I am the one who uses the grain brush like I want to.
I don’t want to open the pandora’s box of AI generated images, but I think it has the potential of destroying what it means to be an artist, at least if it doesn’t get regulated. It’s great that everyone can be an artist and express themselves through art, but wasn’t that possible before anyway? Will the world become a better place, if literally EVERY thing is available everywhere at all times?
Finally, do you have any process hacks that you can't live without?
Not really a hack, but I love layer masks.
