Artist Josh Mecouch may be well known for his stunning illustrations at Formal Sweatpants, but few may know about his delightfully twisted Instagram posts. It seems between making comics and snapping selfies, Josh finds the time to bring his imagination into the real world. After viewing Josh’s delightfully disturbing Instagram posts below, read an exclusive interview I had with the talented artist.
A man and his hamster.
A bear shits in the toilet. Not woods.
Josh and his friends.
The Dandelion Battle.
Josh gets booped.
The Josh Mecouch Interview
They just show up on my mind’s doorstep like a cat bringing you a dead bird. I don’t know where the bird came from and I don’t have a cat but I show them both gratitude and hope more continue to arrive. Just make sure your doorstep is clean so this cat of imagination is inclined to bring you another idea (dead bird).
Q: Were you a kid who doodled during school? What was your go-to drawing back in the classroom?
I was an avid Chicago Bulls fan growing up and would cry when they lost so I drew a lot of pictures of Michael Jordan.
Q: You like to bring your creations to life in your Instagram posts. Do you often imagine your characters chilling with you in the real world?
No, absolutely not.
Q: Was “Cartoonist” always written in the stars for you? Could the excitement of accounting or landscape architecture ever pull you way from your pencils?
I think I’d enjoy the simplicity and routine of having a trash route.
Q: Flight or Invisibility? Which superpower would you choose and what would you do with your new ability?
Flight because then I’d be able to dunk.
Q: Do you dabble in any other artistic mediums outside of comic strips?
I just started doing some watercolor painting and combining that with pen & ink illustrations. I like having that as an alternative to the digital work I do with the comics.
Q: I am obviously very envious of your skills. What is one tip you could pass along to up-and-coming artists?
I’d say take the time to find and study other illustrators you like and try to push your own style. Cartoonists like Bill Watterson, Gary Larson, Travis Millard, John Kenn and Nicholas Gurewitch are all wonderful artists and I try to learn from them to improve. I started looking more at illustrators/painters like Ralph Steadman to bring more detail into my drawings but also animators like Preston Blair to incorporate movement.
Also, be honest about your own work and find your weak points as an artist. If something doesn’t look right, try to strengthen it. I’m worthless at drawing hands so I’ve been practicing those recently. Realism can improve your cartooning style as well. I’ve found I can’t really draw horses but I have no use for a well drawn horse.
Read the book The War of Art by Steven Pressfield at least 3 times.
Q: Thank you so much for this interview Josh! Are there any projects on the horizon that you are excited about and are looking forward to?
A few secret projects but I’d like to draw and/or paint a picture of that cat I mentioned earlier.
A generous thank you to Josh for taking the time to speak with me. I am also horrible at drawing hands and usually resort to sketching something that looks like a fleshy mitten. If you want to keep up with with Josh’s work, you can visit Formal Sweatpants for more of his original art or follow him on Twitter or Instagram.
