Tell us a little bit more about the inspiration for this design.

I’ve always been fascinated by and loved Japan and Japanese culture, and I’m sure everyone has seen that koi fish tattoo that people like, so I wanted to just draw one in my style. I’d also wanted to do a bright orangish design, so koi fish were perfect for that, you know.

What other projects are you currently working on that have you excited?

Well I recently got to design a line of shoes for Kings Of Neon and the first few just went on sale, so I was stoked for that. I seem to enjoy personal paintings nowadays, but apparel design in general will always be fun for me. I’m painting a plastic heron I found in my girlfriends garden like Big Bird as well, I think it’ll look pretty cool.

Do you design full time? Or is it more of a hobby/side gig?

I’m still pretty young, so I don’t have bills to pay and mouths to feed but my own, so I guess it’s a hobby. That being said I take it pretty seriously as a possible career choice and I dont have another job besides this so I guess its both.

What web sites do you have to check every day?

Hotmail, Flickr, MySpace, Facebook, http://www.mishkanyc.com/bloglin, http://www.thehundreds.com, http://www.emptees.com, and a bunch of artists blogs with the occasional twitter.

Describe your process in creating a design like the one we’re printing? Pen & paper or tablet & computer? What steps do you follow?

It seems to change design to design, I dont have a steady rhythm for it or anything. Sometimes a doodle will lead to a sketch then scan it in and redraw it, sometimes I’ll just start in photoshop. I wish I had crazy dreams that gave me ideas, but usually I brainstorm them, make a short list or a few doodles, or read some books.

What’s the last album you bought?

I rarely buy albums anymore, I really can’t remember. Part of the download generation I guess.

Any links you want to include?

http://adamvaudin.blogspot.com/
http://www.krop.com/adamvaudin/
http://flickr.com/photos/31269936@N03/
http://www.myspace.com/112863833
http://www.kingsofneon.com/acatalog/adam_vaudin_plimsolls.html

Thanks to everyone who voted for this, thanks to Tilteed, and go watch some films with Steve Carell and drink some root beer. I know I will.