Daniel Shepard

Photo by, Fernando Paz

Meet Daniel Shepard

Feast your eyeballs on this delicious bunch of doodles! We chatted to artist Daniel Shepard all about his art this fine Thursday. Born and bred in Mexico, this graphic designer and illustrator has taken the streets of New York by storm. Influenced by music and skateboard culture, Shepard’s handiwork captures the chaos of the metropolis. His work has graced the everything from boards to the cover of Bon Appetit…so eat your heart out kiddos. 

Below, we chat with Shepard all about his doodles, the local illustrator community, and the B-52’s unfortunate rock lobster. Give it a gander and get on your way.

SPECIAL SPRING CLOTHING SALE: A MAD LIB BY DANIEL SHEPARD

DANNY has announced that his WICKED clothing store in the heart of downtown MEXICO is having a OLD-FASHIONED sale of all merchandise, including CROOKED suits and slightly irregular SOCKS. Men's cable-knit WATER PROOF BOOTS, only $15.99. Hand-woven Italian FINGERLESS GLOVES, half-price. Double-breasted cashmere SUNGLASSES, $50.00. Genuine imported YELLOW.ACIDIC shoes, CLUELESS handkerchiefs, and women's embroidered SNORKLES, all at rock-bottom prices. This is a chance to get some really MACHO bargains!

Would You Rather

be hugged by a very sweaty person for too long, or ride an elevator with someone who is farting a lot? Why?

I’ll rather be hugged by a Sweaty person, but with the corona regulations I’ll fart to keep them at a six feet distance.

Some questions with Daniel Shepard

What is your creative process when making work for established brands? How do you preserve your specific aesthetic?

I mainly start with doodling tons of rough ideas on my sketchbook to get the machinery started and looking at a bunch of images that I like to get inspired, personally tackling the most obvious ideas/cliches tend to spark a new idea, once this is done I scan the work and retrace it digitally. I don’t worry about preserving the aesthetic since that’s the way I draw things, If a client wants something that does suit my style, let’s say a realist portrait, I’ll rather say no.

What is the community for illustrators like in New York?

It’s a vibrant and exciting scene, It blows my mind how many talented illustrators can live in one city, also the diversity of graphic styles your eyes get exposed to is insane. Also there are great book-zine fairs during the year such as CAB organized by Desert Island where you get the chance met fellow artists from the states or around the globe. I feel blessed to be in a city where there’s tons of opportunities and also makes you to push your art further.

What role has social media played in the development of your career?

It’s been a great place to get gigs for sure but also connect with people I admire and respect their work, couldn’t been a more exciting era for artists to share your work worldwide.

How has skateboard culture influenced your work, if at all?

Well, my introductions to skateboarding was the first time I walked into a skateshop, I was struck by the graphics on the boards and products, from that day I started to dig deeper into the brands devouring all their visual content , from ads, videos, stickers to t-shirts. Also through skateboarding I learn how deal with failure, eating shit and getting up while trying tricks and do it all over again, that’s how I approach my work, feeling free of the burden of making mistakes till I get result I want, with the exception that you don’t get hurt, phew!

What was the last book you read? Did you like it?

“This is Not a T-shirt” by Bobby Hundreds. It’s a good read if you dig street wear culture, but mostly it’s a story about a person that build a community around a brand and also  it shows someone passionate about what he does and the struggle he went through to get where he is at now.


What have you recently been listening to in the studio / making art?

It depends on the mood but lately I’ve end up rocking The B-52’s, especially their first three albums, can’t stand rock lobster tho
¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Does/has music directly influenced your work?

Definitely, besides skating music has been a huge influence, It usually gets me in a good head space to create work. Also it showed me a wide range of artists who have create beautiful artwork for bands that I love.

Any final comments? (This is your electronic soapbox for one last answer.)

A big shout out to the Mexitosos homies, my girlfriend for her support and If you want to say hi or collaborate on something, shot me a dm at my instagram @danyboydoid ,  ajayy!