We found Jeremy’s work because of his feature on Hydro74′s Brass Tack. His illustrations are bizarre and macabre while remaining very aesthetically attractive. He’s a great guy with a sick body of work. Check out more of his work ///here///
Tell us a little about yourself and what steps you took to get here (*especially how you chose the name ZombieYeti):
Well, first off – thanks for the stellar site & thanks for the kind words. It’s always good to know people dig what you do. Really appreciate it.
To answer your question, in short; My name is Jeremy A. Packer and I draw lots of stuff – sometimes even for money!
To answer a bit longer with some backing history & in a rambling fashion….
True story….My earliest memory of drawing was being taught by my older sister how to draw a butt. It was really just a soft variation of a ‘W’ – but she taught me how to draw one. Can’t recall why, but I decided to draw them all over the seats of my parents car – in ink. I was 2-3 yrs old at the time. And the great part was, people instantly knew what it was that I drew. So perhaps that satisfaction is what drove me to stay the course. I’d say that was the highpoint, really. It’s all been downhill ever since. 
Early on in school I was labeled the ‘kid who could draw well’ – not as a result of butt murals, mind you. The attention was something I didn’t like too much, really. I was a quiet kid – didn’t like to draw attention to myself. Unfortunately over time people catch on – especially in a small rural community like my hometown. So, I tried to curb their curiosity in my ability by drawing strange & bizarre things. (Which in my town was the equivalent of drawing a street light or a t-shirt on a man mowing his yard – really.) When I got a negative response I felt a sense of accomplishment. It became sort of an inside joke to only me and a few close friends.
I continued on & after high school graduation I attended the Columbus College of Art & Design in Columbus OH where I jumped from Fine Arts, to Motion Picture, to Animation. Ironically, I never took an illustration class there. I think it was kind of expected of me to go into illustration, so I went left instead of right thanks to that recurring little punk voice in my head. I graduated with a BFA in Time Based Media Studies & a minor in Fine Arts and got married to my lovely wife a year later.
I landed a job with a local dotcom start up right out of college & that helped divert my path for many years. I left that job & helped start up creative departments for a handful of tech companies. In 2004-ish I had enough of the city life & the corporate life. I wanted out & my wife obliged. We moved 300 miles away to a surrounding area of my hometown. Partially to get the kids near relatives & partially to just plain unwind. Built a house by a cornfield & never looked back.
In spring of 2009 I decided to get my head out of my ass a bit and focus on feeling like an 8 yr old again. At the same time I got contacted by an old friend from Jr. High who said he had gotten into the world of art because of me. He wrote me a really flattering message & wondered why I wasn’t doing what he was. He encouraged me to throw my hat in the illustration ring. He also encouraged me to get my work online & start being social. So I created a twitter account & started tweeting as I went. I’ve never used twitter to seek work – but it’s been a great way to get exposure for my work. It was slow going – but over time I started getting noticed. I found that the illustration community in general, and especially in my experience with twitter, is a very selfless community of really great people. I’ve gotten some great support & advice from heavy hitters the likes of Hydro74 & Godmachine early on. They’ve been right there all along nudging me, supporting me, & encouraging me. It’s really great – and as long as you don’t constantly tweet the mundane details of your life (plates of food, I’m looking at you) twitter can be a valuable asset to an unknown illustrator.
AS FOR THE NAME: The name was a result of my appearance after pouring myself into my work at all odd hours. I ‘m a tall guy – 6’4″ – so take that base & add an odor & unkept appearance & you get an unkept beast. I think my wife may have been the one to bring this up. – but due to my odd hours I was sometimes a bit like a zombie during the day. This, of course inspired a few pieces early on. ‘Zombie Kitten Eating Yeti’ was sort of a joke I threw out there. I mean, what’s worse than a Zombie Yeti? Why, one that feeds on kittens of course. …And then ‘Zombie Nose-Picking Yeti’ came a couple weeks later. From those 2 pieces I started getting noticed a bit thanks to the wonders of the internets & the Twitters by then the name stuck.
Walk us through your process from idea to implementation.
I usually start with a cold shower. I like to lather up my junk and wax… oh, too much?
Seriously, inspiration comes from just about every minute of consciousness for me. The world we live in is really quite hilarious. A very sad hilarious, mind you. That’s what drives my ideas. It’s that inner struggle to make sense of your reality that usually ends in a joke. It’s a coping mechanism perhaps. I’ll ask my therapist and get back to you on that.
I’m always writing ideas down & sketching ideas. Probably too much… many just get overshadowed by a more recent one. Occasionally I have one that gets to my desk and won’t leave there until I get it done. Those are usually the best ones – not the most well liked, mind you – but the most satisfying ones personally. Once I have a concept I start to chip away at it to get to the core & refine the feel rather than the look.
As for workflow, I’m 100% digital 99% of the time according to 75% of my work. I work using a Cintiq on a windows PC. I usually do a fast & rough layout sketches in Sketchbook Pro. I seriously limit myself to 15 minutes unless it’s a complicated piece . Thanks to my days in animation, i find gesture is a fantastic way for me to communicate my ideas up front. From that sketch I move on to Illustrator for the digi-inking. I use the blob tool and 2-3 different sized brushes for it. At this point I do plenty of redrawing & refining of the details. This is where I have the most fun & most torment. After the line work is done I usually do a mix of Illustrator & lastly Photoshop for the color & texture.
After all of that I usually throw the wax & pubes away & soak my bits in some ether….
Tell us about your involvement with BrassTack.
You are referring to the Brass Tack Apparel line by Hydro74/Joshua Smith available online at www.brasstackapparel.com where you can purchase ‘Your Mom’ in both Letterpress Print and amazingly soft & comfortable, top selling, American Apparel Shirt form? THAT one? Oh, it’s quite funny really. Hydro74 was really coked up with some of his usual hookers at his golden mansion under the sea. They were snorting with million dollar bills off of Nike mirrors and the one hooker said something about a cock smoker… wait, wait… it was either that or he sent me an email and asked me specifically for the Your Mom piece? … In FACT, he may have even said something about how all of his AAA clients should look me up too. I can’t recall at this time… but it sounds like a good idea
Seriously though, Joshua Smith is one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. (I’m available Josh) Honestly not a bad bone in his body. (I could really use some big $ work, Josh) I think he asked me to be a part as part of The Brass Tack as part of his philanthropic work.(I have a wife and kids, Josh) … Like I said – he’s been a great supporter of mine & I can’t thank him enough. His limitless talent makes me sick, mind you. But as a person – he’s aces.
What’s your go-to source of inspiration outside of art or music?
Depends on your definitions, but cartoons & videogames probably manage to influence me more than anything else. Mainly because I’m not looking for it at the time. Those are 2 things I do to relax. In fact, if I ever do have free time – which is rare these days – I’ll play a game before I watch TV (I’ve never seen an episode of Lost – shhhh). I like good movies – so I don’t watch movies often (*zing!* Take that Hollywood!)
What’s the story behind your highly publicized feud with fellow artist Joshua Belanger?
Listen, I didn’t want to get into this – but you brought it so I have no choice… Joshua and I were once good chums. We’d pal around being chummy and just genuinely chum around every chance we got. Things seemed genuinely bully. He often spoke of his desire to professionally create “Soft-core Beetle Bailey Fan-Fic novellas” and I’d share with him my thoughts on why that was the greatest idea I’d ever heard. Unfortunately, at a recent playdate he mixed some of my yellow & blue playdough and he refuses to apologize. Joshua, I know you’re reading this – so listen up – go #$%^ yourself, prick!
What are some of your influences as to your style?
Davinci, Monet, Roy Lichtenstien, Hanna Barberra, Iwao Takamoto, Ed Bennedict, Toth…Jack Kirby, Neal Adams, later Frank Miller, Mike Mignola… Friz Freling, Chuck Jones…Early Daguerrotypes are influenceing many pieces at the moment…Fellow modern illustrators… Seriously, I could name a few hundred…
I think of my style as a bit schizophrenic depending on the intent – but ultimately as the result of an impatient-mongoloid-bastard-love-child of Ed Bennedict & Neal Adams (you know they’d do it if they were able). At least that seems to work in my mind…
Words to live by?
Work harder. Treat people the way you want to be treated. Everything else will fall in line behind these two.
“…And Knowing is half the battle. Yo Joe!”
What blogs or magazines do you turn to for creative inspiration?
Computer Arts & Computer Arts Projects are a must for modern designers & illustrators. Seriously – it’s the ‘desert island pick’ (feel free to quote me, Computer Arts! …And interview me! ….And feature my work in your fine magazine! …Call me!), Juxtapoz, & Hi Fructose are all fervently sought out every month as well. Other than those I really don’t read mags too much.
As for blogs; the Avant Garage, of course! Not sure if it counts, but Dropular is a great place to dig… Also Grain Edit, Ape on the Moon are two I’m really trying to check regularly right now… then there are staples like Cartoon Brew, John K’s Blog, & Cartoon Modern …all full of fantastic stuff that inspire me in different ways.
What’s your personal favorite piece of yours? What’s its story?
Not sure that I have one. I tend to ‘almost like’ just about every piece I do. I can never bring myself to love them – I always think I can improve & try to do just that. I also feel like I have miles to go to reach the point where I do work that deserves respect. But if I had to pick one – I’d say the piece I did for Saulvation makes me happy. It’s sort of my knee-jerk take on societal obsessions with vacations in general (because I’m bitter that I never have time to take one). But I dig it because I got to draw flamingos & an orange. Hadn’t done either before…
What’s your all-time favorite piece of art or design? (*not created by you)
Today? That’s easy – High Dreams “Daigonkin Mazinger Z” 12″ Metal Action FIgure… Seriously.
What’s your current creative obsession?
Depends on the day – but drawing things that make me laugh seems to prevail. Style & subject are ever changing, but the underlying elements that appeal to me are always derived from self first, and subject second.
Can you touch your nose with your tongue?
Yes. Yes I can.
Anything you want to say in closing?
I’d encourage anyone whose serious about getting in this industry to just start getting your work seen. Get it out there on the interwebbernet. Don’t be shy. And look me up on twitter, I’d be glad to answer any questions or lend a hand. www.twitter.com/zombieyeti
In closing…It was Bruce McCullough (of Kids IN The Hall Fame) who had the great line ‘Cynicism is my whiskey. And I had a few” – that line pretty much says it all…
