A Q+A with Truck Torrence, Creator of 100% Soft
We’ve sat down with some of the artists we work with, to share their magical world with you.
First on our list is Truck Torrence (coolest name ever no?!), creator of 100% Soft. If you haven’t checked out Truck’s work, then you definitely need to! Truck is known for his kawaii pop art, designer of the Star Wars Emoji and creator of the Kaiju Kitties. In his own words: He tries to make everyday things a little cuter.
Check out our interview with Truck below!
How did you get started out?
I've drawn my whole life but spent the majority of my adulthood working as a graphic designer. I usually kept my art private but was encouraged by some friends to put it out there around 6 years ago. I started participating in a lot of group shows at art galleries and that sorta snowballed into a lot of other fun opportunities.
How is your work inspired by film and TV?
It's just fun to draw! I grew up being a big pop culture kid, I loved tv, movies, toys and video games and one thing I always like doing is imagining how some of those characters would look if I drew them in my style. It's a pretty started out as a pretty good exercise but actually has led to a lot of work where movie studios have hired me to do my version of their characters, which is pretty fun. When I was drawing Spider-Man as a kid I didn't really imagine i'd be drawing him professionally as an adult, and that's pretty awesome.
What film or TV show would you say is your favorite and why?
My favorite movie is probably Big Trouble in Little China, it's just so fun and colorful. I draw the characters from it all the time just because I love them so much.
How do you prepare yourself before working on a project?
I listen to a lot of music, watch a lot of movies, drink a lot of La Croix and try and do some fun drawing warm-ups that put me in the mood. Sometimes it takes awhile to get the momentum going, but once I latch onto an idea or concept that I like, I usually work on it non-stop until I either finish or fall over!
What project has been your favorite?
I've been really fortunate to have worked on a lot of really fun projects over the past few years. Definitely being the designer of the official Star Wars emoji was a huge honor and a lot of fun and something I never expected to do. Aside from that, my last solo exhibition was extremely gratifying. Over 25 new pieces of artwork were created, and I tried a lot of stuff I had never done before, like a 5 foot long print of Mad Max: Fury Road, so it was very daunting but I was really excited about the end result.
What would a day in the life of Truck be like?
I wake up pretty early, usually when my cat Admiral Whiskers crawls onto my chest, suffocating me and yelling at me until I let him outside. What follows is a mixture of coffee, drawing, and spacing out.
Tell us about Admiral Whiskers!
Admiral Whiskers is my perfect cat. He was bequeathed his vessel, the SS Temptations by his previous owner, a salty old sea captain. He spent his youth adventuring on the sea before he returned to the mainland to settle down with me and live a life of luxury. He enjoys riding narwhals, cleaning his paws, and canned venison.
What inspired you to create the Kaiju Kitties?
I've always been a big fan of both cats and Japanese kaiju movies. A couple years ago, I was offered to participate in a kaiju themed group art show, so I just spent a bunch of time doodling cute little cat monsters and it took off from there!
If there was an emoji to describe you, which one would it be?
Either 🍖 or 💾
Finally, if you could pick a Kigurumi onesie that matches your personality, which one would it be?
Skeleton kigurumi!