Uday Ganesh Mohite grew up dwelling on cartoons and caricatures. His interest developed through his mother’s art classes, which happened in his home only. Today, he is a versatile artist and an illustrator. Currently living in Mumbai, he works as a freelance independent artist for multiple organisations like Midday Newspaper. He has previously worked as an illustrator at DNA as well.
The thrill of illustrating current issues tickles Uday in all the right ways. As an artist, Uday enjoys versatility and variety. He has an insatiable thirst for illustrating ongoing issues or trends. Therefore, the field of illustration and Caricature in media houses was the missing puzzle he was looking for. No surprises that Uday now illustrates for multiple OTT platforms and newspapers.
The Obstacles Faced and Braved!
Currently, Uday has almost 10 years of experience. The journey didn’t start easy. Winning awards in his town’s school competitions was just the beginning. While his father wanted him to be a police officer, Uday was determined towards what his heart desired. Growing in a town, he didn’t get the taste of how competitive the outside world is. Uday, unfortunately, became the victim of this. Applying for an admission to Sir JJ Institute of Applied Arts, Uday ranked 430 in the entrance exam. That was Uday’s biggest push. Dropping one year to study a foundation course in Pune, Uday made a major comeback next year. The following year, he ranked 9, and was accepted into the college.
Being a commercial illustrator is an everyday lesson for Uday. Even after years of experience, a professional faces setbacks and failures. Uday tries to balance client and self satisfaction, which requires a lot of precision, communication and quiet thought process.
Breakthrough Event in Life
In 2013, Uday was offered an inventive project. The assignment was months long. The project involved illustrating Shahrukh Khan’s best 30 role character portraits from his movies. It was a celebration of his 25 years of service to the film industry. The organisation’s Creator Head contacted Uday and applauded him for his work. To be deemed worthy enough to produce something related to Bollywood’s biggest actor gave Uday a boost in confidence. It increased his morale. It was a much needed drive force that he needed to fuel his way up to the top.
The Journey So Far
Illustrating for other organisations and people is a laborious routine task. Uday’s plan of action involves preparing a rough blueprint of the project according to the client. Only after the blueprint gets approved, the final draft is prepared and submitted.
The exposure has taught Uday a lot of lessons, both about himself, his work and others. One significant learning he has gained is to articulate his background insights and thoughts of his art clearly to his viewers. Second, he also wants to go beyond his comfort circle. Uday seeks to grasp different methods of producing digital art, representing different spheres of our lives. He does not want to stick to one art niche. Uday’s work is very diverse. He has a sense of personal touch to his works.
Like everyone’s work, Uday’s art continuously develops. Earlier, his illustrations were overdone, but now they’re minimalist, stylized, and reflective of the message he attempts to spread. His colours, tones, and shades all depict the mood of the art.
Uday also believes that every artist should upgrade according to the current society. Keeping up with the ongoing trends leads to a lot of experimenting along with learning new things. New knowledge and experience, according to Uday, is always a boon.
In 5-10 years, Uday sees himself as directing a successful art film. Yes, you read that right. Uday, along with art, always had a deep liking towards acting. He has played several acting roles in his college and has performed as the lead actor in a few short films. He loves watching movies, and Nawazuddin Siddiqui, along with Nana Patekar, are his famous actors. Even though Uday isn’t aiming for acting in the future, he still wants to improvise on his acting skills.
When asked about his dream collaboration, Uday answered, ‘Bhuvan Bam’, the famous Indian comedian and youtuber! Uday resonates with Bhuvan’s personality, and that is why he looks forward to an opportunity to work with him.
His Message!
Uday’s mantras to success are sincerity, punctuality and improvisation. He prefers smart work over hard work. Uday says that an artist must achieve one’s fullest potential. The key to success is constant practice to refine one’s skills. Aspiring artists should never look for shortcuts, since it isn’t a long term viable solution. Instead, they should practice routinely, and step by step, with punctuality and passion.
