Catching up with Dave Quiggle


Our Artist of the Month for July is Dave Quiggle. Drawing upon his small-town upbringing filled with monster mags, cartoons, punk and hardcore, Dave's signature, midcentury-inspired style is steeped in the visual language of tattoo flash, Americana, and spooky pop culture.

Dave rose to prominence in the hardcore-punk scene, and his work now adorns album covers, posters, and merch for legends like Joey Ramone, No-FX, Sick Of It All, Foo Fighters, and Metallica, just to name a few.

A sought-after tattooer for nearly 20 years, Quiggle can be found most days doing appointment-only work with his friends at Old Rose Tattoo in Southern California.


 

 

First thing you ever got paid to draw?

I’m not 100% sure, but I think it was the 7" record cover for the Erie hardcore band Digression. Probably got paid about $20 or something like that.

Vector, raster or both?

Raster. Vector never seemed intuitive to me, even though I can see the huge benefits of having that skill. I just don’t have it.

What’s your creative superpower?

I love sketching. A lot of the time, it can be a challenge to feel the same way about the final result as I do about the sketch.

 

Dream client?

My favorite type of work lately has been gig posters. I love that the scope has some limitations, but it's usually pretty open creatively. I like the one-and-done aspect of a gig poster with lots of wiggle room, as opposed to long-term projects or branding campaigns. So rather than one specific client, my dream would be to do posters for more of my favorite bands. I’d love to do something for Depeche Mode or The Cure.

True Grit tools you can’t live without?

There are a lot, but one of my favorites is Deutscher Kolorist from the Chromagraph set. I use it for sketching, but I also used it to create an entire album cover—War of Ages – Dominion. It was great at keeping a lot of detail while giving everything a slightly rougher, more organic edge. I also love the Infinite Pulp paper textures. Things never feel complete to me without them.

Layers: organized or chaos?

I start out chaotic so I’m not slowed down by the details, then I organize everything toward the end.

 


Sketch on paper or straight to digital?

Mostly straight to digital. I feel like I can freak out in the early stages without worrying about wasting paper or getting eraser dust everywhere. Sometimes I’ll go from digital to paper and back again, though, because I’ll often discover something while working on paper.

Complete this sentence: Generative AI is

Frightening. I don’t like thinking about it.

 


EXPLORE DAVE'S FAVORITE TRUE GRIT TOOLS 


 

 


Last book you read?

Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker. It completely changed the way I think about rest, productivity, and the importance of a good night’s sleep.

Last band/artist you saw live?

White Shoes & The Couples Company.

 

 




Dave Quiggle is an American musician, illustrator, and tattoo artist based in Los Angeles.
Website  |  Instagram

Explore some of Dave's favorite True Grit Tools here