Jody Clark Exclusive; The Art and Craft of Coin Design

Posted on by Sofia Soares

Jody Clark

Join us as we embark on a captivating journey through the world of coin design with the talented and visionary artist, Jody Clark.

Table of Contents

 

Introduction

In this exclusive interview, we delve into the fascinating world of coin design with Jody Clark, a renowned artist whose creations have graced currency circulated globally. From his humble beginnings studying illustration and fine arts to his pivotal role at the Royal Mint, Clark’s journey offers insights into the intricate process of bringing coin designs to life.

Throughout the interview, Clark provides a behind-the-scenes glimpse into his creative process, from conceptualisation to execution. He shares anecdotes of collaborating with clients and navigating the challenges of translating complex themes into succinct visual narratives, all while maintaining the integrity of each design within the constraints of coin dimensions.

Jody Clark then reflects on the symbolism embedded within his most notable designs, offering intriguing insights into the nuanced layers of meaning that enrich his work. From subtle references to historical figures to intricate motifs inspired by myths and legends, each design bears the imprint of Clark’s meticulous craftsmanship and thoughtful storytelling.

As the conversation unfolds, he candidly discusses the impact of his designs on a global audience and the surreal experience of seeing his artwork appreciated by millions. Yet, amidst the acclaim, he remains grounded, acknowledging the ongoing evolution of coin design and the challenges posed by emerging technologies.

Looking ahead, Clark shares his perspective on future trends in coin design, hinting at exciting innovations on the horizon, including advancements in minting techniques and digital tools. With a keen eye toward the ever-changing landscape of numismatic art, he anticipates continued opportunities for exploration and creativity in his role as a visionary designer.

Join us as we embark on a captivating journey through the world of coin design with the talented and visionary artist, Jody Clark.

 

Interviewer:

What initially drew you to the art of coin design and how did you get started in the field?

 

Jody Clark:

I studied illustration at university and did some fine arts. I liked applied arts and following university I did some freelance work. Actually, my first proper job was in packaging, so I was using similar software to what they use in the coin industry to create embossing, stamping shapes out in card like DVD covers and things like that. But I wasn’t really getting that sort of creative side from the job. It was very technical, but I was still doing freelance illustration too.

So, I read about a position at the Royal Mint on LinkedIn and it just lined up really well with both the technical side which I enjoyed, particularly using computers and things to create art, but also the creative side, which I wasn’t getting in my day job. So I applied and was lucky enough to get it and that’s where I built up all my experience and worked on lot’s of different projects over the next eight years.

 

Interviewer:

Obviously you’ve got a very good following and fan base and you’re very well known, and it seems to be one of the reasons why our clients keep coming and keep buying these things.

 

Jody Clark:

Yeah, I mean, a lot of that probably comes from some successes I had at the Royal Mint. And with it being a bit of an institution, your name is put out there quite widely, so that’s probably why, yeah.

 

Interviewer:

Can you walk us through your typical process when creating a new coin design from concept to completion?

 

Jody Clark:

Yeah, I’ll receive a brief or I’ll have either an internal meeting or a meeting with customers and sometimes and we’ll come up with a theme or we’ll have the theme from a customer and I’ll just dive in and explore it. Sometimes it can be a really open brief and it’s all up to me, or sometimes they’ll have a good idea of, “Okay, we’ve got this sketch that I’ve already created for something else and we want to just develop this.” It could be various types of projects. But I’ll dig into the theme and gather tons of research and inspiration images and see what other people have created along the same lines in the past.

Then I’ll get sketching. Now that I’ve done it so many times I have developed my own process. If it’s a brand new project, I’ll just fill a page full of loose sketches and then I’ll pick the more successful ones. I’ll just force myself to do 20 different sketches of completely different ideas and some are terrible, some are okay. Then I’ll develop the more successful ones and offer, say three, to the client for review. Hopefully one of those is chosen or a couple are developed and as we go in, I’ll constantly update all the reference imagery that changes as the project develops, and then hopefully land on a nice design at the end.

 

Interviewer:

Yeah, it was great to come down to The Commonwealth Mint and have you talk us through that process. Very fascinating. I’m sure people are going to find that interesting.

 

Jody Clark:

Then once the 2D sketch is approved the next and more niche element of the coin design is the sculpting, the low relief sculpture, sometimes called bar relief sculpture, which basically means low relief. So it’s a very low in height sculpture and very deep but it’s also one dimension, that’s probably the best way to describe it, and you’re trying to get that design to translate into a tiny bit of metal, so that’s the real skill of this particular art.

 

Interviewer:

Yeah, I imagine, especially on a coin as small as the one eight, that can be quite challenging.

 

Jody Clark:

Yeah, definitely. Things like the silhouette and making sure that that’s going to look good and stand out and that it’d still be a strong design on its own without the detail.

 

Interviewer:

So would you say that is the most challenging aspect of designing coins, then?

 

Jody Clark:

Yeah, probably. Just that you’ve got to translate a theme, and that could be anything from, quite a heavy theme like a particular aspect or battle of WWII, to celebrating a Royal. The difficulty is basically summing that up in one image and then translating that into using only a tiny bit of metal to show that image, so that’s quite a challenge, really.

 

Interviewer:

Your designs often feature intricate details and symbolism. Could you share some insights into the symbolism behind your most notable coin design?

 

Jody Clark:

The most notable will probably always be the Queen’s effigy, the final effigy of the Queen on UK coins, but definitely no symbolism in there from my side. But I think things like the Bowie coin I did, where the stars near his head represent the same amount of stars as he did studio albums. It’s the little details like that. I also did a Myths and Legends Robin Hood series, and each character is like the forest which is part of, it’s a character in the story, people say, some of the shapes are represent the character.

On the Robin Hood coin there are dynamic angled branches coming past, and that’s representing his action hero character, really. Little things like that, that I put into the design, it’s not really a hidden symbol or anything, but it’s what’s driving the design sometimes. And sometimes subconsciously, people see those shapes and maybe they’re not aware of why it makes them feel certain things, but things like that, really.

 

Interviewer:

Jody, what would you say inspires you the most when coming up with new designs? Are there any particular themes or motives that you enjoy exploring?

 

Jody Clark:

Well, because I’ve done the latest King Charles and the Dragon range and various other mythical beast like designs and portraiture, that’s what seems to inspire me the most, but anything can inspire me, really. Anything I see, from films and music to poster design etc. I used to quite like art prints and poster design because it’s fairly similar to a coin. You must sum up an entire film or whatever, with a single image and as fewer words as possible.

 

Interviewer:

Great! Collaboration often plays a significant role in coin design projects. Can you discuss any memorable collaborations you’ve had and how they’ve influenced your work?

 

Jody Clark:

Yes. I think one comes to mind is the Adolf Weinman coin we did for the US, which was some sketches by Adolf Weinman, who’s a famous US coin designer, and did some really famous coins. There was a couple of sketches that were unused by himself that were really rough, and I finished the sketch off and created the relief sculpture from that. That was an interesting process, using another designer’s unused sketch and trying to imagine how he may have finished it off and put my own little spin on it as well. That was an interesting collaboration.

 

Interviewer:

I believe you showed us the design process behind that one when we came to visit.

 

Jody Clark:

Yeah, that design was in there. I think I may have dug out the original sketches to show you too.

 

Interviewer:

Yeah you did it was very interesting stuff. The coins that you’ve designed have been circulated and admired by people all over the world, which is fantastic. How does it feel to know that your artwork has been seen and appreciated by so many people?

 

Jody Clark:

Very strange, that’s all I can say.

 

Interviewer:

Does it still feel strange, or are you kind of used to it now?

 

Jody Clark:

Well, it’s one of those things, hard to wrap your head around, really. Just sat in my little work area, creating my designs and they go off. And yeah, hopefully they’re admired and I suppose very proud. But after time it does hopefully become a little bit more normal, but yeah, nevertheless, a very strange concept.

I think when I meet people and explain my job, then I get to appreciate it again.

 

Interviewer:

Jody, what tools and techniques do you find most helpful in bringing your designs to life?

 

Jody Clark:

I use a lot of digital tools, which are handy, but they can also be tricky at the same time because I can be working away on the big LCD screen and get lost in the design a bit, when in reality it’s going to be a tiny little coin a lot of the time and the details that you’re spending hours on won’t even be seen by anyone anyway. So sometimes you need to just pull back a bit and look at what size it’s going to be. That’s why I said the silhouette idea really works well, I think. So yer, you can get lost in the technology sometimes. But they’re obviously very useful tools, and the absolute best part is having an undo button when you make a mistake.

 

Interviewer:

Jody, last question then. Looking into the future, what trends do you anticipate in the world of coin design and how do you envision your role evolving within this ever changing landscape?

 

Jody Clark:

I’m not sure. I mean, some of the things that we’re working on at the Commonwealth Mint are really exciting and give us a lot of creative freedom. Things like the ultra-high relief minting and other technology that they’re pushing forward here at Commonwealth Mint are really interesting. But lots of different smart minting techniques and things that are giving us designers lots of fun and interesting ways to explore the medium.

 

Find out more about Jody Clark here: https://jodyclark.com/