Artist Spotlight: Ryan Williams
In our new monthly blog series, we’re asking creators in the Trading Paints community eight questions about the world of motorsports design in their eyes: what makes them unique as an artist, what their process looks like, and advice they can offer to others.
For our first artist spotlight, we asked Ryan Williams, Creative Director at JR Motorsports, eight questions. Ryan is a popular name in the Trading Paints community; he’s often found posting official team paints from JRM’s NASCAR teams and late-model racing endeavors. (The number of questions, eight, was just a coincidence with his boss’s car number. We promise.)
In addition to his paint-scheme design expertise you see on his Trading Paints profile, Ryan’s a highly-skilled illustrator and well-rounded artist.
A sampling of Ryan’s work outside of paint-scheme design. Images courtesy of Ryan Williams.
Enjoy what Ryan has to say about everything from his first project up to seeing a grandstand full of fans wearing merch he designed.
1️⃣ How did you get your start designing?
Ryan: “I want to say I designed my first scheme on summer break in 2008 maybe. It was for a NR2003 league I was running at the time with friends – an all-white Converse-sponsored Pontiac with white numbers. It looked terrible.”
2️⃣ What project of yours are you most proud of and why?
Ryan: “That would probably be the Sun Drop program from the past few years. It was really cool to see a ton of green shirts in the stands at Wilkesboro when it re-opened.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Sun Drop Late Model Stock by Ryan Williams: Custom Number • Sim-Stamped Number
3️⃣ What’s your ‘trademark’ style that helps you stand out from other designers?
Ryan: “I don’t know if I’m necessarily doing anything that is all that different from other designers. I like to get primary logos on cars I design as obnoxiously big as possible and then design around them. I think, if done properly, the logos on the car can be central design elements.”
2024 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hellmanns NASCAR Xfinity Chevrolet Camaro by Ryan Williams: Custom Number • Sim-Stamped Number
4️⃣ What’s a go-to on your playlist right now when you’re working?
Ryan: “I have a cool mix of Cher and Creed playing right now it’s awesome.”
5️⃣ What’s your dream project or collaboration?
Ryan: “I would really love to be tasked with designing a set of schemes for a primary sponsor that runs all year in Cup or IndyCar, design the social graphics to show it off, and design a big merchandise line for fans to buy. Those multi-faceted projects can be drawn-out and challenging but I find them incredibly rewarding when finishing up everything after a few months of work. I don’t necessarily have a specific team or partner in mind, just something with a cool brand I can hang my hat on and see at the racetrack.”
6️⃣ Where do you turn for inspiration?
Ryan: “For inspiration I can always scroll on Instagram for hours or look to eBay for old artwork. I also have stacks full of old merchandise catalogs I like to reference. Obviously Sam Bass is the go-to for any NASCAR art reference too. It also helps to have friends to bounce ideas and rough drafts around and gauge their input. At the end of the day it’s all art and it’s all subjective so when I get a nod of approval from someone I trust it eases my worries.”
Some of Ryan’s retro-inspired merch designs for JR Motorsports. Images courtesy of Ryan Williams.
7️⃣ Share a design tip for people just getting started.
Ryan: “This is more or less if you want to do this for a living — but I think it’s best to be a Swiss army knife type of designer and not put all of your eggs in one basket. Designing paint schemes is really fun and a lot of people make great cars – but try and get good at a lot of different things too. For instance, in college I really focused on illustrating as much as I could in my free time. Now I don’t have to pass the car art off to someone else to draw up – I can illustrate a t-shirt that’s production ready and in my control. Whether it’s layout composition, photo editing, animation, try to find an array of stuff you like and practice them. Potential employers look for a little bit of everything in a portfolio.”
From paint scheme design to illustration to t-shirts, Ryan embodies the “Swiss army knife” approach to his skills. Images courtesy of Ryan Williams.
8️⃣ Would you rather race a car that’s slow but looks amazing, or the fastest car in the field but it looks bad?
Ryan: “I want to be in the good-looking car lap car that’s holding up the leader as he crosses the line to win so I'm still on TV and it looks like I won.”
Ryan Williams on Trading Paints
Get the shirts Ryan is wearing at the Trading Paints Store.
