“I would describe my style as a mixture of simple shapes, bright colours, texture and 45 degree angle cubes,” says Ričards when we sit down to chat with him. His illustrations are as fun as he is, and it’s a philosophy he keeps close to his chest. “Without fun, there is no point, right?” He asks, referring to the array of zestful characters in his work. His style of simple shape with bright colour works mostly as a reference to a youthful practice – namely, a practice he picked up “ever since I started taking drawing classes in art school,” he says. “Ever since then, I’ve been using it as a tool for storytelling.”
Despite the coincidental similarity to our own name, Ričards new book It Must Be Nice has stood out to us as a joyous celebration and exploration of human psychology and emotion. Think Pixar’s Inside Out meets Cubism. “I guess my artistic inspirations are usually based on my personal life, because we as humans experience a lot, while living on this planet Earth,” the illustrator explains. “But, only a few of us are putting that experience and transforming it into something more meaningful.” Ričards is certainly one of those few, and now, thanks to Portuguese publishing house Stolen Books, his investment is coming to life. Telling us about the process of crafting “a journey of memories with 27 emotions inside of them,” Ričards points to his own psychological journey he undertook to make the book. “I wanted to try to understand myself more, explore my own depths, try on new persona, dig to the fullest, so I could live calmly” he says. “But, only then I understood that there is a lot more to dig into and no peace was made.”