Dariush Ramezani is an award winning cartoonist and graphic artist. This year he’s taken on the task of illustrating every goal from the 2020 NWSL season in a unique minimalistic style. Ramezani talks about his history finding his voice as an artist and how he came about illustrating the NWSL. You can find Ramezani @Artnwsl on Twitter and @nwsl_art on Instagram.
You first started drawing as a kid, emulating Javad Alizadeh’s caricatures of players from the 1986 World Cup. What about drawing was so rewarding and why have you continued it throughout your life?
Well as long as I remember, soccer was always my favorite hobby: memorizing the names of the players, collecting the card, watching the games. So when I saw Javad’s artworks about the “heroes”, it was like a miracle. The best thing ever! I still remember the feeling I had those days. I was drawing, playing soccer, and studying. I went to university for civil engineering and then worked as a full-time engineer for 10 years. During these years, drawing cartoons and illustrations and playing soccer were my favorite ways to spend free time. At day, I was an engineer and at night a freelance illustrator and cartoonist.
I was participating in a cartoon contest around the world, I won some prizes, I draw and wrote some comics, and I never give up on my dream of being an illustrator. I immigrated to Canada with my wife in 2014 and I decided to follow my dream of being a full-time graphic designer and freelance sport illustrator now. I would tell you that I’m so close!
You have a really interesting style that simultaneously minimizes details but still displays people and actions with a tangible breath of life. How did you settle on your minimalist approach and how do you make them so relatable at the same time?
I love drawing people in the simplest way. Last year I made a challenge for myself of drawing 50 Montreal Expos baseball team players. I live in Montreal and last year, 2019, was the 50th anniversary of the team. The Expos don’t exist anymore but people still love them. I believe working on this personal project helped me a lot to get my minimalist style. I try to find the important lines in the face and at the same time make the portrait recognizable.
You’ve done work on a number of leagues but you’ve covered the NWSL a fair bit. As someone who was born in Iran and now lives in Canada, what about the NWSL has pulled you towards illustrating players and memorable plays from the US’s league?
Well I took a graphic design course in Montreal and after finishing the course in 2018, I started working in a licensed sports apparel company. The main part of my job was designing artworks to print on shirts for different leagues (CFL, MLB, MLS, NBA). I had the chance to work on some players too. This gave me an idea to work on some sports illustrations about players. I started drawing more and more players in all leagues and I got my first contract with Montreal Alouettes Football Club to make a small illustrated card pack about the team legends. Once I did a project with a writer who asked me to draw some goals in the Canadian University Sports games. He sent me the video and I tried to draw the goals by watching the moments. It was hard at first but I really like it.
So I decided to do it for a league and I started my big project, all Canadian Premier League (CPL) goals in 2020. After each game, I was drawing the goals and put them on my Twitter and Instagram page. People liked them so much and the CPL called me to have a collaboration to make an illustrated book about the games with all the goals. I think it will be released soon. I started working on NWSL games by starting The Fall Series, the same story. I really enjoy working on the league from beginning to the end!
Tell us a little bit about the NWSL 2020 Moments book you just put out. That doesn’t sound like a project you’d just put together overnight.
The story began when I made new accounts to draw all the goals of the NWSL in 2020 by starting the Fall Series on September 5. After finishing each game, I drew the goals and put them on @Artnwsl on Twitter and @nwsl_art on Instagram. I got many followers and NWSL fans loved the drawings.
I decided to make a book of all these moments. I couldn’t find a sponsor and publisher, so I decided to be a self-publisher and do it with Lulu.com.
(“NWSL2020 moments: Challenge Cup and Fall Series”, a 210-page illustrated book with more than 150 illustrations now is now available!!
How can people find your work?
I have an online shop, Curly Fries Design on Etsy. I sell my prints arts there and do commissions. As I mentioned, my Twitter account is @Artnwsl and @nwsl_art on Instagram.