Justin Kamerer (Angryblue) x 
Vault Editions: Artist Interview 

"Whether or not it sells isn’t the point—it’s about having a space where I can experiment, stay creatively charged, and make sure I’m not just a machine for other people’s ideas"

Welcome to another instalment of the Vault Editions Artist Interview series, where we take a deep dive into the creative process of some of our favourite artists.

Angryblue is the creative pseudonym of Justin Kamerer, an illustrator and designer based in Louisville, KY, USA. His varied creative practice includes branding, merchandise design, rock poster art, album artwork, mural installations, book publishing and product design. His clients include prominent names in the music, technology, media, and entertainment industries. In addition to his art and design practice, he co-founded a printing press, Crackhead Press, and makes music under the name Navernoe. 

Justin sat down with Vault Editions to discuss his creative practice, influences and plans for the future. Let's go!

Gravebloom by Angryblue

1. You have designed posters for a very impressive range of musical artists, from Tomahawk to Metallica via Roger Waters! I read an interview where you explained that a design for a piece of merchandise for a musical artist is much more prescriptive than a gig poster, which can exist as a stand-alone piece of art and has a wider design parameter. Can you give us an insight into how you create a gig poster for an artist, from design ideation to the final product?

The poster work is where I get to have the most fun. I usually refer to it as writing a love letter to the band, just in my visual language. I’m trying to capture the feeling of the music filtered through my goblin brain.

These days, I start with a digital sketch, often after assembling some kind of reference scene. That might mean taking photos, creating a collage, or kitbashing a bunch of 3D elements together. I’ve really gotten into using 3D programs to mock up environments—it’s great to be able to spin a set around, find the right angle, and then jump into the drawing phase with a strong reference.

Metallica, September 2019 poster by Angryblue

I work entirely in black and white at first, reinterpreting my reference with a mix of intention and improv. That’s when the weird decisions start showing up: “What if this delicate violinist is covered in thorns?” or “What if this figure's foot turns into a hoof?” Maybe the hand an owl is perched on suddenly turns into a skull ...for some reason. These little detours start to feel like a strange snapshot from some larger story.

Once the linework’s done, I build a palette—usually avoiding true black in favor of rich monochromes—and start adding color. After that, I enter what I call the idiot-proofing phase, where I collapse my 500+ layers into something hopefully printable. That part is all about making sure I don’t want to strangle myself at the shop when I’ve burned my screens, mixed my inks, and started throwing down on paper. Ideally, I’ve worked out the kinks long before the first print gets ruined.

Sleepytime Isolation, May 2025 poster by Angryblue

2. You and Jeral Tidwell created Crackhead Press in 2005, where your art prints and books are printed. What inspired you to start your own press, and what do you most enjoy about the screenprinting process?  

Crackhead Press started in 2005 as a joke name for two dingdongs—me and Jeral Tidwell—who figured it’d be cheaper (and maybe more fun?) to buy our own screenprinting setup instead of constantly outsourcing. It turns out it was possibly a life-altering mistake, because now I’ve spent the better part of two decades locked in an eternal feud with paper, yelling at it through all hours of the day and night.

There’s also something deeply satisfying about it. I love walking into the empty shop turning the lights on, a blank stack of paper waiting, no colors mixed. By the time I’m done, there’s a tangible stack of something that just didn’t exist before.  

Since I do most of my client work digitally, screenprinting keeps me grounded. It’s messy, tactile, and for some reason still unpredictable. Every run is a chance to learn something, or mess it up differently.

Primus, May 2014 poster by Angryblue

3. Several of your posters were exhibited in the GRAMMY Museum, which must have been really exciting! How did this come about, and what posters were they?

There used to be this amazing website: Gigposters.com. It was an active playground for a bunch of us poster nerds to interact with each other, keep an eye on how absurdly quickly everyone was evolving due to this sense of friendly competition and form some community. I believe I was contacted because of that community.

It was incredibly flattering to be included in that exhibition, especially early in my career. I think it was around 2012. The GRAMMY Museum showcased a variety of gig posters from that era, and my contributions reflected the mix of bands I was working with at the time. It was probably posters for The Jesus Lizard, Pearl Jam, Flight of the Conchords, Lil Wayne, High On Fire, Dragonforce, and Melvins.

Mastodon 'Divinations', June 2019 poster by Angryblue

4. Is there something completely unrelated to art that you find unexpectedly inspiring?

Videogames. Though, I suppose it's cheating as what draws me to my favorite ones is the visual world-building. Fantastical environments, monster design, suits, equipment, sound design, and UI end up being part of my language for clients when it comes to visual problem-solving. I referenced something from 'The Blue Prince' in a recent meeting with my team over at Meta for some work we're doing for the 15th anniversary of Hacktober over there.

Insecta, by Angryblue

5. As someone who has designed over 1,000 t-shirts (congratulations!), what do you think are important considerations when ideating a t-shirt design?

Honestly, just make something cool. When I was doing shirt designs constantly, I’d get into this weird, goofy flow-state where I’d completely immerse myself in a band’s visual history. I’d explore their logos, past merch, and whatever vibe they were putting out with a new release or tour. Then I’d just try whatever made sense to reinterpret it.

There was a very specific kind of brain-buzz that came from saying, “Alright, I need five to eight solid designs by the end of the day. Go.” Sometimes the best stuff came from that kind of speed and pressure.

Disillusions by Angryblue 

6. In your artist biography, you state one of the aspects of your creative practice is "focus on my own IP as a product" Can you explain what this entails and why it's important to you?

A big part of freelance work is solving visual problems for someone else—and I enjoy that. But it also means I'm often stepping out of the way so the client's vision can take the lead. Focusing on my own IP gives me a way to reclaim that space. It’s important to have something that’s entirely mine—where the creative direction doesn’t have to answer to a brief, a pitch deck, or a committee.

I retain rights to almost all of my illustrations, which lets me revisit, remix, or repurpose them however I want. Sometimes that means turning a past design into a print run, and sometimes it means creating something absurd or self-indulgent just because the idea won't leave me alone. Whether or not it sells isn’t the point—it’s about having a space where I can experiment, stay creatively charged, and make sure I’m not just a machine for other people’s ideas.

I also just like making stuff.

Ashes Hold The Memory by Angryblue

7. Your creative practice already encompasses illustration, graphic design, mural design, music, screenprinting and much more! Are there any new techniques you're eager to explore in the future, or perhaps something you haven't done for a while but are looking to revisit?

Making noise has taken a back seat for the past few years, and I’d really like to get back into it as a regular practice. The synthesizers and guitars aren’t going to play themselves, so I guess it’s on me.

One of my favorite things has always been building drum kits out of unconventional sounds. I’ll record weird print shop noises, insects, sloshing water, or whatever else I can get my hands on, and turn that into something I can actually play on a keyboard. It’s a little like foley work but filtered through a music-making mindset. I haven’t carved out the time or space to do much of that recently, but I’d love to reconnect with it.

Eldritch Blues by Angryblue

8. You have worked on many projects for some notable names; how do you prioritise your own creative goals when client work gets busy?

It depends on the scenario. I always make sure I'm in there, but this mortgage needs to be paid also. Sometimes, I just have to deal with golden handcuffs a little to buy time for me to do my own exploring.

There's a brewery in Knoxville, TN I do all of the branding and can art for called XUL. That collaboration allows a lot of freedom to riff very regularly on my interpretations of their beer names and also consistently try out new stuff for myself at the same time.

Handsome Devil beer label by Angryblue

9. Is there a book (art-related or otherwise!) that's had a lasting impact on you or your creative process?

That’s a tough one. I’ve got over 900 books, and that doesn’t even include all the zines and self-published stuff from artists that don’t have ISBNs, so they haven’t made it into my book tracker. Most of it is art-related.

One book I’ve somehow held onto since high school is Burne Hogarth’s Drawing Dynamic Hands. I still pull it out from time to time. It’s one of those foundational books that just keeps being useful no matter how long you’ve been drawing.

Another one I go back to constantly is Fantasy World-Building by Mark Nelson. That one really got me thinking about environments and creature design. Like, what would a creature actually look like if it had evolved in a specific climate? How would its anatomy reflect its surroundings?

Archimedes by Angryblue

10. Is there a dream project or design brief you've always wanted to take on but haven't had the chance to yet?

As a recovering goth kid, I still really want to do something for Nine Inch Nails. That one’s been on the list forever.

Interested in learning more? Head to Angryblue.com or @angryblue on Instagram 

Soundgarden, July 2011 poster by Angryblue

Foo Fighters, August 2015 poster by Angryblue