15 Questions With....Matthew Skiff

1. Where are you right now, geographically and mentally?!
Geographically I'm located in beautiful Colorado. Well, right now it's cold and snowy, but still beautiful. It's a state where in the morning it could be 70 degrees, and then a few hours later it drops to 30 degrees and there is snow falling, I love it and always keeps me on my toes. However, mentally it's a different story. I think I'm stuck in some kind of 80's/early 90's hybrid where crazy color fashion still exists as well as the best cartoons and movies that have ever existed. Oh, and dinosaurs are walking around all over the place handing out Sour Skittles to everyone.

2. Describe your style:
I think my style is kind of a mesh between comic book art, cartoons and retro skateboard art. All of these things have been a major influence in my personality and art.

3. Where do you derive your inspiration from? What makes you tick?
My inspiration comes from anywhere, I get a lot of ideas just watching TV and seeing a commercial. That, or just driving or walking and looking at billboards or even people and buildings. But mainly my inspiration comes from my past and all the lame stuff I liked when I was a kid. Food is also another inspirational factor.

4. Who is your role model?
This is kind of a tricky question because it changes every single day. I wake up with a different move every day pertaining to all things including my art. Some days I'm frustrated with where my art is heading that I look to head in a different direction with it, and with that different direction comes different role models. Ok, I just went on a rant, but if I had to pick one person as a role model (in art), Frank Frazetta has always been at the top of the list. I'm not saying my art looks anything like his art, but his art is so inspiring and it's hard to deny that he has inspired so many other artists that I love today.

5. What are your current 3 favourite albums and why?
I just recently got the new Gorillaz album, Plastic Beach, and it's simply amazing. It's one of those albums you want to listen to as a whole and you can throw it on in the background while working, it's great. I have been listening to a lot of Kid Cudi as well, his Man On The Moon album is one of the best debut (Hip-Hop) albums I have heard in a long time. Another album that has been getting a lot of rotation on my iPod is the new Lady Gaga album, The Fame Monster. I know, it's lame, but there is just something about her music that just catches my interest. It could be the fact that it's just so damn strange.

6. Who are your favourite artists?
Like I said early, my taste in art changes every single day. Today I'm gonna have to say that my 3 favorite artists are Frank Frazetta, Tim Jacobus and Jim Phillips. I already talked about why I like Frank Frazetta, as for Tim Jacobus, he had such an important role in making me love art. Tim Jacobus was the artist who did all those Goosebumps book covers that we all grew up in. Half the time I didn't even read the books, I just got them because I loved the covers. Jim Phillips is amazing because his art on skateboards is still inspiring people to this very day.

7. What are your current 3 most loved movies and why?
There are so many to choose from, but I would have to say that my all-time favorite movie would have to be The Lost Boys. The last few scenes when they are killing all the vampires is awesome and hilarious. After that I'd have to say Ghostbusters and Waynes World. These are the only few movies where I can pretty much quote every single line in each movie because I have seen them so many times, and they have never gotten old.

8. Which musicians do you most admire?
This is probably a strange answer, but the first person that popped into my head was Freddy Mercury of Queen. His voice was amazing and so different and nobody has been able to do anything like what he did. Then we have the obvious choices like Michael Jackson and then maybe bands like Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd.

9. Let us know your 2 most treasured books and the reasons why?
The first book I would have to say would be Kevin Eastman's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Artobiography. Naturally one of the biggest reasons why I like the book is because it's about TMNT, but there are several other reasons as well. The whole entire book is mainly about the comic book before the cartoon series and has all this wonderful behind the scenes art that people don't normally get to see. It's a really inspiring book to read and learn about what it take to make an independent comic book.

The other book would be, although it's not necessarily one book, The Complete Calvin and Hobbes collection. Bill Watterson is another one of those artists that I would have to put on my favorite artists list. Reading all these comic strips really takes me back to elementary school where we would be given these Scholastic Book catalogs, and I would immediately go to either the Calvin and Hobbes page, or the Goosebumps page.

10. What is your number one vice?
I would have to say, my biggest vice is eating fast food. It seems like at the beginning of each month I plan on eating healthy and staying away from fast food. But once I run out of all the healthy food I bought at the grocery store, I end up not having enough time to go back and get more healthy food, so the rest of the month I eat so much unhealthy delicious fast food. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

11. When you are not drawing awesome things what do you like to get up to?
Well, when I don't have to draw, I usually like to sleep in really late and then I usually spend most of my day watching a ton of TV or Movies. I'm trying to change and start being more active like going on a bike ride or a hike or run, but motivation when I don't have to work is really low! Back when I had free time I used to love Snowboarding, but I have just been so busy this past year that I haven't had much free time.

12. Where is your favourite place in ze whole world?
My favorite place in the whole world would have to be a small town in Colorado called Ouray. It's on the western slop of Colorado surrounded by beautiful mountains. The town is so small, my mother grew up there and her high-school Graduating class was realy small, like 15 people. My entire family goes up there every 4th of July, they do some awesome things for that holiday. I usually spend my time up there visiting with family, going on hikes, barbecues and everything else people should do during the summer.

13. What is your pet peeve?
I absolutely hate when people don't chew their food with their mouth closed. It is so disgusting me to, and most of the time really loud. It's so annoying, I'm getting really frustrated just thinking about it.

14. Where do you spend most of your time online?
I usually spend most of my time on Facebook or Twitter. I also like to head over to IGN to read all the movie and video game reviews.

15. Finally, what will be written on your head stone?
Beware of Zombie

top ten

Churchill

Sigmund

Henry VIII

Napoleon

Khan

Einstein

Mercury

Billy the kid

Lincoln

DPS

Front, is a illustration based magazine which focus's on a collaboration between photography and vector illustration as shown in July's 2010 featuring Vikki Blows on the cover, I think that it is really cool to incorporate the theme of the magazine with the cover i.e. this theme was sex and ink, the sex appeal is covered by the model and ink is covered by old school traditional tattoo art, swallows, anchors, hearts and scrolls.

My cover will be based around all hallows eve theme.

I found some interesting illustrations featured in the magazine, a lot of the dps's focus on incorporating 80/90's legends and illustrating them in a crazy humorous kind of way.

Matthew Skiff is a talented illustrator/ graphic designer who has produced countless products for the magazine, I emailed him earlier today for some feedback on my brief and some tips/ some old themes that I could perhaps incorporate.

A lot of his work seems to be similar to the drop dead full colour brief I previously worked on, although these images seem to be 2 colour screen prints which looks really good.

Big type and incorporation with illustration, I love the way that it all works together as a big puzzle piece rather than a division by the middle of the page.

This is one of front's main illustrators, I really like this idea of working and may produce my 3DPS's based on a theme and labels like so.

Maybe a guide?

The main issue I have with this project is I need clarity and need to knuckle down and set a theme so I know what has to be done.

I love these illustrations as a set and have taken something like this into consideration as it fits my work a lot better than any of the above.

The dps is based on different crazy animals which are a nuisance.

I believe this type of theme would be best to associate my work with, I just need to think of a title in order to complete my brief and crack on with the project.

None of these themes are relevant.

I do not want to do anything based on bands.

And do not want to do something something like this, but I do want to produce something which is related to this time a year, Halloween and Bomb fire night.

Front

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H20

Day of the dead

MEDUSA

A new start

These are a few of the images I gathered together to show the betrayed. This was an interesting image as it showed Jesus as pure good and innocence.

This image was an interesting one as it showed Jesus with a bit of character, more anger and a look of hate, but Judas Priest with a lot more hate.

This image is one which shows the story of Anikan Skywalker and the betraying he commits to. I figured incorporating BC with AD would be an interesting idea and could work which is when I thought of half and halfing Vader and Christ.

Poster roast

Poster roast are an amazing illustration team who are in leeds next week in Leeds uni.

The colours in this are so cool, I love the incorporation of type with image and how fiery the image is.

The type in this is wicked I love how it fits around the circle.

this types pretty interesting as the shines are really cool and give a liquid effect.

This image is such an inspiration I love how it is black and white and the detail is chaos, its really astonishing the texture in this image.

FYS

I really want to find out who the designer is for these t's the colour and type are really interesting and I would like to see a better more focused photo/s of his/her work.

Four year strongs covers are really sick, the designs are really inspiring and educating, Two colour pantone is used in this image and it looks really good.

Never lack imagination, this is an amazing idea and incorporates all sorts of elements, metal space sharks, water creatures in space, wizards, planets and magic, wowza.

On a more serious note, these illustrations are more detailed and have been layered so well, I want one of my t's to incorporate these factors and some possible symmetry + a lack of colours used black and red seems really cool.

I really need to know who did this album cover as it is one of the most humorous and amazing illustrations I have seen. The detail is unreal and the inspiration for imagination is uncanny Im going to email them and find out, hopefully they will have time to reply.

The colours in this are really interesting and are very aqua based, I like that idea.

molten sun like.

mutation of animals almost, siamese rhinos, crazy business.

This is un real and is one of my favourite designs, It is formed from basic paint strokes to build a much bigger image. It was beyond me how it was possible to design something like this until I really examined it and found that the blue backing is simple woodland, and the artist most likely got a image of trees and traced over it using different strokes such as this to get a bold effect, the majority of the back ground is black.

28 minutes later

With the first design done and dusted, it was a necessity that I carried on with the other designs, as I have ten to go through, and such a little amount of time in doing so. dew to the fact it is almost all hallows eve and that I watched the new resident evil, I thought it would be rude not to try out a zombie illustration as I have never tried one before.

Of course the zombie had to link in with the lyrics, which I explain on my design practice blog.

I gathered a series of images to help understand what I actually wanted to draw, I really like the idea of plain eyes and perhaps a bit of blood or brain showing.

This image is unreal, the best thing I gained from this is understanding how I want my fellas hair and fashion to be, I love the idea of a hoodie and long hair, it would fit right in to my target audiences appeal and description.

I thought this was genius, The image of Obamar on the right is the kind of detail I am looking at going for in this illustration, I am a little nervous about trying it as it's something new for me but who knows it could and should go according to plan.

This fella is how I want my zombies head to be, not sure about applying so much blood yet.

This is a BMTH T shirt which is kind of zombie like and touches on a idea of what I want to do, but my illustration will be going in much more of a detailed approach.