Matthew Campbell is an illustrator living in the Colorado Springs, CO area. Matt has a love for telling stories with pictures. As the name Campbell suggests, he is of Scottish descent. He can often be seen drawing at the local pub with either a good scotch or a Guinness within hands reach. He has worked in the film and gaming industry for the last several years as a storyboard artist and concept artist. Matthew has illustrated childrens books including “Sammy Sunshine and the Sinister Sheik” and the upcoming “The Lonely Kafubu Hippo”. After earning a Bachelor’s degree in Media art and animation he was hired to be an illustrator for WorldLeaderz Inc and soon after was offered the position of Art Director.
Now Matt has starting bringing his illustration skills to the comic world. His first published work, “Electron Boy” from CCP comics received national acclaim and was featured on CNN. He has also just completed the preview issue of “Station 39″ for CCP and has several more projects in the works. His pride and joy project however is “Mythica”. Mythica is a comic that has been in Matt’s head for 5 yrs and is now finally coming to fruition. With the aid of the super talented writer, William Tooker the first issue of Mythica is scheduled to be released late 2011. Look for updates on the project here on the site. You can check out some of Matt’s illustrations in the portfolio section of the site.
Matt also teaches art classes at the Bemis school of Art in Colorado Springs. He loves teaching and most of his classes focus on comic book illustration. Click here to see the upcoming classes that Matt is teaching.
Okay now that i got the official stuff out of the way, a little about me.
“Who am i? I am an artist, a lover, a dedicated fan of all things comics.
I enjoy telling stories with pictures! Whether it’s comics books, digital paintings or animation I love it all. As a kid I was captivated by the characters in comics and cartoons like G.I.Joe, Thundercats and Transformers. It inspired me and I started drawing my favorite characters on any paper I could get my hands on.
As I got into high school I stopped drawing a bit. Living in small towns, my art teachers didn’t really cover topics like illustration or animation and instead focused on fine art. When I tried to draw my favorite superheroes they wanted me to paint or sculpt landscapes and still lives. My young, impressionable mind got the message that there must not be jobs for drawing. Somehow I missed the connection that SOMEONE had to have made all those comics and cartoons.
Years later I realized how wrong I was. I also realized that there are probably hundreds if not thousands of young people out there who have the same aspirations. I am now passionate about teaching young people that there are a plethora of jobs out there for artist including storyboarding, concept art, animation, and comic book illustration just to name a few. I want to educate them on what those jobs are and the skills necessary to get those jobs. So, I went to school and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Media Arts and animation.
Now a professional artist, doing comic books and illustration I have been told that my strengths are my attention to detail, compositions, and expression. I have also begun teaching both at the Bemis school of Art in Colorado Springs, Co and through private lessons. There are plans in the future for webinars and maybe even DVD’s so be sure to check back often for updates.
My heritage is Scottish and I’m proud of it. I wear a kilt and I drink Guinness and I love bagpipes. All those of you who are too afraid to wear one or want to call it a skirt are just pansies who aren’t confident enough in your manhood to do what you want or be who you wanna be. I am not afraid to just be me. A real man pursues his passion, makes his own path. He doesn’t just follow the crowd and do what all the other schmucks say he is supposed to do.
Fun facts:
Inspirations: Frank Frazetta, Adam Hughes, Mike Mignola, Frank Miller, Kevin Smith (yes that lovable yet foul mouthed, fat ass inspires me. If he can do it, then I can too)
Fav movies: Boondock Saints, Braveheart (I feel attached to this movie and I still get teary eyed at the end even though I’ve seen it dozens of times) I love Kevin Smith movies and own them all (well except for Jersey Girl, sorry Kevin)
Fav tv shows: I loved Smallville, sad it’s over, Supernatural, I loved the show Firefly and wish they would bring it back. I think Joss Whedon is a fantastic storyteller although I can’t say I have ever watched Buffy. I love the show ARCHER. That show is so wrong but makes me laugh so I must watch it.
Fav music: From Dropkick Murphy’s to Nightwish, I like music that displays obvious skill, has soul, or can make me move or is just plain fun. I like Metallica. The old stuff, not the new crap.
What am I doin? I am fighting. I feel like Neo from the Matrix. Gaining power and strength with every obstacle the more I realize that this is what I was meant to do. I am fighting to break free of the chains that would bind me. With my pencil as my weapon I am fighting to live my life on purpose. As soon as I started living my life for the purpose that I was obviously made for things have fallen into place and God has blessed me over and over again.”
