Matthew Skiff

I had the privilege and opportunity to get interviewed by I AM THE TREND a little bit ago and they just put the interview up. I love this website, and I love that they have a website devoted to not just t-shirt art and clothing companies, but they also feature other art -orms and interesting things that are worth reading about!. I try to check out their awesome show every week at IATT TV. Go Check out the interview and if you are not familiar with their website, read some of there articles too! There is a lot of interesting stuff on there!

This was actually the very first thing I did for FRONT but was put in the issue after the one I did the Wolfman Illustration. This stuff was kinda fun but took forever because there was a ton of research to be done about the animals and what they looked like. There are some I dig and some I think I coulda done better with, but that is just how it goes some times! I think these are in the current issue.

Just a few things I’ve been working on, and some stuff that wont be shown for a while! I have some really fun projects coming soon, and some dealing with some pretty big clients!

Disturbia just dropped their brand new line of shirts, and I was fortunate enough to be one of the artists they decided to use, along with some other fantastic artists! I’ve been a fan of their shirts for quite some time, so I was very excited to be doing a few things for them! It was super hard to not show these shirts to everyone because I had so much fun doing these and I think these are some of my best designs to date! Anyways, go grab some awesome shirts over at Disturbia!

I’ve been doing some different things as of late! one of those things is illustration work for FRONT Magazine. Here is the first published illustration I have done for them. There is lots more stuff that will be in the coming issues, not sure when however…so keep on the lookout!

One of my favorite streetwear brands, Creep Street, has had their holiday line out for a while…but they just released an awesome lookbook to go with it, so I felt it was time to make a post about it (can be found in the Peepshow section of the site). There are so many awesome shirts in this collection and all on white, black or tie dye. One of these pieces in the collection might look familiar. There was a little collaboration on the zombie faith tee that I sent to them a long time ago. They did a kick ass job on it and make it better than I could even imagine! You can pick up the line on their website or at Karmaloop.

I’ve been meaning to do this post for a long time and I finally found time to do it. I thought it would be fun to let everyone know what artists (outside of the t-shirt industry) have really influenced my work and continue to inspire me day to day. Some of these artists you might not directly see in my art, but they have all had some part in my life as an artist.

Bill Watterson – Watterson has been a huge influence from me ever since I was in elementary school. I remember getting those Scholastic ordering things in school and immediately looking for the newest Calvin and Hobbes book that was coming out. I have since purchased an Anthology of every single Calvin and Hobbes comic strip and it’s amazing. Not only does Bill Watterson’s art function greatly in the cartoonish comic strip from, but he can switch his style and make things look like a fine art piece. He is the best at mixing water color and inks and he sure can draw a mean Dinosaur!

Tim Jacobus – Another artist from my childhood/elementary days. If you can’t tell already, Tim Jacobus was the artist to work on the coveres of every single Goosebumps book from the original series. These are, hands down, my favorite series of books and although the subject matter and the writing by R.L. Stine was perfect, I’m pretty sure the covers had a lot to do with me being excited about books and reading. I have a huge stack of Goosebumps books still and I constantly look through them for inspiration.

Alex Toth – Alex Toth is responsible for pretty much all the great Hannah-Babera action cartoons. He worked on Space Ghost as well as my ultimate favorite Cartoon, Johnny Quest. His art gave cartoons that comic book feel that had been missing for so long. Bold lines and dark shadows made everything look fantastic weather it was in a comic book or on your television screen.

Kevin Eastman & Peter Laird – These are the guys who are responsible for the characters that have been such a big part of my life, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Yes, of course, when I was a kid I was crazy about all the cartoons and movies that were coming out. As I got older, however, I started to discover what started it all, the TMNT Mirage Comics. These comics are absolutely amazing. They are drawn incredibly, the story are great and they are surprisingly graphic. Back in the 80’s when they were making this comic, they didn’t have a lot of money so there was no color in the comics, instead it was simply black and white and half tones. This almost makes things look better because you get a chance to see the art for what it, instead of being bombarded by flashy colors. I recommend that everyone should pick up Kevin Eastman’s TMNT Artobiography. It is filled with awesome information about TMNT and insight on what it took to become a successful and independent comic book creators.

Jim Lee – I come from a very strong comic book background. My mom of all people was the one who encouraged me to buy comic books and watch all those cartoons based on comic books when I was a kid. When I was growing up, Image Comics was one of the top comic book publishers at that time and one of the owners and main artists from that Company was Jim Lee. His use of line-work is something that people cannot duplicate. He has a classic style of drawing but is much more extreme and on the edge and that’s probably why he has been such a big name in the comic book industry for such a long time.

Frank Cho – Frank Cho is the best female artist working in comic books today, I don’t know why I think that he is, he just is. Everything about the way he draws the female form is perfect. Looking at his linework, it all looks so simple, but it’s all easier said than done. He is amazing at it and is a master, and someday I hope to be as good as he is. He not only can draw the women fantastic, he can really just draw anything and it looks absolutely perfect. His facial expressions are the best as well, and he can also draw some really great backgrounds and, of course, Dinosaurs.

J. Scott Campbell – Another one of those comic artists that was big in the Image Comic days. He too is another master of the female form that I hope to get to at some point in my life. JSC has been so popular and so successful in the comic book industry and it’s because he gets better and better with every single piece he does. He has also been the mastermind behind great comic book series like Danger Girl and has really revamped some of comic books greatest characters (i.e. Spider-Man). I would probably place JSC in my top 5…no wait 2 favorite comic book artists.

Joe Madureira – My favorite comic book artist of all time! When I was first getting into comic books, I was reading The Uncanny X-Men, and Joe was doing a very long run on that comic at the time. He was essentially my introduction into comic book and this type of art. I wouldn’t say I’m the biggest anime fan (if it isn’t DBZ I hate it), but you can see the anime influence in his art and it just mixes so well with his western art influences. Back in the day he created a comic series called Battle Chasers that was just simply amazing…until it got cancelled. After that he started working in the video-game industry, but recently he has started working in comics again and his new stuff blows anything he has ever done out of the water.

Robert McGinnis – They way he paints/draws the female form is absolutely perfect. You can see his influence on artists working  today (some on this list, like JSC). I literally spent hours today just looking at all of his painting and was just amazed at the kind of art he has created. He has done some really awesome movie posters (James Bond), novel covers and fine art paintings. His paintings of women have been the foundation on how I draw and want to draw women.

Frank Frazetta – it’s probably cliché to add Frazetta to one of these lists, but I don’t care, he is my all-time favorite artist…period. I grew up on fantasy and Frazetta’s art is the quintessential fantasy art. He has influenced probably every single person on this list and every single (fantasy) artist working today. The sheer volume of his work is just incredible, and every single piece that he has done is just amazing. Not only are his paintings fantastic, but his comic book and pen & ink work is something to be amazed by. There is no one that can really come close to Frank Frazetta, so with that I will end my list.

Others I Forgot to Mention: Bruce Timm, Michael Turner, Chris Bachalo, Ale x Ross, Sam Kieth, Art Adams

(holy crap, this post took over 2 hours in total!)

Myspace has been dying, and I haven’t checked that thing in months. I decided to completely remove that Myspace, and now I have a brand spankin new Facebook Page. Go ahead and be a fan on there, it’ll be easier to keep track of my blog stuff and all that junk! The new year is coming soon, so it’s time to get rid of all that old junk…sorry Myspace!

Where the hell did this year go? It seriously feels like this one flew by, I swear it was just summer! Is this what happens when you get older?…time manages to speed up without you noticing it? Oh well, this year was one of my best. So many new experiences, so many new things learned and it all has me excited for this coming new year. I hope everyone had an awesome holiday. I had a pretty good once! As usual my parents absolutely spoiled me and my sister (25 years old), they always seem to manage to make it awesome every year. I swear I probably watched Home Alone at least 20 times, sometimes multiple times back to back. That has got to be the best Christmas movie ever made (besides Jingle All the Way of course, which by the way wasn’t on TV at all this year?). Christmas as I get older seems to become less of a big deal to me, and I’m ok with that. I enjoy spending time with my family for a few days, don’t get to see most of them (extended family) too often.

Now the new year is quickly sneaking up, and I have created a list of New Years Resolution that I really hope I can stick to. I’m never really a Resolution kind of guy, but I think it’s time to start making some changes in my life. So here they are:

#1: Do More Personal Art

#2: Draw Women with Smaller Boobs (Ocassionally)

#3: Wake up no later than 11am as opposed to 2pm

#4: Eat Healthier and Treat My Body Better

#5: Make Better Art

Those are probably not that big of a deal, but I think they should be easy to stick to. I don’t get to draw things for myself, I probably haven’t gotten to do anything personal in a year and a half. The boob thing is just funny, I get comments all the time on the women I draw. I have terrible sleeping habits, I think waking up earlier with help me be more productive. I have no energy and I think by eating better I’ll have a lot more of it (I will never stop eating Pizza though). The last one is the most important, I just want to be better at what I do. I rarely put in %100 in my designs, but I think if I take my art to the next level, I’ll start getting more and better job offers.

With all that said, I hope everyone had an amazing year, and hope you have an amazing new year as well. There are a lot of exciting new things coming up for me, but for now I’ll just leave you with a preview? What are they for? I wont tell until they are released! Some of you that follow me on Twitter might have an idea on what they are…

Have a good rest of the year everyone!

Welp, it’s getting down to the end of the year, I’m really bored tonight so I thought I’d throw up a list of my favorite albums of this year. I kind of have a weird taste in music, spans all genres…if you hit shuffle on my iTunes you will get anything from Eazy-E to Mariah Carey to NSYNC to The Allman Brothers…it goes on. You can see all of what I listen to here! Anyways, on to the list…

The Sounds – Crossing the Rubicon - I’ve been such a big fan of the sounds for a long time. I first heard them in a snowboard video many many years back and thought they were pretty cool. They have that retro 80’s feel in their music that I love so much. ELectronica mixed with rock is ok with me. This is their 3rd album (I think) and it’s just as good as all of their other ones. They have really defined their sound in this one

Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz! – I wasn’t that big into the Yeah Yeah Yeahs for the longest time, but then this album came out and I thought I’d give them another try, and I’m pretty happy that I did. I don’t think I can pick out a song that I hate on this album, or even pick out a favorite, they are all great…Actually it’s be “Soft Shock”, or “Heads Will Roll”, or “Dragon Queen”, or…see what I mean!

Metric – Fantasies – First off, I’m in love with Emily Haines (the lead singer) so I’d be stupid not to include this one on here. With each album Metric just gets better and better! I first heard of Metric, again, from watching old snowboard videos back in the day. This is a good album to work to. I can throw it on in the background and just zone out while I’m working. Check out the song “Blindness”…it’s so good! Oh and “Collect Call” too!

Paramore – Brand New Eyes – Yes, I’m a Paramore fan. Yes I’m a dude. What…you want to fight about it? I’ve been a fan of their very first album. I saw “Pressue” on fews and fell in love with Hayley and from then on I was a fan. I’ve actually got to do some work for them in the past which is awesome. There are so many good songs on this album, it’s perfect as a whole, however…I could listen to “Misguided Ghosts” a million times and never get tired of it!

Lady Gaga – The Fame Monster – I’m including “The Fame” album as part of this as well…but yeah…I like Lady Gaga. I didn’t like her up until about last week actually when I saw the video for “Bad Romance” and it blew my mind. I also like playing that song at the bar on repeat and pissing off all the “Bros” and “Frat” kids…it’s hilarious. She’s so freakin’ strange I can’t not like her…

Kid Cudi – Man on the Moon – This is probably one of the best debut albums from a Hip-Hop artist I’ve heard in a long time. Every single song is amazing. All of the beginning of 2009 I was listening to all of his mixtapes eagerly awaiting this CD to come out, and it didn’t disappoint. This is another one of those albums where as a whole it is just perfect. The production is great, the lyrics are great, everything is great.

Jay-Z – The Blueprint 3 – I haven’t been the biggest fan of Jay-Z in the past. I mean, I listened to his stuff when it was on the radio, but I haven’t bought one of his albums since Hardknock Life. I was a little skeptical, but he knocked it out of the part with this one. After one listen I was hooked to this album, and it made me go back and discover how good all of his other albums are. Serious, this is probably the best Hip-Hop album of 2009 in my opinion. Songs like “Empire State of Mind”, “Run This Town” and  my favorite, “Already Home”, are amazing.

Bat For Lashes – Two Suns – I never really heard of Bat For Lashes until later this year, and then on one of my regular “I can sleep” nights, I decided to watch MTV until 4am in the morning and caught some really cool videos, one of them was for “What’s A Girl To Do” from her 2007 album Fur and Gold, it reminded me of the movie Donnie Darko. So I decided to check out that album and then I discovered that album and her new one as well. They are both great, it’s almost like Bjork but less crazy, and I’m ok with that.

Fever Ray – Fever Ray – This could very well be my favorite album of 2009, it’s just so different. I was a big fan of The Knife before, and this is the girl singers solo album and it blows away anything The Knife has done. The whole album reminds me of nature, a very cold nature. It’s weird how music can sometimes take you to different places, and that’s what this album does. I found out about this cd from ready YASLY’s blog and saw some awesome music videos. Give this album a listen if you haven’t yet.

AFI – Crash Love – I was a little bit worried for this album to come out to be honest. I didn’t really feel their last album, Decemberunderground, as much as their older albums. Upon listening to this album once I knew I was gonna love it. It really incorporates every single style that AFI has gone through, throughout their entire career. “Fainting Spells”, “100 Words” and…well heck, the whole last half of the album is amazing.

Welp that’s all I got, you don’t have to agree with my musical tastes or what I have to say about each album, thats fine. I just thought I’d share and maybe you’d find something different or something you haven’t heard of that you might want to check out. Oh and if I have spelling errors…too bad, I’m to tired to fix them right now!

Dead, Serious! just dropped a new hoodie to keep you warm for the winter…and chances are…it’s pretty cold wherever you are. I just checked the current temp here in Colorado, it’s 3 degrees outside, so cold! Anyways, this is a little different than what DS! usually puts out…less crazy and it is something you can really wear with any outfit! I love doing work for DS! because I pretty much get to do whatever I want with a design and this one was a change of pace for me and I think it turned out pretty well. Go get yours here! and stop drooling over the photos already.

Fellow Coloradoans (is that even a real word?) 8-Bit Zombie just dropped their winter line of new hats, and they are pretty awesome!  The designs this season are filled with things anyone who grew up when I did would love! There is a Skeletor Hat (“Ol’ Bonehead”) designed by another Coloradoan…Atom Child, a Slimer Hat (“Slime Time”),  a Zombie Controller Hat designed by Cryface, and then two hats Designed by Shatnz in multiple colorways with Zelda and Mario themes (Zelda shown above). There are also new colorways for some older designs as well as a new t-shirt and hoodie.

This new line drops December 3rd…so be sure to grab them with they are available! They also are having a little contest and you can find the details here.

Zombie Liquorice just dropped their new winter line, along with a brand spankin’ new website designed by the talented Black Axe. There are some pretty awesome artists in this new release….including me. I did the Ex-Mortis design, based off of one of my favorite horror movies…the Evil Dead. It was fun to do my own take on the Necronomicon…I got to watch all 3 of the movies for inspiration. There are also some other shirts here as well designed by some awesome artists like Chad Lenjer, Joshua Belanger, and Kerr (I apologize, i don’t know the first name). I was pretty stoked to do something for ZL and the idea they gave me was right up my alley. Go grab yourself some sweet shirts now!

Ok so this past week I’ve been slowly changing my entire website to be 100% Wordpress. Welp, now it’s finally up and running good. I still have a few things I need to tweak and add, but this is basically it. Yes it looks almost exactly the same, but the CSS coding is a lot better and it will be much easier for me to update my website. As you can see I have added some new content to my home page! I still have a couple features I’m trying to figure out, hopefully it will be completely the way I want it by next week. But for now…we have this!

Also, with the new site, I figured I might as well show a teaser of what I have been working on for the past few months…

Some new clients, and some old favorites right there! I’m pretty excited with what I have been doing, and I am really trying to step my game up and become a better illustrator. I also have a few non apparel projects coming up that I couldn’t be more excited about! I’ll have more details soon, once things get more fleshed out. Things have been a little crazy for me…I’m just happy that I’m staying busy and doing the thing I love to do most, every single day.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, I wish you all an awesome one…so stuff your faces till you can’t fit in your pants! I will be eating all the turkey and Stove Top stuffing that I can fit in my body. And then by about 4pm I’ll be exausted (damn you turkey and your Tryptophan). Anyways, have a good rest of the week…and if you go out shopping on friday…good luck! I wont be anywhere near a mall on friday…I did that crap too many times when I worked for Best Buy for a long a grueling 5 years. Take Care!

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