Matthieu Cousin
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Where did you grow up and when did you decide to become an artist?
I grew up here in southern Sweden, and I've been drawing as long as I can remember. I grew up together with a lot of siblings who all liked to draw as kids and encouraging each other to do comics.
Did you go to an art school or are you self taught? How did you develop your skills?
I did attend an art school as well as a comic school, and while they gave a lot of room to experiment, and both had good life drawing classes, I learned most of what I know by just drawing by myself and studying art that I like.
Have you always been supported in your artistic path or has it been challenging to let your family and friends understand your choice?
My family has never had that much problems with my artistic path. While they have suggested looking for non-art related jobs they've never wanted me to quit entirely with drawing. Overall they've been quite supportive, and I feel like I can't ask for much more than that. :)
What was the strongest influence you had when you were growing up ( artists, movies, cartoons, comics etc.. ) ?
A lot of things! Comics like One piece by Eiichiro Oda and Bone by Jeff Smith got me drawing a lot of expressive characters. Movies like Lord of the rings and Star wars made me draw a lot of big worlds, battles and monsters. In my teenage years I started to draw a lot of warhammer stuff. Most of these things are inspirations I still look to to this day.
Did you have a favourite subject to draw when you were a child and do you still have one today? If you do, what makes it so special?
Like I mentioned, characters and monsters/creatures have always been a favorite of mine. It's hard to pinpoint what makes them so special, maybe its because they have very strong and cool features, they're just a bunch of fun!
What is your process in colouring your art and what type of tools and media do you use?
I color all my art using Photoshop CS6, the process may vary depending on the drawing. If its a small/fast drawings I usually go with one normal layer with colors but with bigger drawings i experiment with different layer types and opacity.
What part of the creation process is the most fun and easy and what part is the hardest?
The sketching part is probably the most fun for me, I'm not sure if I could call cleaning the lines very hard BUT I have yet to find a really satisfying way to do it yet.
What is a typical day for you, and who are the people you work/collaborate with?
My typical day is taking a walk before sitting in front of the computer and reading/responding to emails. After I've done a warm up sketch or two I spent the rest of the day working on whatever commission/job I have at the time. The people I work with vary from month to month, animators, producers, game developers, a bunch of fun folks!
Is there something that you have designed that you are most proud of?
This one:
What projects have you worked on in the past and what are you working on at the moment (if you can tell us)?
I've been working on different kinds of comics of mine, zines, books, and more. Most of the things I want to mention are NDA stuff though so I'm not allowed to : ( But there'll be a lot of cool stuff that I can't wait to show on my blog, so keep an eye out! ; >
What is your longterm career goal and what would your dream project be?
My career goal is probably just to get a full time job somewhere I feel comfortable and where I feel free to be creative. My dream project would probably be to work on a big comic or perhaps an animated project where I get to be the lead designer/director hehe.
Working for a company or freelancing: what suits you best? And why?
Right now freelancing has been working fine for me but I wouldn't mind settling down for a bit with a studio/company since juggling several freelance jobs can be stressful and scary at times.
Many art teachers and schools suggest to their students that a commercial artist should always work in one consistent style if they wish to have a healthy career. In your own experience, do you believe this to be true?
That might be true for artists that have already established themselves in the industry. But until then you shouldn't worry too much about it and just experiment to your hearts content. The more you draw the more your style will slowly change. Just keep on drawing and don't get too caught up about the concept of "style". That's my advice at least.
Who are the artists who inspire you the most today and what are some of your favourite designs out there?
Right now I've been very fixated with the Capcom designs, especially the works of artists like Bengus and Kinu Nishimura. And if you wanna follow some cool people at tumblr, here are some links: sbosma.tumblr.com, airfortress.tumblr.com, kinucakes.tumblr.com, veesdumpingrounds.tumblr.com, anthonyholden.tumblr.com. To name a few. : )
Finally, Where can we see your art online and get in touch with you? How can we buy your creations and support your work?
You can find my art on my blog: insidematthieu.tumblr.com, which I update about once a week or so. You can also find me at @insidematthieu on Twitter where I tend to upload a bunch of sketches and doodles. I've also put out a digital sketchbook that you can purchase on Gumroad ( gumroad.com/insidematthieu ). For those who want to contact me regarding job inquiries, please send a mail to insidematthieu@gmail.com.
Thank you Matthieu :)
