Creative Collective of Ashley Webb and Mat Kaminski

Wednesday, January 18, 2017

Newest Piece for Schwalb Entertainment

TYPICALLY WHEN I GET A PROMPT FOR A COMMISSION - PERSONAL OR PROFESSIONAL - THERE'S A CERTAIN PROTOCOL THAT SEEMS TO BE ADHERED TO. USUALLY THIS INVOLVES A BIT OF BACK AND FORTH, HAGGLING ON PRICE, STYLE, ETC. ON TOP OF THAT, THERE ALWAYS SEEMS TO BE A BIG WAIT PERIOD BETWEEN SKETCH TO FINAL. THIS CAN BE BECAUSE OF APPROVAL CHAINS OR PERHAPS THE CUSTOMER IS JUST TAKING A WHILE TO GET BACK. USUALLY THERE'S A TURNAROUND OF AT MINIMUM TWO-WEEKS FOR ANY PROJECT THAT COMES MY WAY. NOW, THIS CAN BE LONGER OR SHORTER DEPENDING ON THE SCOPE OF THE PROJECT AND THE AMOUNT OF PIECES INVOLVED, THE SIZE, MEDIA, ETC. THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY APPEARS TO BE NO EXCEPTION, SAVE FOR A SMALL RPG COMPANY NAMED SCHWALB ENTERTAINMENT.

I CAN HONESTLY SAY THAT THESE HAVE BEEN THE MOST FLAWLESS PROJECT OPPORTUNITIES THAT I'VE HAD THE GRACE OF WORKING ON. THERE WAS A VERY SMALL TIME CRUNCH, TO BE SURE, BUT THERE WASN'T A LOT OF PRESSURE - IT WAS MORE SO A FEELING OF, JUST GIVE ME AN IDEA OF WHERE YOU'RE GOING WITH THE PROJECT AND LET'S GET THIS THING DONE! IN THAT REGARD, IT WAS VERY REFRESHING. I GOT TO WORK QUICKLY, BUT IN MY OWN CREATIVE SPACE.

“I HAVE A 1/2V FOR YOU. I NEED IT IN TWO WEEKS AND IT PAYS. HERE’S THE DESCRIPTION. LET ME KNOW ASAP IF YOU CAN DO IT.” — ROBERT SCHWALB

Inital Sketch

I TYPICALLY ONLY TAKE ON TWO PROJECTS AT ANY ONE GIVEN TIME, TO MAINTAIN QUALITY STANDARDS. THE FIRST COMPANY TO HELP GET MY FOOT IN THE DOOR WITH WORKING FOR RPGS TENDS TO GET A PRECEDENCE FOR A SLOT IN MY QUEUE. NOT ONLY THAT, BUT HE SEEMS TO ALWAYS HAVE GREAT TIMING FOR WHEN A SLOT HAS OPENED UP! AS YOU MIGHT HAVE SEEN FROM MY PREVIOUS POST, I MET ROBERT SCHWALB AT MIDSOUTH CON, AND THROUGH THE SMALL CHAT THAT WE HAD, HE SEEMED VERY INTERESTED IN WORKING WITH ME, AND I HAVE NOT REGRETTED IT ONE BIT!

TYPICALLY THERE'S A MESSAGE VIA SOCIAL MEDIA OR EMAIL THAT CAN BE SIMPLY SUMMED UP AS, "HEY! I HAVE SOME ART THAT NEEDS ARTING, YOU IN?" (OF COURSE THIS ISN'T A DIRECT QUOTE, JUST THE VIBE THAT I GET) IF I RESPOND WITH AN ENTHUSIASTIC, "YES!" THEN I TYPICALLY RECEIVE AN E-MAIL WITHIN TWENTY-FOUR HOURS THAT LISTS THE PROJECT AT HAND. THIS NEWEST PIECE WAS A HALF-PAGE IN THE NEWEST EXPANSION, FORBIDDEN RULES, ENTITLED THE ADEPT.

ULTIMATELY, I HAVE NOTHING BUT GREAT THINGS TO SAY ABOUT MY EXPERIENCES THUS FAR WORKING WITH SCHWALB ENTERTAINMENT. IF YOU HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO CHECK OUT ANYTHING FROM THIS RPG COMPANY, I RECOMMEND IT. SHADOW OF THE DEMON LORD IS THE PERFECT MIX IN MY OPINION OF BOTH DARK FANTASY AND HORROR.

PIECE IN PLACE IN THE BOOK ITSELF.

FOR MORE ON SCHWALB ENTERTAINMENT, VISIT THE WEBSITE AT HTTP://SCHWALBENTERTAINMENT.COM/

TO SEE MORE, VISIT MY NEW WEBSITE AT HTTPS://ARTOFMATK.SQUARESPACE.COM

Tuesday, January 17, 2017

2017, A Year of New Beginnings

Mathew Kaminski 7:02 PM 2016 in review , artist promotion 0 Comments

(ABOVE IS A SMALL SAMPLING OF MY IG FEED FROM 2016 - I HAD ONLY JUST BEGUN TO START POSTING FEATURES ON TOP OF MY OWN PERSONAL WORK - SO NOT ALL OF THE ABOVE WORK IS MINE.)

2016 was a year of many ups and downs.

I THINK MY PARTICIPATION IN MOST ONLINE FORUMS CAN ATTEST TO THAT, BUT I CAN SAY THAT IT WAS FINALLY MY TIME TO JUMP OUT OF MY HOLE AND REALLY GET A HANDLE ON WHAT CAN BE DONE ARTISTICALLY. I CONSIDER 2017, FOR THE MOST PART, MY MAKE-IT-OR-BREAK-IT KIND OF YEAR. I HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO PUT MYSELF FULLY INTO IT ALL. MY INVESTMENT IN BOTH MYSELF BOTH CREATIVELY AND FINANCIALLY WILL MOST DEFINITELY BE PUT THE TEST THIS YEAR AS I SIMPLY CANNOT STAND IDLY ANYMORE AND HOPE THAT MY ART WILL JUST WORK ITSELF OUT. BECAUSE OF THIS NEED TO SIMPLY BEGIN THE PUSH FORWARD, I'VE STARTED TO REALLY THRUST MYSELF OUT THERE. I WOULD SAY THAT BUILDING THIS WEBSITE ALONE HAS BEEN MY SOLE PUSH INTO A NEW ME, A NEW YEAR. HOPEFULLY WITH THIS OLIVE BRANCH EXTENDED THIS YEAR, I CAN BEGIN TO MAKE CONNECTIONS IN ALL FACETS FROM MORE PERSONAL CONNECTIONS AND FRIENDS TO MAKING MORE BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY AND CONNECTIONS IN THE ART WORLD IN GENERAL.

TO SUM UP SOME OF THE EVENTS OF 2016...

ARTISTS AND DESIGNERS DISCUSS THE ART IN GAMING AND HOW IT INFLUENCES, ENHANCES, AND DEFINES A RPG GAME BOOK.

I WAS ACTUALLY FEATURED AS A GUEST SPEAKER FOR MANY PANELS AT LAST YEAR'S MIDSOUTH CON, WHICH REALLY CHANGED MY PERSPECTIVE ON CONVENTIONS IN GENERAL. I WAS ALREADY GUNG-HO ABOUT BEING IN THE CONVENTION SCENE BECAUSE I LOOKED AT IT MUCH LIKE A HUNGRY NEWBIE BASKETBALL PLAYER LOOKS AT EVERY COLLEGE GAME THEY PLAY, I SEE THEM AS EVERY CONNECTION LEADING INTO EITHER ONE OF TWO BRANCHES - CREATING POTENTIALLY BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES, OR CREATING MORE CONNECTIONS AND FRIENDS.

ASHLEY AND I FULLY COLLABORATED AND WORKED ON THE BOOK THAT YOU SEE IN THE STORE, "ARE YOU A ZOMBIE?" WE'VE BEEN LOVING THE IDEA OF COLLABORATING ON IDEAS AND WORKS FOR SOME TIME NOW, AND WE FINALLY GOT DOWN TO IT AND JUST DOVE IN HEAD FIRST. WE BOTH DID THINGS THAT WE'D NEVER HAVE EXPECTED TO DO (I DID COLORING BOOK PAGES PURELY IN INKS, AND SHE DID A RHYME-SCHEME SIMILAR TO DR. SUESS). ALL-IN-ALL, I CAN'T SAY THAT I REGRET IT ONE BIT AND IT ACTUALLY WORKED OUT PERFECTLY FLAWLESS.

AT MIDSOUTH CON I WAS ACTUALLY INVITED TO WORK ON MY FIRST ROLE-PLAYING GAME ART. ROBERT SCHWALB WAS KIND ENOUGH TO INVITE ME ON AS ONE OF THE ARTISTS TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE AWESOME WORLD OF SHADOW OF THE DEMON LORD. THIS UNIVERSE ACTUALLY BLENDS MY LOVE FOR BOTH HORROR AND FANTASY INTO ONE AWESOME PACKAGE. IT'S A QUICK-TURNAROUND JOB, BUT I ACTUALLY LOVE THAT FACT. IT HELPS MAINTAIN THE FRESHNESS IN MY MIND AS WELL AS KEEPING ME ON MY TOES, ALL THE WHILE SPEEDING UP MY PAINTING PROCESS.

I WAS INVITED TO MY FIRST CON AS A GUEST! (HYPERICON)

GOT INVITED TO DO LIVE DRAWING IN THE PIRANHA ROOM AT THE LAST MEMPHIS COMIC AND FANTASY CONVENTION. I'VE ONLY EVER DONE SMALL DRAWINGS AND PAINTINGS LIVE IN FRONT OF PEOPLE, SO TO GET ASSIGNED A HUGE CANVAS AND JUST BE TOLD, "JUST DRAW SOMETHING THAT HAS A DARK FEEL TO IT." WAS REALLY INTIMIDATING! TRUTH BE TOLD THOUGH, IT WAS INCREDIBLY FUN AND ACTUALLY A SURPRISINGLY GOOD WORKOUT! NEEDLESS TO SAY, I THINK THAT I WILL BE DOING THIS AGAIN AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!

GOT PUBLISHED IN A COUPLE OF ART BOOKS THIS YEAR, SUCH AS OUT OF STEP BOOKS!

MET TONS OF NEW PEOPLE THAT I NOW CONSIDER FRIENDS!

REALLY, THIS IS ONLY A SMALL GLIMPSE INTO WHAT MADE 2016 SO AMAZING FOR ME AND A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION!

ALL I CAN SAY IS THAT 2017 IS ALREADY LOOKING HOPEFUL! AND I CAN'T WAIT FOR IT TO REALLY GET INTO FULL GEAR... SO MANY PROJECTS PLANNED AND STARTED. YOU'LL GET MORE AND MORE AS THE YEAR GOES ON.

I PLAN ON TRYING TO UPDATE THIS THING ONCE A WEEK AT LEAST. PREFERABLY TWICE. ONE TIME A MONTH SHOULD HOPEFULLY BE AN INTERVIEW WITH A FELLOW ARTIST SO THAT WE CAN START TO SPREAD THE WORD AND GET SOME MORE ARTISTS INVOLVED.

I PLAN ON TRYING TO GET SOME TUTORIALS AND BEHIND-THE-SCENES OF WORKING ALONG SIDE OF ART DIRECTORS AND MY OWN PERSONAL MINDSET AND THOUGHTS WHILE IN THE THROES OF TRYING TO GET A COMMISSION KNOCKED OUT.

LASTLY, I PLAN ON USING THIS AS A SPRINGBOARD FOR FUTURE OPPORTUNITY. IF YOU HAVE ANYTHING THAT YOU WOULD LIKE ME TO TALK ABOUT OR PEOPLE THAT YOU'D LIKE ME TO INTERVIEW AND I'D LOVE TO MAKE A GO OF IT.

LET ME KNOW IN THE COMMENTS BELOW AND I'LL SEE IF I CAN MAKE IT HAPPEN.

To see more, visit my NEW website at https://artofmatk.squarespace.com

Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Silence for a Good Reason

Mathew Kaminski 2:24 PM commission , dead space 0 Comments

Sometimes, even though you may not think it, silence is a good thing. I haven't had any time these past few months to really post anything because, well, I've been doing NDA work for a few different places. I didn't realize it before Mid-South Con, but we actually have some local-ish companies that do RPG art. Since then, I've been contacted by one of them: Schwalb Entertainment, to do some art that seems right up my alley.

The Role-Playing Game that I was able to be a part of is called Shadow of the Demon Lord, and I was asked to participate in the Uncertain Faith expansion. This is actually my first time to do any sort of RPG work and I can say that the experience was incredible! I honestly want to dive right back into it as soon as possible, but until then I have been throwing around personal and commission pieces that are in the same vein. Below are the two pieces that were assigned to me...

(left: Blade of Secrets; right: Priest of the Old Faith)

The best part, honestly, was just how flawless it was to work in this method. It felt very natural, and the Art Director for Schwalb Entertainment (Robert Schwalb) was incredibly easy to work with for me. The turn-around was about two weeks for both pieces. As time goes on, I hope that more pieces end up showing up for this as the ideal goal would be doing RPG and CCG art overall. Although, don't get me wrong, I'm all about illustration in general, but book covers and games seem to be where my art is ultimately headed.

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Other than that, I've been doing personal commissions for quite some time.

I was contacted not too long ago by a woman that I met at a convention about doing a fantasy portrait of her sister. The process, overall, was just as smooth and flawless as the two pieces above. Below shows the process of which a typical commission goes through to get to completion.

Studies of the actual person.

Poses / Thumbnails

Final Render

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Other than that, I've started to do lunch doodles again, with the promise to turn them into fully-rendered pieces as time goes on.

I'm going to try and keep up with this a little more closely again. After all, it was far too long ago that I updated. Also, if you have any suggestions of things you'd like to see, such as reviews or more work in progresses or something, let me know and I'll make it happen!

Until next time,

Thursday, April 7, 2016

First Panel, First Books

Mathew Kaminski 8:16 PM conventions , cyberpunk 0 Comments

Let me start off this post with a double post of inspirational soundtracks.

Perturbator in general has been keeping me pumped for the past couple of weeks in terms of the inspiration and drive for my personal projects. That being said... Honor: Decoded is back in session, but more on this later...

Alright, now that the music that's been stuck in my head can now get stuck in your head, let me begin the real purpose of this post. It's mainly to talk about things that happened both before, during, and after MidSouth Con.

Quite a bit has been transpiring since before the convention even began, what with the start and release of two pieces of work that I've been contributing to: Lunch Doodles and a short story by my fiancee, Ashley Webb, entitled the Tawny Woman.

Lunch Doodles is a collection of drawings and paintings that I've done during my lunch break at work. Each one is voted on from about 5AM to about 12PM and the one with the most votes, or whoever got their vote in first, is the one that I draw. If you'd like to be a part of it, check on my Facebook page during the weekdays to vote! I typically post these as early as I can on weekdays so that I can get as many votes as possible. My plans with these are to eventually make a volume every other convention, and then maybe one day turn into a submission based annual or quarterly that other artists can contribute to.

If you'd actually like to be involved, email me or contact me on Facebook and I would love to get you involved.

The second thing that I was going on about earlier is that I actually got one of Ashley's stories bound up in a little book! It was written by her, but I helped to design the layout and painted the cover. It was partially a surprise for her, but she seemed to enjoy it. The awesome part about it is that it's a horror short story! You'll have to either ask her about it, or find us at a convention so that you can inquire about some of her writing. She typically writes horror or dark fiction. In time we'll do even more of these so that she can fill up a table herself with nothing but her writing and tapestries!

If you're an aspiring writer or a writing enthusiast, check on her tumblr page to follow along with her daily prompts or read some of her entries on the topic that she posts for the day!

Fast forward to the day of the conventions...

First, let me say that I had a blast at MidSouth Con and I actually recommend it to anyone that is in the Memphis area. It was filled to the brim with stuff to do and people to meet.

Our table... filled with art and a super excited Fictional Tortoise!

This was an example of one of the days that are table was set up. It was overflowing with art and tapestries. Again, can't speak enough for the con itself. It was filled up.

A few of the pieces that I worked on during the con.

I had never actually been on a panel before, so that was a much different experience than what I was expecting... and couple that with the fact that it had been my first run at it, and why not dive into the deep end with six.

Here's the panel layout that I was on...

Getting Started In The Comics Industry

Our panelists will discuss how they go started & will give tips on how you can get into the Comics industry.