Kaminski: My first question is typically the same, but what made you pursue art? And in that vein, what KEEPS you pursuing it?


Neill: Hi, Mathew, and first of all thanks for taking the time to interview me. I'm usually on the other side of the interview chair with my podcast.

Art, for me, has been a lifelong thing and I've always enjoyed it. I used to sit around my parents house and sketch Teenage Ninja Turtles or He-Man in the hopes that one day I could be a "cartoonist", not knowing much about the industry. My career took a sleeping pill around eighteen when i left high school and didn't really know what I wanted to do. I knew I was passionate about games and so wanted to find a career somewhere in that world. I started out in college soon after, studying journalism as I had aspirations to become a game journalist, but soon after the course started my father told me of an engineering job coming up in the railway industry that paid good money and provided a decent education.

Some time passed (well a lot actually) and I was 27; I had been working in the railway for about ten years and mostly enjoyed it, but always did some creative projects on the side. I tried to make music videos for bands I played in. In some of them I was also as drummer or vocalist. I also made album covers with Photoshop and tried my hand at running a few YouTube channels for games. Each of these projects usually fizzled out, or I came across something new and shiny so I wanted to evolve each time. I guess i never felt challenged and standing still always bored me.



Just as Christmas 2010 was about to hit I was having more and more thoughts about leaving my job and pursuing some career outside of it that would make me happy. I actually began watching documentaries about art and making games - mostly Halo 3 and Gears of War and of course my favorite doc which was the Making of God of War 3. I had made up my mind. I then talked to my parents and my partner at the time and decided I was going to hand in my resignation as soon as possible. There was only one problem: I had to find a course with an art college before I could leave.

I managed to get an entry level course at a local college Forth Valley College (Shout out to Julie Parker for having faith in me). The course was very basic and I felt it wasn't 100% what I wanted to do. I worked through the years after that obtaining an NQ in Art then an NC in Art & Design and finally an HND in Visual Communication (the lecturers and staff were amazing! Shout out to Brian, Hannah, Dee, Staci, Steph and Pam).

After i finished my HND I was still hungry for more and didn't feel like I was staying true to my original vision of concept art. I looked into university's that would offer courses kind of related to the industry so i signed up for a B.SC (honors degree) in 3D animation and digital art. This course was good in the sense that it equipped me with some skills I still use today, mostly using 3D software like Maya and Substance Painter. I also learned about Axis Studios in Glasgow and found them online. During my third year, through networking events, I managed to get an internship with the Studio and helped with recruitment and admin tasks for the studio team whilst they were working on several cinematic projects. I recently graduated with honors and found myself in my first job with Red Essence Games working on Mask of Semblance. I contacted Nik about working on the game and after an art test I was offered a role as a junior artist also because of my networking skills I've been put in charge of their PR for the game.

What keeps me going really is always wanting to not let myself or my family down. My parents mean everything to me and they've afforded me so many opportunities and helped me so much along the way all I want to do is make them proud. I also want to have a sense of accomplishment in my work and my life, I would rather honestly be happy than rich and the people and artists around me always make me feel motivated and want to push forward constantly.

Kaminski: Incredible! The commitment to your education most likely shows through in your work ethic. Having multiple degrees myself, I share in the desire to constantly be pushing!

Looking through your work, your definitely portfolio driven! That being said, you touched somewhat on your journey through college and above, but what was your personal experience like? Do you have any advice either way on someone wanting to jump into the field following in your footsteps?

Neill: I definitely kinda covered this in the last question. I had training of sorts on the courses I attended, but at night I was always looking online at certain courses and other things I could do with my time. Especially when I hit university things like Learn Squared and Schoolism were really coming into their own, and of course I always looked at other artist's work on ArtStation and wondered where I was going wrong. I just really looked into things like artists Gumroad's and other tutorials I could get my hand on, plus there is already so much content online for free through YouTube!


Advice really is stuff I've now come to terms with MAKE ART THAT YOU LOVE! Honestly it's as simple as that. I looked at so many portfolios and other artists work and was always like, "If I make cool realistic sci-fi stuff like that I'm bound to get work!" But, every time I tried to be like someone else or copy their work to gain inspiration I wasn't being true to myself. What did I want to do? Where was my art going and how would I get there? These are questions I constantly asked myself during my journey. In the end, I make art that makes me excited and that makes me want to make art. When I tried to impersonate realistic stuff or photo bash I didn't feel whole and it made me not enjoy the process. I didn't want to learn or produce anything due to not enjoying it. Now I'm going back to my roots and trying to pump out daily studies from games like Hearthstone as well as working with Red Essence Games.

Kaminski: I can agree tenfold on the point of making art that you're personally invested in. Every once in awhile, to remind myself, I take on commissions that are out of my passions and I can say that they are typically not the best work that I can do, and so I return invigorated with fury on projects that I'm invested in! Part of this can sometimes bleed over into fan art work and things, but again, on IP's that I personally love. Speaking of which: what is your take on fan art as a whole? Some see it as a means of self-promotion, some see it is selling out, some see it as simple copyright infringement. Do you have any viewpoints one-way or another?


Neill: Fan art is tricky because I know I love it and have definitely made some in my time. In fact there is a Hellboy sketch on my Artstation right now. I think fan art servers its purpose of inspiring artists because, I mean, come on we are all fans right!? That's why we do this stuff! We all sat at the cinema and watched Star Wars then went home and started to sketch Yoda! Or... Maybe that was just me? Seriously though, I really believe it can be a positive force. Where it becomes a grey and shady area is attending cons making prints and selling stuff. I've done it in the past, done sketches for people of a super hero they loved or sold a print, but I actually found I had more traction or sales when I printed out my landscape paintings and sold them. I think each year at a con people see the same kinda stuff over and over so when something unique and new pops up they kinda pounce on it to be different. It's not a black or white situation and every story is different but I definitely think there isn't any harm in it because we are all fans.

Kaminski: I love your refreshing take on the subject of fan art.
Switching gears: from your experience all the way to college and before, it shows that you're so well rounded. It's amazing how you've spread yourself so thin and yet still maintain quality across the board. Do you have any advice on artists trying to pursue multiple disciplines?

I would probably advise that people start with a strong foundation in their core skill (3D or Drawing) then slowly try to move and expand from that base. 

Neill: Multiple disciplines is a tricky one because of course as a modern and up and coming artist you really need to know everything, but it also dilutes your skill set. I would probably advise that people start with a strong foundation in their core skill (3D or Drawing) then slowly try to move and expand from that base. It's tough but of course we all know modern artists need to have a multi tool set approach.

Kaminski: Related to the previous question: what's a typical schedule like for you? How do you manage to keep everything on time and in order?

Neill: In honesty, it can be a bit chaotic now with Red Essence Games taking up most of my time with PR and of course art, but I try to balance my hours between that and of course learning/personal work. I'm currently building my first game in unreal and trying to burn the midnight oil pursuing my Hearthstone challenge, part 2! The best advice I can give is trying to just do a little everyday and eventually it always adds up to an overall success, Rome wasn't built in a day!

Kaminski: I'd love to hear about any non-NDA projects that you might be in the middle of: Do you have any projects you'd like to promote?



Neill: My main focus at the moment is of course Mask of Semblance which was announced at PAX EAST this year with Red Essence Games, we are currently working towards Alpha build and the next version for PAX 2019 you can find more info on www.redessencegames.com or check out our trailers and game play on YouTube by searching Mask of Semblance.

Also, as always, I would love to promote Digital Artcast my online podcast where we speak to industry professionals and have just launched an online teaching episode for Cinema 4D demonstrated by Leon Tukker

Kaminski: Mask of Semblance looks beautiful, and incredibly intricate. I can only assume that there's a ton of cogs bouncing around in tandem to make that project come to life. That being said, It's so incredible that you work in the games industry - it's an industry that I would love to be fully vested in. That being said, what's it like? For someone looking from the outside in - I would love to get insight into the day-to-day of working on the industry.

Neill: Working was always a worry for me. I think working for an indie developer really takes some stress off me. When I was interning at Axis Studios in Glasgow I felt the place moved at a thousand  times normal speed and I always felt I was running to catch up. This being said it did teach me some life lessons and ideas of how you should present yourself in any company. Also, it prepped me for what it would be like in a day-to-day AAA studio. Most days at Red Essence Games I chat with my boss (Nik) on what our week's objectives are and work some PR to make sure we are getting exposure or beginning to strike deals with influencers or other people that can help our brand. As our game is 2D and hand animated it's kinda old school Disney where I work on in-betweens and cell animation. Like any job you work long hours and I'm lucky I can have the weekends off!

Kaminski: It's kind of funny, recently I've been hit with a realization about being an artist in or out of the industry. If you're working a day job, be prepared to work your ass off until you can make both jobs become one! In some ways that's something that I've been working towards myself. Speaking of, what goals do you have for the immediate? And long term?

Neill: Finishing Mask of Semblance would be great as I hear so many horror stories (especially from Nik) of working on games that never see the light of day. This wouldn't be completely true as we are an indie developer so we have free reign on what we can and can't show. I would just like to get at least one title under my belt before I take my next leap. Also in the future, maybe within two years, I would like to move into a bigger studio, whether that's with Red Essence Games doing another game or sequel or moving into another development house I've yet to see, but my overall dream would be working for Blizzard Entertainment. I think a lot of people share this dream and I mostly think it appeals to me not only because of the games they make, but the style they produce in their artwork.

Kaminski: Any push you can make, big or small will help push your name further and further out. And lastly: what's the best piece of advice you can give to upcoming artists OR what's the best piece of advice you've received this far as an artist?


Neill: One of the best pieces of advice I was given from an art friend was simple but always overlooked, "BE YOURSELF". Honestly, so many times when I was starting out I tried to imitate someones style or approach to learning or producing art instead of what I wanted to do. I've finally settled on something I feel is my representation in the world and I wanna see my goals and styles moving forward in games, movies, animations and more. Really it's just about being true to yourself and never really looking back. Each step takes you somewhere new and you should always remember that this is YOUR journey and no one else. You set your own expectations and goals and you decide when you cross the finish line.

The only block I have on supplies is a financial one.

My confidence is fragile at times too, but I just try to remember the end game.

Max: I learned to read from comic books, so they've been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. The comic realm taught me my vocabulary, my moral philosophy, and how to create art. It was always a given that I would have to return the favor, to give something back to that community. I've got more stories in my head than I'll ever have time to illustrate, but that won't stop me from trying. I've always operated under the philosophy that if you make enough art in your life, time can't possibly erase it all after I'm gone.

Kaminski: It sounds like you and I share some very similar sensibilities when it comes to the reasoning behind making art. So it reasons to be, that your ability with line must transcend to both medias because of your tattooing background. Do you find there to be a difference in approach when it comes to the tattoo gun vs. a pen / pencil? What's some strategies you use when jumping back and forth? And/or what's some similarities between the two?


Max: Tattooing is much more like painting than drawing. The techniques used for blending and saturation are similar to watercolor. Each stroke must be deliberate and colored in a certain order. Drawing comics allows me to work looser, allows me to lightly sketch an area until I find the perfect pose or perspective. Because tattoos are so permanent and unforgiving, creating comics has become the perfect therapy for unwinding after a long day. I get to create art on my own terms without having to please a client. The only similarities lay in my sketch process when I'm creating designs. But for my last three series, I've gone completely digital, and that's an entirely different beast. The only time I use a pencil these days is for tattoo sketches. I use a light blue Japanese soft lead that vanishes after I Xerox it. Maybe my tattoo and comic styles look similar. I can't really tell because my comics are a real world to me. They've ceased being drawings and feel more like I'm filming a documentary.

Tattooing is much more like painting than drawing. The techniques used for blending and saturation are similar to watercolor.

Kaminski: Well! You just changed my perspective!

Max: Haha, how so?

Kaminski: I honestly thought that tattooing in general was like drawing and painting with ink, not painting in washes like watercolor.

Max: It is in some ways. Or maybe it's more like using Copic markers. But It's definitely not like oil or acrylic because there's no way to alter the color once it's laid down. You can tint it, but there's no do-overs. Every mark has to be purposeful.

Kaminski: Whoa! So cool! Switching gears: What's it been like to work in comics thus far?


Max: Working in comics is my dream job. It's so exhilarating to sit down at the desk and create an entire world from scratch! I started off illustrating a couple of issues of Bethany's Song by Donald Juengling. I had so much fun on that project that I couldn't wait for another project to come my way. I immediately started writing my own graphic novel set in a futuristic Memphis and found that I was very satisfied with the mystery I'd come up with. I called it The Golden Silence. It was sort of a hodgepodge of every old detective show I'd ever seen, but I crammed it full of personal experience and emotion. And when I say crammed, I mean it. My first draft was 456 pages. I edited it down to 416, which ran for 16 issues and took a year and a half to illustrate. I published it myself under the banner of Memfamous Comics. The reception was warm and people seemed to enjoy the main characters, so I didn't waste any time writing its sequel, The Crimson Hand. This time I shortened the tale down to 6 32-page issues. I'm right in the middle of that one right now. I also created a third series called Memfamous Comics Presents that tells short stories set in that same world. And I've got a few dozen scripts ready to keep it going for a while. Illustration comes natural to me, but learning to write, edit, publish, and market a book took a lot of reading and practice. I've really learned a lot about how to run a business myself. It would be nice to have some other artists involved in the process, but I just haven't had the extra funds to hire anyone. The profits are meager, especially compared to tattooing, but that will never stop me from telling a story that needs to be told. I'm anxiously trying to finish The Crimson Hand now so I can move on to my next project. My next title is a really fresh idea that I think people haven't seen before. I'm very excited about it.

Kaminski:  Let's jump right in then: what spurned your interest in your Golden Silence project? And in that vein, what's a good summary for folks of the story as a whole? 

Kaminski: In that vein: Was there anything in particular that seemed to drive you towards or away from your project initially? Do you still feel just as driven about the project all these years later?
For me working on a comic project has been a very slow process because of the daunting amount of work, so I can only commend you on your dedication.


Max: The Golden Silence happened because I wanted to do something cyberpunk, but also something local. So I jumped ahead two hundred years into my own neighborhood. I created this scenario where a world war between religions had broken the United States and left Memphis to fend for itself. The entire city is surrounded by a wall to control who enters from the wasteland beyond. The police force is now corporate-owned and called The Public Eye because they use technology to spy on every inhabitant. The reluctant hero of the story is a disgraced former cop named Filadelfo Burden. Burden, with the help of his assistant Lola, now operates a Finder Service. He uses his experiences as a cop to track down various people, places, things, much like a modern day private eye. The only problem is that he has this monstrous addiction to sex, drugs, danger, or anything else that could get him killed. In The Golden Silence, he has to solve a missing person case without becoming one himself. He knocks on death's door almost every issue. That's the gag.

I was driven to do a detective story because of my love of old crime shows. I just threw Mike Hammer, Jim Rockford, and Sam Spade in a blender and added a pinch of myself. As I started writing, I poured more and more of myself into the story. I used a lot of personal experience with addiction, with psychedelics, with religion, with casual sex and used the book to explore how I really felt about those ideas. For instance, if a good friend died in real life, I would put that into the story and let Fil Burden work out his feelings toward that. Because his feelings are pretty much my own. So I stayed very focused and forced myself to get the work done. I didn't let anything pull me away from that project. My friends and family can attest to that. And I'm still that driven. But I just had a baby daughter born in December, so I'm finding that I won't have that much free time again for a while. But yeah, I live for work. The harder my day, the happier I am with myself at night.

Making comics is soooo exhausting. It takes forever. I can see why most are done by large teams of people

Kaminski: Oh I hear that! That is part of what maintains my trepidation of diving in headfirst. Once you start, you can't stop! So you better make sure you're fully committed once you start!
If you were to start over as a creative, what are some things you would tell yourself?


Max: First thing I would tell myself is to not release a brand new series a week before a presidential election. It turns out that people have their attention diverted and social media totally loses its marketing power. And social media is another lesson. I'd tell myself to not underestimate the prep work needed to launch a book in a way that the public can easily find and consume it. I also wish I could tell myself to start producing comics a lot earlier. I wasted at least a decade daydreaming about it before I did it, and I really missed out on this indie comics renaissance that happened about ten years ago. It's still happening, but now the market is so oversaturated that it's becoming increasingly more difficult to stand out in the crowd.

Kaminski: I can hear that... but in that same vein, it's all about grass roots, right? Once it starts to take off, there's no stopping it. Do you ever find your inner voice competing with the two sides of your artistic ability? Or do you view them as two parts of the same whole?

I know that working a day job, I have this tendency to come home feeling drained from dealing with the normal ins-and-outs of graphic design work, so it makes me wonder if there are also days where the same thing happens to you with tattooing vs. comics.

Laziness in art is a cardinal sin. That's the quickest way to get sent to Art Hell.

Max: Oh yes. Tattooing is like any job. It gets tiresome. Especially when the art you're creating is to satisfy someone else, and art is best when it's self exploration. So when I come home and switch gears into comic mode, it's all about pleasing that inner voice. I don't stifle it at all. I don't concern myself with editing, with being PC, or being shy, because that would be censoring whatever my subconscious wants to explore. Sometimes I read a finalized page and think "Well, that's rather offensive." But I don't edit that, because it would be artistically dishonest. And when it's over, I feel more relaxed because I've just had a therapeutic conversation with myself over thoughts that needed to surface. People think I'd be burned out from working too much, but the comics actually cleanse me and hit my reset button for the following day's work.

Kaminski: Definitely what art should do! I'm glad to hear that it's doing it's damn job instead of being all lazy and whatnot.

Max: Laziness in art is a cardinal sin. That's the quickest way to get sent to Art Hell.

Kaminski: This one is completely optional, but do you have any questions for me?

Max: I love your cyberpunk art. It reminds me of those old Shadowrun covers. Do you think you'll ever do a comic or graphic novel? Or do you prefer one-off illustrations to the sequential stuff?

Kaminski: Hilariously enough, my first influence is actually the ShadowRun second and third edition books. Because of that, Elmore definitely has a huge influence on my as well as John Van Fleet and Timothy Bradstreet. It makes me very happy that you recognize my influences as that means that I feel like I'm getting closer to being on point with that type of art.

Ultimately the whole project is actually part of a bigger world that Ashley and I continually work on and off - Honor: [De]Coded. The marionettes (all of my robot women) are part of this world as much as the displaced archetypes and foundlings, etc. etc. It's actually a world that is slowly building, but coming out none-the-less.

We have parts of the world and characters, but have yet to really find a way to piece it all together. Eventually it'll become a cohesive project though. I just have to stop getting lazy about it hahaha. That and I don't know if I could work on a comic project outside of my own work. I would have a seriously hard time on another's IP - making sure that every angle lined up to their expectations and things...

But yeah, the short answer is that it's all part of a bigger world that will eventually surface into a graphic novel form.

Max: I'm looking forward to seeing that happen. Cyberpunk is my favorite genre. I grew up feasting on cyberpunk comics, movies, art with these big cumbersome headgears and wires protruding from everything, but when I sat down to make my own universe, I had to modernize those ideas. I had to keep reminding myself that the future is wireless with smaller technology. It was hard!
If you could have any gig drawing an established character, which one would it be?
(Personally I'd like to revive Ghost Rider 2099)

Kaminski: Ooohhh.... that's a GOOD question!

It's hard to narrow down to one specifically... but if I were to dive into one character only, it might have to be Tank Girl. She intrigues me for so many reasons, but the one thing that I haven't really seen out of her is absolute depth. She just seems to be the embodiment of angst, and punk (which I'm okay with at face value).

Max: Oh yeah, Tank Girl definitely needs an update. They're always trying new artists, but the story never really progresses.

Kaminski:  What goals do you have set for yourself in the immediate? What about long term?


Max: My most immediate goal is to finish up my current series. The Crimson Hand only has half of its six issues out. But I desperately want to start my next series, so I'm about to shift it into high gear. My long term goal is to keep all these titles running long enough to make them popular. I'd love to see the Memfamous comic universe as a tv series, reaching a much wider audience. I would love to write for television, and it would be exciting to have a decent show set here and filming locally.

I don't have a retirement fund, and Hollywood money is about the only way to strike it rich with comics.

Kaminski: And of course, the final question: what's the best piece of advice you've received or best piece of advice you can give to upcoming artists?

Max: The best advice I could give to other artists came from my college painting teacher. "Just work." Don't feel inspired? Work anyway. Don't have an audience? Work anyway. Broken arm? Work anyway. Never stop working because each and every attempt makes you better at creation and safer in knowing your purpose. And a lot of the good stuff in art happens when you're not paying attention.