Chewing Pencils

It’s amazing how many cartoonists are named Matt. Particularly the Aussie variety! This week we have the fabulous Baker boy, who has just recently finished cooking a little ‘bun’ of his own…welcome Matt Baker to Chewing Pencils with some email applause!

NAME: Matt Baker
AGE: 29
LOCATION: Newcastle, Australia
SITE URL: mattybake.livejournal.com/

How long have you been drawing cartoons?

Ever since I discovered them as a kid. I think my first inspirations were ‘Asterix and Obelix’ and Disney comics.

What made you start to think more seriously about making some money out of it?

Probably when I realized I was not much good at anything else. Actually, I just wanted to make a positive contribution to this planet by telling visual stories that are at the same time entertaining but also helpful or inspiring in some way.

Have you done any formal training? If so, what and where?

I was self-taught until I was fortunate enough to land a job at Disney Toon studios in Sydney back in 2001, where I learnt a fair bit over the 5-and-a-bit years I worked there. The best training is on-the-job training, at least that’s what I tell my friends with University degrees.

Where was your first cartoon published?

Does my high school yearbook count?

If not, then I THINK my first cartoon picture actually appeared on a poker machine display for a club in Newcastle somewhere, if you can stretch the meaning of the word ‘published’. Oh, and I self-published a dodgy comic I created in high school called ‘Dork’.

What materials do you use to create your work?

Nothing too technical; a variety of lead pencils,(no particular brand), paper (mostly just printer paper, unless I feel the need for something more classy), Artline and Staedtler black markers to ink stuff. When I’m not colouring with Photoshop, I enjoy colouring with pencils, especially watercolour pencils, and even dabble in acrylic paint for some projects. My favourite piece of equipment is my big ol’ honkin’ animation desk, which I rescued from the Disney studio when they were getting rid of them.

What hardware and software do you use?

As mentioned, the God-inspired Photoshop CS3, also Illustrator and Indesign, and I plan to learn some Flash very soon. For hardware I use an imac on steroids, and an Epson printer/scanner.

From where do you draw your inspiration?

My spiritual answer is God. As far as other artists, just about every where. I try to have a variety of styles so that I can be versatile and useful to a broad spectrum of clients. I would name some of my biggest influences as Norman Rockwell,Scott Gustafson, James Coleman, Juanjo Guarnido, J.Scott Campbell, Massimiliano Frezzato, Bill Watterson, famous animators like Milt Kahl, Frank Thomas, Ollie Johnson and Glen Keane….. the list goes on.

What are some of the resources you’ve found most helpful?

Amazon.com is a great place to lose all your money on excellent art tutorial books. Also ComputerArts magazine has saved me a few times when I am in need of a tip or technique. Local libraries are great too, if you have the kind of time to burn that I don’t. There’s also a great website called Chewing Pencils.

What is the best piece of advice you have EVER been given? The worst?

I’ve been given loads of good and bad advice over the years; it would be nice if one would spring to mind at a time like this.

Take us through the process you use to create one of your drawings:

Start with quick messy concept sketches, usually anywhere between 2 and 10, unless I have an unusually crystal clear idea of what I am doing from the start. Next, tighten up the pencils.During this stage, I find it’s handy to have my sketchbook nearby to experiment with facial expressions and poses etc before I apply them to the actual illustration, so the paper doesn’t get too messed up with constant rubbing out.Next, ink it on a fresh piece of paper using the light-desk, if inking is required. Next, scan into photoshop to colour, or colour the old-skool way with pencils, pastels, whatever; depending on the look I am going for.

How long does it generally take to create one piece?

For a simple black and white cartoon character; about half an hour to an hour. For a fully coloured detailed illustration; anywhere up to a week. Generally a full comic-book page takes me about 4 or 5 days to script, draw, ink, colour and letter.

What do you find the hardest to draw?

Vehicles and machines; I like nature.

What do your friends and family think of you being a cartoonist?

Ha, they think it is more glamorous than it really is, but at least they think it’s cool.

What do you think is the best part about being a cartoonist?

Being able to express something in my head visually, and being able to create something that will hopefully live on to inspire and entertain people long after I have left this life.

What has been the standout post on Chewing Pencils for you? Why?

The one with the thing. Actually, so far the most impacting has been tip number 11 in the Top Ten Tips section; the most important tip of all. I haven’t had a chance to read all the posts on this site yet, something I plan to do, but that tip has been the most important so far.Why? Because it’s about life, not just cartoons

Anything else you’d like to say….

It’s better to measure yourself against yourself. It’s easy to get depressed artistically when you don’t think you’ll ever be as good as your favourite artists, but if you can look back at your old stuff and see improvement in your new stuff, then you’re doing well.

Thanks to Matt for being part of the fun this week! Apologies for missing last weeks feature artist - the dealines are killing me at the moment!