Matt Busch

Matt Busch (born 1972) is an American artist and entertainment illustrator.

Early life

Busch was born in Lebanon, Pennsylvania in 1972. Matt Busch grew up in the northern suburbs of Detroit, Michigan. After getting an Associate Degree from Macomb College, Busch moved to Pasadena, California, where he attended the Los Angeles Art Academy, and received a Bachelor Degree from the Art Center College of Design. After living in Los Angeles for nearly a decade during the '90s, Busch eventually returned to the Northern Detroit area where he set up his company, Planetmatt Entertainment, and continues to work on Hollywood projects, via new technology.[1]

He is well known in many different circles of pop culture and fandom as an entertainment illustrator[2] Mostly known for his work with the Star Wars universe,[3] Busch has provided numerous covers, posters, and other material for the "galaxy far, far away...." In addition to illustration many other popular Hollywood properties, Busch has also found success in independent filmmaking.[4]

Busch has taught and guest lectured at many colleges across the country, including the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, the Animation Academy, the College for Creative Studies, and the Columbus College of Art and Design. Busch is currently a professor of Media and Communication Arts at Macomb Community College. He teaches a range of courses including figure illustration and commercial arts.[5]

Star Wars illustrator

Since 1994, Matt Busch has provided art for official Star Wars books, posters, magazines, and other products.[3] Early in his career, Busch started illustrating products for the Star Wars Roleplaying Game and the cover for Star Wars: Tales from the Empire, which became a New York Times Bestseller.[6] One of his more recent projects was illustrating the Style D One Sheet movie poster for Star Wars: Episode III- Revenge of the Sith.[7]

Busch is perhaps best known for his outspoken antics in the You Can Draw Star Wars video series, which is based on the book of the same name, which Busch also illustrated.[8] The video series was first released Online and later released on DVD.[9] Following that, the videos found even more success when they were released on MySpace.com, and shot straight to number one on their charts.[10] Volume Two of the same tutorial series was also released on DVD.[11]

In 2008, Hasbro released a droid action figure named MB-RA-7, which was named after Matt Busch. Shortly after a miniature version of the figure was released by Lego. Also that year, Busch became the first Honorary Member of the 501st Legion of Stormtroopers to become an official member with his own TK Stormtrooper armor.

In 2009, Kohl's department stores released an exclusive Boba Fett T-Shirt featuring Busch's art.[12] He created and released in October 2009 Zombie Wars: Episode 1 - The Zombie Menace, Episode 2 - Attack of the Undead, Episode 3 - Revenge of the Zombies, Episode 4 - A New Epidemic, Episode 5 - The Living Dead Strike Back, and Episode 6 - Return from the Grave.

Pop artist

In the last decade, Busch's career has escalated, making him: "one of the most sought-after artists in entertainment" supposedly. He has worked on movie properties such as Con-Air, The Crow, The Devil's Own, Hulk, Lord of the Rings, The Matrix, The Mummy, and Robocop. He has also worked on numerous television properties, including Battlestar Galactica, Cosby, Family Jewels, Heroes, Lexx, Star Trek, Stargate SG-1, and VIP.

Busch has also made a name for himself in the collectible worlds of comic books and trading cards, having worked on such properties as Afterburn, Alizarin's Journal, Coven 13, Lady Death, Night of the Living Dead, and Witchblade.[13][14]

In 2009, Busch was hand selected to illustrate U.S. President Obama for the cover of the DVD documentary Becoming Barack. Busch also produced a bonus feature on the DVD.[15]

Music Art has been a solid factor in Busch's career, as he discussed in his feature interview with Maul Stanley.[16] Over the past few years, Matt has provided art for such notable acts as Alice Cooper, Beastie Boys, Foo Fighters, Billy Joel, Kid Rock, Mötley Crüe, Ozzy Osbourne, Poison, Gene Simmons and Jessica Simpson. Pinup Sticks released a series of professional drum sticks featuring Busch's art.[17]

Filmmaker

Having worked behind the scenes for years in many aspects of movie making, Busch eventually moved into the world of independent filmmaking. His first feature-length movie, 'Conjure' was released straight to DVD; a project that Busch wrote, directed, starred in, and even composed the music for.[18][19] The movie gained critical acclaim and even shattered records in the Horror Genre.[20]

In 2009, Busch released a DVD titled Illustration Nation, a documentary of travel adventures ranging from Hollywood to London to Tokyo.[21]

Busch has found a strong following with his shorter tutorial videos, primarily the ones that feature drawing 'Star Wars.'[9] He also has several video and film projects in the works.[22]

Published collections

References

  1. ↑ Matt Busch Biography, Matt Busch official site.
  2. ↑ Matt Busch official site
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Star Wars Artist Series: Matt Busch". Star Wars: Expanded Universe. 28 July 2005. Archived from the original on 1 October 2005.
  4. ↑ Matthew A. Stern. Life in the Long Tail, PopMatters Film Feature (2006-07-06).
  5. ↑ Matt Busch's online client list, resume' and curriculum vita, Matt Busch official site.
  6. ↑ Loren Phillip. Matt Busch: Dreams Really Do Come True, Echo Station (1999-07-16).
  7. ↑ The Circus is Now Complete, Star Wars: Collecting (2007-09-12).
  8. ↑ Sarah Cormier. Local illustrator brings Star Wars characters to life, C&G Publishing.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 C4: Matt Busch Drawing DVD Available, TheForce.Net (2007-05-16).
  10. ↑ Matt Busch. Number One. THANK YOU!, planetmatt (2007-10-07).
  11. ↑
  12. ↑
  13. ↑ Steven G Saunders. Puckering Up For the Polar Bears: A Matt Busch Interview, Comics Bulletin. (2006-12-31).
  14. ↑ Post-Apocalyptic Treasure Hunting in Afterburn, Superhero Hype! (2007-11-02).
  15. ↑
  16. ↑ "Gene Simmons' House of Horrors" art to be provided by Matt Busch, 93X Rocks! (2007-04-25).
  17. ↑
  18. ↑ Conjure: The Movie, Matt Busch official site.
  19. ↑ Hammerstein, B J. Conjure: Matt Busch, Real Detroit Weekly. (2006-05-22).
  20. ↑ Matt Busch's First Independent Thriller Sets A New Record!, The Force.Net (2006-03-29).
  21. ↑
  22. ↑ Dave Richards (March 29, 2006). When Artistic Vision Attacks! Busch talks. Comics2Film.

External links