Matt Crotts, Illustrator at Creative Arts Unlimited
Matt Crotts joined the Creative Arts Unlimited team in 2009 and has since provided a wide range of illustrative talents on various projects at our studio. His contrasting painterly and graphic styles impressed Roger and the team right from the start, so we decided to sit down with him now that he’s been in the studio for a few years.
How did you start out in design and illustration?
At first, I wanted to go in to film. I realized in my freshman year that I really liked the art of film and that it was called illustration. I liked telling stories and exploring narratives visually. I went to the University of South Carolina for one year and by week one, I was getting stuff ready to have a portfolio so I could get in to Ringling. I ended up going to Atlanta College of Art my next year before they got bought by SCAD–but I didn’t want to go to SCAD, so I thought “let’s try Ringling one more time”.
What brought you to Creative Arts Unlimited?
I saw Duncan give a presentation in my Junior year at Ringling. It got me interested in the company because he seemed like a neat guy and I liked his work. Every year, my art got younger and younger; I wanted to do really serious, detailed stuff my Sophomore year and by my Senior year it was all kids’ art. I got more and more interested in Creative Arts because, in the back of my head, I was remembering Duncan’s presentation. They seemed like a place that was doing things differently. You weren’t only sitting in front of the computer all day, you were also learning. You got to see the final product get made in the same building. I went to the Creative Arts presentation again my Senior year and almost didn’t submit my work in time for an interview. I remember being really frustrated in the presentation because I had only turned in really painterly stuff, but their presentation showed a lot of vector work. I thought I’d really messed up my chance, so I came to the interview with a second portfolio of just vector stuff. I remember Roger saying “This is great! We liked you anyway, but this really shows that you care”. I came here for an interview the next day, did some freelance until I graduated, took a short break to travel, and then came here that Summer.
Can you tell us about the work that you do at Creative Arts Unlimited?
I do concepts for sculpts, flat illustrations (painterly and vector), graphic design… there’s a focus in illustration, but I’m not just an illustrator.
What experience at Creative Arts Unlimited shapes what you’ve done over the years or what you’re doing now?
I’ve done some freelance outside of Creative Arts, mostly for Disney, and learning professionalism in this environment let me deal with clients over the phone. I never lost my cool or got frustrated. The art skills here have to be professional, but you still get to do your interpretation of something. It’s more about professional communication and being able to explain myself.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve gotten while working at Creative Arts Unlimited?
“Get it done”. You learn that in school, in a way, but here I will also have to make it reach professional criteria. It has to be something I’m proud of while getting it done. It’s a little more than just some assignment where you’d otherwise just say “the teacher will probably give me a B on it so it doesn’t matter”. Because there’s less structure here on my artistic investment, there’s more structure on me getting it done, so I have to take it personally. No one’s telling me to add lighting or make the shadows nicer. My teachers aren’t here to tell me, so I have to make it look good for myself.
What is your favorite part about being an illustrator?
Ever since high school I realized that I liked a lot of things that didn’t seam to merge into a single profession. With illustration you’re always doing the drawing or painting side, but in addition to that you’re always doing the research. There’s always a secondary hat that you’re wearing to make sure that you’re doing it correctly. I’m always getting to look into things that I wouldn’t otherwise get to. Being an artist that has to do a lot of nature scenes, I get to pretend to be a scientist while I do art – informed art.
You can find more work by Matt online or see his contributions to many of our projects in galleries throughout the Creative Arts website.
