by Matthew Warlick
Hey there, I’m Matthew Warlick, an artist and illustrator. Which really means I’m a penciler, inker, cartoonist, designer, colorist, painter, copywriter, and a dozen other things. I fell in love with comics in 4th grade and have been making my own art and stories ever since.
I mostly work in the mediums of ink and digital color, a choice rooted in my childhood aspirations to become a comic book artist. This dream led me to a love and understanding of the entire creative comic-making process, from plotting stories to mastering pre-press techniques.
Along the way, I discovered a passion for graphic design, which evolved into an interest and eventual career in website design during my early life. Nowadays, I have roots in the UI/UX industry, which offers me the flexibility to take on design projects that complement my primary focus on illustration, especially during lean periods.
I’m almost completely self-taught when it comes to art. Thanks first off to books like Wizard Magazine and How To Draw Comics The Marvel Way, then to the classic art instruction books of my late teens, all the way to the infinite supply of tutorials now available online. To give you an idea of how long I’ve been making art, I worked with Photoshop before we had layers. I’m also heavily influenced by my first love, airbrushing, as it was the first tool I mastered in anticipation of a career in the advertising industry.
I got my first break in comics doing a short backup for Red 5’s Atomic Robo and some pinups for Image Comics. I’ve also had work for Star Wars & Aliens published through Topps and Printed In Blood, respectively. Nowadays I work on comic and book covers, album covers, original artwork, and commissions. Right now, I’m working on a large series of tarot card illustrations for 78 Tarot (a great client I’m always happy to plug) and taking on new cover work.
I’m influenced by a ton of artists and topics, so I’ll just list a few:
Artists & Authors: Moebius, Todd McFarlane, Wayne Barlow, Sam Keith, Geof Darrow, Art Adams, Edgar Allan Poe, Arthur C. Clarke, Hayao Miyazaki, Katsuhiro Otomo, Masamune Shirow
Topics & Fandoms: 90s comics, 80s toys, sci-fi everything, UFO lore, occultism, astrophysics, impressionism, psychedelics, and gardening.
You can catch me online on most platforms @artofwarlick, though I put a bit more effort into my Patreon and Instagram pages. You can see more of my work at MatthewWarlick.com, shop my merch, and join my mailing list at ArtOfWarlick.com.
Cheers,
- Matthew Warlick