Last week I was scouring the net looking at various sculptor's work and got caught up in an 4 hour long journey... That day I ran across the work of the incredible Jonathan Matthews.
If you haven't heard of Jonathan Matthews, you've probably seen or owned some of his work. JM is a top industry sculptor that works exclusively for DC Collectibles (lucky company), and the action figures and statues he's created are nothing short of perfect.
On his web site, some of the action figures he's showcased are Scarecrow (from HUSH) and Killer Croc:
These pieces are some of my favorite renditions of these characters. The amount of detail and character that was put into these sculpts really took them right out of the pages of the comic book. It's even more amazing to think that these were sculpted almost a decade ago (or more?)..oh no.. i'm getting old!
I ended up on a non-stop hunt to find more of JM's work, looking through past interviews and anything with his name attached. I discovered he was responsible for the recent Greg Capullo line of Batman characters. In my opinion, these figures are some of the best Batman figures to ever be released. I feel he really brought Capullo's art to life coupled with great articulation and accessories:
Everything from the sculpt of the anatomy, the face, and pose-ability are awesome... These were the Batman figures I've been waiting for!
JM is also responsible for these Batman statues that I've seen in local comic book shops. The one done of Mike Mignola's Batman (first one) is a 3D statue that I could swear would be 2D from certain angles... it takes a particular talent to be able to interpret another artists 2D work and translate it so perfectly into 3D... JM is that talented.
Jonathan is a traditional sculptor that sculpts in Castilene but I've heard he's made some progress as a digital sculptor. As you may know, I am a huge fan of traditional sculpting, I just love looking at raw hand sculpts or the WIP pictures. I hope JM becomes a great digital sculptor but always keeps delivering great products through traditional methods. You are a master of that art form.
You can find some great interviews of JM on the net where he talks about his work, process and favorite pieces.
You can find some great interviews of JM on the net where he talks about his work, process and favorite pieces.
I have had the pleasure of contacting Jonathan via email and he is a very nice, humble and helpful person. It is always great to see an artist,that is so talented, take the time to share their insight with fans.
I must say that in a span of a few hours, I immediately became a huge fan of Jonthan's work and will watch his career closely to see what other amazing works of art he creates. In the short time that I have had the pleasure to discover his work, I've determined it would be my dream to one day own a personally commission sculpt from him to add to my collection. Unfortunately for me, he works exclusively for DC Collectibles... but hey... a man can dream right?
I hope you enjoyed Jonathan's work as much as I do. Stay tuned for some more posts!
