Interview: Matt Kohr

by Tim Von Rueden

Welcome to the interview of Matt Kohr.

When first starting up Concept Cookie late last year, I searched high and low for great tutorial sites that offered free tutorials to the user base. Cntl+paint was the one site that not only offered free tutorials that were well organized and greatly instructional but they were a great starting point for those just getting into digital art. It was Matt Kohr behind all these wonderful short tutorials and I have been following his site and illustration work ever since.

I give my biggest thanks to Matt for having this interview with us. If you are just starting out, please give his site a look through, it is a great way to begin understanding the basics of digital art!

His Official Site: SITE

His Tutorial Site: CTRL+PAINT

His Blogspot: BLOG

 

The Interview

1. One of the best digital art instructors out there and a great artist, you are an inspiration to many but for those who may not know who you are, how would you describe yourself and what you do?

I like to paint dragons, and help beginners share in the fun.  After painfully teaching myself the digital medium, it seemed like the internet was missing a high-quality resource for beginners.   First I complained about it, then I decided to make Ctrl+Paint.

2. Your website, Ctrlpaint.com is a great instructional site for digital artists, especially for beginners in your Digital Painting 101 series. How did this site begin and what drove you do create it?

I’ve tutored a number of friends, co-workers, and strangers on the internet.  At some point, I realized that there was a demand for clear, concise, video tutorials — and no one was meeting it!  Ctrl+Paint was essentially a hunch, but it’s proven itself to be very accurate!

3. I know that running a tutorial site along with drawing your own work takes up a lot of time, but when you are given some free time how do you enjoy spending it?

I like to make personal artwork, watch movies, and ride my bike.  I’ve always been a sucker for the ‘big screen’, and going to a film by myself is a wonderful treat.

4. I notice a lot of great fantasy and sci-fi elements featured in your artwork, is there a subject matter you enjoy working with the most?

I’ve often wrestled with this existential question… “Fantasy, or Sci-fi?”  Sadly, there’s no answer.  I like them both equally.  That said, it’s nice to alternate in order to avoid boredom.

5. On that topic, I’m a huge fan of movies, so what are a few of your all-time favorites and why?

Star Wars IV, the Alien trilogy, anything made by Pixar, Bladerunner… it’s a long list.  I find myself most attracted to movies set in exciting locations – be they real or imagined.

6. I know you’ve done many tutorials on your site but what has been your favorite that you’ve worked on?

I like the “Basic Photoshop Rendering” series found in the store. During art school, the most important class I took was Drawing I, and this series attempts to capture some of the fundamentals that I learned there.

7. What was it like working as a concept artist over at Vicious Cycle? Favorite Memories?

The co-workers there were amazing.  One thing working as a freelancer lacks is the social time – and the random silliness.  It was also really nice being able to work on kids’ games like Despicable Me, because the worlds are so colorful and fun.

8. What artist inspires you the most and what about their art (color, technique, subject matter) attracts your attention?

I’d be hard pressed to pick a single favorite, though I prefer genres like the romanticist landscape tradition and classical portraiture.  Of course I enjoy looking at the work of my contemporary peers – but ultimately prefer the oil paintings of long-dead artist?

9. I always ask artists that I admire and respect on what is the most common mistake you see younger, more inexperienced artists making?

Being impatient.  All too often I see artists jumping straight to “space monster” when they have yet to master “coffee cup”.  Painting is a technical process, and there’s a reason that it traditionally starts with the basics.  If you skip the basics in search of exciting subjects like superheroes and space ships, you’ll never get the results you want.

10. Lastly, what is the best advice you can give to those aspiring to be great concept artists?

Paint 100 still lifes.  The best designers are able to completely ignore the technical side  and concentrate on the act of creative design… and the only way to achieve this is through tons of practice.  In my opinion, the best way to get better technically is to use simple subject-matter.  Painting cups and wine bottles may not be sexy, but it’s a fantastic way to improve.

Thanks for checking out this Digital Artist interview with Matt Kohr. Feel free if you have a question or comment to leave it in the section below!

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Discussion

10 Responses to “Interview: Matt Kohr”
  1. Debra Person
    Posts: 10

    Thanks a bunch, ctrl+paint is excellent!

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    1
     Jul 19, 2012 at 2:42 pm
  2. Such Ch
    Posts: 5

    I have to say, thanks for having this interview. Ctrl+paint is a really well designed website. I’m real happy I have another resource in my bookmarks!

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    2
     Jul 19, 2012 at 5:51 pm
  3. Simon Coppard
    Posts: 7

    I have a very strong, heterosexual man-crush on Matt already. He is definitively the catalyst that changed my mind from ‘i want to learn to draw’ to ‘i know how to learn to draw’.
    Thanks for featuring him ^_^

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    3
     Jul 19, 2012 at 8:49 pm
    • Tim Von Rueden
      Posts: 632

      Of course! I’m a fan of his website and his overall layout with shorter quick tutorials! He is a very good resource to follow.

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      3.1
       Jul 20, 2012 at 10:20 am
  4. Donald1
    Posts: 8

    I’ve had Ctrl+Paint bookmarked for quite some time now and am very pleased to see him interviewed. His site is a gold mine that’s for sure. He does some spectacular work and is very easy to follow in his tutorials. They are very specific and short, which makes them convenient to watch almost anytime.

    Excellent choice CG Cookie!

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    4
     Jul 19, 2012 at 9:11 pm
    • Tim Von Rueden
      Posts: 632

      Excellent choice indeed! I was glad when he returned my email with a “yes” to the interview. His site was one of the inspirations for the birth of concept cookie!

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      4.1
       Jul 20, 2012 at 10:22 am
  5. verticies
    Posts: 95

    Funny that you interviewed him, he e-mailed a response to a question I had just the other day.

    I’ve watched all his free video’s (several times about using masks) and bought the Beginners video from his store. I would highly recommend him as a tutor. :)

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    5
     Jul 19, 2012 at 10:56 pm
    • Tim Von Rueden
      Posts: 632

      Yes! His site is a great learning and development course for absolute beginners and those wanting to polish up on their skills!

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      5.1
       Jul 20, 2012 at 10:21 am
  6. oldman44
    Posts: 70

    Hey Tim,

    Thanks for bringing this resource to my attention. Good interview, as usual, btw.

    -OldMan44

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    6
     Aug 4, 2012 at 7:38 pm
  7. Gabriel Ion
    Posts: 1

    It’s been nice to read this interview, specially because i’ve started watching ctrl+paint first, then i found CG cookie via Blender. Many thanks for all the work you’ve done. I wish those resources were available when i started. One thing still really good about illustrating, you NEVER retire!

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    7
     Feb 12, 2013 at 12:47 pm

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