Interview by: James "Stilgar" Christenson
Interviewee: Matt Jacob UBBDevHello Matt. How did you get started in graphics design? What is your background?
MattProbably as young as 7 was when I developed a talent for drawing and being creative. I did it all - finger painting, pencils, markers, etc. I went to college at the University of Illinois from 1993 to 1997 and majored in visual communication/graphic art.
UBBDev What tools do you use to create your artwork?
MattFor computer-generated artwork, I primarily use the excellent Adobe Photoshop, alongside the equally good Adobe Illustrator. For physical work, I use a variety of mediums and media, some of which include pencil, pen (drawing pens), markers, and the like.
UBBDevDo you use any other tools as well?
MattI also use various types of printer inks and papers when creating brochures and advertisements. You can control much of your output by experimenting with different types of papers.
UBBDevWhat inspires you to write your popular tutorials?
MattI feel that knowledge is a great thing to have, a tool if you will, and that it should be shared with everyone. Some people aren't as talented as others in this field, so it's important to at least give everyone the opportunity. It can really be summed up in the popular quote, "give a man a fish and he'll have lunch for a day. teach the man how to fish, and he'll have food for life." I also like to experiment all the time, and sharing my results lets others do the same.
Tutorual: Realistic 3-D Spheres in PhotoshopUBBDevDo you plan to write more tutorials in the future?
MattI originally had big expectations in my eyes for my tutorial collection, and to some extent I still do. I plan on eventually writing up about 10 design tutorials and another 10-15 HTML/CSS tutorials. They will be the central part of my upcoming website, for which there will be no more details about.
UBBDev Do you do any non-digital art?
MattI guess you could say that I do
only non-digital art.
Working for print is much, much different than working for a monitor. However, many, if not all of the same tools are used for both. This makes the transition to computer art easier than starting fresh. I like the freedom and endless possibilities that screen design presents.
UBBDevDo you have a forum that showcases your graphics?
MattRegretably, no, not at the moment. My up-and-coming site will have somewhat of a digital portfolio, albeit small, and it will showcase my works to date. If you'd like to see some of my work, point your browser to UBBDev.com and look at the top of the screen.
UBBDevWhat is your favorite beverage while creating art?
MattThis is by far the toughest question of the lot. Really, I'll drink anything I have access to, with the exception of diet or caffeine-free drinks. I like coffee in the morning, with sugar and cream, pops (or sodas, as some say) throughout the day, and a Frappuccino or tea in the afternoon. Frappuccino's are quite good, and provide a lot of punch in a little bottle. They speak softly and carry a big stick, I guess.
Tutorial: Signature Image Tutorial, Photoshop 5.0+UBBDevDo you also create your own html?
MattWell, of course I create my own HTML! I admit that I used FrontPage 98 back in the day, but I'm now a standards-compliance freak. Part of wanting to code it correctly is understanding why it's so important to do so. And until you read the books and the stories, you don't really get a good enough picture of it all. A lot of people can't get past the fact that Cascading Style Sheets are meant for so much more than just changing link colors on hover.
UBBDevWhat is your favorite color?
MattMy favorite colors to dress in are khaki and blue - they go nicely together.
My favorite color to work with is really anything that has a lot of style in its own. Grays are boring, reds are vibrant and full of life!
UBBDevDo you have any advice for people just starting out?
MattThe best advice I could give would be to purchase a good book on the subject. For aspiring Photoshoppers, there is
nothing better to buy than Adobe's own
Photoshop 6.0 Classroom in a Book[/i] . Really good stuff there. As for general graphic design, there are literally tons of books on the subject. You have to shop around at a brick-and-mortar bookstore to find the right one, but one of my new favorites for web design is The
[i]Art and Science of Web Design[/i] by Jeffrey Veen.
UBBDevWhat is the simplest graphics trick that you use all the time?
MattIt's true, simplicity is best in graphic design. Always has been, and likely always will be. The trick I'd like to share with you is a program-specific one, but really worthwile once you get to learning it well. The implementation of it in Photoshop 6.0 is really quite excellent, as well. What I'm talking about here is
layer sets. Layer sets let you create a type of folder to hold certain layers that you can throw in there.
Here's an example. I'm designing a new site, which has about 4-5 parts to it; there's a top area with a logo, a navigation area, a content area, a sidebar area, and a footer area. I want to be able to work with each of these sections quickly and easily. Whatever is a girl to do? Just make 5 layer sets, color code them differently, and then add related layers to their own sets. In this way, you can keep the background of your logo area and the logo text layer in the same layer folder. Pretty nifty if you're an organizational freak like me.
UBBDevAre there any websites that you would like to share with beginning artists?
MattThere are hundreds that I'd love to share, but I'm afraid that the list would be too long to visit comfortably. So instead, I'll just list my top five current favorite sites.
UBBDevWhat are your plans for the future?
Matt I plan on making a commemmorative UD/UBBDev Cancer Haxxors wallpaper very shortly, so be sure to look for that. As I said before, I really want to concentrate on creating a useful, quick-loading site that helps people learn quickly. Some people say this can't be done, but those people have never tried. I also eventually plan on becoming a web crusader and phasing out all scrolling text and blinking images across the Web.
Sometime in the near future, I think it'd be fun to prank call Cal Henderson, too. The only problem with that is the outrageous long distance charges to the UK.
[i]Thank you for your time Matt. It was a pleasure getting to know more about you.