We headed to the Apma podcast studio where illustrator Matt Owen was just about to give an interview on his latest project CryptoCreatures and talk the new phenomenon which is NFT's.  

So, I have been drawing pretty much since the day I could pick up a pen, it’s all I’ve ever really been interested in. Throughout school I studied art and was constantly doodling in my text books instead of learning other subjects and this kinda carried on throughout my education and I ended up studying animation for 3 years at Norwich University of the Arts (NUA) where I learned a ton of amazing new skills that have helped me understand how things work.  After Uni I landed a job as a set designer for theatre, where I would basically create concepts and reference designs for the construction and artists in the workshops. We worked on a bunch of interesting projects including most of the Christmas Pantomimes held at the London Palladium and this gave me a lot of exposure to how a studio works and what is expected of me in a professional environment, I also learned a lot of valuable knowledge regarding background designs and architecture.  When my time as a set designer was up due to the studio closing during Covid, I had a lot of free time on my hands so I decided to create a comic with my friend and writer Liam called “The Unwanted Adventures of Pilgrim Jim”, this has been an ongoing project for the last year and we have gained a following of 40k on Instagram thanks to our character. This has allowed me to live off my art and be a freelance artist for some really cool clients including other comics, games and now the guy’s at APMA and Hobo Jack for there Crypto Creatures NFT collectable card venture! Which, is a really excellent and exciting project to be a part of, and I really cannot wait to see where it goes! 

You have just started a very exciting project Crypto Creatures which is part of the NFT phenomenon right now. Tell us about that. 

I got approached to be the lead illustrator for the crypto creatures NFT collection and was completely captivated and interested in the project. Everyone has been interested in cryptids and legends, so to be given the chance to produce my artistic interpretation of these creatures has been a really enjoyable and exciting experience! 

In your opinion do you think the NFT art world has longevity? 

 

The NFT movement that is happening for the art world is massive, it's helping to bring art to the mainstream media and increasing interest in artistic projects! I think it is going to change everything and will be around for a long, long time. I know there has been concerns and controversies surrounding the sustainability and environmental issues regarding the subject but projects such as WAX are leading us down a greener route that will ensure an exciting and bright future for NFT's!