Have you ever wanted to get inside the heads of the people behind some of your favorite DC Direct collectibles?  Well don’t say DCCollector doesn’t try to help you do just that!  We have an interview with one of the best of the best at DC Direct.  The man behind some of your favorite collectibles!  Jonathan Matthews!

DCCollector - When did you first start sculpting and what made you decide this was
the job for you?

Jonathan Matthews - I first started sculpting unofficially when i was a kid.. you know, play dough and the like. I know, everybody did that, but I was really into it. I did it for hours at a time.  I dabbled in art college, where i trained as an illustrator, and got my first shot at professional sculpting a year or so out of college at a small company based out of columbus, OH called Resaurus. this was back in 1998. I did my first job for them earlier the same year.. “lastic” from their toy line “the tenth”, from the comic of the same name. I did the figure as a freelance project in the evenings after i got off work from my job as an illustrator at an advertising agency.
As soon as i began the project, it was like coming home… I just couldn’t help thinking that sculpting would be a perfect job for me, and sculpting action figures was just the right subject matter. a great fit from the start!

DCCollector - How and when did you hook up with DC Direct?

Jonathan Matthews – Well, after two short years at Resaurus, the company went under and my fellow employees went their separate ways. A couple started their own toy company, and a couple more ended up at other pre-established places, doing the same kind of work they had done at resaurus.
I ended up sculpting freelance for anyone who’d hire me, and some of those places ended up being the places where my former coworkers ended up.  I  did some work for Palisades, Diamond, Plan B, Graphitti, and ultimately DC Direct.
my fellow sculptor and master model maker Shawn Knapp, from Resaurus, had ended up in a design position at DC Direct and contacted me to do some work.  I gelled well with the art directors and other contract sculptors there, and after a year or so of doing projects with them, they offered me a position as a contract sculptor. I guess that was around 2003 or so.

DCCollector - How does the design process happen for a piece? Are you given a
sketch and told to “make it look like that” or do they give you some
space and let you make some decisions for the sculpt?

Jonathan Matthews – It really varies from project to project. I’ve done projects with extremely tight parameters, where the sculpt has to look exactly like a specific character, down to the buttons on his suit.. I’ve also done them where the beginnings consist only of an idea in an art director’s head.
Most of the time, I’m given comic pages and/or turnaround drawings (a diagram with several views of the character) to use as reference. There’s a bit of leeway built in to each project.. Generally, if the figure has all the correct costume details, I can use my judgement on everything else.. pose, musculature, facial expression, etc.
some of the projects i’ve been involved with lately, for contrast, have begun with a phone discussion with my art director about pose, costume, etc, and I’ll just start sculpting from there.. No concepts written down anywhere, these just exist in both of our heads.

DCCollector - They say that artists unconsciously put a part of themselves in their
work. Do you see yourself in any of your pieces?

Jonathan Matthews – Actually, I was told once that all the male head sculpts I do out of my head (not using reference) look like me… I’m not sure if this is true, but that’s what i’ve been told.
Maybe not exactly what you mean, but yeah, I think every artist… Sculptor, illustrator, or whatever has a certain style. Someone’s style could be subtle or obvious.. A certain way they have of sculpting faces, or hands or feet. Their approach to muscular anatomy, or their finish technique. We’ve all got it and it separates our work from someone else’s, to a lesser or greater degree.
I can pick out sculpts from certain friends of mine without being told who sculpted them… I’m sure the same could be said of my own work.
But, as far as me seeing myself in my own sculpts, I suppose I can.. Even if that personal touch consists only of a minor deviation from a piece of turn around art.

DCCollector - What is your favorite medium (clay,wax,etc…) that you love to work
in and what is your favorite scale?

Jonathan Matthews – Well I guess castilene is by default my favorite medium… I really don’t use anything else!
I’ve tried other wax mixes, but each different medium takes some getting to know.. I don’t find myself with a lot of time built into a project to learn a new technique!

I don’t suppose I have a favorite scale.. I generally sculpt an action figure 1:1 scale. My sculptures range in size from 6″ to 12″. I don’t find myself sculpting any smaller or larger than that… Although i have done both. I’m used to around a 1/12th scale.. So I guess that’s my favorite.

DCCollector - Have you dabbled in the new digital formats for sculpting? What are
your thoughts on this and how do you see it changing the statue/bust
industry for better or worse?

Jonathan Matthews – I have yet to dabble… I’ve got a copy of z-brush sitting on a disk here, but haven’t had a chance to try it out. Like the above question, I don’t find a lot of time to do so!

I will have to wait and see how the dawn of these digital programs change my business. I remember back in 1999 i demoed a digital sculpting program, but the output device technology hadn’t caught up yet. A sculptor still needed to go into the output to clean the whole thing up, making the program useless, in my opinion.
From what I’ve seen, the digital output tech has improved by leaps and bounds now, and i’m actually seeing projects out there that have been sculpted digitally from start to finish. to me, an old traditionalist, that fact is both exciting and daunting. New technology promises new possibilities, but at the same time threaten the way of working that I’ve gotten used to these past ten years. That said, I really don’t see it changing the industry for the worst, or even really changing it so you’d notice. Just like the graphic design programs on the computer that need skilled artists to operate them, so will the digital sculpting programs. You’ll still have talented sculptors doing the projects and creating the sculptures for the collectibles that the collectors must have, they’ll just be able to keep their hands clean! …..When i was your age, i had to walk fifteen miles in the snow, barefoot, to get to my sculpting studio… And i had to use wax and dental tools! whippersnappers!

DCCollector - What would you say has been your favorite DC Direct piece so far?

Jonathan Matthews – A hard call to make.. The Batman black and white piece done after Mike Mignola’s 2D art.
This sculpt was incredibly challenging and rewarding and is still a great portfolio piece for me. It was a challenge to translate Mignola’s art to three dimensions… Some of the stuff in his wonderful drawings is very difficult to make happen three dimensionally. It’s been done well quite a few times now, and i’m glad to have had the chance to put my effort out there.

DCCollector - What has been the most challenging piece for you to do?

Jonathan Matthews – Well, the aforementioned Mignola black and white was up there… I’ve also done a number of kind of robotic sculpts. One that comes to mind is this armored Batman figure. The whole figure is organically mechanical.. That is, mechanical but not all straight edges and right angles.
This one was difficult mostly because it had to be almost perfectly symmetrical. The right arm had to be a mirror image of the left.. same with the legs. May not sound that hard, but it is!
This one took way too long, but i think it turned out well.. I don’t think the figure sold well though.

DCCollector - Who is your favorite DC character and if you had the chance to sculpt
any DC character who would it be and why?

Jonathan Matthews – I think darkseid is great. He’s got a great presence and i love his craggy skin. Lots of fun to sculpt.. I guess that’s sort of a cheat answer, since i’ve sculpted him, but he is one of my favorites.
i’d love to to a doomsday. For the same basic reasons i like darkseid.

DCCollector - Any advice for sculptors trying to break into the industry?

Jonathan Matthews – Get out your z-brushes!
… Probably nothing they haven’t heard already. You have to know anatomy, and you have to be able to work effectively in your chosen medium. You have to be able to quickly and easily make changes in said medium, because you’re not going to please all the art directors all the time.  Thanks for your time!

DCCollector wants to give Mr. Matthews a big thanks for taking the time to do this interview with us.  We hope to see lots more DC product from you in the future!

If you would like to know more about Jonathan Matthews, visit his site at www.matthewsculptor.com.  Also enjoy a few rough sculpt images below!

DC Armory Batman

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