Mcbess
(Matthieu Bessudo)
biography McBess (Matthieu Bessudo) is a french illustrator living in London. He’s also a musician in the band “The Dead Pirates”. In 2002, he attended the renown multimedia school Supinfocom in Arles. There he studied 3d-animation during 4 years, and at the same time, started developing his own illustration style. During this period, he joined several famous boards of illustration over the internet such as Eatpoo and CafeSale, and started building his reputation. The nickname McBess was given to him during those years by a classmate, to distinct him from the other Matthieu in the class. In 2006, Mc Bess graduated from Supinfocom with the short-movie “Sigg Jones”,which he directed with his two friends Douglas Lassance and Jonathan Vuillemin. After graduation, the trio was signed individually as directors by The Mill, an Oscar-winning VFX company based in London.
style McBess’s style is a mix of influences such as Fleischer Studios’ old cartoons (such as Betty Boop, Popeye, Koko the Clown) he actualizes by using contemporary shapes, symbols and types. McBess drawings often represent himself at the center of a surrealist world filled with food and musical references, such as amps, guitars and records.
process McBess uses primarily inks to render his illustrations. Line work is drawn out in pencil, and then is went over with a combination of rapidographs and brush pens. Brush pens are used to fill in larger blocks of black, while the rapidograph is for more intricate details. Example: http://blog.mcbess.com/post/89407567/anothersneeky-peek-at-another-piece-for-the
color McBess’s works are predominately black and white. However, he has done a few pieces in color, which use subdued, softer colors. There are hints of sepia, or more earthy tones within his use of color.
exhibitions Since 2007, Mc Bess has been published in several renowned magazines, such as Juxtapoz, Illustrated Ape, and Hi-Fructose. He is very close to Rotopol Press in Kassel, Germany, who are exclusively printing his drawings, after organizing his first own exhibition in their shop in May 2008. He’s also been part of exhibitions in London, Hamburg, Tokyo, Los Angeles, and Chicago.
references http://www.mcbess.com/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mc_bess http://vimeo.com/mcbess