Matthew Stuart "Matt" Busch (born September 22, 1972) is an American artist and entertainment illustrator.

Matt Busch
Busch with a Chewbacca impersonator in Star Wars Celebration Europe on July 14, 2007
Born
Matthew Stuart Busch

(1972-09-22) September 22, 1972 (age 51)
Lebanon, Pennsylvania, United States
NationalityAmerican
EducationArt Center College of Design
Occupation(s)Illustrator, professor, author, writer, director, filmmaker
Years active1994–present
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Spouse
Lin Zy Busch
(m. 2011, divorced)
Parent(s)Frederick Busch (father)
Peggy Busch (mother)[1]
Websitewww.mattbusch.com

He is currently a professor of Media and Communication Arts at Macomb Community College. He teaches a range of courses including figure illustration and commercial arts.[2]

Early life edit

Busch was born in Lebanon, Pennsylvania on September 22, 1972, to Frederick and Peggy Busch. He grew up in the northern suburbs of Detroit, Michigan. After getting an associate degree from Macomb Community College, he moved to Pasadena, California, where he attended the Los Angeles Art Academy, and received a bachelor's degree from the Art Center College of Design. After living in Los Angeles for nearly a decade during the 1990s, Busch eventually returned to the Northern Detroit area where he set up his company, Planetmatt Entertainment, and continues to work on Hollywood projects, via new technology.[3]

He is well known in many different circles of pop culture and fandom as an entertainment illustrator. Mostly known for his work with the Star Wars universe,[4] Busch has provided numerous covers, posters, and other material for the franchise.

Career edit

Star Wars illustrator edit

 
Star Wars has used several of Matt Busch's art for their products since mid-1990s.

Since 1994, Matt Busch has provided art for official Star Wars books, posters, magazines, and other products. Early in his career, Busch started illustrating products for the Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game and the cover for Star Wars: Tales from the Empire, which became a New York Times Best Seller.[5] One of his more recent projects was illustrating the Style D One Sheet movie poster for Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith.[6]

Busch is perhaps best known for his outspoken antics in the You Can Draw Star Wars video series, which is based on the book of the same name, which he also illustrated.[7] The video series was first released online and later released on DVD.[8] Following that, the videos found even more success when they were released on MySpace.com, and shot straight to number one on their charts.[9] Volume Two of the same tutorial series was also released on DVD.[10]

 
Busch with Bonnie Burton in Star Wars Celebration Europe on July 14, 2007

In 2008, Hasbro released a droid action figure named MB-RA-7, which was named after Matt Busch.[11][12] Also that year, Busch became the first Honorary Member of the 501st Legion of Stormtroopers to become an official member with his own TK Stormtrooper armor.[13][14]

In October 2009, he created and released Zombie Wars Episode I: The Zombie Menace, Zombie Wars Episode II: Attack of the Undead, Zombie Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Zombies, Zombie Wars Episode IV: A New Epidemic, Zombie Wars Episode V: The Living Dead Strike Back, and Zombie Wars Episode VI: Return from the Grave.[15][16] A couple of months later, Kohl's department stores re-released an exclusive Boba Fett T-shirt featuring Busch's art.[17]

Pop artist edit

Busch has contributed to comic books and trading cards, having worked on such properties as Afterburn, Alizarin's Journal, Coven 13, Lady Death, Night of the Living Dead, and Witchblade.[18]

In 2009, Busch was hand-selected to illustrate President Obama for the cover of the DVD documentary, Becoming Barack: Evolution of a Leader. Busch also produced a bonus feature on the DVD.[19]

Filmmaker edit

Having worked behind the scenes for years in many aspects of movie making, Busch eventually moved into the world of independent filmmaking. In 2006, his first feature-length movie, Conjure was released straight-to-DVD; a project that he wrote, directed, starred in, and even composed the music for.[20] The movie gained critical acclaim and even shattered records in the Horror Genre.[21]

In 2009, Busch released a DVD titled Illustration Nation, a documentary of travel adventures ranging from Hollywood to London to Tokyo.[22]

Busch is currently filming and directing a trilogy titled Aladdin 3477 based on the classic Arabian Nights tale Aladdin and his Wonderful Lamp. The movie is set in Asia 1,500 years in the future. The first film is expected to be released at some point in 2023.[23]

Personal life edit

Busch married his wife Lin Zy (née Selestow), a puppet designer, on September 18, 2011, in Royal Palm Beach, Florida.[24] They reside in a multiple-studio house in Macomb Township, Michigan with their dog Roxie.[25]

Filmography edit

Film edit

Year Title Role Notes
2006 Conjure Himself Straight-to-DVD
2008 Illustration Nation Himself Documentary

Film director edit

Year Title Notes
2006 Conjure Straight-to-DVD
2016 Aladdin 3477

Television edit

Year Title Role Notes
2015 Local 4 News Himself Interview[26]

Internet edit

Year Title Role Notes
2007–2012[27] How to Draw Star Wars Himself 22-part tutorial videos[28]

Published books edit

  • Hollywood is Dead, published by Planetmatt Entertainment (2014)
  • Matt Busch's Sketchbook (Now With 90% More Bad-Ass!), published by Planetmatt Entertainment (December 2010) (ISBN 9780971789036)
  • The Worlds of Matt Busch, published by Hermes Press (April 2008) (ISBN 9781932563009)
  • You Can Draw Star Wars, published by DK Publishing (January 2007) (ISBN 9780756623432)
  • Pucker: The Seductive Art of Matt Busch, published by SQP Publishing (September 2006) (ISBN 9780865621442)
  • Fantastic Visions: The Art of Matt Busch, published by Avatar Press (September 2001) (ISBN 9780970678416)

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Matt Busch's biography Archived 2008-01-07 at the Wayback Machine – Matt Busch
  2. ^ Matt Busch's online client list, résumé, and curriculum vita Archived 2008-01-07 at the Wayback Machine – Matt Busch
  3. ^ Matt Busch's biography Archived 2008-01-07 at the Wayback Machine – Matt Busch
  4. ^ Star Wars Artist Series: Matt Busch (July 28, 2005) – Star Wars
  5. ^ 'Matt Busch: Dreams Really Do Come True' by Loren Phillips Archived 2012-07-28 at archive.today (July 16, 1999) – Echo Station
  6. ^ Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith Style D One Sheet movie poster – Hollywood is Dead
  7. ^ 'Local Illustrator Brings Star Wars Characters to Life' by Sarah Cormier (January 24, 2007) – C&G Newspapers
  8. ^ 'C4: Matt Busch Drawing DVD Available' by Jay (May 16, 2007) – TheForce.net
  9. ^ 'Number One. THANK YOU!' by Planetmatt (October 7, 2007) – LiveJournal
  10. ^ 'You Can Draw Star Wars, Vol. 2' by Dustin (July 7, 2008) – TheForce.net
  11. ^ 'Hasbro releases new Star Wars action figure named after Matt Busch!' Archived 2015-10-03 at the Wayback Machine (December 16, 2008) – Matt Busch
  12. ^ MB-RA-7 – Jedi Temple Archives
  13. ^ Card 165 – Matt Busch – 501st Legion
  14. ^ Matt Busch's 501st Legion Stormtrooper trading card – Matt Busch Store
  15. ^ Matt Busch's Zombie Wars posters Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine (October 13–17, 2009) – Matt Busch
  16. ^ Matt Busch's Zombie Wars posters (December 7, 2009) – Geekologie
  17. ^ 'Kohl's exclusive Boba Fett T-shirt back by demand!' Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine (February 10, 2010) – Matt Busch
  18. ^ 'Post-Apocalyptic Treasure Hunting in Afterburn' by SuperHeroHype (November 2, 2007) – Superhero Hype!
  19. ^ 'Illustrating Obama with Artist Matt Busch' by Matt Busch (August 4, 2009) – Facebook
  20. ^ 'Conjure' Archived 2008-01-02 at the Wayback Machine – Matt Busch
  21. ^ 'Matt Busch's First Independent Thriller Sets A New Record!' by Dustin (March 29, 2006) – TheForce.net
  22. ^ 'Illustration Nation' Now Available on DVD' by Dustin (May 24, 2009) – TheForce.net
  23. ^ Aladdin 3477's frequently asked questions – Aladdin 3477
  24. ^ 'Matt Busch Gets Married!' Archived 2015-09-07 at the Wayback Machine (October 19, 2011) – Matt Busch
  25. ^ 'Yes, we're crazy and we brought out dog here. Roxie doesn't appear to be much of a Star Wars fan... YET.' (April 16, 2015) – Instagram
  26. ^ 'Michigan Man Creates 'Aladdin 3477' Movie Out of Love for 'Star Wars' by Lauren Podell (March 3, 2015) – Local 4 News
  27. ^ 'Lin Zy Directs the Series Finale of 'You Can Draw Star Wars' by Lin Zy Archived 2015-09-25 at the Wayback Machine (April 14, 2012) – Lin Zy
  28. ^ Matt Busch's 'How to Draw Star Wars' tutorial videos – YouTube

External links edit