The Legend of Ben Matsuya

One man's journey through the banalities and absurdities of life as a comic artist on the mean streets of Lols Angeles.

[benmatsuya]

Some unused gifs for the #Shazam movies social media sticker pack. It’s been a lot of fun learning more about animation techniques and principles. Still a lot of room for growth but I’m happy to see my style develop and come through. Animating has definitely help my comic book art as well. #artistsoninstagram #animation #magic #dccomics https://www.instagram.com/p/BtwLB7gFrlM/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=imk9c1pe8j8h

[benmatsuya]

Some unused gifs for the #Shazam movie social media sticker pack. I’m really starting to get into this whole animation thing. Learning different complex movements on the fly has been challenging but a lot of fun. Definitely room to improve, but I’m happy seeing growth in my technique and style. #artistsoninstagram #animation #keepimproving #dccomics #magic https://www.instagram.com/p/BtwJ-aolAAh/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1f44pu4q5obh2

[benmatsuya]

#5for5 comics are back this year, taking five of my favorite movies of last year and turning them into five panel comics. I was blown away by the response to last years batch, I just had to do it again. Swipe through them and let’s fight about my picks in the comments! Check out my site (in the bio) for a better look at them. Special thanks to @indiewire for featuring me again this year! #firstreformedmovie #8thgrade #blackpanther #youwereneverreallyhere #thefavourite https://www.instagram.com/p/Btem969FHMg/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1qy9ontu1edog

[benmatsuya]

So I finally got myself an iPad and i’m drawing on a screen surface for the first time after years of only using my trusty Wacom intuos pro tablet. It feels like learning how to draw all over again. Here is a quick sketch of #jenniferconnelly from a movie called #careeropportunities. Early 90’s Jennifer Connelly, man....👀😍 Side note: I found a music video featuring clips from this movie set to a song called “I Follow” by @castlebeat. It was cut together by @imcyborgbuthatsokay. It’s amazing and totally captures the mood and vibe. Find it on YouTube! #clipstudiopaint #digitalsketch #johnhughes #rollerskating #applepencil #thickeyebrows https://www.instagram.com/p/Br58S3cBLGN/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=13z3yzr5tky6i

[benmatsuya]

So I wanted to post something #spidermanintothespiderverse related because I just saw it and loved it, but haven’t had time to draw something new. So here is an old drawing I did during the summer that I never got around to finishing until now (hey it’s still Spider-Man, right!). This is a panel from an @nba themed super hero comic I was drawing in my spare time called #superteam. I wanted it to be like a superhero/nba comedy, mash up, parody thing. Taking all the drama of the nba season and make little comedy strips of them. I still might do it! This is Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell as Spider-Man, his nickname is Spida so that’s the level of jokes we’re dealing with here.... #basketball #comics #marvel #youlikejazz #donovanmitchell https://www.instagram.com/p/BriX9FDhatQ/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=xz2wqbjblf4n

[benmatsuya]

Excited to finally show some test gif samples I made for the official Aquaman movie’s social media sticker package. These ultimately weren’t selected to go to the final stage but it was a fun project! These gifs were all digitally animated by me. It was challenging but really satisfying to see the end result. I’m really having a fun time animating and learning more about this process. More to come soon! #artistsoninstagram #animation #aquaman #gifs #art #airguitar #headbanging #talktofish #animate https://www.instagram.com/p/BofCDdChXqe/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=15juci18vn2xm

[benmatsuya]

Finally reviewing and putting together my pitch of my original graphic novel my brother and I made called Midnight Massacre. This is one of the color comps of the cover. It’s a horror/comedy set in an a theme park during Halloween. Which happens to be the plot of TWO new movies coming out (that I won’t name because, yes, I am mildly salty about that). I think it’s different enough but, I’m not gonna lie, my heart sank when I saw the first trailer. Idk I guess it’s kind of encouraging to see we’re kind of on the same page with Hollywood (even though we wrote this like 5 years ago. Again, still salty). Stay tuned for more details! #comics #ogn #halloween #punkrock #horrorstories #saltycrew #musicartist #artistsoninstagram #gothgirl https://www.instagram.com/p/BoPaaUAhtJf/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=7n6dydzifrl3

[benmatsuya]

Been in an art funk recently so I decided to try something new. I just wanted to get super loose with this drawing and play around just for fun. It’s the 20th anniversary of #metalgearsolid which is one of my all time favorite games and a huge influence on my art. I’ve spent so many hours playing this game (and the rest of the series), it was literally an obsession. #solidsnake #mgs #hideokojima #metalgear #digitalsketch #artistsoninstagram #videogameart #fanartfriday https://www.instagram.com/p/Bn6yY-6Ba4w/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=mkgsdszoxw4h

[benmatsuya]

Quick sketch of @awkwafina after seeing #crazyrichasians. She steals every scene! Go watch it #fortheculture #sketch #artistsoninstagram #caricature

[benmatsuya]

To wrap up my comic book influences mini series, I gotta go with this dude, my main man #superman. He is easily my favorite comic character and a huge influence on my art and life in general. #heroes #dccomics #manofsteel #artistsoninstagram #bulletproof #comicart

[benmatsuya]

Here is my portfolio I took to this years #comiccon. Got some great feedback from a lot of cool people. This is a #superman story where Clark is still adjusting to his powers. All credit goes to @__geoffjohns for the script. And if you like my style please consider contributing to my kickstarter campaign called Cryowulf! Link in the bio. #comics #sequentialart #smallville #dccomics

[benmatsuya]

Hey friends! Please consider backing this new 75 page graphic novel Kickstarter project I had the privilege of drawing and written by the incredible Sam roads. It’s called CRYOWULF, a gender-flipped, futuristic retelling of the legendary story of Beowulf. Sam has written something really unique and created an entirely new world from scratch. Honestly, new languages, new cultures, new religious systems, etc. the level of detail is staggering and I’m so excited that it’s finally out for the world to see. But we need your help! Like it, share, possibly back it. Anything and everything helps. The first issue is complete and we want to use the funding to complete 2 more issues for this graphic novel. Anyway thank you for your support! Link in the bio! #cryowulf #kickstarter #beowulf #ogn #comicartist

[benmatsuya]

It’s always nice to see your work on the stand. Issue 4 of #jupiterjet is out now and issue 5 (the final issue...for now) is coming soon. I can’t believe the run is almost over. You can preorder the trade paper back now at #barnesandnoble. Issue 4 was my favorite issue to draw. Here’s a little taste of some of my favorite panels. Plus I got to draw the entire creative team in there! #indiecomics #artistsoninstagram #graphicnovel #allages #jetpacks

[benmatsuya]

I love the @nba! So many characters! Just thought I would sketch up some of my favorite players right before the #nbaplayoffs. I’m thinking of making that @kingjames head an enamel pin. Thoughts? Haha

[benmatsuya]

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“I have been falling for 30 minutes!” I am proud to announce that this animated gif I hand drew was selected as a finalist by #talenthouse and may be used for the home release campaign for #thorragnarok! I just imagined what #loki was doing when #drstrange teleported him away in the movie. This was my first real attempt at #animation and it was a lot of fun (and work)...I will definitely do more, I learned so much. #marvel #thor #ragnarok #animationart #firstanimationever

[benmatsuya]

My pick for #bestpicture at the #oscars. This is another comic from my #5for5 comic series, where I take a movie I really like and try to tell the story in 5 panels. @realgdt I have so much respect for this man. Good luck!

[benmatsuya]

Mgmt is back! I’ve been obsessively listening to their new album #littledarkage this last weekend. I like the new #gothic #victorian thing they’re playing with. #mgmt #newmusicalert #artists on instagram #cartoonist #psychedelicart #bengoldwasser #andrewvanwyngarden