Episode 008: An Encounter With Michael Shantz
Today is a very special interview, as it was technically the first interview I did under the name RottingHollows, as well as being the first interview where I interviewed someone who’s not necessarily clothing or music, but still heavily plays a part in both. Michael Shantz is known for his uniquely dark and brightly colored artistry, having first hit my personal radar with the album cover for The Castle Of Depression by Dylan Ross(now Rozz Dyliams). His work is definitely worth giving some love to, and I appreciate him having given time to answer for this interview. As always, enjoy!
RH: Who is Michael Shantz and what do you do?
MS: I’m an artist and I use my unique style in a multitude of areas like album art, fashion design and patterns for prints, toy and jewelry design, merch designs, logos and branding, and sometimes painting. I do freelance work with clients mainly, a lot of awesome musicians and clothing brands across the globe, and then put out stuff I made like creepy toy backpacks, custom clothes, and odds and ends like patches and pins.
RH: How long have you been making art for?
MS: I have been making art since I was a kid. Both of my parents are artists so growing up there was a lot of opportunity to make things. My dad was also a welder and helped us to chop up and weld together bikes and things to make rat bikes and really create wild and weird ideas.
RH: Did you go to school to create the art you do, or are you self taught?
MS: I took every art class I could in junior high and high school and went to university to get my bachelor of fine arts as well. I was there for 4 years and did everything from photography to sculpture, but also focused on mixing art and fashion.
RH: When did you get involved with Dylan Ross(Rozz Dyliams) and CrimeWave of Handzum?
MS: I think it’s been about 6-7 years since I first started talking to Rozz. We were linked by a mutual friend in Vancouver, Canada while I was still living there. He thought my art would be perfect for Dylan and put us in touch, and for whatever reasons we ended staying friends all this time. I met CrimeWave maybe 4 years ago because a client I had at the time was working with Crime as well and said he was looking for an artist. We started talking and just kept in touch all this time.
RH: where or what do you draw your inspiration from?
MS: I draw a lot of my inspirations from Japan. All kinds of things from there like the Kabuki Theatre, to Yokai myths and legends, toys, samurais, masks, and Japanese horror! It was definitely also woodblock print artists that really inspired my work and style that makes me unique in the art world I’ve been told. Calligraphy also really helped to create a fun mix of style in my metal text style work.
RH: Is all of your work done digitally? What do you work with when making art?
MS: the majority of my work for clients is digital. Logos and album art, merch and illustrations are all mainly done in Photoshop with a Wacom Cintiq, but for years I wasn’t able to afford the tablet I have now and was using a Wacom Bamboo, which is definitely not the best but seemed to have worked well for me *laughs*
RH: What are your plans for the future?
MS: I’ve been on the hunt for an animator and comedy writer team to work with on more cartoon pilots to shop around. Seeing my art come alive was more gratifying than I ever imagined and I want to do more of that. I’d also like to do more of basically everything *laughs* toys and clothes and fashion designs. I’d also like to find some bigger clients that have the budget to work on bigger and wilder ideas as well. It’s great to help smaller brands but doing smaller ideas is a bit crushing.
RH: Final thoughts/shoutouts?
MS: Shoutout to all the amazing people I’ve worked with over the last 10-11 years and to all the new people i’ve yet to work with! Also, to any young artists out there wondering how to ‘make it’ as an artist…just never stop creating and building your dream. If you can’t love yourself, how the hell can you love anyone else..Can I get a Amen? Amen…love women too cuz we live in a bullshit world that destroys the rights of POC and women and we need to fight to make the world actually equal across the boards. Also, go vegan because at this rate, the world doesn’t have a great future unless we make serious changes.
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