Pit Interview - (5/2003)
Originally published in "Pit Magazine"
(PIT Interview with Mike Bohatch 5/7/03 by: Kelli Malella)
 
  1. When did you first start working with art on a serious level?
    I was pretty much involved with art my entire life. At first, through music and then later through traditional art and digital. At one point several years ago, I came to simple conclusion on my own. I really enjoyed the horror genre and felt there was a great need for a different perspective of imagery based on that theme. I found that under the classification of illustration, that I could operate and generate on a professional basis while at the same time reach a wide variety of mediums. I took to the idea with great passion and conviction. this later evolved into more of a business for me.

  2. When did you decide that this is what you want to do for a living and why?
    I had decided to take a break from the music industry about 5-6 years ago and re-channel that energy into my love for horror and fantasy. It wasn't long after introducing my portfolio to the world that I was getting inquiries for commissioned jobs. As that evolved and the work itself was receiving recognition, it pretty much fueled itself. I saw a portal for opportunities that I had never been exposed to before, and so on that basis continued to produce, market and take on new challenges.

  3. Did you have to go to a school to learn the method of art that you use?
    Actually, no not at all. School only introduced concepts and techniques like rubbing chalk on paper, mixing paints, analyzing compositions, applying lights and shadows. This is a misconception that I'm asked alot about, that some magic dark art school or course exists somewhere....... this is not the case. The ideas and concepts come from within....however twisted your mind allows. The application itself is based on 1)digital know-how and 2) a blend of carefully analyzing traditional arts such as collage, painting, photography, sculpture and mixed medium experiments

  4. Where did you go to school and how long were you there?
    Was it worth your time and money?
    I started by taking basic art courses through various community colleges located in Chicago, and then in Northern California. Basically a class here and there, when I could find time. Later, I enrolled as a 3/4 time student into Cogswell College located in Santa Clara, CA. My lifestyle was pretty much school by day, work by night and a lot of strong coffee. The effort spanned longer than necessary, but essentially a 4 year degree. Again, all of those places had nothing to do “directly” with my style, my thought process or how to make decisions on what elements my compositions would need. It just gave me an overview on the idea of art and its possibilities. I see this re-occurance happening all the time though. Kids or students fresh out of school wanting to get into the business and thinking that by just applying a texture over a photo of a screaming face, that they are operating on the same level to handle what it takes. It really sets them up for disappointment when the record labels don't respond. You really have to invest the time into experimentation, and a passion for detail and quality. This also has to be addressed with professionalism, drive and focus. But to get back to the point at hand, I felt is was worth the time and money as it opened my eyes to a much larger arena of learning. My original intention may have been just to make images like that appear on covers and in movies, but it took 3-4 years of  investigation to get there.

  5. What would you recommend for people that are interested in getting into graphic arts?
    I would recommend some basic introductory classes in both fine arts and digital arts to find the areas of interest that best suit them. As graphics arts, design, illustration, art and printing are all separate sorts of worlds. Don’t get your hopes up for an easy path. You’ve got to really put in the time and be patient. And have a general confidence and belief  in your abilities

  6. What style would you say you have when it comes to your art?
    My style would fall into the classification of mixed media. Which is a simplified term to describe someone who uses multiple sources and mediums to achieve an end result. My presentation is based on horror, fantasy, surreal and dark illustrative composition making. It tends to fall into all these pseudo descriptions such as Goth, underground, CD artistry, dark art, abstract, collage ...etc but its all relative. I don’t think when coming to my site, that there are many misconceptions about what they are seeing.
  7. How do you get your images to come out the way they do?
    Well, no matter if a piece is painted or constructed digitally, they all have to finalize on the computer to get a quality high res image. This is the normal practice these days. And the preferred way to transport art to the printers and record labels. I suppose style-wise, it’s a process that’s painstakingly scrutinized through attention to detail and a desired finished product. I want to say that technique is a big part but I feel it’s the artistic decisions that give it that personal flair.
  8. I see that you use real pictures and ad art on top of it. Is this what you do for the majority of your art or do you like to try different mediums?
    Yes, that tends to be a small part of it. But its not so clear cut as that suggests.  In essence, when I get an idea or assignment I have to make decisions on what are the best ways to achieve the elements of the piece for me. For instance, say you need a body of a woman as a main focal point. I could either draw her. photograph her, paint her, assemble here from found pieces or suggest her through careful compositing. These are those artistry decisions that have to occur in the building process. I think even when the process may change from piece to piece. the artist themselves tend to format and nurture the elements into what they seem satisfactory as an end result. The multiple mediums come from a need for not doing everything so cookie cutter and keeping things fresh. Achieving the same results without the monotony of being predictable.

  9. Name some of the bands that you have designed covers for and some that you would like to work for?
    I've done covers and packaging for such acts as Forsaken, Suidakra, Paganizer, Mangled, Regurgitate, Down Factor....and several others.  Because of the nature of my work, it tends to be a nice fit for music acts of this sort. In essence, Metal, Underground, Goth and Industrial. I would love to do covers for acts such as NIN, Marilyn Manson, Kidney Thieves, Gary Numan, Stuck Mojo, and Saliva. I think its every illustrators goal to get the "big accounts”...such as Van halen, Megadeth, ...etc but harder to pave your way thru those political channels and their tendacy to always use the same small group of artists and photographers. I wouldnt mind also branching more into the Industrial / Darkwave releases, since I tend to have that sort of music playing a lot when working But I've found many of them operate on extremely small budgets or none at all.
  10. Tell me about the process when a band or label comes to you asking you to create cover art for them.
    A majority of the time, I'm first contacted per email either from the band itself or the record label. Usually it starts with the general inquiry of pricing, introduction and situation. If everything goes smoothly then next steps involve the concept, what is needed, when its needed and arrangements for financing the project. This is a big key factor, the financing of the project.... as alot of time could be wasted if that's not secured up front. The worst situation you can find yourself in is to exchange 50 emails, spend hours constructing a cover, proofing it, changing it and finding in the end that the band cant afford it now due to budget conflicts. So now its all agreed, financed and contracted up front before any work what-so-ever is started. Also to satisfy my own needs to produce and provide available options, I'll construct pieces based on my own ideas and concepts and make them available as well through my gallery to be commissioned. This gives the client a price break up front, provides them with how the illustration is to appear and gives me a chance to produce freely without constraints to a wide variety of potential mediums.
  1. When you are asked to work on a bands cover, where do you get the ideas?
    I try and concentrate on what they are asking for. This is everything from color, to music style, to lyrical content, to how they want to be presented. It always starts with a few key words, scribbles on paper and a brainstorming of thoughts to arrive at visual solutions to represent their release and CD title. The rest is just pure imagination, compositon and style. I like to have an image say more than just what’s on the surface. I'm really big on metaphors and finding clever perspectives on a particular theme. This is usually accomplished better when a piece has had time to grow over a few weeks through my own scrutiny. Often, I’ll build an image then take a day off  to look at it with a fresh perspective. This way my mind has had time to clear and I can look at it the way an audience might see it first. If it passes that test, then I'm happy to let the client take a look. Sort of a built in quality control, I suppose. Of course though, sometimes there's changes. It’s just the nature of the business. Though, I cant say the clients changes are always the best move...and in some circumstances have actually in my mind, hurt the piece. While other times the changes may have brought out an extra element of depth that may have been missing.
  1. Do you have to listen to the bands music first to get an idea of what you would like to do or is it more general where you show them a portfolio that they can pick art from?
    Ya, unfortunately I usually dont get to hear alot of the music I’m designing for  until after the record is printed. Basically becuase often artwork is comissioned before the CD is complete to get the marketing end started. Though it certainly woudn’t hurt and might inspire some new ideas. I think the bands know best what might work to represent them and as an alternative to starting new art are able to choose from my collection of works an image that suits their release. So it comes to me in a variety of situations .
  1. What is your main objective when creating a piece of work for a band?
    My main objective is to get a quality product in their hands to best represent their music release. Something that i'm proud to put out and that they feel can be used to help sell their release on the shelves.
  1. Do you let the band have a say in what you create or do you just say, “here is what I can up with…like it or leave it”?
    Oh, what a dream that would be...haha....
    No, I think its a collaborative effort. I "really" need to know and try to get as much specifics when doing a "custom" job as I can get out of them to their benift. I'm not one of those artists who do multiple versions and ask the client to pick which one they like best. I work on getting one complete satisfying image that is the closest to what I envision and they have asked for. Plus they are also putting trust into my vision of the concept at hand. There is just too much time invested to second guess and be wishy washy in my approach. If a job doesn’t reach its mark in the first instance then its sometimes better to just pass on it all together to allow time for other interested acts.
  2. Is this your dream job or do you plan on working in different medium?
    In many ways yes, but I'm always looking for bigger avenues to crack. I would be most satified working imagery and illustrative work more into the worlds of film and television through still images and motion imagery. Doing what I do but presnting it on a bigger scale. Basically coming full circle by illustrating for the same mediums that insipred me as a child.  CD illustration has certainly gotten me closer to that world than ever before. Even now as I type, projects such as these have started to become opportunites that are being presenteed to me. So only time will tell ;)

  3. Are you a total metal head?
    Um, no not entirely. I certainly like the music produced… but I dont limit myself to it. I enjoy a wide facet of performers and styles, from industrial, goth, classical, rock, to commerical rock. I love great songwiritng and great guitar. In my musician days, I was a product of the Ozzy & Whitesnake generation.  So what was metal then is certainly quite different now. But good music is just good music period.

  4. Do you find that your inspiration comes from music and if it doesn’t where does it come from?
    I find inspiration in music, film, literature, art, artists and television. I can be inspired simply by hearing a great song or watching a fantastic film. It is a practice of taking that raw energy or emotion felt and putting it into creating from nothing. The hardest part is getting started, but soon that intuition and creative side starts to kick into gear and get the ideas flowing.