Virus Magazine Interview - 3/2006)
(Originally published by Virus Magazine (in German)
  1. Hi Mike, looking at your website gallery it seems you’re in the business for quite a while. How did you tart you career? What were your first works and what was your inspiration of becoming an artist?
    Yes, I believe it was about 7 years ago that I started Eyes of Chaos. Though, it has really evolved from what it was. At start, it was just a portal for others to see my work. Now I've expanded services, content and added merchandising to the mix. I knew in the interim that my focus was to be on horror content, so that it would keep my interest. Often artists will spread there vision too wide and not really form a specialty. So that part was decided very early on. I never really set out to be an artist in the sense, it just sort of came to me by the process of elimination. I knew I really wanted to do something with creatures and the film industry, just didn't know how to get there. I've always had this imagination for darker images, so that aspect was already embedded in me. the rest was process, style, technique and executing visions. I later learned of the marketing involved and the different aspects of business in relation to the media I was designing for. You have to approach different media's in different steps. The business ends of those have different processes as well. How did it al come together? I started with this passion to create the images. As things progressed so did the needs and methods needed to expand. Pretty soon with all the different work completed you have established a service. Then you market that service and it grows from there.
    My first works are long scrapped, and have been replaced with more satisfying creations. This is pretty much on-going as my skills and vision improves. I'll re-visit some images that I feel later need a face-lift to better illustrate the concept.

  2. Explain in a few words what kind of tools are necessary for creating your art.
    Oh, a computer is a must, with all the appropriate software. (mostly Photoshop). I also have quite a variety of collage materials, types of paints, brushes, inks, and various different art supplies. Chalk is another medium I use alot. I would say having a very large archive of photography or reference materials is also essential. I'm always taking pictures of things I find interesting. To the point where it becomes a virtual check list in my head of needed elements. With the computer, I really suggest getting as much RAM and HD as you can afford. Files I work on nowadays exceed a gigabyte to experiment with and retain image quality. If your computer is equipped to support your needs, you can get alot more done in shorter amounts of time. I would say for other needs, I use quite a bit of acrylics, plaster, watercolors and clay.

  3. How do you approach the different types of work you get? What inspires you? Is it music, movies or (in case of a cover design) simply the bands name or the album title?
    I approach each from the same basis with different goals. CD work, I'm rarely inspired by the band name, but I do take the title of the release seriously. I'm also geared to best represent what I'm being asked to create. As far a style, the client usually knows from looking at the work the presentation they can expect. My goal is to solve a problem. The problem is a piece of art that doesn't exist yet, that needs to exist based on a few words, colors and subject matter. I'm always looking for fresh ways to present it but I also have to stay within what they expect from me visually. The music can be inspiring if I have it, but rarely do I have the tracks in hand first. Book covers have a different look to them as the titles have to coincide with the composition. The base art might follow the same path, but the presentation is quite different. I'm experiencing the same thing right now with some DVD covers I've been commissioned to do. They have to have a very photographic shelf appeal direction and cant be overly artsy.

  4. Have you ever thought of doing a comic book?
    Oh, ya! Very early on I was setting out to put one together. Although my version would have to be a mixed media approach as my skills as a comic artist are poor. Though I really couldn't find the time to devote to 50 panels and didn't see myself ever going down that route, so I scrapped the idea and concentrated on other types of projects. My main interest in that right now is purely cover work only. I've done a few covers, but really that is one area of publication I haven't done a whole lot it. I was very inspired by early covers from Kent William's and Dave Mckean in the HellBlazer series, Loved the look of those. Works of art indeed. in fact one of my goals this year is study comic book art processes so that I can teach myself a basis of that skill. All in all though I do admire those kinds of artists and appreciate what they do. The funny thing is, is you don't see alot of comic book style artists doing movie posters, DVd covers, Cd covers and such. So while the art form is fantastic the industry wants a different style of presentation. So where you put your focus also determines what kinds of jobs you get.

  5. A guy creating such infernal images surely doesn't’t like Disney movies. (Or do you?!) What are your favorite movies? What was the last movie you saw in a theater?
    The most recent was "Hostel". A very cool flik with an extreme dark edge. I don't watch much Disney, but my kids do all the time.... so in a sense I guess I see a certain amount of that by default. I watch alot of movies, but mostly horror. As you can guess, they rub off in indirect ways in my art. More like thru absorption. I'm most intrigued with movies that have a off direction to them that strays from the mainstream. I find myself following works by favorite directors rather than just subject matter. The ones that get you thinking, get you producing as well. Like for instance take my recent watching of "hostel". The film itself may have high and low points, but the presentation of certain scenes was enough to start thinking.. Maybe I'll add that rusty, dirty unsettled feel to some otherwise normal photography to produce pieces that have a cold edge to them. This might be the design basis of my next art book. But as for favorite movies I like a bit of the old and the new. fro old movies i prefer films like "Texas Chainsaw", The Sentinel", Tourist Trap", The legacy", Wickerman", Phantasm, dead & Buried. Those odd 70 /80's films that have a sense of there time captured in themselves. For new films I really enjoyed "28 Days", "Seven", "Red Dragon", "Cabin Fever", "The Hellraiser films" "Darkness", The recent "War of The worlds" and so on. They all had their share of inspiration from lighting, to effects, to composition to set design.

  6. Your art is very intense and deep. Every single image creates a certain disturbing atmosphere. Speaking of movies, are there any movies that impressed you because of their picture language?
    Sure! David Lynch's films are works of art. "The Cell" had a really haunting visual sense to it. That movie "Nightstalker" had this really cool visual thing going on , even though the story was bland. "Jacob's Ladder" has always been a visual favorite. "The Ring" was definitely a shocker in its visual sense. I liked some of the set designs used in many of the films. I think its a given that the "Seven" set designs were an inspiration to many. What happens is these sets become works of art in themselves. meaning you could literally photograph them and sell them as works of art if you chose to. In my works, the disturbing element is more of a result of my vision. I have a hard time creating beautiful landscapes and such. I believe this is a I admire, so my work gravitates in this direction. I like to create a nightmare sense out of an image because nightmares in themselves are so ethereal and flowing. fro instance if you start misplacing elements that otherwise don't exist that way, if forms this displaced sense of a composition. Then you displace "that" element combined again and so on. It's funny because if you do a portrait and the eye is too big, the response is "oh, that guy doesn't know how to draw", but if you purposely make the eye even bigger and offset it in an exaggerated way its suddenly "cutting edge"
  7. What is your view on the current horror movie trends?
    Things have certainly turned around in the last few years. Which for a guy like me is a real treat. Now there quite a share of re-hashing, following trends, and similar subject matter, but the film movement has definitely put a focus back on horror content. People still love to be scared! So what we have now is the film industry recognizing that fact and looking for ways to appeal to the demand. In short, some great releases have risen out of that bunch. I thought the "Dawn of Dead" remake was fantastic! But then a few other like films came out that were not so fantastic. I also know that film houses are more likely to take chances now on new film-makers and directors which has resulted in some extraordinary releases. Some recent rental favs of mine include "Boo!", "Shallow Ground" and "Deadbirds". The one thing that always comes around is a need for creative talent. Film makers are business men who don't always have the creative makeup to determine what works. This is good news for artists with vision. I have been offered opportunities that never might have come my way in the past. I know of many others who have also been thrown great projects to work on. It's funny, because in the past if a film didn't make it at the box office it was a wash for the movie house. Today a film can fail miserably and go on to great financial success thru DVD sales. So in perspective, a film has a second chance. Many bad films will be made, but the great ones can now surface as well.
  8. Your talents include motion imagery and title design. Have you ever thought of doing a movie by yourself? Or maybe with a director like Dante Tomaselli?
    "Yes, I started offering title design & motion graphics as an additional portal for nightmare imagery and called the division "Nightmare Kinetics". I still have a lot to learn, but I also have a sense of what is needed. The hard part is the time needed to work on this stuff is immense. So I can't churn out projects quite like single illustration work. My goal last year was to create some demo pieces and learn to author my own DVD's. I took a month off and taught myself what I needed to get that going. It was alot of fun, but hard work as well. I don't see myself being a film maker, but rather just contributing shorter horrific sequences. I'm not trained for making films, so I leave that to the masters. Though I do have ideas on films Id like to see and contribute on. This is something I hope to find myself doing in the years ahead. I really enjoyed Dante's film "Desecration". It was very surreal and nightmarish. The kind of stuff I like to see. I haven't seen his other works yet, but hope to soon. It would be an honor to do something with him in the future. Time will tell! I've found if you stay active long enough, opportunities present themselves. I think if a project comes along that is interesting enough and has a decent budget to work with, I'll move forward on it.

  9. How did you get into Haunted Attraction Art?
    This is a new direction for me. I've come to realize the potential to market to the Halloween industry, so I've created a division that is geared strictly to that. It makes sense with what I do, but its also fun because it deals more with creature-based characters. You know.... I'm coming to get you... kind of look and feel. That industry represents a huge advertising market. Scary images just so happen to fill the bill. I hope to have several samples complete in the months ahead, right now it's in its first stages, but I've a list of 100 ideas to compose....

  10. Can you tell us more about your recent "Myspace" addition?
    Yes, What a wonderful new tool for marketing it has become! I'm surprised more artists don't understand its potential. You have 1000's of music labels, bands, and magazines collected under one roof on "Myspace" to address personally. If you have something to offer, you can inquire without the mess of looking up various email addresses from websites. It also has united the industries a bit, which is nice to see. I created mine after being asked about it several times and thinking.... why would I want to start an additional site based on social networking? Though it's purpose has gone way beyond that now. You really base your marketing off of the networking with hopes to increase your visibility to many you might not have had the opportunity to before. The important part of it is increasing awareness. There's a higher chance that you might be hired for a job who needs your particular style of work. I think this is only the tip of the iceberg though. We've only seen the start of its potential. The hardest part is tweaking code enough to customize your profile into something interesting. But I believe "content" will be an important part of its design in the future. I also believe magazines will be forced to deliver "content of interest" to keep viewers coming back to their site.
  1. You already did some books with your art. Can you explain your new publishing's "Inner and "Dark Visions"?
    Absolutely! One of the most exciting things I've been churning away at is self publishing my art books. I've discovered the ability to publish books using third part print-on-demand services. This is a huge awakening and opportunity for me. I had put work into these years ago with the promise of publishers involvement. But as things go, with the huge investment of publishing color, they couldn't deliver on the promise. So I set out to find new ways of publishing "without" up-front costs. Print-on-demand was the solution! People can now order my books, and they are printed and shipped on order. Needless to say, it opened up doors. Which I'm now working on designing my 3rd release called "Madness on Parade". The plan is a huge full color 300 page dark journey and anthology of Eyes of Chaos art and mayhem. I've just released my first 2 books which are titled: "Dark Visions vol. 1" and "Inner". "Dark Visions" is a B&W condensed overview of my art, illustrations, with commentaries, tips and a variety of published works.

    "Inner" is my newest release which is a 175 pg. color psychotic collage project. This book was 3 years in the making off and on with time permitting using various articles, found objects, bits of history and articles of madness. The purpose was to create the book as an overall presentation in itself. Most every page was put together by hand as a separate composition and scanned in later. My initial motivation was inspired by various move props from films I admired. I realize that there really wasn't anything like this on the matter that was available. There are various collage books, but not much pertaining to dark subject matter. Which many of them come across more as self help books. So that was enough to get me started. It's a step away form the usual kind of stuff i do but it seemed important to finish. It is definitely "dark art" of a different nature. Many might find me to be insane after viewing it, but its purpose was purely a form of art-making. These books are currently only available to order thru my site www.eyesofchaos.com. "Madness of parade" is under development, but I hope to have it completed by year end. This is planned to be my largest most involved release to date!

  2. What is coming up for EOC in the future?
    Well, I happen to be working on several projects that I can't show yet. The biggest is a whole slew of concept art for a few up and coming horror releases. Right now they are on track to be theatrical releases with alot of famous horror actors. It has been a huge challenge, but it also has helped me develop a specific style of approach to them. This is the realization of creatures built from base model shots. So they all have there own personalities and sense of realism. I hope to introduce a new style of concept art based on this approach. Also on track as mentioned is the next book release "Madness on Parade". Other stuff includes, I've just been brought on to start producing DVD art for titles. There is still some gray area in that as I work thru the details... but I'm hoping that will work itself out. Still more CD art & book covers on schedule to be released. I'm finding that project needs change thru out the year, so it's hard to say what awaits. I just take it a day at a time and see what floats to the surface :)