Artist Profile: Matt Kohr Occupation: Concept Artist Residence: Chapel Hill, North Carolina Hobbies: painting, sketching, and playing the drums The dream of every young artist is to have a job drawing cool pictures all day long. Matt Kohr is living that dream. As a concept artist for a leading video game company, Matt sketches ideas for characters, vehicles, and environments. His work clearly sets him apart as a rising star in the highly competitive arena of concept art. The headline on Matt's sketchblog reads, "Becoming a Stronger Artist One Scribble at a Time." After looking at his sketches for school assignments and online competitions, you immediately get a sense for his determination to succeed. A recent graduate of Savannah College of Art and Design, Matt firmly believes in total commitment to the craft. "The simple act of working for nine hours every day makes me a stronger artist. Doing it surrounded by a team of talented game developers makes it fun." Matt has always drawn weird stuff. He says, "My love for fantasy and Sci-Fi started at an early age from movies like Star Wars and Aliens; and the internet now provides me with a constant supply of inspiration." His fascination for fantastic worlds has turned into a full-time job drawing and painting concepts for Vicious Cycle Software. But it took a bold move to get him started in the game industry. As a freshman in college, Matt introduced himself to a game developer at a recruiting conference for seniors. He told the developer about his website--which he didn't have--then quickly put one together in time to land a job via email. "I told him I would work for free. Some combination of passion and portfolio landed me a summer internship, which led to a fantastic working relationship throughout college," said Matt. In an online interview with his college professor, Brenda Brathwaite, Matt gives advice to students preparing to be a video game concept artist: "Never put your pencil down. Seriously. School work is not enough to get you where you want to be. Find a team and make a game or a mod. All of the best work comes from extra-curricular drawing. Always be imagining." Matt Kohr's Websites and Info: >Matt's Concept Art >Matt's Sketchblog >Interview with Game Career Guide