Greetings!
Welcome to the online portfolio of Zach Michaels!
I'm an artist with a Bachelors Degree in Animation with a minor in Illustration.
I spent time in school building up skills that helped me develop a voice in the art world.
I spent a lot of time watching cartoons and playing video games when I was a young child. I liked to draw, doodling things I saw. I drew a lot of Ninja Turtles and video game characters like Sonic and Earthworm Jim.
As an adult, I went to school to help broaden those skill sets and have a solid foundation to build on.
I studied at Southwest University of Visual Arts in Tucson Arizona, under many talented instructors. I was glad to work very hard along side my peers and create some awesome works.
Though, I do not hold a high opinion of how things were handled at the school, I am ever grateful for what's become of me since going there and even after graduating.
I am inspired heavily by street art, pop culture, innovation, clever design and hard work.
I would have never gotten here if I didn't have a strong work ethic.
I feel that what I bring to the table is a "get it done" kind of attitude. I like to work hard and play just as hard. Situational humor keeps the wheels turning and the projects moving forward.
I like to feel like an integral part of the team. I like to get involved heavily in a project and grind it out until it's done. I have been known to lock down and be on a project for long periods of time without breaks.
Since graduating I have worked on a lot of personal exploration projects and a few projects where I've even been published. I have a small successful RedBubble shop where ideas I have created are printed on apparel, like shirts and bags. I like to do local conventions and have been an active artist at Tucson Comic Con for several years.
I am sometimes active on Twitch.tv with creative streams where you can watch me create artwork as well as game!
I am currently working on a few personal projects including a story currently titled "Boy and Monster." It's a project that is hopefully going to be an animated cartoon, but right now it's in story form. I imagine a comic book or storyboards being made in the near future.
I also just develop T-shirt designs when inspiration strikes. This just keeps the RedBubble success at a strong moderate capacity.
I like to gather art friends every Tuesday at a local tea shop and set up a work space where everyone can work and get peer review if needed. I spend a lot of time helping out my peers and getting us to a point where we can all succeed.
No one makes it out there alone.