Artist Catch-up: The Legendary Godmachine

As intimidating as his artwork can get, Godmachine is actually an absolute sweetheart. When we asked for some pictures of himself so that we could share with you guys, we got cat photos (blessed) and an epic quote in return.

“I don't really do pictures of me in situations- I basically sit down on a chair looking at a tablet, it's dull as fuck. My workspace is new and looks boring as you can see from the pictures. I think it's best you think of me as some insane grandad at this point.”

Thankfully, in lieu of our upcoming collaboration, the legendary illustrator still took time out of his busy schedule to speak with us (blessed again). We've been dying to (re)introduce him to you guys, to talk more about his artist journey, inspirations, projects he’s worked on, and drop hints on upcoming release that we have in-store. Let's dive in!

Hi Godmachine! Hope you’ve been doing well, thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to chat with us. It has been many years since we’ve last collaborated and we are extremely excited to be re-introducing you and your wonderful artworks to our new followers. Let’s start off with the usual introduction, who is Godmachine and what was it like growing up?

It's great to be back, thank you for thinking of me. Growing up was cool, I live in a small village in the arse end of wales, it was the 70's 80's so it was strange but cool. On our days off we would leave the house at 8 and not come home till sunset at around 9 or 10. It was the countryside so we'd wander for days on end. One summer we found an old barn in the middle of a field, blazing still heat. We would climb the bails and throw ourselves off. We visited that barn all summer. One time Johnny Boy jumped off and caught his arm on something and tore it open spewing blood. We carried Johnny Boy all the home to his house. Parents weren't around much those days so gathered around the kitchen table we all agreed that the best thing to do was get a needle and cotton and sew his arm up. We'd all seen Rambo that summer so we knew exactly what to do. We each took turns and even Johnny Boy had a go. After eating all the ice lollies and and pouring beer on the wound to sterilise it, we went back out to jump off the bails again. We all jumped higher and further than before now, because we all wanted a cool scar.

Being a Graphics Communication student, how was the journey through school like and how different was it when you started working?

Education in the arts was weird. I'd been creating all through my work history; in bands, drawing, making posters. I was surrounded by art and culture when I was working and hanging out with friends. But whenever I entered education I always felt we were held back and made to learn stuff that didn't apply anymore, where I was, no one gave a fuck about your kerning or hatred of certain fonts. Also the response from your creations would be immediate and quantifiable; if no one liked your song no one clapped, if no one liked your poster they'd say so. And these were the people spending their money on art.

In education your art was judged by one old person with a fully formed idea of what 'art' should be. It was super frustrating to love what you made and have someone not want to understand it. I knew I loved my work and I knew others liked it too. I would highly recommend art education to anyone - it's just that I learned a lot of lessons they weren't teaching, and for that I am thankful.

When was it when you realized that your art could be viable as a full-time job?

It wasn't a sudden thing and I can't remember the day I decided to quit my job either. Massive shout out to Iwan Jones for buying my first real serious painting and all those that followed and to Beave for always giving me shit for drawing on lined paper ('it was all that was usually laying around) and telling me to take it seriously. And for lil' Earn for stashing a hot computer at my flat and me discovering art on the web. 

In these forming periods of time when you were finding your footing as an artist, who were some of your biggest inspirations? I read that you’re a huge fan of Jim Phillips! I’m a huge fan of classic skateboard graphic artists like Wes Humpston’s work on the classic DogTown designs.

Yes! Jim Philips must have started so many careers. Living in a small village we didn't have access to information or art like today. I think skateboarding became so popular at one time it reached the smallest of villages. We all skated, we all obsessed over any skate magazine or video we could get our hands on. I'd get a skateboard magazine and I'd start reading the small print on the back of the first page: the publisher etc and read every single thing till the last page, then start again. That would be the only magazine you'd have for the next month. I'd study images for hours.

Then came the golden age of skateboard graphics, really what can be said about that time that hasn't already been praised and worshipped. I was on a Mike vallely board, baggy cargo trousers, a skinned head and listening to black flag. 

What were some struggles at the beginning of your independent artist journey?

I wouldn't say any of it was a struggle. Coming off the building sites and sitting on my ass to do what ten year old me dreamed about was not a struggle at all. I'm sure there were days I was pissed at stuff and have forgotten a lot of stuff I could moan about but right now- here- I'm looking back with fondness. Sure there are a lot of cunts, but they're everywhere in life, and no I sit in a shed alone drawing, so I have a pleasant deficiency of cunts in my life now, and that's thanks to art. 

How did you land on the name Godmachine?

It was an amalgamation of a few things: the band "The God Machine", for starters, saw them live and it blew my tiny mind. Also it was a slight fascination with philosophy. There was this film called Demon Seed that was about birthing robot babies, it's basically common place nowadays; see matrix, A.I, I Robot etc etc. I chose the name because all the cool artists I started meeting on the web had cool names: Skull With Hair, Palehorse, Hydro 74, Horsebites, they were the coolest in my book so I saw fit to follow suit. 

How would you describe your art style? One might call it aggressive or dark, but we want to hear it from you!

I like to hear what others call it, I wouldn't have a clue what to call it. I imagine it's a lot like singing; when you sing, what comes out is your voice. Elvis, just opened his mouth and that's what comes out. Many people try to sound like Elvis now but at the time of him singing it was just his voice. 

 I like 'aggressive' though, you are the 3rd person I've heard say that recently. Knowing me, I would say that is true of my nature and it's interesting to hear it's seeping  into the work. I like to sleep under the big blanket of the term 'heavy metal skulls and shit'. At least that's what I tell normal humans. 

What was your experience like when transitioning from the classic analog methods i.e. pen & paper, brushes etc. to working with tablets and wacom?

I fucking loved it. I was splashing paint everywhere and ruining all sorts of stuff. As soon as Earn dropped that computer round my flat and I found out about digital art, I stopped painting. I watched loads of Ray Frenden videos and learned about tablets. I found one for £15 in an Aldi supermarket and started to learn all about it. I was using the same tablet when I was doing work for ETNIES and DC. it was years again after that that I decided to take myself seriously and buy proper equipment. I just thought I was cheating the system some how and one day some one would find me and make me go back to the work site. 

Have you explored any new art techniques or mediums in your work lately?

About a year or 2 ago I bought a 2nd gen apple tablet as an experiment. It's the best thing I have ever bought. It's amazing. I used clip studio for all my art and because it's all apps- I found it less intimidating to try new things. I've been playing with 3d modelling with Nomad, film editing with Lumafusion and I've been playing with Procreate ('all my work ends up being printed so I need that antialiasing that procreate cant provide). It's only £10 a pop for the apps too so it's never a total waste. I can use the tablet anywhere too; for 3 months I was building my studio in the garden so I used to work in the living room on the sofa. It's been the most freeing eye-opening piece of kit I've ever known, for me. I've always believed it's the worker not the tools and got by on the least I could, but I may splash out and buy a new tablet. I should, shouldn't I? I'm worth it ain't I? 

You're definitely worth it! What was your first piece of artwork that was commercialized and what’s the story behind it?

I can't think of anything right now apart from recently the Liquid Death box cover. Is that what you mean? Oh, in the karate kid remake he skates my design I did for Tony hawk. Like that? If you mean like popular everyday use- I don't think my art is fit for commercialisation. Thank god. 

What’s your creative thought process when it comes to working on a new project for a client?

If they give me a brief an image will appear in my mind when I read it. If not, I will either wait for an image to form while I'm doing something else. I don't do sketches as such, I maybe do a few sketches but if I can't see it in my mind I don't do it. I know what will work and what won't before I start so it's rarely that I will sketch to discover anything in those lines. I have a good memory for images - I like those quizzes where you have to guess the film from a single obscure frame- im averaging 9/10 for every quiz. So when I am not working or rather when I am not drawing- I am storing every image I see in my mind for later. And also my screenshot folder is bursting at the seems. My creative process is always happening- god that all sounds so fucking laaa Dee daaa. 

Speaking of a new project with a client, let's talk about the upcoming release “Monolith Chronicles: Acheron”! Where did your brain take you initially when you were conceptualizing this series?

I struggle with the toy world in that I don't think I understand it fully yet. I just wanted to make something that wasn't soft, something you'd find, something gritty. The plinths come first; I wanted to have these things being carved out of stone, old things, god like subjects abandoned thousands of years ago. 

What is the allure of the underworld to you and how has it influenced your direction on this art piece & series?

The first things I remember drawing was Mickey Mouse then horses, I was fascinated by horses, I think it was the way their coats reflected light. It stayed like that till 2000ad comics came my way and my brother started listening to iron maiden- those album covers shit all over my run dmc album covers. I couldn't really tell you what spiritually draws me to the dark side of art. Psychologically I think I'm drawn to the melancholic nature of it all, it's suits my world view: scratchy, spit, smashed glass, sketchy lines and screaming punks fighting the world. I like super cute stuff too- you wouldn't believe how much influence I draw from none dark art. You have to be like that though to be a good artist- you can't just listen to punk and write punk music, you have to search far and wide and then bring it home and process it through yourself. I probably am being interviewed right now for the sole fact that I can draw ideas from so many different and unusual places.  

Do you think you still have some goals (as an artist) that you have yet to achieve?

I think I've achieved them. People always ask me how I'm not bigger than I am in the game and I think I get too cringe with how much you have to give of yourself. I suppose it's up to you how you measure success and what you are will to give for it. I used to think I wanted to be popular and have all the fame but I'm slowly realising how insane you'd have to be to want to be famous. I think I've found the right place for me. As long as I don't start wanting expensive cars or flash shoes I should be alright. My cloth fits my suit perfectly. Putting more time into my t-shirt company has afforded me a well balanced lifestyle. Go buy my tees.

Looking towards the future, what are some artistic goals or projects you hope to explore next?

I'd like to work more closely on film. I'm writing some scripts but it turns out it's not as easy as you'd think. It's easy to make suspense, thrills and scares but it's hard making something that does the feels. Something that connects. Maybe I'm overthinking it. I should just do it, shouldn't I? As they say "you'll either find a way or find an excuse". Watch this space.

Any advice for budding artists out there?

Study others, ask 'why' when looking at a drawing. Practice. Learn to see why your fav pieces work and try a different version. Listen to quiet people, ask questions. Being good at drawing is the same as being good as a plumper. Practice, make mistakes.  Learn to smoosh 3 different styles together, learn to smoosh ideas together.  Learn to recognise when your work is shit and don't fret about it. When you start work, say to yourself 'I need to do at least 3 shit drawings before I start'. That takes the pressure off you and you'll end up nailing it the first time. Play is important. Fuck around, find out. Give yourself the freedom to make stupid ugly rubbish shit. In fact, aim for it. Cuddle animals. Take up a hobby. If you just draw you will go insane. Best advice ever: get a hobby that isn't drawing. Your work will become better over night. If you want to be famous or popular you will become depressed very fast. Unless you're fucked in the head then you'll love it. 

Be sure to set your reminders for Monolith Chronicles: Acheron by Godmachine, launching on 22 June 2024, 9AM ET / 9PM SGT.

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