USUGROW

(Japan)

Usugrow began his own artistic activity by creating flyers in underground punk and hard core music scene in early 90's. Since then, he has been involved in various album cover designs for bands and musicians regardless of genre, art directions and merchandises, and also collaborating with lots of skateboarding brands and fashion brands.

Usugrow expanded the range of his activity and done several solo exhibition at art galleries in Japan and overseas since 2005, and published his first monograph. In addition to his solo exhibition, he has been curating the group exhibition and book projects with Japanese artists since 2009.

He currently works on mainly illustration, painting and calligraphy as well as live painting, collaboration project with other artists and three-dimensional artwork.

Watch this video:

TODD BRATRUD

(1975, Minnesota, US)

Todd Bratrud is an illustrator and artist born on the same day as the wreck of the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald. He is the owner of Send Help skateboards, previously known as The High Five skateboards. 

He is currently living in Grand Forks, North Dakota. He lived in Minneapolis, Minnesota until he moved to Santa Cruz, California in 1999 to become the art director of Consolidated Skateboards. 

He has created hundreds of graphics for skateboards, stickers, advertisements and apparel for companies like Consolidated Skateboards, Flip Skateboards, Birdhouse Skateboards, Enjoi Skateboards, Black Label Skateboards, Creature Skateboards, Real Skateboards and Volcom. He is also an illustrator and blogger for The Skateboard Mag. Examples of his skateboard graphics can be found in the book Disposable, published by Ginkgo Press.

Watch this video of Todd presenting his book:

ROB ABEYTA JR.

(1972, US)

Rob Abeyta Jr. is painter, designer and art director living in the harbor area of Los Angeles. Currently, he is working with NIKE as the senior designer on a new line of sneakers & apparel to rollout later this year. In addition, he is a member of SA Studios creative team with Mr. Cartoon and Estevan Oriol. 

His past works have included collaborations with Spike Jonze, French Director and Academy Award Winner Michel Gondry and numerous music packaging designs ranging from the seminal punk band LOS CRUDOS, to The Transplants, to LA hip hop legends MACK 10, Cypress Hill and DJ Quick. 

Other works include the design of numerous skateboards and apparel while working as an Art Director for Fourstar Clothing at the Girl Skateboard Companies. While design and art direction take up his days, the nights are taken up by learning the process of tattooing with Mr. Cartoon.

RICH JACOBS

(1972, California, US)

Rich Jacobs is an American artist and curator who currently lives and works in Oakland, CA. Jacobs has exhibited in the United States, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. In 2008 his work Minor Threat Family Tree was featured prominently along with other works by Jacobs at the London Ontario Live Arts Festival in Canada.

Inspired by graffiti, psychedelic and folk art, Jacobs' raw, colorful work frequently appears on a broad range of materials such as magazines, books, CD and LP covers (including most of the albums for Salt Lake City-based group Iceburn), footwear, apparel (such as parkas, skirts and dresses), skateboards, buildings, pillows and so on.

Watch this video of Rich painting on Culture Catch:

MUNK ONE

(US)

MUNK ONE is a contemporary American Illustrator, Poster Artist, Political Cartoonist, and Fine Artist from California. He is well known for creating Artwork for major label musical acts and world renowned brands, recognized for their creativity. His fine art has gained much attention through many galleries both at home and abroad. He was previously the official Juxtapoz Art Magazine editorial Illustrator. He is also owner and Creative Director of the Invisible Industries Brand.

His artistic style may seem serious and even dark at first glance, filled with undertones of mortality, religion, or politics but his work can also be full of movement with bright, and fun colors and ideas with a sense of humor. These elements seem to coexist and mix throughout much of his work both commercially and personally. Proficient in both traditional and computer media, he is comfortable using whatever methods his projects may call for.

Working within the apparel and merchandise industries since the mid 90s, much of his knowledge and technical expertise has been gained from hands on experience. In 2006 he decided to focus on creating his own style of art while using his website as the vehicle to share this creativity with the world. During the 2008 election He created a striking portrait of the then Presidential candidate Barack Obama that was to be used for prints, stickers, t-shirts and also ran at bus stops all over the state of Pennsylvania. In 2009 Munk One was featured in Juxtapoz Art Magazine issue #96. That year he also began to work on limited edition screen printed posters and has since worked on prints for Pearl Jam, Blink 182, 311, Soundgarden, City and Colour and More.

Watch this interview:

JOHN DUDA

John Duda is a street artist and illustrator. He created some designs for Upper Playground.

JEREMY FISH

(1974, New York, US)

With a degree in painting and a focus in screenprinting Jeremy Fish's education and work experience has lead to a career as a fine artist, and a commercial illustrator. Finding a balance between exhibiting his work both across the US, and internationally in galleries and museums. while maintaining a presence designing skateboards, t-shirts, vinyl toys, album covers, periodical illustrations, murals, and sneakers. The artwork is mainly about storytelling and communication, told through a library of characters and symbols. With an emphasis on finding a balance with the imagery somewhere between all things cute and creepy. Jeremy is based in North Beach aka little italy, and has lived in San Francisco for the last 20 years.

DUG-1

Doug Cunningham 'Dug-1' and Jason Noto form Morning Breath. In 1996, the two worked together as the in-house design department at Think Skateboards in San Francisco. There, they began a style of collaborating that would take them into the next decade.

In 2002, Cunningham and Noto formalized their partnership with the creation of Morning Breath, Inc, a boutique studio located in Brooklyn, NY. Since Then, their collaborations have grown beyond skateboard/snowboard graphics to include, music packaging, apparel, advertising, poster design and more. The two have also been part of many showings of their personal work.

Today, Doug and Jason split their creative energies and time between commercial and personal work. Over the last decade the two have been nominated for a grammy, showcased in numerous design books/publications, and have been invited to speak about, and show  their work around the globe.

Watch this Morning Breath video by offthewalltv:

ANTHONY YANKOVIC

(Saint Petersburg, Florida, US)

Illustrator and Graphic Designer, Anthony Yankovic, has 9 years experience specializing in junior’s apparel, editorial illustration, skateboard and snowboard art, and brand development.

He has done Art Direction, Design, and Illustration on a multitude of projects including all aspects of the casual apparel industry, skateboard and snowboard graphics, plus numerous album covers, editorial and packaging illustrations.