Jeff Matsuda
Encyclopedia
Jeff Matsuda is a Japanese-American concept artist, comics artist
, and animator
. He served as the chief character designer for both Jackie Chan Adventures
and The Batman
, and is the president and creative director of X-Ray Kid Studios
. Matsuda was discovered by Rob Liefeld
after submitting some WildC.A.T.S.
samples pages to Liefeld's Extreme Studios and Jim Lee
's Wildstorm
. However, Matsuda's first published artwork, depicting the X-Force
character Cable
, appeared in the letter art section of Wizard Magazine.
While at Extreme, he penciled issues of the Image Comics
titles: Brigade, Team Youngblood, Youngblood Strikefile, Troll and New Men. Matsuda moved on to work for Marvel Comics
beginning with some pages for X-Men Prime, which eventually led to runs on X-Factor
and Wolverine
in addition to work on individual issues of X-Men
, Generation X
, Avengers
and some pinup drawings in X-Men Unlimited
.
Matsuda was later reunited with Liefeld at Awesome Comics
which published Kaboom, written by award-winning writer Jeph Loeb
. The protagonist of the title featured a third spelling of its creator's first names, Geoff, though in Loeb's case, Jeph is actually short for Joseph.
Jeff Matsuda led the team designing the look of Google Lively
.
Comics artist
A comics artist is an artist working within the comics medium on comic strips, comic books or graphic novels. The term may refer to any number of artists who contribute to produce a work in the comics form, from those who oversee all aspects of the work to those who contribute only a part.-Comic...
, and animator
Animator
An animator is an artist who creates multiple images that give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence; the images are called frames and key frames. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, video games, and the internet. Usually, an...
. He served as the chief character designer for both Jackie Chan Adventures
Jackie Chan Adventures
Jackie Chan Adventures is an animated television series chronicling the adventures of a fictionalized version of action film star Jackie Chan. Many of the episodes contain references to Chan's actual works. This series ran on Kids' WB! from September 9, 2000 to July 7, 2005 for a total of 95...
and The Batman
The Batman (TV series)
The Batman is an American animated television series produced by Warner Bros. Animation based on the DC Comics superhero Batman. It ran from 2004 to 2008, on the Saturday morning television block Kids' WB...
, and is the president and creative director of X-Ray Kid Studios
X-Ray Kid Studios
X-Ray Kid Studios is a privately held entertainment company specializing in Video Game Development, Comic Books, Television Production and Film based in Newport Beach, California and Seattle, Washington, U.S.A....
. Matsuda was discovered by Rob Liefeld
Rob Liefeld
Rob Liefeld is an American comic book writer, illustrator, and publisher. A prominent artist in the 1990s, he has since become a controversial figure in the medium....
after submitting some WildC.A.T.S.
Wildcats (comics)
Wildcats, sometimes rendered WildCats or WildC.A.T.s, is a fictional superhero team created by the American comic book artist Jim Lee and writer Brandon Choi.-Publication history:...
samples pages to Liefeld's Extreme Studios and Jim Lee
Jim Lee
Jim Lee is a Korean-American comic book artist, writer, editor and publisher. He first broke into the industry in 1987 as an artist for Marvel Comics, illustrating titles such as Alpha Flight and Punisher War Journal, before gaining a great deal of popularity on The Uncanny X-Men...
's Wildstorm
Wildstorm
WildStorm Productions, or simply WildStorm, published American comic books. Originally an independent company established by Jim Lee and further expanded upon in subsequent years by other creators, WildStorm became a publishing imprint of DC Comics in 1999...
. However, Matsuda's first published artwork, depicting the X-Force
X-Force
X-Force is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero team, one of several spin-offs of the popular X-Men franchise. Conceived by writer/illustrator Rob Liefeld, the team was formed in New Mutants, vol. 1 #100 and soon afterwards was featured in its own series.The group was a new incarnation of the 1980s...
character Cable
Cable (comics)
Cable is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared as an infant in Uncanny X-Men #201...
, appeared in the letter art section of Wizard Magazine.
While at Extreme, he penciled issues of the Image Comics
Image Comics
Image Comics is a United States comic book publisher. It was founded in 1992 by high-profile illustrators as a venue where creators could publish their material without giving up the copyrights to the characters they created, as creator-owned properties. It was immediately successful, and remains...
titles: Brigade, Team Youngblood, Youngblood Strikefile, Troll and New Men. Matsuda moved on to work for Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
beginning with some pages for X-Men Prime, which eventually led to runs on X-Factor
X-Factor (comics)
X-Factor is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics. It is a spin-off of the popular X-Men franchise, featuring characters from X-Men stories. The series has been relaunched several times with different team rosters, most recently as X-Factor Investigations.X-Factor launched in...
and Wolverine
Wolverine (comics)
Wolverine is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Born as James Howlett and commonly known as Logan, Wolverine is a mutant, possessing animal-keen senses, enhanced physical capabilities, three retracting bone claws on each hand and a healing...
in addition to work on individual issues of X-Men
X-Men
The X-Men are a superhero team in the . They were created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and first appeared in The X-Men #1...
, Generation X
Generation X (comics)
Generation X is a fictional comic book superhero team, a spin-off of the X-Men franchise published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Scott Lobdell and artist Chris Bachalo, the team formed during the 1994 "Phalanx Covenant" storyline, and appeared in their own monthly series in September 1994...
, Avengers
Avengers (comics)
The Avengers is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 The Avengers is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 The Avengers...
and some pinup drawings in X-Men Unlimited
X-Men Unlimited
-Volume 1:The purpose of this title was to run stories that fit between the main X-Men comics. The stories included all characters from the X-titles, and the issues were collections of short stories...
.
Matsuda was later reunited with Liefeld at Awesome Comics
Awesome Comics
Awesome Comics or Awesome Entertainment was an American comic book studio formed in 1997 by Image Comics co-founder Rob Liefeld...
which published Kaboom, written by award-winning writer Jeph Loeb
Jeph Loeb
Joseph "Jeph" Loeb III is an American film and television writer, producer and award-winning comic book writer. Loeb was a producer/writer on the TV series Smallville and Lost, writer for the films Commando and Teen Wolf and was a writer and Co-Executive Producer on the NBC TV show Heroes from its...
. The protagonist of the title featured a third spelling of its creator's first names, Geoff, though in Loeb's case, Jeph is actually short for Joseph.
Jeff Matsuda led the team designing the look of Google Lively
Google Lively
Google Lively was a web-based virtual environment produced by Google Inc.. It was discontinued on December 31, 2008.Lively was only supported on Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox, using Windows XP or Windows Vista. It required a special download as well as Flash. The program was designed to be...
.