What's to be said about Jamie Hewlett? Well, okay, there's a lot to say, but the real question is where to start. He was born on the 3 April 1968 in Sussex, England. While he was in college, he started the fanzine Atomtan with a few friends.
Reading this is somewhere on my to-do list, but I think College Applications come first
This brought him to the attention of the magazine Deadline, which contained various articles and comics by English artists. He began writing the comic Tank Girl in 1988, a story about an anarchic teenage girl who drives a tank and her mutated Kangaroo boyfriend who travel across a post-apocalyptic Australia.
One of Hewlett's earlier designs
The comic was a huge hit, and catapulted both Deadline and Hewlett into popularity. By 1992, he had become a major contributor to the comic industry, and was working with DC Comics. In 1995, Tank Girl was made into a film. A terrible film, one which Hewlett had no part in. Deadline then stopped publication in 1996, so Hewlett was forced to find a new job, and had a variety of different ventures including drawing album art, doing advertisements for TV and print, and opening a second hand clothing store, though none of them were successful.
He then moved into a flat with Damon Albarn, the lead singer and keyboardist of the rock band Blur. Hewlett had been involved in the British music industry since college, so the two hatched the idea of Gorillaz: the world's first virtual band.
Probably one of my favorite albums ever
While Albarn made the music, Hewlett drew the character designs and worked on animating the videos. The cast of characters consists of Murdoc Niccals, the band's lecherous bassist and self-proclaimed leader, Stuart "2D" Pot, a slightly daft singer voiced by Albarn with 8-ball fracture in both of his eyes, Noodle, the young Japanese lead guitarist who showed up on their doorstep in a box, and Russel, the goodnatured drummer who is frequently possessed by spirits.
Clint Eastwood
The band was a huge hit in both the UK and the states. They released 5 albums between 2000 and 2011, contributed with many different artists, went on 3 tours. Their most popular singles were Punk, Clint Eastwood and Feel Good Inc. There were also a series of short films and two online games. A movie was also planned, but never happened. Unfortunately in 2012 Albarn said that the project would probably be discontinued.
Feel Good Inc
(note: slightly explicit or something, I don't know, I don't make the ratings)
I discovered Hewlett's art through Gorillaz, back in 2011 if I remember correctly. His character designs and sheer wackiness inspire my own work. Most of his stuff is strange and disturbing and is designed to make the viewer uncomfortable, but not to make you dislike it, only to intrigue you. His eye for quirky details and snarky writing is something I wish to emulate in my work. I also love his streamlined designs that keep things interesting, while still being simple.