A special spotlight this time around with Meg from Sludgework who did the awesome logo for Noob Heavy that you can see below along with a bunch of other great pieces. Meg has worked with quite a few projects familiar to me within the metal scene and always doing awesome designs specific to each person. I highly recommend commissioning Sludgework! http://www.sludgework.com/
Who are you, where are you based and what style of art do you create?
Hello! I am Meg, 27 and based in Manchester UK. I am a freelance metal and horror illustrator, specialising in black and white pen and ink artwork.
How long have you been doing art recreationally vs professionally?
Recreationally I have been drawing since I was a toddler. Crayons, paints, pencils all encouraged from an early age by my family. During Uni I got back into art as a serious hobby, and then to escape the tedium of my first job I got into pen and ink after being inspired by the music and films I was consuming.
In August 2018 I decided to take my creative passion and pursue it as a career. I knew I wanted to do it full time, so I started Sludgework.
I recognize a few of the pieces you’ve done (which I’ll show below this question) from projects a part of the metal twitter community, like Everson Poe and Lunar Cult is this your main community?
I would say the metal twitter community is a huge part of what I do. The people on there are very supportive and have helped share my work. Through that, I have been involved in many projects for bands, brands and individuals. I’ll always be grateful for that platform, and to every single person Ive worked for through that.
Twitter and Instagram are now my main contact for commissions, with some also coming organically through my website.
You have a strong variety, doing everything from website and band logos to T-shirts and album covers. Do you have a different way of approaching the different mediums?
I wouldn’t say each one is too different, except for the size and therefore the time it takes. Art that is specifically for website use I will often draw it out in sections so that digitally it can all be resized and moved around to fit what they need. So in that sense there’s no physical piece that can be shown unlike with shirts and logos.
99% of the time I like to send three files, one black background, one white and one transparent. This way the client can use each for different mediums in their project and on their platforms and also have merch made etc.
What’s the first thing you do when given a new commission?
Make sure that I know the time frame, the brief (however brief that brief may be, pun intended), and if the person is ok with me sharing progress on social media. I’d hate to start working on something and share it and it turns out they’d rather it was private. Also, time frame wise, I’d never have an issue with being asked to do a job very quickly in a few days because I would just dedicate my full time to doing it within that time frame. I like to organise and prioritise. Usually commissions take 1-2 weeks because I spread out the jobs over that time, to spend a bit of time each day on each one. That way I get fresh eyes and perspective each time I return to a piece.
Who is your favorite visual artist?
Mark Riddick. I mean, gross skeleton and skull expert!
What are some of your favorite albums or album covers?
Body Void have stunning album art, and Cult Leader too. Unsurprisingly I’m a fan of black and white.
What are your ambitions as an artist in the metal scene?
To be able to do Sludgework full time and earn a living doing so. It’s all I want to do. To connect with and work for lots more talented and awesome people, and provide art that helps them with their passion, just so awesome.
What is the most difficult thing to do or that you deal with as an artist?
Hmm, I think the fear that at some point I’ll be approached to create a piece of art that I don’t agree with. Racist, homophobic etc etc. I mean I would outright say no, but just the idea of it isn’t pleasant.
Also I guess a client being rude. Not happened so far, but I would have to decline their request and refuse to work for them. I work in customer service currently in my day job, so I won’t put up with rudeness in my graphic design passion as well.
How can someone commission work from you?
I welcome DMs on Twitter and Instagram, plus email via sludgeworkmeg@gmail.com and also the contact form on my website www.sludgework.com.
Happy to chat things through on those platforms, answer any questions etc. I will likely get back to someone within a few hours, or the next day if its overnight (time zones).
Thank you so much!