Paradise Profiles: True Till Death

This weekend I will be doing two Paradise Profiles for two great illustrators. One of which I met via Twitter and the other contacted me and turned out that I was a fan of his work before he even sought me out. Today’s Profile is for True Until Death, and much like him I too wanted to be an illustrator when I was a kid. I found out that I had a great talent for drawing and sketching but I decided to go the route of photography and filmmaking. Also, much like him I too used to copy covers of comic books and comic cells. It’s uncanny the resemblance that we share. So I present to you, True Till Death.

Where did your site title, 'True Till Death' come from?

That’s a good question lol... I saw it in some tattoo magazines hidden in hardcore themed tattoos etc and I really liked it and I guess it stuck with me, so when I went about re-branding myself and building a new site it just popped into my brain.

Why did you choose to be an illustrator?

Ever since I can remember I was reading comic books and not your normal kiddie Beano and Dandy’s I was reading 2000AD, Batman and Spiderman. I started off copying covers and individual cells I liked and then I moved on to trying to overlay my own superheroes over the intended ones, using them as inspiration so to speak. It was from here I knew I really wanted to be an illustrator; I just fell in love with the whole thing.

Who was your greatest inspiration for illustrating?

My greatest inspirations for illustrating when I was growing up were, again, the 2000AD artists and some fantasy and Sci-Fi artists I discovered along the way. One of them was Chris Achilleos, my dad had his book the ‘Beauty and the Beast’ and I used to be obsessed with it. My current inspirations are Tony Moore (Walking Dead / Fear Agent) and Jim Lee (Batman).

I noticed that a lot of your work, including sketches, is zombie themed. Artistically speaking, what draws you to zombies?

I don’t really think it’s artistically to say, but I love zombies, any one that knows me will tell you I love zombies. I just enjoy drawing them and I think they’re a great subject.

A lot of your drawings include a sexual, female protagonist. Is there a certain appeal to that would it be linked to female protagonists within horror?

I think so, I’ve been watching horror since I was about 9 and of course there has always been the busty heroin doing lots of running about wearing next to nothing so I guess that has gotten in-bedded in my brain somewhere. Again I love the female form and enjoy using it in my artwork.

What was the greatest thing you illustrated?

It’s a bit of a snobby answer but I think my greatest work is still yet to come.

What got you into photography?

I got in to photography when I was at college doing an Art Foundation. I wanted to expand my art and I thought naturally photography was the way to go. I was heavily influenced by the work of Lee Higgs, Bob Coulter, and David LaChapelle. Especially with LaChapelle his work is very illustrative yet is not classical illustration, he is brilliant.

In terms of your photography, a lot of it is somewhat erotic. What makes it different from anything else?

When it comes to my photography I always consider the theme and what it requires to make it work but of course I am working with beautiful young ladies so of course they would make any theme erotic, so I think you would first off have to thank them for making it erotic. What makes my work different... I think you can really see that I am passionate about what I am shooting.

Your photography often deals with horror elements and themes, are there any horror icons either cinematically or literary that inspired you?

There are lots and lots that inspire me, so many so, that I still haven’t managed to capture them all. Either through time or through not having the resources to make the shoot work.

What do you do in your spare time and how do you relax?

This may surprise you... In my spare time I like to relax by either watching horror movies, mostly trashy stuff from the 1980’s (my favourite period of horror), by reading comic books, and by hanging out with my fiancé and my best friends.

I do want to thank Jason for taking the time in doing this "interview" of sorts and I wish him luck on his future endeavors.

For more information, please visit his site by clicking here.
Or follow him on Twitter by clicking here.