Matthew Lavarias

MY STORY / MISSION

A CREATIVE HEART

My name is Matthew Lavarias and as you've probably figured out by now, I love to create lovable characters and vibrant stylize designs. From an artistic perspective, drawing characters from my head and referencing nature is where my inspiration started. At a young age I was that child that always draw on the sides of my school papers. Which one time revealed my potential as an artist. In 4th grade my teacher Mrs. Miller noticed these doodles and decided to enter me in the San Francisco Bay Wildlife Society Endanger Species Poster Contest. I took home 2nd that year, which at that time didn't mean much to me. You would think that a moment like that would be a pivotal point in my career, but. weirdly it wasn't. It wasn't until 1994 when that moment emerged. The animated film "The Lion King" hit the big screen and I was in total AWE! I remember being mesmerized with everything about that film. The lovable characters, the story line, the color pallet. I started to envision all my characters coming to life and having a backstory like that. At 8, It all just clicked. I knew I wanted to become part of the animation world.

After High school I went off to attended the Art Institute of California -San Francisco and Hollywood to major in Media Arts and Animation. There I learned about the different level of profession in this industry. Along with the main keys to there own production. I tend to gravitate to character designing, story boarding, and marketing. Later I got hired by Insomniac where I became a lead illustrator for their 2014 Electric Daisy Carnival Magazine. There I learned the guideline of layout design and the rhythm to working in a professional environment. I was thrilled to see my work published and I also became curious on how magazines get set up and printed. I later then ventured out this curiosity and worked for few print shops and media companies. Where I learned a great deal of prepress and mastered the art of Large Format Printing.

So I still embark this journey to find my place in this industry but I want to welcome you all on this adventure. There is so much to learn and gain in this creative world. So come follow me across my socials, lets collaborate, and lets get CREATIVE!