My passion for drawing began on my first visit to a book fair at the age of 7-8, when an author signed my comic book. He asked me what I liked to do, and at the time I was playing the drums (I was trying). In three strokes, he drew me his character behind a drum kit. It was as if he had a superpower, and at that moment I said to myself: "I want to do that when I grow up".
At the same time, I discovered manga and Japanese animation through Club Dorothée, a second revelation. To try and acquire this famous superpower so that I could tell my own stories and draw my characters in a serious way, I tried the gymnasium for two years in the arts section, where I didn't find what I'd come for. So, in 2001, I left gymnasium and started EPAC in Saxon, where I studied for five years, specializing in comics, before graduating in 2006. Since then, I've never stopped experimenting and exploring new ways of working, inspired as much by the Belgian comics and manga of my childhood as by animation, street art, graphic design and illustrated children's books.
For the past 15 years, I've been working as a freelance artist for individuals and companies, for the press and on various personal projects that I occasionally exhibit as part of a solo or group show. During my studies, I also dabbled in micro-publishing, creating with a friend the fanzine Parazyth, which we published five years in a row, enabling me to take part as an author in several comic strip festivals in Switzerland and France. Today, I'm lucky enough to be able to pass on my experience to younger people, giving them the tools to bring their ideas to life and awaken their creativity. Like this super-powered comic book author, I hope to give others this spark.
Discover Mathieu's work on his instagram