Walk awhile through downtown Bellingham and you’re sure to spot Mat Hudson’s work.
From the Bureau of Historical Investigations to Make.Shift Art Space, plus innumerable show and event posters dotted around town, Hudson’s illustrations and graphic designs jump right out at you.
It’s also quite possible that any young ones in your life have raved about his picture book, “Dig,” which was published last year.
His artwork appears on album covers and t-shirts. Frankly, the 27-year-old artist seems to be able to do it all.
Hudson shape-shifts into yet another of his favorite artistic directions with his latest project – a novel titled “Hazel.” A Kickstarter funding campaign launched earlier this year to help make the book a reality raised far more than its initial goal.
Hudson moved to Bellingham from Michigan seven years ago, coming here for an AmeriCorps position as a reading tutor in elementary schools.
“I’ve always made visual things and tried to tell stories,” he says, describing his artistic background. “Ever since I was very young, both of those have coincided together.”
Using a drawing tablet to sketch directly into his computer, Hudson digitally creates his visual pieces, and then modifies them using Photoshop.
His artwork first popped up in Bellingham at Make.Shift, the all-ages music and art venue, when Hudson started crafting show posters for them; the popularity of his work turned into more opportunities and bigger projects around town.
“It was great to really try out some things and gain confidence – because I didn’t go to school for graphic design, I went to school for film and storytelling,” he says.
Hudson batted around several different picture book ideas before jumping into “Dig” in March of 2013.
The story involves a fox that digs the wrong (very large) hole, and then falls through the earth. The book is read vertically, as one would flip the pages of a calendar.
“The nature of that formatting allowed me to be able to do one page a day, and I just connected it,” says Hudson, who knew where the story would end before he began. He posted each new page online daily.
On the fourth or fifth day of the project, a small comics and graphic novels publisher in Chicago, Yetee Books, contacted Hudson; they released the finished title the following August.
“It was a great experience,” Hudson says of working with a publisher. But with his second book, “Hazel,” he’s setting out on his own.
“I’ve been intrigued by Kickstarter since it popped up in 2009 and kept thinking about new ideas and ways to use it,” he says. “Amazon has a pretty cool printing process and there are a few other ways we can do some cool stuff.” He – along with his friend and “Hazel” editor Sara Holodnick – are now deep in the book-creation process.
Hudson’s first title was for children. This second book – a novel with a graphic element – is a bit harder to pin down.
“Sara and I have talked many hours about this,” Hudson admits, when asked to classify its genre. “It’s young adult fiction in that it’s appropriate for kids, but it’s kind of young adult with more of an emphasis on adult. It happens to star kids, but it’s got a feel that I think adults will really enjoy.”
After raising over $6,000 to cover the costs of editing and printing “Hazel,” Hudson has enjoyed the freedom of producing a book that’s exactly as he wants it to be.
Shooting for a late November or early December “Hazel” release for all his Kickstarter backers, Hudson then hopes to launch the book publicly in January or February.
What’s next?
“For the moment, I’m really enjoying writing stories and being able to scatter illustrations and make something that’s a visual companion,” Hudson says. “This particular story is so important to me.” He hopes to write a series of four “Hazel” titles.
When asked about the future and how he got from point A to point B to point C thus far, Hudson laughs. “A lot of this has been following winding paths, kind of a choose-your-own-adventure.” He pauses and thinks. “I don’t really know. I know right now I want to do ‘Hazel.’ Besides that, I just kind of think that whatever happens next is going to happen.”
