HE has taken inspiration from everything from The Simpsons to 60s psychedelia.

Now Chris Monaghan has turned his passion for comic art and animation into a career.

The former Great Sankey High School student can count the likes of craft gin makers The Crosby Elixir Co and YouTube sensation Internet Comment Etiquette among his clients.

And he is currently collaborating with American band Oh Sees on a music video which is his biggest project to date.

“It’s a four-minute video in a video game style,” said Chris, who lives in Westbrook.

“I’ve been working on that since before Christmas and I’m about half way through.

“I’ve spent about 150 hours on two minutes of footage.

Warrington Guardian:

“My animation varies anywhere between 12 and 24 frames per second. I quite like traditional methods but it’s really labour intensive.

“This is my biggest project so I’m excited about showing it everyone when I’m finished.

“I’m a big fan of the band so hopefully that will lead to more commissions from garage rock bands.

“There are some great ones coming out of Australia. I’d love to get into that scene.

“I really like working with rock bands and making videos and album covers.

“I think the aesthetic I’ve got going on works with that sort of music.”

Warrington Guardian:

Chris has loved cartoon-style art since he was young enough to draw.

The 22-year-old added: “I grew up during the golden age of cartoons.

“In the mid-90s there were so many good shows on Cartoon Network like Samurai Jack and The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy. I also watched all the classic era of The Simpsons which I’d say was the biggest influence.

“More recently I’ve got into really old school cartoons like Max Fleischer with Popeye and Betty Boop. That’s all come together with 60s psychedelia to form my style.

“My brother Nick and I used to copy the fronts of Simpsons comics and try to recreate them.

“That’s stuck with me with the round eyes I draw and stuff like that. When I was at school, I used to like it when it rained as I used to stay in and draw during break time.

“For as long as I can remember I’ve been obsessively drawing.”

Warrington Guardian:

The former Barrow Hall College student did a degree in graphic design and illustration at Liverpool John Moores University and that is where he decided to take his interest in drawing and animation and blending traditional and modern techniques further.

Chris said: “I got in a lot of practise over those three years and I started to work for clients slowly while I was there.

“It slipped from a hobby to something more resembling a career.”

Chris began to work under the name Eaten Alive and after teaming up with The Crosby Elixir Co in Liverpool gave him a taste for bigger commissions, other jobs started to come in.

He has made merchandise for YouTube’s Internet Comment Etiquette, done posters, animations and branding for Manchester club night Housetrap and been commissioned for several murals in Liverpool.

“Generally I draw a lot in sketchbooks and I’ll photograph it or scan it and then colour it in on Photoshop,” he added.

“Sometimes I’ll have a reasonably clear idea of what I want to draw straight away.

Warrington Guardian:

“But when it filters from your brain to your hand to the paper it can change in that process.

“What I’m imagining will never be quite the same as what comes out. You can change your mind and little things can happen while you’re drawing as well.

“I keep drawing these ‘house people’ – sort of anthropomorphic buildings – at the moment but I’m not sure why.”

That imaginative process means Chris’s pieces generally take between 10 and 20 hours.

He works part time at Subway to keep the money flowing but is determined to make Eaten Alive a success.

He said: “I work more days freelance so that feels like a privilege to make money out of something I really enjoy.”

Warrington Guardian:

Those who follow Warrington’s music scene may already be familiar with Chris’s work as he did many illustrations for Psyblings’ releases.

He has also designed artwork for three singles by The 32 Tens, featuring Max Vickers, who reached the semi finals of The Voice in 2017.

For Chris, music is the only thing that rivals his love of art.

And last year he was even part of Neighbourhood Weekender at Victoria Park when he played guitar for Mo Jamil, the former St Gregory’s High School student, who won The Voice 2017.

“That was really awesome,” Chris added.

“I’ve always wanted to play at a festival. Mo’s such a talent and that was a great experience.

“I was playing guitar. I was the guy in the tie-dye with the Telecaster looking a bit bewildered.

“I used to do a lot of music. I had a band called The Electric Mafia but a lot of the members went to different unis around the country so that disbanded.

“But I’m hoping to get back into music. I’ve got some songs written and I’ll be releasing them in the near future hopefully. I don’t have to commission any album covers which is always handy...”