He’s part of the triad that forms the current incarnation of Heroforce 2.0, and he’s particularly well-known for his collection of Bat-family skins. With excellent skills in the arts and a fondness for the He-man universe like no other, we turn the spotlight on Ultimate Evil (A.K.A Flesheater) so that we might better understand his madness.

FREEDOM FORCE

You have a definite love of the Batman universe. What drew you to it and made you want to skin him and his gallery so frequently for Freedom Force?

Honestly, I don’t think there is one factor I can put my finger on. Growing up, I was always more of a Marvel fan than a DC fan all except for Bats. I always grew up liking the character and the villains. I always liked the dark aspects of Batman, and one of the first comic I ever read was “Judgment on Gotham,” the first Batman/Dredd crossover. Fantastic art, though I think it was Bruce Timm’s animated series that tipped the scale that had me wanting to learn more about DC. I’d say I now buy 3 dc comics for every marvel comic

As a person that has studied art, specifically in the photography and pencil area, do you think anything you have learned has been applied to any of your skinning works?

I can’t say specifically there is anything that I have learned; It’s more of a complete group. I learned the basics of photoshop with my skinning, and that helped a lot in my photos, and my drawing always helps with my skinning, as I can work out characters looks and detailing. My photos have helped me learn about layout and composition. It’s a full cycle

You’ve recently got into a bit of skoping. What would you consider your current best skope and how hard was it to make?

I don’t really have what I would call a best skope. Most of the ones I’ve done have just been silly things like combining stuff for an all-in-one mesh, e.g. my Batman skope, or things I added to what I feel the character needed, e.g. the cards on my Bullseye. I have a few skopes like Beastman and Shadow Weaver I’ve worked on but need to get around to skinning

You’ve been in the FF community for a long time and have come across several creators. Has anyone in the FF community inspired you in any form?

There have been quite a few: Intercepter, Beyonder, Podmark, Revenant. Gryphon was the first to help me with my skins. I love the work of AA, he has an excellent style you can’t confuse with anyone else. Like everyone, I enjoy C6′s work, but it’s a double edged sword. If you see something he’s done and try it yourself, you run the risk of the board claiming you are trying to copy him. Sadly, this can happen with any artists’ style.

As a member of the new Heroforce, how would describe working with AA and Podmark who both bring a different skinning style to the table?

Bums. The pair of the lousy bums. You knew that was coming. Seriously, it is an honour to have my work hosted on the same site as two of the best artists I’ve had the pleasure of seeing. They both bring something unique and different to the table that no other artist does.

Is there any FF related material that you find yourself looking forward to?

I’m always interested in new FF content. At the moment, there is a bunch of stuff that’s being teased, so I don’t know what the full story about it is. Honestly, after all that’s happened, hopefully this will be the kick in the arse the community needs.

You’re not one to usually skin original characters outside of avatars. Is there a reason you favor mainstream designs over original masterpieces?

Who says I don’t? I have a full change of characters designed around my av, Flesheater: Detective Alex Brown, Soul Stalker, Sundance, Captain David White, The Desperado, Father Jackson…not all great names, I know. I have them sketched and basic stories for them, but it’s really just childishness. I have seen how some used my av in ways I didn’t agree with and it stopped me from releasing any other original creations. That, and mainstream tend to get a tad more attention and feedback.

What is it about Freedom Force that made you interested in providing downloadable content for its player base?

It was my own selfishness, I hate to say it. I wanted certain characters or certain costumes and I thought if no one else is gonna do them, I might as well; and for some reason, others wanted to get a hold of them. There are some strange people in this wide world.

ART

You have a large repertoire of work. What artistic skill would you consider your favorite or most utilized?

I’d say my most utilized skill is my photography. It’s what I studied along with graphic design. My favourite is a toss up between my illustration and photography. I love doing both, though sadly (or thankfully depending on your prerogative), I don’t get as much time to work on my illustration as much as I would like.

Out of your incredibly large catalog of photos, what would you classify as one of your best works and why?

Gee, you had to ask that one didn’t ya? I mostly love all the work that I upload. Usually I would only get about 10 to 15 shots out of around 150 taken. One personal favourite, though I’ve got a good few, but I have narrowed it down to a toss up between Red Sky at Night and Soar Towards the Heavens. Red sky was one I had in my head that I set out to get and was quite proud of the outcome for not having a tripod. I made the shot with a hand held during the display. Soar was just one of those moments you think, “wow”. It was shot out of my bedroom window. A lot of leaning took place to try and make sure the surrounding houses were not in shot.

Some of my favorite shots in your journal happen to be the animal shots. How much effort goes into taking those shots?

Quite a lot. It’s a lot like studio photography, only in a studio, the model may listen to you. Most of my wild animal shots were done at Belfast Zoo using a 70-300 mm lens and a hell of a lot of patience. You can get a shot perfect and in-between the time you push the button and the shutter moves, the animal has changed its stance

One could argue that art is all about the message one portrays in his or her images. What’s a prominent message you try to get across to your audience?

“Buy my work, buy my work.” No, seriously, if people can get a message out of my art, then all the better. However, I never really intended my work to have a meaning like some artists do. It’s something I debated a lot in college. If the classic artists were alive today would they agree with what critics are saying was the meaning of their work or would they think “these guys are nuts”?

“If you want to know all about Andy Warhol, just look at the surface of my paintings and films and me, and there I am. There’s nothing behind it.”- Andy Warhol

Many may not know this, but you actually attempted to redesigned Minute Man. What was the thinking that went behind this piece?

I had forgotten all about that piece. Back then I don’t really think there was a thought process behind the redesign. Everyone and their uncle was having a crack at FF characters and I thought I might give it a go. It was done on a plane coming home. Looking back at it now, I may give it another go. I’d streamline the costume, but keep elements of the design.

You’ve recently had a model shoot. How different was a model shoot in comparison to your nature/outside shoots? Would you like to do another one?

A lot more nerve racking than I thought it would be, and I thought it would be a lot. It was quite fun; I’ve done 4 or 5 now and it’s interesting to work with someone else who you can actually speak to and they understand you. One thing you have to be careful of is that the shoot isn’t just you working on your own, you have to work as a team and speak to each other to come up with the best shots.

A lot of meaning can sometimes be implied by the title of an art piece. Do the titles of your pieces help get across a specific interpretation that you’re trying to relay to a viewer?

Taking the photos is the easy part, naming the bloody things is the hard part. Usually when going through the shots, I will pick out the good ones but they don’t get named until I’m 100% finished with them, and then it’s really just a thinking process. It either comes right away or I can sit for 20+ minutes and get nothing.

Inspiration can come from several different sources. Who from the art world inspires you?

You’d be surprised at my list. Most would expect a load of photographers. I have a few I like, but not well enough to follow. Otherwise I’d say the list holds the likes of Da Vinci, Stan Winston, Tom Savini, Rick Baker, Adam Hughes, Terry Dodson, and Joesph Micheal Lisnser. Recently I’ve gotten into a rather sadly unknown artist by the name of Drew Struzan. He’s a fantastic painter and you’d be surprised how much of his work people have actually seen but never knew were his. All I can say is look him up, you’ll be quite surprised.

Finally, if you really had to make a choice between all your artistic talents, which would you choose as a primary career option or preference?

Easy choice, my photography. As much as I love drawing, I know that I’m not good enough to make a living from it.

MISC.

Everyone knows you have a certain love for the He-man universe. What do you find entertaining about that franchise?

It was one of the first full series I remember watching growing up, and though there were others like ghostbusters, thundercats, and turtles, I always loved the mixture of sci fi and fantasy that was Masters of the Universe. I really think it’s the villains that keep me hanging on to the series. I just love the design structure of them and the various takes on the different mythological creatures and demons.

Some people are a Cyclops fan while others are for Wolverine. What’s your favorite comic character?

I don’t really have one. As I said earlier, I grew up reading batman and I also read spider-man, though I did drop his books for a while, and came back during the middle of the clone saga, which confused the hell outta me. I will also admit that I am a wolverine fan boy. Yes, I know all the true comic fans hate him, but I got into x-men after the fox animated show and he just stole the show.

Being from Europe, you must be some sort of sports fan. What’s your sport of choice and which team(s) do you follow?

Manchester United to the day I die. I grew up watching football, real football. Though I must admit, as any other fan will tell you, I will die watching this team. They seem determined to raise my stress level and give me a heart attack.

Several have confused your avatar name with your community name. What’s the difference between the two and what’s the origin of your community name?

Right, my avatar’s name is Flesheater. He is a hero, not a villain, and he does not eat people. He takes the name from the sword he carries which was made for the highest ranking demon to use in the war against heaven. When an angel interfered in the making of the blade, a clause was put in that it would cast to earth and find its way into the hands of man, and depending on the true aspects of the wielders heart, would determine the side the blade was used for.

The Ultimate Evil aspect came about again based on the blade’s reputation between the sides. I designed it to become a subtitle to the character, much like the “amazing” spider-man or the “uncanny” x-men.

There’s nothing like a good book to pass those slow days, yeah? What’s a book you would recommend to others?

At the moment, I’m reading Chris Jericho’s biography, and I’ve read Mick Foley’s books a few times. I’ve also always enjoyed the Jurassic Park novel.

As an artist, you must have an art style you find enjoyable. What is the name of that style and why?

I enjoy quite a few art styles, photography or illustration of course, though I’m not a fan of really abstract or “modern” art, some I can see where the artist put in the effort and work, I can enjoy that but other I just look at and think this person didn’t even try and gets paids loads of money for this. It just confuses me.

Bad tv, good tv: What are some shows you absolutely love?

I wouldn’t miss “24″, and I do enjoy “Heroes”, though I can see and am starting to agree with the critics grievances with the story. I’m starting to get into the “Big Bang Theory”, but even parts of it are too geeky for me. There is a bunch of British programmes I wouldn’t miss such as “Father Ted”or “Doctor Who”.

Final question: With several comic related movies coming out in the next few years, are there any that you are looking forward to seeing on the silver screen?

“Watchmen” was this year’s big film. I’m looking forward to Marvel’s films such as “Cap and the avengers”. Hopefully it can be pulled off correctly. And of course, I’d be lying if I wasn’t a bit excited at the prospect of the new “Masters of the Universe” film, if it ever gets a decent script and off the ground.

And that concludes our spotlight on The Ultimate Evil. And although he may be just a bit of a content tease when it comes to releasing, we finally got a bit of insight into how his mind works…and it’s quite complex as you can see. If you want to grab some of UE’s awesome skins, you can go to Heroforce and download them. If you want to check out some of his art, why don’t you just mosey on over to his portfolio, which also contains a link to his deviant art page.