Matthew Stuart Busch (born September 22, 1972) is an American artist, illustrator, and filmmaker, mostly known for his work with the Star Wars media franchise. He has also illustrated projects for entertainment properties such as Stranger Things, Indiana Jones, and Lord of the Rings, as well as music acts such as Foo Fighters, Mötley Crüe, and Ozzy Osbourne. In more recent years, he has become a media arts professor and independent filmmaker, known for the Aladdin 3477 movie trilogy.
Early life Busch was born in Lebanon, Pennsylvania on September 22, 1972, to Frederick and Peggy Busch. He grew up in the northern suburbs of Detroit, Michigan, and practiced drawing comic books, playing music instruments, and creating short films with a camcorder. In 1993, he won an award from the Library of Congress for his copyright achievements.
After earning an associate degree from Macomb Community College, he moved to Pasadena, California, where he attended the Los Angeles Art Academy, and studied illustration, film, and entertainment design at the Art Center College of Design. Before earning his Bachelor Degree at Art Center, Busch was classmates with other notable alumni such as Justin Bua, Chris Do, and LeUyen Pham, studying artist Burne Hogarth.
Busch began working in Hollywood illustrating concept art and storyboards for films like Con Air and The Matrix. After living in Los Angeles for nearly a decade, Busch eventually returned to the Northern Detroit area in the early 2000s and founded Kaleidoscope Koi Entertainment LLC, and continues to work on Hollywood projects.Matt Busch's biography – Matt BuschStar Wars Artist Series: Matt Busch (July 28, 2005) – Star Wars
Later in his career, Busch dove into the world of independent filmmaking, eventually writing and directing the Aladdin 3477 trilogy. He has previously taught media arts college courses.
Career
Since 1994, Matt Busch has provided art for official Star Wars merchandise. George Lucas has purchased nearly 400 of Busch's drawings and paintings for his own collection, many of which are on display at Lucasfilm's headquarters and Skywalker Ranch.
Early in his career, Busch started illustrating books and playing cards for the Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game. He was the first to illustrate an R7 series Astromech Droid, which has since become a popular series of action figures from Hasbro.
In 1997, Busch illustrated the cover of Star Wars: Tales from the Empire from Bantam Dell, which became a New York Times bestseller. (July 16, 1999) – Echo Station He also began writing and illustrating monthly articles for both the Star Wars Insider and Star Wars Kids magazines.
In 2006, Busch was hired by Lucasfilm to illustrated the Style D One Sheet movie poster for Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, which was designed to be a bookend piece top the original Star Wars "circus poster" illustrated by Drew Struzan and Charles White III. That same year, Busch was the second artist to be inducted as an honorary member of the fictional 501st Legion of Stormtroopers.Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith Style D One Sheet movie poster – Hollywood is Dead
In 2007, the You Can Draw Star Wars book from DK Publishing was released, for which Busch produced over 300 illustrations. The book went on to become a New York Times bestseller. Busch is known for his outspoken antics in the You Can Draw Star Wars video series, which is based on the book.'Local Illustrator Brings Star Wars Characters to Life' by Sarah Cormier (January 24, 2007) – C&G Newspapers The video series was first released on StarWars.com and later released on DVD.'C4: Matt Busch Drawing DVD Available' by Jay (May 16, 2007) – TheForce.net Following that, the videos found more success when they were released on MySpace, before being released on YouTube.'Number One. Thank You!' by Planetmatt (October 7, 2007) – LiveJournal Volumes Two and Three of the same tutorial series were also released on DVD in subsequent years.'You Can Draw Star Wars, Vol. 2' by Dustin (July 7, 2008) – TheForce.net
In 2008, Hasbro released a droid action figure named MB-RA-7, which was named after Matt Busch, based on articles he had written for Star Wars Kids magazines.'Hasbro releases new Star Wars action figure named after Matt Busch!' (December 16, 2008) – Matt BuschMB-RA-7 – Jedi Temple Archives Also that year, Busch became the first Honorary Member of the 501st Legion of Stormtroopers to become an official member with his own TK Stormtrooper armor.Card 165 – Matt Busch – 501st LegionMatt Busch's 501st Legion Stormtrooper trading card – Matt Busch Store His TK number, 3477, is leet for "Matt" written sideways, and later became the year his Aladdin 3477 film trilogy would take place.
In 2009, Lucasfilm solicited Busch to re-illustrate the existing 6 Star Wars film movie posters with a zombie twist, in an effort to help promote the first Star Wars horror novel. He titled the parody series Zombie Wars, and he created Episode I: The Zombie Menace, Episode II: Attack of the Undead, Episode III: Revenge of the Zombies, Episode IV: A New Epidemic, Episode V: The Living Dead Strike Back, and Episode VI: Return from the Grave.Matt Busch's Zombie Wars posters (October 13–17, 2009) – Matt Busch Due to the series' success, Busch continued 'zombifying' classic movie posters in a series titled Hollywood is Dead, eventually collecting hundreds of the parody zombie posters into a coffee table art book. The initial Zombie Wars series later became licensed by Fright Rags as popular T shirts.Matt Busch's Zombie Wars posters (December 7, 2009) – Geekologie
Soon after, Kohl's department stores released T-shirts featuring Busch's Star Wars art.'Kohl's exclusive Boba Fett T-shirt back by demand!' (February 10, 2010) – Matt Busch
In 2013, Busch illustrated the CD cover of the original Star Wars Radio Dramas. Based on the source material, Busch also illustrated dozens of trading cards for Topps, including special inserts for Star Wars Insider magazine. That year, Busch and Artist Lin Zy created an animated mashup parody combining Star Wars and Powerpuff Girls. The animated videos titled Power of the Force Girls went viral with millions of views on YouTube.
The following year, Busch illustrated nearly 60 images for the Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back Illustrated trading cards, including a series of character cards. Busch became a staple of large Star Wars events like Star Wars Celebrations, JediCon, and Empire Con, producing exclusive limited edition prints for each show. Busch's art was featured in the 2016 Star Wars Calendar.In 2021, Disney unveiled a new limited edition print of The Mandalorian, illustrated by Busch. That same year, he was one of 12 Star Wars artists to exhibit in a Star Wars art show at the Galactic Gallery in Dallas.
In 2023, Busch illustrated a 10th anniversary commemorative coin for the Peter Mayhew Foundation. That same year, the foundation gave a significant contribution to Busch's Aladdin 3477 kickstarter.
In 2024, to celebrate 30 years of illustrating official Star Wars art, Busch exhibited 101 drawings and paintings in the Sparkasse Pyramide Gallery in Heilbronn, Germany. That same year, Busch released a new series of tutorial videos on YouTube titled Illustrating Star Wars.
In 2025, Busch was a guest of honor in a Star Wars art show held in a medieval German castle, Schloss Hohenstein in Coberg. Later that year, Busch's work was featured in another Star Wars themed exhibition at the Siegen Art Gallery in Siegen, Germany.
One of Busch's earliest projects in published comic books was illustrating Coven 13 for No Mercy Comics, which was written by Rikki Rockett, drummer of the rock band Poison. The two have worked on a number of projects together, including an animated parody series titled Toke'mon for KNAC Radio in Los Angeles. Busch also created art for Poison's concert screen animations, as well as concert merchandise like T shirts and bandanas. Rikki Rockett also wrote the introduction to Busch's first hardcover art book, Fantastic Visions: The Art of Matt Busch, from Avatar Press.
Busch's second art book, Pucker: The Seductive Art of Matt Busch from SQP Publishing featured a written introduction from drummer John Dolmayan from the nü metal band System of a Down.
In 2008, Busch was a featured special guest at Comic-Con International in San Diego, joining Bernie Wrightson, Al Jaffe, Sergio Aragones, Jim Lee, Ray Bradbury, Joe Hill, and Dean Koontz.
In 2009, Busch illustrated Barack Obama for the cover of the DVD documentary, Becoming Barack: Evolution of a Leader. Busch also produced a video bonus feature on the DVD.'Illustrating Obama with Artist Matt Busch' by Matt Busch (August 4, 2009) – FacebookIn 2011, the Indiana Jones World Map was released, a project which Busch spent 3 years working with Lucasfilm to authorize, research and illustrate. The map details all of the locations Indiana Jones has acquired archeological treasures from the films, Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, novels, comics, video games, and Disney Theme Park attractions. Busch has co-developed apps with his brother Ian, including "Interactive Sketchbook" and "How to Draw (with Artist Matt Busch)".
In 2025, the film Afterburn was released, based on the Red 5 comic book series which Busch illustrated all of the covers for. The film stars Dave Bautista and Samuel L. Jackson.
Having worked behind-the-scenes for years in corporate studio film productions, Busch eventually gravitated to independent film. In 2006, his first feature-length movie, Conjure, was released straight-to-DVD; a project that he wrote, directed, starred in, and composed the music for. It was also one of the first horror films available on Netflix.'Conjure' – Matt Busch The movie broke the highest pre-sale record for movies purchased through HorrorMovies.com.'Matt Busch's First Independent Thriller Sets A New Record!' by Dustin (March 29, 2006) – TheForce.net
In 2009, Busch released a DVD titled Illustration Nation, a documentary of travel adventures including Hollywood, London, and Tokyo.'Illustration Nation' Now Available on DVD' by Dustin (May 24, 2009) – TheForce.net
Busch's arguably most significant work is writing and directing the trilogy of Aladdin 3477 films, based on the classic Arabian Nights tale Aladdin and his Wonderful Lamp. The movies are set in Asia 1,500 years in the future.Aladdin 3477's frequently asked questions – Aladdin 3477 During the production, the 2018 Hong Kong Business Awards presented Aladdin 3477 with the award for "Most Anticipated Film Project".
The first film, Aladdin 3477- I: The Jinn of Wisdom was released January 3, 2025, on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home. The film garnered 3 nominations for Best Independent Science Fiction Film, Best Director, and Independent Movie of the Year for the 7th Annual Film Threat Award This! Awards Ceremony. On January 31st, 2026, Busch attended the ceremony at the Frida Cinema in Santa Ana, California with other cast members to bring home their win for Best Independent Science Fiction Film.
Matt Busch has instructed college-level courses at art schools such as the Columbus College of Art and Design and the College for Creative Studies. Currently, he is a professor of Media and Communication Arts and faculty advisor of Creative Imaging and Illustration at Macomb Community College. He teaches a range of courses including painted illustration, figure illustration, and previz storyboarding for film and animation.Matt Busch's online client list, résumé, and curriculum vita – Matt Busch
Personal life Busch was married to Lin Zy (née Selestow) in 2011, but divorced in 2019.'Matt Busch Gets Married!' (October 19, 2011) – Matt Busch He later married novelist Casey McGrath in 2024 at the historic Emerald Theatre in Downtown Mount Clemens, Michigan. Busch resides in a home studio in Macomb Township, Michigan with Casey and their son, Beaux. Filmography