Scott "SINC" Sinclair

Bio -

Born in Miami and raised on the edge of the Everglades in Homestead, Scott “SINC” Sinclair grew up hunting, fishing, and building backyard mini ramps in 1980’s Florida.

Sinc’s obsession with 80’s/mid 90’s skate culture really sparked a diehard passion for punk music and weird art. The vibe of that era taught SINC from an early age what an impact a bold style can make. That scene was electric and whether it was on his board or with his paints, SINC found freedom on wood desperately trying to emulate the bad assery he saw on the pages of magazines like Thrasher. 

In 1996 Sinc went on to receive a BFA in Illustration from the Ringling School of Art and Design in Sarasota Florida. After graduation Sinc fled the swamps and headed north in search of his career as a working artist in the big city. Sinc has bounced between Boston, New York, and San Francisco for 30 years, creating art and playing live music.

Sinc’s art has graced the pages of numerous magazines, from Playboy to the Progressive, video games such as Bioshock & Guitar Hero, as well as the album covers of many bands, such as Florida's own; Clairmel, Hot Water Music, & Less Than Jake to name a few. .

Sinc now lives in Rochester New York, living as a working artist alongside his wife Polixeni & their bulldog Wiggles. Sinc is a full time illustrator, game developer, and multimedia designer. You can find out more about SINC at his website, www.sincspace.com

CV

Education;

  • Palm Beach Community College, Cad/Drawing 1992

  • Ringling School of Art and Design, BFA Illustration 1996

  • Mass Art, Continuing Ed for Graphic Design 1997

Full time Editorial Illustrator 1996 - 1998;

  • Notable Clients - Playboy, The New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, Bloomberg, Home & Garden, Raygun, The Progressive, Boston Book Review, The Atlantic Monthly, Boston Magazine, Business Weekly, Die Weltwach, Newsweek…

Web Designer/Flash Artist NYC 2000 - 2001;

  • Notable Clients - Moma, Unicef, The United Nations, Time Warner, Mtv

Game Developement;

  • Looking Glass Studios 1998 - 1999;

    • 3D Aircraft Artist on Janes Combat Simulator

  • Harmonix; 2003-2005, 2007-2009

    • Environment & Concept artist on Eye Toy Anti-Grav,

    • Venue & UI art for Guitar Hero,

    • Venue & UI art for Rock Band 2,

    • Venue concepts Rock Band Beatles.

  • Irrational Games; 2001-2003, 2005-2007, 2009-2014

    • Environment Artist on The Lost

    • Art lead on Freedom Force vs Third Reich

    • Art Director on Bioshock 1

    • Art Director on Bioshock Infinite

    • Art Director Burial at Sea

  • Molasses Flood, 2014 - 2016;

    • Founder/Creative Director

    • Principal Artist on The Flame and the Flood

  • 2k Games/ Cloud Chamber, 2016 - 2020;

    • Cloud Chamber Founder

    • Art Director on Bioshock 4

SINCspace/SINCstudio, 2021-present;

  • Contract art direction, graphic art, illustration, & game dev consulting.

  • Hot Water Music’s art guy

Fine Art/Gallery Shows/Accolades;

  • RSAD Presidents Award for Illustration, Senior thesis - Aesop’s Fables self promotion

  • Communication Arts 2003 Award, Illustration Annual

  • Communication Arts 2003 Award, Best of Commercial Art

  • Entertainment Weekly’s year end “Best of” annual; illustration of the band Oasis.

  • Spike TV Game award for Best Art Direction, Bioshock

  • Bafta Nomination for Best Art Direction, Bioshock Infinite

  • GDC Awards - Best Art Direction nomination, Molasses Flood/The Flame in the Flood

  • Tim Biedron + SINC, New works @ Sixspace Gallery, Los Angeles CA, March 22, 2003

  • Tim Biskup + SINC, (dates/ place missing)

  • Group exhibit - Space//Squared, Whitewalls Gallery, San Francisco CA, May 10th, 2014

Fun Facts!

Ralph Bakshi's The Hobbit, Gary Gygax, and Monty Python's the Holy Grail are the gateway drugs that led me to high fantasy. I blame the original D&D monster manual and 40k for my impetus to be an artist.

The first video game I played was Wasteland on a Tandy PC.  I blame that game for my unhealthy obsession with open world RPGs.  I blame Skate or Die, Crystal Castles, and Dragons Lair for fanning the flames of gaming in general.

I sold my comic book collection from a table I rented during a Florida Comic-Con because I needed cash to buy Herzog Zwei for the Sega Master System.

My cassette player was stuck on Agent Orange’s Bite the Hand That Feeds.  

I used to discover new bands by mail order via the free mixtapes packed inside of Thrasher Magazine.

I blame a specific issue of Transworld Skateboarding featuring “The Art of Natas Kaupas” for the direction of my personal lens.

I love to fish. I am a graduate of the Orvis School of Fly Fishing in Vermont. I can tie a fisherman's knot in my sleep.

I've eaten Shepard's Pie at Churchill's in Miami as a consolation prize for helping break up a fight during one of Fugazi's very first tours.

I've been in the greenroom at CBGB's; I've smelled that bathroom. I've choked on the kitty litter dust in the pit at the Rathskeller in Boston. 

I have a deep seeded fear of flying, yet I have walked the thin plank from ass-to-nose over the open bomb bay of a B-24, three thousand feet above Boston. 

My senior thesis mentor was the late, great Mr. Alan E. Cober.  He was someone who kept close watch over me post-graduation/early days, and was directly responsible for kick-starting my editorial career.  He opened a massive door for me by dropping me front and center with Steven Heller at The New York Times.  

I gravitated towards the NYC/New Haven hardcore scene, fell madly in love with Quicksand album art, and always envisioned a painters life in Gotham.

I've worked as an AP Attendant for the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston—a great job as far as paying rent is concerned.  I worked this by day and focused on self-promotion for editorial by night.

I've painted illustrations for Playboy, Ray-gun, the New York Times, Atlantic Monthly, Transworld Skate and Surf, album covers for many bands, shown in several illustration annuals, and hold awards from both Communication Arts and American Illustration for excellence in traditional media.

The opportunity to be a featured, recurring illustrator for the Progressive is, to this day, a highlight of my career.

Rolling Stone was the one trophy client I could never land during my career as an editorial illustrator.  I actually tried sneaking up to the Art Director’s office with my portfolio and promo cards.  Security on the Avenue of America's is extremely tight.  Mission Impossible.

I've designed interactive flash kiosks to commemorate the career of Alfred Hitchcock and Clint Eastwood for the MoMA.

I have been lucky enough to gain private access to the flat files in the photojournalism archives of the United Nations headquarters in New York City, with, “Anything you find relevant or interesting, feel free to use," as my only direction in what appeared to be the real life equivalent of an Indiana Jones parting shot.  There, I saw photos of history most people will never see.

I apologize for the god awful Looking Glass Studios logo.

Over a decade ago, my father purchased six hundred acres of deforested, oil soaked land in New Hampshire.  Today it is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen.  My father’s life-work has been devoted to the restoration of environments through the direct contribution of sweat and blood.

I have helped birth both the Guitar Hero and Bioshock franchises, granting me amazing opportunities to learn in a broad range of culture and process alongside the greatest assortment of the most talented people from a million walks of life.  

I have been the lesser half of a two-man gallery show with the fabulous Mr. Tim Biskup.

My name is on display at the Smithsonian for a video game.  Something is not right with this.

I like to believe the documentary Beauty Is Embarrassing is a one-for-one telling of my own story. I would kill to meet Wayne White.  He is my hero.