Robert Sheridan (born October 11, 1979) is an American
graphic designer
A graphic designer is a professional within the graphic design and graphic arts industry who assembles together images, typography, or motion graphics to create a piece of design. A graphic designer creates the graphics primarily for published, ...
,
art director
Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games.
It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...
,
photographer
A photographer (the Greek language, Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who makes photographs.
Duties and types of photographe ...
, and
comic book author
A script is a document describing the narrative and dialogue of a comic book in detail. It is the comic book equivalent of a Television, television program teleplay or a film screenplay.
In comics, a script may be preceded by a plot outline, and ...
best known for his extensive work with the band
Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN and stylized as NIИ, is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland in 1988. Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Trent Reznor was the only permanent member of the band ...
.
Biography
Sheridan attended art school at
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
's
Pratt Institute
Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York (state), New York. It has a satellite campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The school was ...
for one year before being hired at age 19 by Nine Inch Nails'
Trent Reznor
Michael Trent Reznor (born May 17, 1965) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and composer. He serves as the lead vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and principal songwriter of the industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, wh ...
in 1999, on the merits of a Nine Inch Nails
fansite
A fansite, fan site, fan blog or fan page is a website created and maintained by a fan or devotee about a celebrity, thing, or particular cultural phenomenon.
Fansites may offer specialized information on the subject (e.g., episode listings, bi ...
he created during high school. He was initially hired to maintain the newly launched official Nine Inch Nails website. He then also took over as
art director
Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games.
It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...
for the band, contributing
photography
Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed ...
,
web design
Web design encompasses many different skills and disciplines in the production and maintenance of websites. The different areas of web design include web graphic design; user interface design (UI design); authoring, including standardised code an ...
,
album cover
An album cover (also referred to as album art) is the front packaging art of a commercially released studio album or other audio recordings. The term can refer to either the printed paperboard covers typically used to package sets of and 78-r ...
s,
music videos
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...
, live tour visuals, and two live concert films. He was also credited for assisting Trent Reznor with the mythology of the
alternate reality game
An alternate reality game (ARG) is an interactive networked narrative that uses the real world as a platform and employs transmedia storytelling to deliver a story that may be altered by players' ideas or actions.
The form is defined by inten ...
built around Nine Inch Nails' 2007 album ''
Year Zero
A year zero does not exist in the Anno Domini (AD) calendar year system commonly used to number years in the Gregorian calendar (nor in its predecessor, the Julian calendar); in this system, the year is followed directly by year . However, the ...
''. Sheridan left his position as Nine Inch Nails art director after the conclusion of the 2014 tour.
In 2010, Sheridan co-founded the band
How to Destroy Angels. He featured on all the studio releases, as well as touring with the band in 2013.
Sheridan is most widely known for his
glitch art
Glitch art is the practice of using digital or analog errors for aesthetic purposes by either corrupting digital data or physically manipulating electronic devices. Glitches appear in visual art such as the film ''A Colour Box'' (1935) by Len Lye, ...
, but is also well-recognized for his work in illustration, photography, graphic design, and as the director, editor, and director of photography responsible for concert films, as well as a director for the 2005 Nine Inch Nails music video
The Hand That Feeds
"The Hand That Feeds" is a song by American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, released as the lead single from their fourth studio album, ''With Teeth'' (2005).
The single is the highest-charting Nine Inch Nails song on all charts except for ...
.
In 2018, Sheridan announced that he would be writing a
comic book
A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
through the new launch of
Vertigo
Vertigo is a condition where a person has the sensation of movement or of surrounding objects moving when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. This may be associated with nausea, vomiting, sweating, or difficulties w ...
on
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
, called ''High Level''. The tentative release date is in 2019.
Work with Nine Inch Nails
* ''
Things Falling Apart
''Things Falling Apart'' is the second remix album by American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, released by Nothing Records and Interscope Records on November 21, 2000. It is the companion remix disc to the band's third studio album, '' Th ...
'' (2000 album) – graphic designer
* ''
And All That Could Have Been'' (2002 concert film) – director, editor, director of Photography
* "
The Hand That Feeds
"The Hand That Feeds" is a song by American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, released as the lead single from their fourth studio album, ''With Teeth'' (2005).
The single is the highest-charting Nine Inch Nails song on all charts except for ...
" (2005 music video) – director, Editor
* ''
With Teeth
''With Teeth'' (stylized as '' ITH_TEETH') is the fourth studio album by American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, released by Nothing Records and Interscope Records on May 3, 2005. The album was produced by Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent R ...
'' (2005 album) – art director
* ''
Beside You In Time'' (2007 concert film) – director, editor, art director
* "
Survivalism
Survivalism is a social movement of individuals or groups (called survivalists or preppers) who proactively prepare for emergencies, such as natural disasters, as well as other disasters causing disruption to social order (that is, civil disor ...
" (2007 music video) – co-director
* ''
Year Zero
A year zero does not exist in the Anno Domini (AD) calendar year system commonly used to number years in the Gregorian calendar (nor in its predecessor, the Julian calendar); in this system, the year is followed directly by year . However, the ...
'' (2007 album) – art director
* ''
Ghosts I-IV
A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...
'' (2008 album) - art director
* ''
The Slip'' (2008 album) - art director
* ''
Lights In The Sky
''The Slip'' is the seventh studio album by American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, released on May 5, 2008, digitally on the Nine Inch Nails website, and on CD on July 22 by The Null Corporation. It was their second release in 2008, foll ...
'' (2008 tour) - art director
* ''
Pretty Hate Machine
''Pretty Hate Machine'' is the debut studio album by American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, released by TVT Records on October 20, 1989. Production of the record was handled by NIN frontman
Trent Reznor and English producer Flood, among ...
'' (2010 reissue) - art director
* ''
Hesitation Marks
''Hesitation Marks'' is the eighth studio album by American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, released on August 30, 2013, by The Null Corporation and distributed by Columbia Records in the United States and Polydor Records elsewhere. It was ...
'' (2013 album) - art director
* ''
Twenty Thirteen'' (2013-14 tour) - art director
Work outside Nine Inch Nails
Sheridan had been working with Trent Reznor on his other band
How to Destroy Angels as the art director. He also created the artwork/package for the soundtrack release of the
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
-winning and
Golden Globe
The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...
-winning
score for ''
The Social Network
''The Social Network'' is a 2010 American biographical drama film directed by David Fincher and written by Aaron Sorkin, based on the 2009 book ''The Accidental Billionaires'' by Ben Mezrich. It portrays the founding of social networking web ...
'', composed by Trent Reznor and
Atticus Ross
Atticus Matthew Cowper Ross (born 16 January 1968) is an English musician, record producer, composer, and audio engineer. Along with Trent Reznor, he won the Academy Award for Best Original Score for ''The Social Network'' in 2010. In 2013, th ...
.
Sheridan has also become known for his illustration work. In 2007 he began posting artwork and releasing prints on hi
Sketchblog which he described as "an exercise in creative discipline - an attempt to get myself to draw more and play around with images and ideas that wouldn't fit in my professional work."
While the original Sketchblog doesn't exist anymore and has been redirected to the homepag
Sheridan still offers prints and other merchandise of his artwork on his webstor
and Patreon
Sheridan has also been long known for his work shooting, directing, and editing for other artists and musicians. Recently, in 2015, Sheridan shot, directed, and edited a video for the band
The Black Queen (band), The Black Queen called “Ice To Never.
He has also worked with
Maynard James Keenan
Maynard James Keenan (born James Herbert Keenan; April 17, 1964) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, and winemaker. He is best known as the singer and primary lyricist of the rock bands Tool, A Perfect Circle, and Pusci ...
and
Tamar Levine to create visuals and ambiance for
Puscifer
Puscifer () is an American rock group formed in Los Angeles by Maynard James Keenan, known as the lead singer of the bands Tool and A Perfect Circle. Initially, Keenan was the only permanent member, and as such he considered the project to be hi ...
's 2015-2017 shows.
Recognition
In December 2008, in recognition for his work in Art Direction on the ''
Ghosts I-IV
A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...
'' box set, Sheridan was nominated for a Grammy award for "Best Box Set or Limited Edition Package"
and in 2013 for ''The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo''.
See also
*
List of Glitch Artists
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheridan, Rob
American art directors
American bloggers
American graphic designers
American music video directors
American photographers
Nine Inch Nails
Web designers
Living people
1979 births
American illustrators
Pratt Institute alumni
How to Destroy Angels (band) members