Jason Bartziokas: From Sketch to the NHL

Okay, so we have a very exciting guest today.

Thank you, Jason, so much for joining us on the Every Mask Has a Story podcast.

Oh, thanks for having me.

Of course.

So how did you get started with mask art?

Oof, it's a long one.

Yeah.

So I played Goal as a kid.

Okay.

And I got into the position because of the gear.

Mm-hmm.

And I remember

seeing Grant Fuhrer probably the last year that he wore the full face fiberglass mask and just being in awe, like not just the gear, but the mask.

And from then, anytime I had free time in school, I would just be sketching masks.

Yeah.

And when I wasn't playing hockey or hanging out with my friends, I was always drawing back like hockey related stuff, masks, etc.

And then when it was time to go to university, I got myself an airbrush and tried to learn and figure it out myself.

But this was pre-internet.

You didn't have the resources that are out right now.

Yes, for sure.

The airbrush kind of went back in the drawer because you couldn't get paint flow.

And, you know, back to your question.

I just, I was always a fan of hockey and masks and just loved the art form.

Yeah, I just kind of played around with it.

I went to 3D animation school when I was going to go to art school.