Connor McDevitt, known to his followers as MICK DEV, is a student, father, campus employee and musician who found time to make a new album and design technicolor music videos.
A kid with a dream
McDevitt started playing the drums in high school, but he says his journey began long before that.
"My best friend's dad was a professional artist," said McDevitt. "He ran a gallery and made a TV show and video games, and that was a big influence on me."
On his church mission, McDevitt found a guitar and "really [got] into guitar and writing [his] own songs."
From there, Mick Dev was born, and he's been writing music since.
A man with a vision
Early on, McDevitt created a mission statement to fuel his passion for music.
The aim of MICK DEV as a creative project is to explore art in all its forms through music, design, photo, video, painting, drawing, etc. It’s about learning how each creative skill connects and supports the others, from songwriting and production to visual storytelling and illustration. The goal is to grow as an artist by experimenting, improving technically, and creating work that is genuine and expressive.
Mick Dev's Mission Statement
McDevitt's statement emphasizes everything he does through his artistic talents.
"I love creating video, love doing animation, love painting, love poetry [and] love writing," McDevitt said. "Anything involved with creativity that kind of reminds me of the things that have impacted me and kind of helped me throughout my life,"
In Mick Dev's video for "Not Forever," all of these elements are present.
The new album
"Image of Life," McDevitt's latest album, released just over a month ago and has gained some traction, with the songs getting hundreds of views on YouTube.
"I wasn't trying to do anything super complicated," McDevitt said. "[I'm] still experimenting quite a bit."
McDevitt considers this his first real album, surpassing his previously released demo album during COVID.
The album hasn't come without sacrifices.
Referring to his work process, McDevitt says, "You only have so much time in your life … to focus on and to do [things]."
McDevitt recommends that people who want to pursue their creative dreams eliminate distractions and do what matters most.
Technicolor wonderland
One of McDevitt's most iconic parts of his career is his music videos. McDevitt often incorporates bright color palettes and intense visuals to create a "Technicolor wonderland" in his videos. One of his coworkers, J Clements, says that the videos are his favorite part.
"The videos are amazing," said Clements.
McDevitt uses a technique called rotoscoping, hand-drawing over video frames to recreate the film. The technique is time-consuming, with most of McDevitt's videos having hundreds of hand-drawn frames.
McDevitt, as Mick Dev, is on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music and Instagram.
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