Early life[edit]
Ryden was born in Medford, Oregon on January 20, 1963,[5] but was raised in Southern California. Ryden is the son of Barbara and Keith Ryden. His father made a living painting, restoring and customizing cars.[6] He has two sisters and two brothers, one a fellow artist named Keyth Ryden, who works under the name KRK.[7][8] Ryden graduated from the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena in 1987.
Early career (1988–1998)[edit]
From 1988 to 1998 Ryden made his living as a commercial artist. During this period he created numerous album covers including Michael Jackson's Dangerous, Red Hot Chili Peppers' One Hot Minute, and Aerosmith's Love in an Elevator. Also during this time, Ryden created book covers including Stephen King's novel Desperation and The Regulators. He made a living as a commercial artist until his work was taken up by Robert Williams, a former member of the Zap Comix collective, who in 1994 put it on the cover of Juxtapoz, a magazine devoted to "lowbrow art".[8][9]