I make animations, I draw, sculpt and make toys.
Why do you do what you do?
I've wanted to since I was young. I remember drawing something at an extremely young age, probably 5 or 6 thinking "yes, this is what I want to do." and I just never stopped.
What are your connections and influences?
I watched a lot of cartoons when I was younger, pretty much every day. I think that's where it all started. I'd make up my own characters and stories, whether they be in a comic or a stop-motion of my toys or just in my head. I just always felt a need to create. I stopped watching cartoons for a long time, but started again to gain more inspiration. I think my childhood is definitely my main source of inspiration these days, I converse a fair bit with my inner child when creating an artwork.
I gain inspiaration from a lot of early Looney Tunes cartoons, zoeatropes, 30s cartoons from Fleitcher, sullivan, Disney, Studio Ghibli and also things like Rocko's Modern life, Ren and Stimpy. I watched a lot of these when I was a kid, and their are always memories associated with watching them. It's always very different watching them now, then to watching them then. There's also a lot of illustrators I gain inspiration from, the most notable being Shaun Tan, who actually started making animations recently. His stuff is often about discovery and finding wonder in the little things. Reading things that he's written, it's very clear he had a lot of inspiration from where he grew up as a kid, and the things he watched back then.
I think animals inspired me a lot too, a lot of my very early memories are of animals. My family always owned pets, and I used to live on a farm. I've always enjoyed drawing animals more than drawing anything else.
After a time I got interested in looking at galleries and different artists. Probably an ongoing influences are Patricia Piccinini, who creates sculptures but also animation. Her work has always communicated very directly to me, I guess it's her strong ability to make the unreal seem real. Her creations always have so much life in them, and yet so much vulnerability. I guess like how she morph animals together with humans: showing our direct connection to them, suggesting that we aren't much different.
How you see yourself as an artist/designer?
I've always seen myself both as an artist and an animator, I like putting my stuff into exhibitions but I also like working commercially in a studio. I'd like to continue doing both in the future, but I think at my core I would prefer to just see myself as an artist.
I watched a lot of cartoons when I was younger, pretty much every day. I think that's where it all started. I'd make up my own characters and stories, whether they be in a comic or a stop-motion of my toys or just in my head. I just always felt a need to create. I stopped watching cartoons for a long time, but started again to gain more inspiration. I think my childhood is definitely my main source of inspiration these days, I converse a fair bit with my inner child when creating an artwork.
I think animals inspired me a lot too, a lot of my very early memories are of animals. My family always owned pets, and I used to live on a farm. I've always enjoyed drawing animals more than drawing anything else.
After a time I got interested in looking at galleries and different artists. Probably an ongoing influences are Patricia Piccinini, who creates sculptures but also animation. Her work has always communicated very directly to me, I guess it's her strong ability to make the unreal seem real. Her creations always have so much life in them, and yet so much vulnerability. I guess like how she morph animals together with humans: showing our direct connection to them, suggesting that we aren't much different.
How you see yourself as an artist/designer?
I've always seen myself both as an artist and an animator, I like putting my stuff into exhibitions but I also like working commercially in a studio. I'd like to continue doing both in the future, but I think at my core I would prefer to just see myself as an artist.
Where do you want to go next?
I'd really love to keep doing what I have been, improving upon my techniques and my ultimate dream is to one day get together a team of liked minded individuals and start up my own studio. Short term goals involve finishing my major project for Emedia, of which will be a puppet stop-motion film.
I'd really love to keep doing what I have been, improving upon my techniques and my ultimate dream is to one day get together a team of liked minded individuals and start up my own studio. Short term goals involve finishing my major project for Emedia, of which will be a puppet stop-motion film.
