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Amanda Martin on being early, working smart and individualism

Toronto based Amanda Martin is an incredibly pure talent, with one hand firmly on the past and other on the future Amanda has a nostalgic slant to her 50′s inspired visuals whilst still pushing her art forward. 

Not only that but it’s clear to see from how she pulls on her representation of the female form but also the female role that she has an incredible eye for emotion and being in the moment. 

We’re very pleased to say that Amanda took some time out of her day to answer some of our questions, here’s what she said...

Could you give us 3 tips that you'd say have got you to where you are today.

One thing I pride myself on is being a hard worker. It gets you noticed. Be someone that people can depend upon  and not have to worry about.

Keep on learning! You are never too old and you will never learn everything there is to know about art (or life in general)

Having a balanced life. This one is really important to me. Art is not only my career, but it's my passion. Some times its easy to lose yourself and not work on relationships in your life. Always take the time to keep those happy and healthy. To me art shouldn't be the only thing that defines you. It will help inspire you in so many ways as well.

Why did you feel Illustration is best suited to you as an art form? What excites you about it?

For my personal work, I prefer illustration. I'm a classically trained animator, but I don't have the same passion as my other cohorts did when it came to animating. I have that love for design; thinking and feeling a story when you design a character or plan an illustration. Coming up with ideas and reasons why things are designed a certain way is what I love. What you can tell about the character is right on the page. The more I learn about my craft, the more I am able to tell a story in a single image. Taking animation in school taught me an enormous amount about creating characters and how to tell a story visually, I use the same principles but tailor it to my illustration.

Give us an idea of your average day, how you work and how do you get your creative ideas done?

I currently work in the Animation industry in Toronto, Canada as a Posing Supervisor. That's a fancy way to say my team draws the shows characters in action poses, or interacting/doing things that the animation rig wouldn’t be able to do. We create those assets for the animators to use

I like to get in as early as possible to start my day. I really enjoy having my evenings to myself for art or relaxing. I then spend the rest of the day going through approvals and sending any revisions back to my team. Also preparing for the next episode or addressing any notes from the Animation Dept or Directors for past episodes. Also fit in time for reviews with the directors and anything else that may come up.

It's really common in the animation industry to keep working past quitting time. My personal time is sacred to me so I always focus and try to be as productive as possible, so I can go home and draw for myself! Some nights it's a struggle, and as with all other artists self doubt and the challenges of the day creep in. I try to remember that everyone feels this way and sometimes the easiest thing is to step back and take a break, and not to feel guilty for doing so!

How do you attract new work?

A lot of my freelance comes from people who have stumbled across my tumblr or twitter and contact me. I've met a lot of wonderful creators looking to partner with an artist, and others that want the quality of your work but are not willing to pay for it. I also tend to get work by referral. Writers I've worked with previously sending their friends to me. It has to be one of the most rewarding things seeing people recommend you to another person. One of the most important things in this day and age is keeping an online presence. Always make sure you keep your portfolio up to date and gave your email on everything so people can get in contact with you!

Can you talk us through the process of how you get inspiration and how you form new ideas?

I touched on this briefly in another question, but sometimes the hardest thing is coming up with a new idea, or a new take on something. For me, coming up with new ideas is greatly connected to my free time and what I decide to fill it with. I watch movies and cartoons, read comics and graphic novels, follow so many artists on twitter, tumblr or instagram whose work I respect and see every day. It's all about surrounding yourself with new experiences. My brain grows stale if I focus all my time and effort on work and don't keep it fed. The downside with following other artists can be recycling their ideas instead of being inspired by them, or even getting discouraged by the level of their art compared to yours. One thing I always tell myself if I feel like my art is not good enough, or someone is leaps ahead of me is that they worked hard to get to where they are and pushed themselves to be that good. You just need to keep practising. No one is ever done learning.

How long have you been an Illustration  and would you say it's your career?

I've been in the animation industry for almost 6 Years now. I'm glad to say it's my career! It's the same with many other 'art' industries, and the market rises and falls. Right now it's a great time to work in animation, there are so many great projects and jobs. It's not always been like that, so I am happy that I have illustration to fill in any open stretches of time.

What's the best advice would you give to someone starting out?

Some gems I've come across in the past few years would be:

Show up for meetings or interviews on time if not a few minutes early. It gives the impression you take your job seriously and your respect the client/job.

Don't compare yourself to someone who has been in the industry longer than you. It really doesn't matter what industry. They will have more hours drawing, painting etc and will have worked out a lot of the kinks. It's hard not to get discouraged some times, but always be willing to learn and soak up information from everyone.

Last great piece of advice I have is to do something right the first time. More in the sense of trying your hardest and not being sloppy or lazy. Work productive. Doing it right may take a while, but it's better than having to redo the whole thing a second time because you didn’t take your time.  

[crazyanimalface]

James Gilleard on illustrating from Japan

James Gilleard is an exceptional creative talent, originally a UK resident now based in Japan James’s influences around 1950′s cartoons, vintage film posters and retro character art has taken on a whole new slant, and we love it at CAF. 

How then does someone like James even end up in Japan? and how has his talent landed him there? We asked him exactly that amongst lots of other questions and he kindly took time out of his day to talk to us. Here’s what he said...

Could you give us 3 tips that you'd say have got you to where you are today.

Hard work! In such a saturated and competitive industry I genuinely think that hard work and putting in long hours can make a big difference.

Perseverance is important. A career in illustration can have it's highs and lows but it is important to not give up. I personally like to set long term goals, which keeps me motivated, some big career goals and some smaller, that can lead to the bigger ones.

Exploration and experimentation is important for me to stay interested. This can be difficult with commercial work or with your agents as the two tend to have you down as doing a certain thing.

My advice would be, if possible, take a period of time off every year to develop the ideas you've had, maybe you can dip in and out of this in spare time, but I found it better to take1 month off at the end of last year to fully get into it.

Why did you feel Illustration is best suited to you as an art form? What excites you about it?

I started off as an animator, working in small production companies and games studios, it wasn't until 2011 that I started to focus properly on illustration with a view to getting an agent.

All mediums that can tell stories through images interest me immensely, be it pure animation or illustration or others like graphics novels or games and virtual reality. For me it is about the emotional response that these can provoke in the viewer. Animation, games and virtual reality are a little more interesting for me as they combine animation with music and sound effects, the combination of which can be really moving.

Give us an idea of your average day, how you work and how do you get your creative ideas done?

Depending on what time I go to bed I usually get up early and try to do a personal image for an hour or so, then breakfast and into the commercial work.

At the moment I'm working on 3 projects throughout the day, the first is creating assets for an animation - at this stage stylesheets and characters which I try to get done for early afternoon and prepare for a Skype call at 7pm Japan time from Sweden when my work has been reviewed. Before that though I'm working on some images for a website which I work on until dinnertime and then lastly some images for a book until bedtime!

Usually I will have one or two projects running at the same time and so delicate full days to those and alternate throughout the week. As I'm in Japan I'm ahead of most clients by nearly a full working day which is really helpful as when they wake up the work is delivered so it makes turnarounds much quicker.

How do you attract new work?

Usually through posting online - or through my illustration agent Folio. I find when I post a new project on Behance or the other social sites that brings enquiries. Disney got in touch with me about illustrating a children's book for them as they had seen my work on Devientart of all places. Other times someone has gone directly to Folio and asked my availability or interest.

Can you talk us through the process of how you get inspiration and how you form new ideas?

Last year I moved to Japan which was hugely inspirational. At the same time I took a month off to focus on some style development which I wasn't getting the opportunity to do with commercial work. Other than that just head out, often into the countryside, or a museum, or just for lunch with my wife. I'm new to Japan so everything is still exciting for me.

I love going to bookshops and discovering new artists, architects or photographers. Second hand toy shops here are amazing too - full of pristine vintage toys - robots, cars and action figures are favourites. If I take my phone out I'm taking photos of all these.

How long have you been an Illustrator and would you say it's your career?

Yeah it's definitely my career - just hope it can last! About 5 years seriously as an illustrator. Before that I worked in games and apps, creating cartoony illustration and animation for children apps and iPad storybooks. I graduated in 2005 with an illustration/animation degree but it was kind of at the time when the digital technology was kicking off, so I spent a year or two getting to grips with that before entering the industry properly.

Whats the best advice would you give to someone starting out?

In the beginning stages I would say that is important to consider yourself a professional and not a 'beginner'. Don't take jobs that don't pay or pay incredibly bad, even though it is tempting to start with, you should instead create personal work and get that out there.

--

Follow James on twitter here and see more work on his site here. 

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Elliot James Interview

Elliot James is a prolific talent, drummer, song writer, producer and all round gorgeous person we’re open in saying that we love big EL at Crazy Animal Face. As an insanely creative individual it wasn’t a surprise then that Elliot got in touch to say that he’d created an idea and executed it in 24 hours.

Siting a tour to Osaka as his inspiration he said:

“It was inspired by my last tour in Japan and everyone with our same common thread issue, we suck at sleeping”. Building on the idea of creating therapeutic work that soothes and relaxes Elliot went on to describe his work as “a mini bed time mix / that ends with a Brazilian style love song”.

Being based in LA meant that catching up post tour would be a little tricky, but Elliot managed to have a chat over e-mail to tell us a bit more about his new EP ‘Soft Dreams’.

CAF: We LOVE the concept, the animation fits really nicely as well, that’s crazy for a day’s work! 

EJ: Thank you man! I don’t typically work this fast it was definitely an interesting change of pace!

CAF: The EP carries the same multi layered sound as your usual work but it’s far more chilled out and stripped back (being a bed time mix) did you find making it a challenge?

EJ: The craziest thing is I can’t remember a moment that ever appeared challenging. I had sort of a blurry map in my mind of how the whole thing would be, I knew I wanted it to start and end with similar sensibilities.

CAF: Can you tell us about the recording process? What did you play live? What did you sample and how did you arrange it?

EJ: My stuff is usually analog and we record a lot of it. I’m not one of those Ableton wizards and I don’t tend to use many plugins. Fittingly, I recorded 90% of this thing in bed, only going into the studio for vocals. Some of these samples are things I’ve flipped off of old records and they’ve been sitting on a drive collecting digital dust for some years. The rest is Logic instruments, loops, and I’m super guilty, but you can never have enough Valhalla reverb on your songs, ha!

CAF: Have you tried it out at bedtime? Does it work?

EJ: A group of us all made a pact to try it last night and I woke up to a lot of fun texts about it, how was it for you?   CAF: We’re listening to it in the backroooouund aaannndd… Zzzzzz

(20 Minutes Later)

CAF: Sorry about that, being partially based in LA the sound of the EP really fits the sun drenched environment. Could this be a new sound thread? Would anyone else you know on the local scene chip in as well?

EJ: It’s really cool that the songs are conveying that, I’ve been re-falling in love with a lot of my favourite albums of the decades that all have that “LA-bright-gloom”, I know what you mean. Especially that 90’s / Millennium patch, that was my favourite bit. I’d love to say its coincidence, but it’s definitely something I came out here hoping to find. Texas Drew was here last night and asked me the same thing! It hadn’t crossed my mind, but I could definitely get on board with the idea. Fortunately there’s never a shortage of break players in and out of here every week.

CAF: What else could you do in 24 hours? Would you want to create more EPs?

EJ: Binge watch Mr. Robot! Have you seen it!? ha! I’ve made more music in the past 9 weeks than I did in 2015. I’ve always been told when the wave comes, you ride it.

CAF: It’s going on now! Well we can’t wait to hear more! Speak soon dude.

EJ: Xx

–

Check out the EP on Soundcloud here

[crazyanimalface]

This is the fifth Podcast of 2016 from Manchester based creative Mecca Crazy Animal Face.

The Podcast is one of a monthly series featuring a mix of tropical, disco, house and pop funk all fitting under the Crazy Animal Face mantra of 'Happy Music'.

April's Podcast features remixes, edits and exclusives from CORY WHITE, Great Dane, Poom, Gavin Turek and loads of other talented people.

The Podcast is hosted by Crazy Animal Face founder Paul Gosling and all other details about where to find the tracks featured in May's Podcast can be found via Soundcloud.

Enjoy!

--

1) Air - Come Wander With Me (Great Dane Remix) Grrrreatdane – Air-come-wander-with-me-great-dane-remix

UNRELEASED

2) CORY WHITE - TRACK ONE FT. ISSI LAÏKI Darkerthanwax – Cory-white-track-one-ft-issi-laiki-free-download-series

LABEL - DARKER THAN WAX (FREE DOWNLOAD)

3) Goldwater - Crown Imgoldwater – Crown

UNRELEASED

4) JNTHN STEIN - Dreaming At The Function ft. Brasstracks Jnthnstein – Dreaming-at-the-function-ft-brasstracks

FREE DOWNLOAD

5) Dugong Jr - Baby Avo Dugongjr – Dugong-jr-baby-avo-good-enuff-release

LABEL - GOOG ENUFF (FREE DOWNLOAD)

6) FFX - Promnite (Star Slinger Remix) Jetjamclub – Ffx-promnite-star-slinger-remix

LABEL - JET JAM CLUB

7) MORE // NIGHT - Call My Name Souletiquette – More-night-call-my-name

LABEL - SoulEtiquette (FREE DOWNLOAD) 8)Autolaser & PLS&TY - Used To This ft. MOONZz (TRAILS REMIX)

Onetwotrails – Used-to-this

9) Great Dane - Ride For My City ft. Penthouse Penthouse, Promnite & Goodnight Cody Grrrreatdane – Ride-for-my-city-w-penthouse-penthouse-promnite-goodnight-cody

LABEL - TeamSupreme

10. Birthday Boy - Storm Birthdayboyofficial – Storm-1

SELF RELEASED

11) POOM - Qui es-tu Poomband – Qui-es-tu-official

LABEL - GRAND MUSIQUE MANAGEMENT

12) Gavin Turek - On The Line Gavinturek – On-the-line

LABEL - HIT CITY USA

13) MORE // NIGHT - Paradigm Morniyt – Paradigm

FREE DOWNLOAD (LIMITED)

14) Mars Today - Juicy Fruit ft. OMAC Fetedela – Juicyfruit

LABEL - Fête (FREE DOWNLOAD)

15) FATHERDUDE- Eyes On You Fatherdude – Eyes-on-you

LABEL - EtcEtc Music

16) BIYO - Seasons Biyobiyo – Seasons

FREE DOWNLOAD

17) Blende - Running ft. Gustaph Blende – Running-feat-gustaph

LABEL - Eskimo Recordings / N.E.W.S.

[crazyanimalface]

STEFAN FäHLER INTERVIEW

BY NADIA SAYS

Stefan Fähler is an art director, illustrator and videast with a work focus on the music and film industries. During his agency years, he created visual campaigns for clients such as Easy Jet and MTV. You might also have seen his work on the posters or album covers of Ariel Pink, Mykki Blanco, Mogwai, or Damo Suzuki… or more recently for the Berlin queer music festival Yo! Sissy happening on the last weekend of July featuring Karin Park, Le1f, Ballet School, Hannah Holland and loads of talented people.

We spoke to Stefan about how he got to where he is and what makes him tick. 

How do you usually get started on a job?

Every client has and gets an individual approach. Sometimes I can do whatever I want, sometimes they have specific ideas that I consider. Mostly I work impulsively and fast.

What is your main goal when creating a campaign?

Since most of my work can be seen on the streets and in clubs, a mixture of both visual result and promotional impact is what I aim for.

What do you like to work with in terms of colours, patterns, media…?

I tend to work more with analog elements, watercolours, markers, acrylic paint. Depending on each job and the desired look, the tools vary.

What other recent projects are you happy about?

I recently worked for Siouxsie and the Banshees' cover artwork and t-shirt design together with my friend Philip Marshall, it was a lot of fun since their music accompanies me since my teenage years. "The Salt of the Earth" is a documentary about Sebastião Salgado by Juliano Ribeiro Salgado and Wim Wenders, I did the title design, it was a beautiful project to work on. My ongoing work for the party series Gegen Berlin - which was exhibited at Dalston Superstore in London earlier this year -  is always a lot of fun too since they fully trust me and give me complete freedom every time. Another thing that made me really proud was when I saw some people reusing my gig poster design for Death Grips, making DIY patches or tattoos out of it.

And there will be some nice releases and projects coming up that include my work but I won't spoil it by now ;)

More about Stefan on www.stefanfaehler.com and more about Yo! Sissy on www.facebook.com/yosissyberlin

[crazyanimalface]

This is the fourth Podcast of 2016 from Manchester based creative Mecca Crazy Animal Face.

The Podcast is one of a monthly series featuring a mix of tropical, disco, house and pop funk all fitting under the Crazy Animal Face mantra of 'Happy Music'.

April's Podcast features remixes, edits and exclusives from David Harks, CIEN, Darkstar, FEKI and loads of other talented people.

The Podcast is hosted by Crazy Animal Face founder Paul Gosling and all other details about where to find the tracks featured in April's Podcast can be found below.

Enjoy!

--

1) Tom Redwood - I’ve Fallen For You Tomredwood – Ive-fallen-for-you-1

LABEL - SONY ENTERTAINMENT SWEDEN

2) David Harks - Obey Davidharks – Obey

LABEL - JUMJUM

3) Semma - Cut The Rope soundcloud.com/jetjamclub/sets/semma-cut-the-rope-single-out

LABEL - JET JAM

4) Trails - Crying In The Shadows Onetwotrails – Crying-in-the-shadows

FREE DOWNLOAD

5) Francis Lung - Dance 4 Sorrow Francislung – Dance-4-sorrow-1

UNRELEASED

Darkstar - Stoke The Fire Darkstarofficial – Stoke-the-fire

LABEL - WARP (PRE ORDER)

6) Goldwash - Separate Goldwash – Separate

FREE DOWNLOAD (LIMITED)

Dragon Baby - Small Planets Dragonbabymusic – Small-planets

7) FREE DOWNLOAD

Your Secret - PLC Sunday Your_secret – Plc-sunday

FREE DOWNLOAD

8) Yombe - Later On Yombeband – Later-on

UNRELEASED

9) D-Will - Signals ft. Austin Armstrong Lavish – D-will-signals-ft-austin-armstrong

LABEL - LAVISH

10) Feki - Remember Fekibeats – Feki-remember

FREE DOWNLOAD

11) Harrison - You’re Light @harrison_music

UNRELEASED

12) CIEN - Float Ivoryoasis – Cien-float

LABEL - IVORY OASIS

13) KStewart - Be Without You (Jean Tonique Remix) Kstewartmusic – Kstewart-be-without-you-jean-tonique-remix

LABEL - CHERRY JAM

14)Point Point - F+L Pointpoint – Point-point-fplusl

FREE DOWNLOAD (Proper Vibes)

[crazyanimalface]

Louise Evans Interview

Let's start at the beginning, Louise Evans trained in fashion design and millinery and from there has grown, adapted and shaped her work into what can only be described as highly original and striking character designs. Looking like someone downloaded Jim Henson’s brain and inverted the colour pallet there is absolutely no question that when you see Louise’s work it’ll make your jaw hit the floor. 

It’s not surprising in that case that Louise has become THE go to person for all manner of character design and creation work, she’s collaborated with a range of illustrators including Jon Burgerman, Pete Fowler, Gruff Rhys and her partner Jonathan Edwards bringing a new dimension to their work. 

Louise very kindly took time out of her day having travelled back from Japan to have a chat with us and answer our questions, here’s what she said: 

Could you give us 3 tips that you'd say have got you to where you are today.

This is tricky as I answered the last question before this one and I think my answers are pretty much the same but if I had to just pick three, it would be:

1) Hard work and practice.

2) Making sure your work gets seen

3) Enthusiasm

Why did you feel physical design and creation with felt is best suited to you as an art form? What excites you about it?

It's the first fabric I sewed with as a child (I think the first thing I made was a bookmark). I do work with other fabrics too and before I started to make characters full time I made bespoke dresses for private clients. Mostly wedding and some formal wear. My background is in Fashion Design and so I love clothing. Most of the characters are made in felt but I also try and make clothing for them so that I can mix the two disciplines together. When making the clothes I use the same fabrics and techniques you would use to make the full size garment (including lining). I like felt because it is malleable and because it doesn't fray you can cut quite detailed shapes but you have to respect felt and know how much you can push it as it can be easily stretched out of shape.

Give us an idea of your average day, how you work and how do you get your creative ideas done?

I usually start the day answering emails, I always like to get the jobs I dislike the most out of the way so I can do what I consider the fun bits. I hate paper work. So I don't really start "proper work" until lunchtime but then most nights work late into the night.

How do you inspire yourself?

Everywhere. I think it's hard to switch off when you do something creative you see things in everything. We may see someone walking down the street with an interesting look and we make a mental note for future characters. Jonathan always sketches when we are out and about.  I think as we are inspired by people and surroundings pretty much anywhere can be inspiring, you never know when you are going to spot something/someone that may spark an idea. Snippets of overheard conversations in shops, on train journeys, and people talking loudly on their phones (even though sometimes annoying) are entertaining and sometimes if you can't see the person talking it's great to imagine what they look like.

We like to travel and I am always looking out for unusual fabrics and haberdashery when visiting different countries as well as the different fashions, architecture and general attitude of a place. We regularly visit Japan and a few years ago we had  the chance to spend 5 weeks there as part of a gallery residency this was a great experience. We produced a lot of work while we were out there. As well as the city we spent some time in the Japanese countryside and found similarities to our homeland of Wales. Also fashion blogs, music, films, sculptures, portraiture, TV, books, friends.

How do you attract new work?

I do have an agent which which is a great help to get commercial work and I also try and do a lot of personal work for exhibitions as much as I can. Twitter, Instagram etc all help to get your work seen too.

How long have you been a creative and would you say it's your career?

I have been sewing professionally for over 25 years. I studied fashion and previously worked for many years as a couture dressmaker. I have always made characters but never thought of it as full time job before, they were only made for friends as birthday presents or just for fun. I had lots of friends who would make comics and zines and I wanted to join on but couldn't draw so I would make 3d pieces and photograph them for the pages instead. My first break was when Brix Smith Start, ex member of The Fall saw my work on a Twitter and commissioned me to make creatures for her windows during fashion week, that led on to working with Selfridges (that same year I did their Christmas windows) after that I got more and more commissions and it started to take over the dressmaking. I have been making characters full time for about 6/7 years now.

What’s the best advice would you give to someone starting out?

Work hard.

Never give up on a piece of work even if it seems to be going wrong (some of my favourite pieces nearly ended up on the bin during their making) Practice, practice, practice. Make sure people get to see your work, share online, exhibitions, self published books/zines. Collaborate with other artists. Be nice to people and don't be complacent.

--

Check out Louise’s site here, her blog here and here social feeds here and here.

[crazyanimalface]

This is the third Podcast of 2016 from Manchester based creative Mecca Crazy Animal Face.

The Podcast is one of a monthly series featuring a mix of tropical, disco, house and pop funk all fitting under the Crazy Animal Face mantra of 'Happy Music'.

February's Podcast features remixes, edits and exclusives from Imad Royal, Blackbear, CLIN, Louis The Child and loads of other talented people.

The Podcast is hosted by Crazy Animal Face founder Paul Gosling and all other details about where to find the tracks featured in March's Podcast can be found below.

Enjoy!

1) Goldwash - Need to Hear Goldwash – Need-2-hear

FREE DOWNLOAD (LIMITED)

2) Ishizu - Laetho - Laetho – Ishizu

FREE DOWNLOAD (LIMITED)

3) Sumthin Sumthin - Moon Shoes Sumthinsumthin – Moon-shoes

FREE DOWNLOAD (LIMITED)

4) Blackbear - Playing Dead (SevnthWonder Remix) Sevnthwonder – Playingdead

FREE DOWNLOAD (LIMITED)

5) Point Point - True Summer Pointpoint – Point-point-true-summer

LABEL - RECORD RECORD PARIS

6) Louis The Child - It’s Strange (Ft. K.Flay) Louisthechild – Itsstrange

LABEL - NEXT WAVE

7) Kayloo - Merit Your Sleep Kayloo-sound – Merit-your-sleep

SELF RELEASED

8) Imad Royal - Selfish Imadroyal – Selfish

UNRELEASED

9) Vallis Alps - Young (Feki Remix) Fekibeats – Vallis-alps-young-feki-remix

FREE DOWNLOAD

10) Tate Tucker - Unreal (prod. PD) Propervibesrecs – Unreal-prod-pd-tate-tucker

LABEL - PROPER VIBES (FREE DOWNLOAD)

11) Astre - My Orange World Astresound – My-orange-world

UNRELEASED

12) CLIN - Always Exoticleisure – Clin-always

LABEL - EXOTIC LEISURE

13) LUCA LUSH - THE VAPOURS Lucalush – The-vapors-lucalush-flip

UNRELEASED

14) Droid Bishop - To Love A Synthwaver Droidbishop – To-love-a-synthwaver

LABEL - FUTURE 80’s RECORDS

15) Cashmere Cat - Mirror Maru (Melvv Remix) Droidbishop – To-love-a-synthwaver

FREE DOWNLOAD

16) CATZ ‘n DOGZ - Nobody Cares (Karizma Remix) Pets_recordings – Catz-n-dogz-nobody-cares-karizma-remix

LABEL - PETS RECORDINGS

17) KRNE & Ellio - Lion Krnesessions – Krne-x-ellio-lion-sessions_23

LABEL - SESSIONS

[crazyanimalface]

Greg Barth Interview

Think of your favourite dream, times that by 100, sprinkle in some elements of the Herbie Hancock Rockit video and add a vibrant dayglo dash of early 90s block colouring and you’ll end up with something that is 10% on the way to what Swiss born but London based Greg Barth is capable of. 

Using video and creative direction as his platform Greg is represented by the awesome London based agency Blinkink and has worked on projects for FIFA, McDonalds, Grolsch and this little organisation called the UN it’s safe to say Greg knows what he’s doing and people that really know what they are talking about think so too. 

So, how does a multi award winning creative powerhouse like Greg Barth get to where he is? Well, we asked him, he’s what he said...

Could you give us 3 tips that you'd say have got you to where you are today.

1) living in a cheap city (Montreal), while exploring mediums and techniques has allowed me to be prolific, develop my style and test a lot.

2) Only putting what I wanted to continue doing on my website, took all the big client stuff off if it wasn't artistic. I once only had one project left on there but that really helped get the right clients to contact me.

3) Building my portfolio by investing in pro-bono projects and personal projects, as long as I had complete freedom to do what I wanted. Investing every penny I had into it to make it better.

4) Refusing well paid work to wait for the smaller and more artistic projects. You have to accept that to build a solid portfolio you will have to be broke for a bit, or longer than a bit. But stay focused!

Why did you feel Film is best suited to you as an art form? What excites you about it?

For me, using practical effects can only work in film. A poster with the same effects will feel photoshopped, as opposed to film where you can feel the texture of something real, and wonder how they did that. It also allows me to have fun creating those effects. For example, for my Passion Pit music video, we actually had to build a catapult that would sling a balloon filled with gold paint at our actor. The stills that came from that are real, you feel that in the film and you see it in the making-of. That moment would just be a still frame with no context it the paint explosion could have just been done any other way. Making cool images is nice, but what really excites me is how to keep it real and physical. Its all about the texture.

Give us an idea of your average day, how you work and how do you get your creative ideas done?

My days are spent trying to survive two children and a huge pile of emails. I work at night, and do a lot of research on tumblr, put moodboards together, collect images and repost them. Just browsing freely or with a theme in mind that has to appear in a project, images always inspire ideas for me. Sometimes they are not even linked to what I am looking at but trigger a chain reaction or make me remember something different I liked. Then it’s all about connecting the dots, what inspires me, how it is going to work, what fun techniques can this be done with. How is it going to look. What will happen, etc. It’s a nice routine, and it get’s me ready before going on to sketching.

How do you attract new work?

I luckily now am represented by a production company (Blink) that do it for me now. I was always bad at selling myself and my work, so I just tried to make my work as good as possible so It can hopefully go around the web and do the selling for me.

Can you talk us through the process of how you get inspiration and how you form new ideas?

Inspiration usually stems from a technique I want to try. I try to have either a new take on something existing or try something completely new. Then I need to form a story around that technique, and make the story prominent (a film should never be about technique alone).

My favorite part is writing the basic storyline, and more recently, trying out dialogue and script.

I also love mocking up how it is going to look (I have a designer background after all)

How long have you been an Film and would you say it's your career?

I’ve been independent for 7 years now. It will be my main career as long as I can afford it.

What’s the best advice would you give to someone starting out?

Fear of accomplishing you idea (specially with no money) is always there. It never goes away, no matter how much experience you have. You have to learn to channel it, accept it and overcome it to be able to make your project come true in it’s best form.

Getting friends who are going to help you on board early in the process is a great motivation to keep the project moving forward as well. They will make you create deadlines and force you forward as you don’t want to waste their precious time. This has helped me several times when I was procrastinating.

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View more of Greg’s work here and follow him here

[crazyanimalface]

Joe Cruz Interview

Every now and then an creator comes into our lives that takes methods of work that we all recognise and maybe have even tried ourselves before but for some reason when that person picks up the same tools we’ve all touched the results are completely unique. Joe Cruz definitely fits into that category. 

To quote Joe his work “employs hands on methods and low-tech materials, it mostly revolves around appropriation, mark making and colour.” and the strongest themes running through his work are “sexuality, gender and beauty.” 

With a client list that includes Adidas, Warner Music, Stussy and Red Bull there is no question his creations communicate on a commercial level. Joe is also a regular with his gallery shows listing Mother London, Somerset House and The Royal College of Art as homes for his exhibitions in the last 6 years. 

We managed to catch Joe to have a quick chat and see what makes him tick, here’s what he said: 

Could you give us 3 tips that you'd say have got you to where you are today?

Be motivated, determined and believe in your work.

Why did you feel Illustration is best suited to you as an art form? What excites you about it?

I would not necessarily say it’s what I am best suited too, I do not always think of myself as an illustrator, more a creative, I want to expand and do different things with my work.

Give us an idea of your average day, how you work and how do you get your creative ideas done?

An average day would be to get up, tea and breakfast. Then go to the studio for around 9-10am, I try to dive in first thing in the morning, especially if I am working on a client project, I am usually fresher and more motivated. Then lunch, which I always enjoy, I love my food and usually make myself something or go out to eat, meal deals do not do it for me. After lunch I try to find some time for my own personal projects, this may be researching, drawing, playing with concepts and techniques. I exercise 3-4 evenings a week, this is a real outlet, as after being on my computer knees deep in a project it is a great way to take your mind away from it all. Then in the evening when I go back to look at the work I have more clarity.

How do you attract new work?

I feel doing my own work and trying new things is very important, I do not want to be too comfortable with my commercial projects, so I make sure to continue to push my work. Using social media platforms to showcase your ongoing work is such a powerful tool and a fantastic way to attract new work. Try to get seen on the right websites and be proactive with people you want to work with.

Can you talk us through the process of how you get inspiration and how you form new ideas?

I get my inspiration from galleries, going to a show, getting lots of books from the library, trying to find something I never heard and get a new insight/direction. Then I get that agitated feeling where I need to go back to the studio and start exploring these influences.

How long have you been an Illustration  and would you say it's your career?

I would say I have been an 'illustrator' ever since I left university in 2010 but it is only the last couple of years or so that it has been my career.

What’s the best advice would you give to someone starting out?

Be independent with your ideas, do not follow trends because you think you will get work, go with gut, do what you want to do!

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Check out more of Joe’s work here his store here and his twitter feed here

[crazyanimalface]

Dorit Bialer Interview

By Nadia Says

Dorit Bialer has settled in Berlin a few years ago, learned the language and built up her clientele as a graphic designer. She is also an artist with several smaller and bigger shows under her belt, and has inspired some press features as journalists and bloggers fell in love with her custom-made Playmobils. But Dorit's main bread and butter is actually infographics, and some pretty funky ones at that, either for her clients or gone beyond utilitarian graphic design and turned into art pieces.

Dorit, you are a graphic designer and an artist, what came first?

I don't really remember myself without a pencil in my hand, expressing myself visually is such a big part of my identity, it is an integral part of my language.

I think every creative person begins with art in its 'pure' form, since we usually start being creative as kids, most of us are not familiar with the term design until much later down the road. In grade school, my art teachers used to refer to me as the little 'drawing machine' since I would finish up all the paper supply. I was doing infographics as a kid even before I knew what they were: I would create sitting charts of our classroom and on the school bus, they usually were very funny and the kids would pass them around. I kept drawing all through school in every possible class, so by the time I was 18, I had 12 years of practice in drawing.

Since I come from a somehow practical family, I had to find a way to integrate art into a 'normal job'. I first tried studying animation, but I realised  very fast that I was jealous of my friends from the graphic design department so I quickly switched and started my path as a designer.

How do you differentiate art and craft? Do you think your clients and your patrons make the same differentiation?

Clients are the biggest difference. As a designer, I have the main client whose ideas I have to visualise, and the sub-clients - the public - that the design has to deliver a message to. As an artist I am the only client and actually the only one who needs to understand what I am doing, it is a very selfish creative process. The clients coming to me as a designer are searching for someone to make their vision and thoughts come alive, while the art patrons are interested in my ideas. Since the design work is mostly serving a money-oriented industry, the connection between the creative work and a fee is much clearer and understood, as opposed to the art industry where it can be blurry and subjective... but the bottom line is the regular art dealers and patrons are also part of a money-oriented industry and they buy art as an investment. In my eyes, since money is involved, there is not more romance in art compared to design, and it's fine, that is the world we live in.

How do you follow clients' instructions while inputting your creative touch, and how do you get your inspiration for your own art?

My clients usually come to me after seeing my work and understanding my language, so usually they are interested in my creative style and input. I try to always find my own voice in the work, even if I am restricted by brand rules. I do it by integrating some of my sense of humor with icons and illustrations. In any design work, I create a story and integrate it with the clients' story, trying to support it with my point of view.

My art is my way to communicate my dreams, fears, conflicts and insights with the world. The inspiration is usually emotional and has a very personal input that I try to convey through global messages. As I am cynical and into dark humour, humour is one of my biggest tools, and a great asset in order to create intimacy with the viewers. I use  graphic design references in my art, I also studied a lot of propaganda in order to create my own propaganda pieces: you can find a wide range of graphic references in my art work, from New Testament illustrations to medieval times, up to contemporary toy packaging and the fast food culture.

You have some social message in your art, tell us about it.

I guess my biggest message is self-reflection. I try to mirror our social mechanism by exaggerating it. Stop, take a breath and revaluate. The fact that we have been doing something for generations doesn't mean it is right, we can change patterns in any given moment, we are not powerless.

What about social concerns in your work?

I was lucky enough to work with wonderful NGOs and non-profit organizations since my time as a student, and I hope to always keep doing that sort of work as a designer. As an artist my main goal is to create intimacy with the viewer by discussing taboo subjects and thoughts. I aim to make people feel that they are not alone, and the fears and craziness they feel are the same as everyone else. We live in such a demanding and competitive society, where fear, sadness and disappointment are often perceived as weakness. I say no to that, I say that our difficulties, fears and imperfections are part of our strength and what makes every each one of us a complex and unique person. My favourite moment is when someone reaches out to me in an exhibition and tells me "that's exactly what I feel".

What can a graphic designer do in case of creative, aesthetics or socio-political disagreement with their client?

I have my red lines regarding the clients I will work with. For example, I will not work with any business that is mistreating animals or that is promoting the meat industry. Since the competition in the design world is so big, we don't always have the privilege to choose our clients, but we need to do what we can in order to sleep at night... Aesthetic disagreement is a very subjective matter, since the clients are the ones who is using the design at the end of the process, in my eyes, they are the boss and the decision makers. My job is to always provide them with good options they can choose from… never offer a client a sketch that you are not happy with only to give them more variety; you don't want to fall into your own trap.

Tell us about your ideal project.

The best phone call I can get from a client goes like this: "Hello, we love your style and point of view, you have complete freedom to incorporate that in our next project". I love details, typography and storytelling, that's why infographics are one of my biggest passions. I truly enjoy the chance to tell a story with icons and illustrations, same thing with art - freedom and details are a great way to keep my mind running, preferably also combined with enough time to complete the work.

How do you plan your future as a graphic designer and as an artist?

As long as I am able to live from creative work and have my freedom, I'm a happy camper.

Any piece of advice for aspiring creatives out there?

If you do what you love and are passionate about it, it shows. And be good to yourself, always.

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For more of Dorit’s work visit her website - here 

[crazyanimalface]

This is the second Podcast of 2016 from Manchester based creative Mecca Crazy Animal Face.

The Podcast is one of a monthly series featuring a mix of tropical, disco, house and pop funk all fitting under the Crazy Animal Face mantra of 'Happy Music'.

February's Podcast features remixes, edits and exclusives from Brasstracks, Cautious Clay, Khai, DX7 and loads of other talented people.

The Podcast is hosted by Crazy Animal Face founder Paul Gosling and all other details about where to find the tracks featured in February's Podcast below.

Enjoy!

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1) Flybear - The Hook Flybearbeats – The-hook

FREE DOWNLOAD (LIMITED)

2) Djemba & Maribelle - Shout Djembadjemba – Shout

LABEL - CRUSH CLUB

3) Brasstracks - Say U Won’t Brasstracks – Brasstracks-say-u-wont

UNRELEASED

4) Ness - Mama Jama (Ness Club Edit) Danielnessmusic – Mama-club-edit

FREE DOWNLOAD

5) Koen - 1171 Koenbeats – Koen-1171

UNRELEASED

6) Khai - Do You Go Up (Kidswaste Remix) Kidswaste – Khai-do-you-go-up-kidswaste-remix

LABEL - OCTAL SOUND

6) Astronomyy - The Secret (Cautious Clay Remix) Cautious-clayofficial – Astronomyy-the-secret-cautious-clay-remix

UNRELEASED

7) Tom Misch - The Journey Soulection – Tom-misch-the-journey

LABEL - SOULECTION

8) Whoeva? - Diamondintheruff Whossounds – Diamondintheruff

FREE DOWNLOAD

9) Jean Tonique - Guest (Feat Iris) (Jean Tonique Alternative Version) Jeantonique – Guest-feat-iris-jean-tonique-alternate-vision

LABEL - PARTYFINE RECORDS

10) The Echocentrics - Down Under Ubiquityrecords – The-echocentrics-down-under

LABEL - UBIQUITY RECORDS

11) Dabeull - DX7 Dabeull – Dx7

UNRELEASED

12) Alison Wonderland X AWE - Back It Up (Melvv Remix) Itsmelvv – Back

LABEL - UNIVERSAL MUSIC

13) KR$CHN & AVDIO - Signals @krystian-szymula

FREE DOWNLOAD

14) Moi Je - Profite (Sable Blanc Remix) Crosswalk-records – Moi-je-profite-sable-blanc-remix-1

LABEL - CROSSWALK

15) Teedra Moses - Be Your Girl (Kaytranada Edition) Kaytranada – Teedra-moses-be-your-girl

LABEL - FREE DOWNLOAD

16) The Kount - Contact!

LABEL - FETE (FREE DOWNLOAD)

[crazyanimalface]

Throughout the new CAF Audio Insights series, we put the questions that every person seeking creative success (including ourselves) really wants to ask, to a person who’s doing, living and being their chosen creative occupation. Questions like: WHAT do I have to sacrifice? WHEN do I know that I’ve done enough? WHERE do I go for motivation? HOW long does it take to make things happen? WHY continue, when it feels hopeless and I’m struggling to make my life balance?

Cautious Clay

It might surprise you, from glancing at his Soundcloud page, or from listening to his tracks in our podcasts, that Josh aka Cautious Clay doesn’t spend all of his time making music. In fact, “full time musician” doesn’t necessarily have to be the aim. The important thing is that one aspect of his life (his 9 to 5 working in sales and marketing) informs another aspect (making music, running label and events management company Proper Vibes) and as long as there’s discipline and he makes time for both, the marriage of the two makes life in general richer and more productive.

So having achieved this balance, the holy grail of the creative lifestyle, what kind of music does Cautious Clay come up with? We’ve heard ‘These Are The Days’, Clay’s remix of Zak Abel, already in the podcast, plus not one but two of his other remixes in November. Focussing mostly on remixing so far, with original music in the works, he reimagines tracks by his peers; young artists who are carving out their own unique spaces, like Astronomyy and Holychild. Evidently he moves in circles with other likeminded, smart, emerging musicians who inspire and engage with each other naturally and habitually.

Zak Abel

Clay’s interpretations have a pleasingly recognisable signature sound. His remixes are dreamy, sparkling and infused with 90s RnB plushness. Let’s take a moment first of all to appreciate his take on Billie Eilish’s ‘Ocean Eyes’. The original song, from the ethereal Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter, sounds like Lana Del Rey-meets-Frank Ocean. The glassy, intimate strains of Billie’s voice are broken by a slow motion, paired-back, syncopated, almost hip-hop beat. It’s lingering and beautiful. Like the most perceptive of reworks, Clay’s remix maintains all the best bits of the original while taking the production to the next level. The quality of Billie’s voice and the melody is untouched. What’s new is the narrative; the track now unravels into several chapters and has a more exaggerated, expansive beat. That paired-back hip-hop feel from the original is further explored, developing into the warm and dry percussive sound that identifies Clay’s work.    

Billie Eilish

Clay’s remix of Grumby’s ‘Refuse’ demonstrates the same muted, syncopated percussive beat. It’s an acutely contemporary sound, drawing on the hip-hop/house fusion groove from the likes of Disclosure and Julio Bashmore, blended with the cutting edge minimal rap type beats of Kendrick Lamar.

Clay’s most high-profile commission to date is his remix of Zak Abel’s ‘These Are The Days’. When he was cited as one to watch by BBC Radio 1xtra in their ‘Hot for 2015’ shortlist, Zak had at that time already featured on a top 20 single with Gorgon City and was working on an EP with Joker. More recently he’s been working with up-and-comer Tom Misch and the mighty Kwabs. Clay met Zak at a house party while studying at SOAS in London, introduced by MNEK.

From this everyday introduction came a crucial networking opportunity for Clay, which after a few steps became an offer of work, which after a few steps became a brilliant remix, which after a few months became his most popular production to date, with 43.1k plays on Soundcloud. As he says in the interview, “go in positive”, and you never know what might come of it.

Cautious Clay (Live)

So what insights can we draw from Clay’s musicality and the way he operates? A key message is that your peers are your biggest motivators – he has surrounded himself with people that have similar intents and lifestyles. To be open and positive towards the people that you meet; they could be your career-defining collaboration, your most influential muse, or your biggest fan.

[crazyanimalface]

Ben Newman Interview

Ben Newman is one of those frustratingly talented people who makes creating his work look incredibly easy when in reality it couldn’t be harder. His work has been described in the past as ‘Bauhaus Fuzzy Felt’ and favoured by the likes of Google, VW, BBC 4 and the Tate Modern. 

Ben took time out of his insanely busy schedule of lecturing, flying around the world and guesting as an art director for Nobrow and Flying Eye books to answer our questions about how he’s got to where he is. Here’s what he said...

Why did you feel illustration is best suited to you as an creative outlet? What excites you about it?

I didn’t feel that way at first and I’m sure my foundation year illustration tutor would agree. I studied illustration for the first time on a foundation year 15 years ago and back then we had two computers in the class, no internet and illustration was not one of the popular courses. The catalyst for me was studying a discipline which encouraged me to create stories, poems and drawings all at the same time. I could not believe my luck, I was being pushed to draw whatever I wanted. Suddenly the doodles I did while talking on the phone had some relevance and function in an academic environment. This excited me then and still does now.

Your work has a really clear style, could you tell us a little more about your inspirations and where your creative ideas have possibly originated from?

It’s a bit like learning to speak in images. I like to do a lot with a little so by setting restrictions on my aesthetic options, I have developed a visual language that is personal to me when solving problems. People like Jacques Nathan Garamond, Jim Flora, Richard Scarey and Alex Steinweiss have had a big impact on me. American comics and the cartoons I watched as a child probably had the biggest effect on me. I think the Pink Panther is one of the greatest examples of character design ever. He is so iconic that he made the colour pink neutral to boys and girls. Genius.

Could you give us 3 tips that you'd say have got you to where you are today.

Loyalty is very important when it comes to working with a publisher, client or collaborator. Never get greedy. Loyalty is so important in every area of your life. You have to prove it to others and they have to prove it to you too.

Discipline is a linchpin to progression. My discipline comes from the love of what I do and a fundamental need to pay rent and eat.

Curiosity in the world, books, people and culture is the fuel. Looking at other artist’s work is great but inspiration should come from learning about politics, music, imagination and the world. Basically, other disciplines outside of the area you study. Content is the cornerstone of image making.

Can you give us an idea of your average day, how you work and how do you get your creative ideas done?

I have a 30 minute walk to my studio along the seafront in Hastings. This is a truly wonderful way to start the day as the sea has a very calming influence on me. My friend Tim works in the studio next door to me so I’m very lucky to have a close friend around all day who constantly makes me laugh and shows me new things. I love playing records and getting focused on work. Listening to records is great because each side is about 20 minutes long so you can measure how long you need to focus for before getting up to flip to the other side. I draw at my standing desk and swap between there and the computer. I have a nice time but it's not very interesting to others.

How do you attract new work?

I used to rely on an agent but I don’t have representation in the UK anymore. Its a difficult question to answer for me because I spend most of my time working on Astro Cat projects, other books I’m writing and little bits of design work with MiniLab Studios so I’m not putting myself out there as a pen for hire anymore. I’ve been trying to move into a more authorial position with my work and new work has sprung up from it. It has been a slow but rewarding process.

My best suggestion is to put things out into the real world and people will respond eventually. Don’t rely on the internet to do that for you. Nothing beats seeing or holding an object/drawing/whatever in a room with other people or on your own. Clicking ‘like’ isn’t engaging when you’re being bombarded with other images all the time (I’m looking at you social networks). I know that might not sound like a popular opinion but it is a fact.

How long have you been creative and would you say it's your career?

I’ve wanted to be creative since childhood and it has taken until now for me to feel that maybe I am creative. After 10 years working as an illustrator or artist or whatever, I think I now feel comfortable with the idea that I have a career. It could all end tomorrow so I’m very grateful but I try not to ever be too cocky, just opinionated.

What’s the best advice would you give to someone starting out?

Don’t expect success immediately. The best way to carve a career is to build a solid foundation gradually. So don’t make work to please others. Make work to please yourself because when you start working commercially, you feel like you are constantly trying to please others. Be critical but see your strengths and don’t panic if it takes a while because the harder you work the luckier you’ll get.

A link to a short film about Ben is here, you can view more of his work here and follow him on twitter here 

[crazyanimalface]

Being Wunderbear with Mikey Heller

by Nadia Says

New-Yorker Heller draws comics, does standup comedy and moved to L.A. just a year ago to become one of the main writers on Cartoon Network’s show We Bare Bears. The show tells the story of three bears living as humans; it is cute and funny and seems to appeal to adults at least as much as to kids. Discover the show and one of the men behind it now!

Have you had many odd jobs before getting where you are?

Yeah. I had a bunch of jobs when I was in high school... I was an animator for a now-defunct video studio that did health related videos for gyms. I would just animate title screens and stuff. In college I worked at a dining hall and I would try to do cartooning for extra money, but never that much money! After college I was chopping salads for a long time, that was one job. I was doing production assistant stuff, different video things, around where I lived. As a production assistant I worked for WFXI, that’s the PBS station. We’d just try anything. Anything that was required of us. That was definitely an odd job in itself!

And how did you finally manage to get a proper gig?

I was in New York, and I had a pretty nice job at a website called SmilesForAll.com. That lasted for a bit and then after that I was just doing stuff on my own. I was just cartooning for cash. I had been doing a comic strip called Time Travel online for quite a while, at that point maybe four or five years. My now-boss, Daniel Chong the creator of We Bare Bears, was developing the cartoon and he had liked some of my work he had seen already and so he reached out to me at one point about writing some stories for the show. I did that for a bit, I freelanced from New York, and then eventually it led to being offered a full-time gig so I moved out here for the ‘big thing’, the ‘big old job’.

Tell us about the team writing process.

It’s a very great and interesting process. I’m one of two full time writers. We break stories by taking an idea that someone has offered us, an idea we have, an idea presented us by the director and creator of the show. Between the two of us we beat it out, just like the beats of a story in notes, and we try to do this with the director and the creator and other people who work on the show like the storyboard artists. We want everyone to be included in the process so when it moves to the next stage everyone is already on the same page about this particular story. When it comes to typing out outlines, that’s what gets handed to the storyboard artists is these detailed outlines, that, we do on our own. But when we try to break the story and get the details down, we like to hear from everybody.

How do you get the dialogue right, do you read them out?

For a dialogue in the outline we will have the ideas of what they need to say, maybe just lines, and then the storyboard artists as they storyboard, will fill in the rest of the dialogue themselves. So underneath a certain panel will be the line that they need to say. That dialogue will be transferred to a script, maybe tightened or revised in some way. We’ll have a hand in that as well, and then that will be recorded. If they need anything else later, they’ll get those lines later in case certain scenes need to be revised or redone. So everyone kind of has a hand in the dialogue.

What happens when someone disagrees with a part of the story?

Well, people often disagree in the room. Ultimately we have to do what’s best for the story. The more people agree on a certain concept, perhaps that’s the shining light and that’s the best move for the story. I’ve never witnessed a big fight or disagreement. I think the staff of the show, the reason why we all work so well together is ‘cos we all have the same tastes and ideas and tend to have a certain hive mind about how a story should work. So big disagreements don’t happen a lot, but finding the right move or decision for a story can be a big group effort sometimes.

Do you write episode by episode or do you write everything and then send it to the animators?

We just go episode by episode. We’re kinda working on a group at a time, and we just hand those off and we’re done with them, and we just move on to the next ones. It’s sort of like an assembly line. After us it’s the storyboard artists. We have, I believe, six storyboard artists in the studio and they all have four to five weeks to work on their episode. It’s usually two people to one episode and after that it’s handed off to the next crew of people, design stuff like backgrounds and characters and props and the storyboards being edited into X-sheet form. So it’s a long process but there’s a lot of overlap. Episodes are continuously being worked on after we’ve started writing them. Stuff is eventually shipped off to Korean studios to be animated, and then that stuff, after many months, comes back and gets edited here. So we might be writing a new episode, but then an old episode we wrote a long time ago is still being worked on. It’s just a continuous process of things going out and coming back.

You’re a writer but you also draw, but you’re not drawing on this cartoon?

No. In our writers room we have walls with drawings. When we’re beating our stories it’s always great to have storyboard artists listen on pitches of the stories and they’ll illustrate ideas. I’ll do that as well, I’ll doodle something to explain what I’m talking about. So that’s definitely helpful, but I myself don’t have to draw for the show.

Would you like to?

I don’t think I can [Laughs]. For storyboard artists, it takes a lot of skill besides just being able to draw well and that’s something I’m not trained in, and it seems like a lot of hard work!

Do you still do your own cartoon strips?

Yeah, I still do my comic strip. I took a break for a bit when I moved here just because I had a lot going on, but recently I got back into it just so I can keep it alive. I feel like it’s an important thing in my life and I should keep it going. So I still do that.

How is it going?

Good. I do it just for myself. Not a lot of people read my comics. It’s had a few lucky ones that have kind of spread all over the Internet. I often joke that my website is probably the last place where people have actually seen my comics! They’ve probably seen it on Tumblr or image sites that just host other content. It’s just something for me to just have an outlet for something silly, and to motivate myself to work on something.

Is We Bare Bears enough to take up your time?

Yeah. Work is usually nine to six. There’s plenty of people who work on all sorts of stuff, not just their own show, but they freelance for other things as well. But just being a writer, that’s all I have to worry about so I stick to We Bare Bears.

How does it work to be creative from nine to six?

It can be hard! Often, if it’s after five and we still have a huge problem to deal with, I’ll be like ‘it’s never gonna happen’, ‘cos every idea we have are called ‘five o’clock ideas’ which means we may have tapped out. Although there have been occasions where after five we had great epiphanies about how to write something. But to be creatively engaged all day can make you feel tired at the end of the day like you don’t want to do anything else. Which is tough because everyone who has a creative job wants to be creative all the time, especially on their own projects at home. So you just have to buckle down and commit yourself, because once you’re in it, it’s great. But if I get home and I’m like ‘I gotta draw a comic, but I don’t feel like it, I’m tired’, I sometimes have to fight that feeling and once I get going I’m like ‘oh right, I forgot, I like to do this’.

And what happens if you have an idea for the show at midnight?

I usually tell myself after work to stop thinking about the show. I’ve had plenty of ideas about the show after work, but for the most part I try to keep thinking about the show just at work.

Would you like to have your own show one day?

I think that would be super awesome! I think I have a lot to learn before I could even begin to imagine what that would be like. To produce your own show, that’s like every aspect of producing a show all rolled up into one job. Perhaps I’m not even fit to do it! But it would be fun, right, to at least imagine?

You want to stay in this industry?

Yeah. I have always wanted to work in comedy and television.

And would you like to release a book of your comics?

Yeah. That’s sort of been a goal of mine for a long time. I have so many comics on line but they’re all very… it’s just a ‘grab bag’. Some of them don’t really fit if I were to collect them all into one. They’re all different sizes and formats and styles. If I were to release a book, I would pick and choose. I wouldn’t have an omnibus of everything. But I also want to make stuff that’s just for a book. Those are long-term goals.

Anything else you want to share with the world?

Watch We Bare Bears! It’s a great show, it’s wonderful!

More on www.mikeyheller.com or http://timetrabble.com, and watch the cartoon on www.cartoonnetwork.com/video/we-bare-bears/panda-foul-clip.html

(header image by Mindy Tucker)