His Earth is Flat, Part 2
Earlier this week, I profiled Aaron Stewart, an animator and designer for Hornet Inc, an Annie-nominated spot house in New York City. In the final half of the interview we discuss his design style, animatics and his passion for Japanese toys.
AARON SIMPSON: Do you think the animation industry will start to quickly adopt new technology like Wacom’s Cintiq
AARON STEWART: There will always be new applications coming out that will change the way everyone works. We shouldn’t be dependent on the programs to create our work but our ideas and the different ways in creating them.
SIMPSON: You often design without outlines. Do you find this style easier or harder to work with?
STEWART: I think it’s all the same. Sometimes I have trouble keeping clean lines together in Flash. I usually create things in Illustrator and import them into Flash cleaning them up. But there are so many ways to do something and I am always learning.
SIMPSON: Are there other artists at Hornet Inc working in Flash?
STEWART: Yes, there is a directing duo – Archer$Beck (animators on Linklater’s ‘Waking Life‘) who use Flash as well.
SIMPSON: Flash is an excellent animation tool, but it’s also helpful in the various development stages. Before a project is ushered into production, do you use Flash to sell projects internally and to clients?
STEWART: When I am creating animatics for the clients and showing rough animation I use Flash.
SIMPSON: The MTV ‘2-Way’ promo is packed with style and humor, but also a heavy dose of absurdity (self-clapping clap boards, land sharks and talking liver). Is this an accurate definition of your taste?
STEWART: Somewhat. Clients usually come to me with written ideas of what they want and then I create around their ideas. The most important thing for me during a project is to have fun and make myself laugh. I try to entertain myself and if the client likes it then great!
SIMPSON: What’s in your DVD player?
STEWART: Yesterday was Valentine’s Day so my wife and I watched ‘Dawn of the Dead.’
SIMPSON: You’ve animated sequences for independent films, which I assume you’re doing in addition to your work with Hornet, Inc. Are you currently involved in any personal projects or side work?
STEWART: I’m always creating personal work. It’s great working at Hornet because a lot of times I will bring my work to Michael (Feder), Executive Producer at Hornet for feedback and help on making it come alive even more.
SIMPSON: If given the latitude to develop a curriculum, what is the ideal class you’d like to teach?
STEWART: I taught Illustration at Parsons for three semesters. The class I taught was on how to use computers for your art work. It was a very broad class and it was really hard to teach them so much in such a short amount of time. I would love to teach a class on Character Design.
SIMPSON: You collect old Japanese toys. What do you think of the recent vinyl toy explosion?
STEWART: It’s great! So many amazing toys keep popping up. It’s quite overwhelming to see everything. I can’t wait to add some of my own creations to this over populated explosion!
SIMPSON: What Japanese toy would you most want to make the subject of an animated project?
STEWART: I would like to somehow combine them all together.
Check out Quicktime clips of Aaron’s work by clicking on the images below and then head on over to Aaron’s site to see more of his work.
Tags: Aaron Stewart, Hornet, MTV
