Sparking Creativity: Tom DesLongchamp

For our second interview in Sparks and Ashes’ “Sparking Creativity” series, we caught up with designer and animator Tom DesLongchamp. I’ve featured Tom’s work before, having been a fan since early high school.

Today, Tom lets us in on the source of his unique style, the magic of “reverse inspiration,” and why creativity is sometimes just about being a kid again.

Paul: When did you start drawing and animating?

Tom: I started drawing when I was 2. My mom kept a lot of my childhood drawings. The first characters I ever drew were “Walking Windows” which were windows with legs and faces.

The first time I ever animated was when I was 12. I used my parents’ camcorder to record a 2 frames-per-second stop-motion film of an action figure riding a toy skateboard across my desk. I didn’t animate with drawings/computers until I was 15 when I bought Flash 4. I can’t explain how excited I was to have Flash in my possession. I made animated experiments daily for months. A lot of them are still online [http://tomthinks.com/flash.html see years '00 and '01].

What inspired your creativity early on?

Cartoons were my first inspiration. I watched a lot of the classics like Tom & Jerry, Looney Toons, Woody the Woodpecker, Curious George, etc. I was also very inspired by Canadian children’s shows. I grew up in Seattle and we got this Canadian channel called CBC which had awesome TV shows like Mr. Dressup, Fred Penner’s Place, and other stuff I can’t even remember names of.

Also, Shel Silverstein was huge for me… and might explain my love of offbeat, simple, black and white drawings. My dad, Dean DesLongchamp is also an inspiration to me. He made an 8mm film in high school that I used to watch when I was a kid. It had some funny special effects in it that made me curious about filmmaking.

Your art, and especially your animation, has a very recognizable aesthetic. How consciously have you crafted that?

Until this past year, I had always tried to avoid overt stylization. There’s no way to totally escape what you’re inspired by, so my main effort for the past few years was to preserve my work as something that came naturally instead of consciously deciding to make my characters look a certain way. Although, this past year has been different. I’ve started to develop a more distinct style for characters, which you can see in my animated gifs (holygifs.com) and my comic The Nose (nosecomics.com).

I’m proud of the style and like it. I developed it through experimenting with process and simple shapes.. sectioning off the face. I love faces. Also, I love certain expressions and feelings that I get when I look at a drawing, but it doesn’t have to be a style. I love it when a drawing of mine looks like an awkward old high school photo of someone. I try to uncover a face that looks distinct enough to be believable and real, even though it is invented.

Ok. Let’s get down to business. Where does all the crazy come from?

Haha. I don’t know where it comes from. It’s just a preference for me I guess. I go down trails that intrigue me. Sometimes I get conflicted and try to do what other people are doing, but it doesn’t work out. If I try to create a linear story, it feels dead to me. I focus on visuals and movement instead of backstory or thought.

I do think a lot, but I struggle to communicate it–or filter it, I guess. For all the goofiness, it’s kinda odd, because I’m actually sort of a realist. I want things to be shown as they are in real life, or at least how I perceive them. I like honesty. The weirdest stuff I’ve made is just when I’m playing–trying to uncover something.

How much vision do you have for a project before you pick up the pen or laptop? How much of what you make develops along the way?

I don’t know how to describe my vision. 90% of my work is developed along the way. I’m not very organized. I just go. It’s sort of like improv, but I am horrible at improv. I guess animation suits me, because it’s such a slow process. I have time to think about what I’m doing as I’m doing it.

Sometimes I get the feeling that my unconscious mind is aware of the entire future of the work, but consciously I feel like I’m making arbitrary decisions. I do A, then B appears. I do B, then C appears, etc. That’s exhilarating at times… and frustrating at others.

Where do you go for inspiration?

I don’t go anywhere for inspiration. Inspiration is present. It’s a matter of paying attention to it. By that, I mean that I’m inspired by things that are happening around me. I love faces and voices. I also tend to get ideas in situations where I feel confined, like during a meeting at the office, or during class when I was in school. Boring spaces and in-between times can be very fruitful, but I don’t always like it.

I also need inner peace to be free in my work, and I receive peace from God. Sometimes I fight that too, but I can’t get peace on my own. I have dead periods where I don’t make as much, or have any joy, but it’s usually because I need to spend some time praying and reading. Then the burden is lifted. I’m also inspired by wife Jessica and my two cats, Reuben and Renton.

Have you seen your creative process change as you’ve developed as an artist?

Yes and no. My work continues to develop and my processes are becoming more specific, but at the same time, I’m trying to get back to the freedom of being a kid. Kids make things without worrying about whether it’ll be successful or appreciated. They make stuff, because it’s fun and feels important at the time. I don’t want that to change.

You often cross mediums: live video, animation, comics, decorative wooden bears, short video games. What do you gain as an artist by working in a variety of disciplines?

It’s just fun. I do the things that click with me. Also, I’m kind of picky about what I’m entertained by, which makes me want to create what I’m not seeing in the world. It’s kinda rude, but sometimes I get inspired by bad [insert art form]. It’s like reverse-inspiration or something. I’m hesitant to say it’s competitiveness, but it might be.

What’s your dream project?

I don’t have one. My dream is to make more art.

About Dogs from Tom DesLongchamp on Vimeo.

Tom gets the credit for all the art in this piece. Not bad, eh?