1)When did you find your love for drawing?
I think it was when I was about 8 years old, Pretty late to start. Up until that age I drew just like any other kid, Rough sketches with no solid line or any sign of special talent. My mom says that when I was 8 I came to her one day with a drawing of the Flintstones. I had a videotape of that cartoon back then and I looked at the cover and started drawing what I saw.
My mom looked at it and didn't believe I drew it because up until that moment I didn't show any signs of artistic talent, But after I did several more, she realized it was me. From that moment on I just kept on drawing. My first drawings were mainly tributes to my childhood heroes, but a few years later I already started to design my own characters and develop my own unique style.
Too bad most of my drawings were made during class!.
2)How would you describe your drawings? How would you describe your cartoons?
My drawings changed quite a lot over the years, both in terms of style and in terms of content. These days I mainly draw concept artwork for stories and characters I'm working on for several ideas I hope to develop to something big in my future career. Also, I'm highly influenced by Japanese animation and video games and it really shows. My designs may not be "Anime" but they're a mixture of my own line and a heavy "Anime" influence. Most of my drawings today are pretty dark, less humorous and kind of dramatic.
Unlike my artwork, my animation films are pretty different for now. Although my films have a dark tone to them, they're mostly comedies. They're colourful and cartoonish and sometimes over the top. The subjects themselves are also mostly humorous and tend to avoid over complexity in their storytelling. The main reason for this contrast is that I prefer to keep my more complex ideas for future productions, they're not something I can produce on my own and they're not short-film oriented materials.
3)Is horror your favorite subject to draw about?
You can definitely say so. Most of my animation shorts have a "Horror" genre touch to them. Most of the time it's in the mood, atmosphere and overall design- like in my short film "Born to be dead" which deals with the adventures of a cute little girl who gets thrown out of heaven into the pits of Hell.
I use the horror elements through sound and direction and it's a usage of classic horror elements more then violent horror elements. Although I did try my luck with some bloody gore in my latest film- "Winterhunt", and I have to admit it was a guilty pleasure.
It's also worth noting that I usually I mix the horror elements with colourful and often cute characters, which is something I really like. I think a part of it is because I'm a Jhonen Vasquez fan, the influence over my style is often hard to ignore.
4)Where do you come up with your ideas for the cartoons?
Good question. it's hard to put my finger on it, but usually when I want to start a new project I just sit next to a blank paper and start to sketch nonsense on it. After a while, with no direction whatsoever, something start to shape out of the sketches. A sign for an idea or a character worth developing.
Of course I have to again note that my main sources of influence also have a big part in this process. I watch a lot of films...and I mean, A LOT. I watch a lot of Anime and animation in general and I'm also a non-hardcore comics fan. So sometimes an idea pops when I watch or read something and get an idea for my own stuff.
5)Explain your process? Do you draw by hand or on the computer?
Good question. it's hard to put my finger on it, but usually when I want to start a new project I just sit next to a blank paper and start to sketch nonsense on it. After a while, with no direction whatsoever, something start to shape out of the sketches. A sign for an idea or a character worth developing.
Of course I have to again note that my main sources of influence also have a big part in this process. I watch a lot of films...and I mean, A LOT. I watch a lot of Anime and animation in general and I'm also a non-hardcore comics fan. So sometimes an idea pops when I watch or read something and get an idea for my own stuff.
6)Would you ever consider writing and/or directing live action films? Would they be horror?
Definitely YES! I always thought about it and hopefully I can do it one day, directing live action is definitely on my "to do" list. Now, as far as genre goes, yeah. I would probably deal with the horror genre as well in one way on another. If not as a pure horror only film than as a mixture of two genres like Horror/Sci-Fi, Horror/Fantasy especially.
And even if I'll direct something completely out of the genre, like most of my work, no matter what genre, it'll inevitably have a dark tone of some kind.
7)What current projects are you working on?
Well, these days I'm pretty over-loaded. I have a full time job as a senior Flash developer and I also work as a freelance character designer and animator. But my true main interest is to get into an MFA animation program abroad, finish it and start working outside my country. The industry here is very limited and the work conditions are harsh. I'm aiming for something bigger and hope that studies abroad will serve this cause.
But still, there is an idea me and my friends started working on for a short film. It's still I'm writing stages but if we actually pull it off- it'll surely be different from everything I've done so far. So, I don't want to give away any details but stay tuned to my Youtube account in the next few months and you might get a sneak peek!
Amit Tishler
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