Elliot Cowan is an animator, illustrator, artist and educator. He teaches 2D animation (ARTS215, Summer Session 2), Introduction to Digital Animation (ARTS193, Fall 2016), and Storyboarding for Animators (ARTS370, Fall 2016) at Queens College, CUNY. In this interview, he shares a little bit about his life, influences and projects.

KW: Tell us a little bit about your background?
EC: I’m from Melbourne, Australia. My parents are British Jews. Mum is from Manchester in the very north of England and my dad is Scottish. They moved to Australia in the late 60’s and have never been back.
As I kid, I was mostly genial and quiet. I loved cartoons and movies. I had, and still have, no interest in sport, which is kind of a strange thing in Australia. I spent a LOT of time drawing and making puppets, little sculptures, that kind of thing.
KW: Were your parents artists? Who encouraged your art making activities?
EC: My parents are not artists. I had a grandfather who was a musician who probably would have drawn if it had been nurtured or even discovered in him. My folks were very encouraging in a kind of hands-off way. They made sure I had plenty of paper and pencils and let me take some art classes when I asked to but for the most part they stood back and let me do my thing.
KW: When did you know that you wanted to become an animator?
EC: As a kid I was obsessed with animation and puppetry. I don’t know when that started exactly – probably watching Sesame Street, which has a lot of both – I just know that animation has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember.
My early influences were actually illustrators more than animators, I imagine because at the time I had more access to them. Murray Ball. Tove Jansson. Norman Lindsay, Gerald Scarfe. Quentin Blake. The Muppets. All had a massive effect on my work that I can still see to this day.
I think I was originally more interested in puppetry. In the mid 80’s in Australia the idea of going into animation was only slightly less insane than being a puppeteer so I chose that path.
KW: How did you discover these artists—books, comic strips, television, at home, at school, wandering into bookstores?
EC: I’ve never been entirely comfortable being part of a pack, and even as a young kid I was inclined to search outside the mainstream for creative stimulation.
I was born in 1974. Shortly after that Melbourne experienced a very large influx of migrants from all over the world. In an effort to accommodate all these new people a television channel was created to broadcast international programming—local news from Greece, soap operas from the China, and later on I remember seeing the Iranian version of The Nanny.
When I was eight or nine they would program a four-hour chunk of international animation on a Sunday afternoon and I was crazy for it. All short films, animated series and a crazy Czech version of the Muppet Show. It had a big influence on me.
My mum would also take me to the library every week and I’d always take a pile of books out. I discovered Gerald Scarfe at the library when I was 7 or 8 and I am still influenced by him.
KW: Why did you decide to attend Independent College of Art and Design and how did the experience shape you? Were you a good student?
EC: At the time University in Australia was basically free, but I chose to go to a private college because they responded to my work in such a positive way. I studied Graphic Design and Illustration.
The experience changed my life completely. My lecturers said to us “We are here to show you all the stuff you don’t know about, so put down your security blanket and come see this”, which I was more than happy to do. They really did introduce us to the idea of thinking and feeling and living like an artist. I formed friendships with my professors that have lasted to this day.
I had been a very average high school student but did extremely well at art school – it was one of the most productive times of my life.
KW: Did you go directly to graduate school (and why Victorian College of the Arts)? Why did you think advanced studies were important?
EC: I did go directly to graduate school. At the time there were limited places to study animation and one option was at The Victorian College of the Arts. My illustration professor had gone there many years previously and recommended it.
I don’t I think advanced studies are important in the arts at all. As an artist you’re better off spending all that money on an extended trip to Europe or backpacking through the Grand Canyon with attractive foreigners.
For myself, it was the only way I could go and do some animation and move forward in my career. These days you can learn a bit of animation on your iPhone but at the time there was only paper and big machines and film and Steinbecks and my time at VCA gave me access to all these things.

KW: What were the first types of jobs you held (and then how did you end up directing and editing low budget television commercials in Tasmania for 11 years)?
EC: Like many art schools with a film department, VCA has an industry screening after each final semester. I started working the day after the industry screening for a small company called Oh’ Hell He Ran Productions – the guy who ran it was called Bernie O’Halloran.
We were doing animated pilots for MTV Asia. They’d send us a four-minute script and we’d put the thing together. I only remember one thing we worked on called The Supermuddles, a spoof about supermodels. Also did some great stuff on a pilot that Bernie was developing himself. I did a bunch of great animation on it and also did one of the lead voices alongside Australian actor and comedian Kim Gyngall.
Bernie worked out very quickly that I worked reasonably quickly and was happy working late so he’d skip out most of the time to have “meetings” which meant he was sleeping with pretty girls.
Eventually I became burnt out and a job came up at a multi-media company in Tasmania. I thought “Screw it, I’m taking it”, which is kind of like living in New York and deciding to move to a shack in the Appalachians. The company is still around so I don’t want to mention them but I worked for a guy who was part moron, part sociopath. I created several animated commercials and inhouse projects called “The Thungums” on which I did some of the best work I’ve ever done but remains lost to the world.
After a year or two a job came up at the local television station directing low budget commercials and I took it. I was there about 8 years before I was fired and went to work for their rival network down the street. It was all very, very hard work–lots of hours and little pay. Not a nice place to work.
During that time I continued to draw, exhibited twice and made several nice animated commercials.
I also developed Boxhead and Roundhead in Tasmania, which ultimately became several short films and an animated feature.

KW: Professionally, what were some of your favorite projects?
EC: Well let me say this first. There is very little about working commercially that I’d ever describe as being my “favorite” anything. Unless you’re in charge of a project you’re toiling for someone else and that’s not something that works well for me unless the circumstances are very particular. Generally speaking the best commercial projects I’ve worked on were for people who paid well, paid on time and were respectful of the role of artists.
This is not to say I’m any kind of prima donna, because I’m not. When you are working on a commercial project it’s important to remember that 1) The person in charge of it is really invested in it because it is their reputation and ego on display. 2) There is usually a large amount of money involved.
The other side of that is that 1) As a gun for hire it’s hard to be as invested in the project as the person in charge. 2) The person in charge is making a lot more money than you.

 
 
 
Having said that I’ve worked with a lot of nice people who knew how to be friendly and professional and creative. Here are some of the projects I most enjoyed working on in recent times: How The Mormon Stole Everything was an animated short I did for The Big Gay Sketch Show, a SNL style show that ran on Logo. I had a very short time to produce a lot of animation but they paid well and pretty much let me do whatever I wanted. Remains one of the most satisfying commercial projects I’ve ever done. It was very divisive but, as I kept reminding people who were critical, it was made for The Big Gay Sketch Show not The Highbrow Shakespeare Hour.

Bitter Batter was a segment I did for Sesame Workshop. I’ve done a lot of stuff with Sesame. They’re a great bunch to work for. They pay on time!

I’ve done a lot of work for Ace and Son Moving Picture Company. They’re good pals of mine and helped produce my animated feature. For Ace and Son I did a bunch of work on The Buddah for PBS and a nice extended segment for a documentary called The Texan Promise.
http://www.redglasspictures.com/ken-burns-on-story-the-atlantic/
For Red Glass Pictures (Ken Burns and Women for Change) I did some nice 2.5D photo manipulations that were really classy.
Of course my own films and my feature were great projects to work on because they’re all mine.


KW: What are the skills necessary to be an animator? Looking forward, what are your predictions for the field in the next decade?
EC: Let’s assume there are two kinds of animation.
1) Character animation, which is all Bugs Bunny and Flinstone and whatever. Actual characters that think and move and feel. This could be traditional (drawn) or 3D (Pixar etc).
2) Motion graphics, which is a fancy way of saying graphic design that moves.
Character animation is all about timing and character and acting and drawing (or poses if you’re working in 3D). Motion graphics is about design and software.
For the future, the more of both of these things you have an understanding of the more employable you’re going to be. This is all assuming you intend to put these applications to commercial use. You can learn all these things to advance your skills as an artist who wants to make things — films, installations, art pieces — and have something to say.
KW: Why do you think animation skills are important for graphic designers?
EC: Several reasons… When you are a working artist you should always be the one who knows the most stuff — even if you aren’t the best at everything, you should still know the most. You should be the person who knows how to design and then how to make that design move.
The various medias are tightly integrated these days too. If you’re working for a studio and the client wants to take the design and make a commercial then you can put up your hand and say “I can do that” which makes you a more valuable player.
Nobody is saying you need to be the next Glen Keane or Eric Goldberg but an understanding of basic animation principals and the software required to producer animation gives you an edge.
Also — animators are the worst graphic designers ever. The industry needs you.
KW: What were the best animations you’ve seen in the past year?
EC: Student films are just about the only films I look forward to seeing. I’ve been let down too many times to get excited about much other stuff.
I’m always excited about my pal Eric Goldberg does, and anything from my pals at Cartoon Saloon is something to be happy about. Actually, anything by anyone I know, so I have some kind of connection to it.
KW: What types of projects are you working on now?
EC: I do some story work with Oscar nominated Irish animation Studio Cartoon Saloon (Secret of Kells, Song of the Sea). I recently contributed concept design and story ideas to their new film, WolfWalkers.
I’ve worked a lot with Ace and Son Moving Picture Company. They helped produced my feature so they’re good friends. I worked with them on a documentary about the Texan education system, the Buddah for PBS and just wrapped up some segments for Tesla, also for PBS and Ace and Son.
KW: What’s the best advice you ever received?
EC: Advice, huh?
I have a lot, but essentially it all boils down to thinking and living like an artist everything else stems from there. Spend time with motivated and interesting people who are making things and show an interest in your work. You can’t help but absorb the energy. Keep an open mind and stay curious about the world. Keep making art.
_______
KW: Kathryn Weinstein
 

Thomas Jockin is passionate about type! AND he’s teaching Typography 1 on Sunday afternoons at Queens College, Spring 2016.

KW: Tell us a little bit about your background?
TJ: I was born on Long Island, NY to an Irish father and Egyptian mother back in 1986. As I was growing up, I always loved drawing and painting. That was my original plan for my art career. Then I discovered “End of Print” the monogram of David Carson. I loved how he “painted” with letters. That was something I didn’t even think was possible.
KW: Why did you decide to pursue a Communications Design degree and why Parsons School of Design ?
TJ: My parents hadn’t had saved for me to go to college so it all came down to which of the art schools I applied to could offer in scholarship. Parsons came on top, so I went there. But that one choice would change my whole life direction. In my sophomore year, I had the type designer Joshua Darden as my Typography 1 instructor.
KW: When did you decide type design would be your calling? (What did you find appealing about type design, what types of skills did you possess that made you feel you would be successful)?
TJ: Meeting Joshua Darden was what made me a typeface designer. I had an interest in typography — in that paintery way David Carson used it — but I knew nothing about typeface design. He spoke of the history of written language, the emotional capacity in design, the complexity of technology. I was sold by the end of that first lecture. With the first lecture Josh gave the class, at 19, I knew I wanted to think like he did. If I had to become to typeface design to gain that way to thinking, so be it.
Typography and type design is characterized as this super nerdy, technical and logical discipline. I had none of that. I was a messy, chaotic, passionate kid; The last person you would expect to become a typeface designer. And yet, here I am. What made this possible was my absolute conviction that is discipline is worth my investment and to buy in to that commitment no matter what. That’s the skill you need to possess to become anything you want to become.

KW: What was your first job after graduating Parsons (and how did you find it and what types of projects did you work on)? How many jobs did you hold before you became an independent studio?
TJ: I went straight to an independent designer out of Parsons. I apprenticed under Joshua Darden from sophomore year until I graduated. From that point, I was on my own. Finding, developing and managing client relationships was critical to me making it as a designer. When you work for yourself, you accept the responsibly for all aspects of the business and your relationship with your clients. That may seem like a lot, but I weight that less than my freedom.

KW: Why did you pursue a postgraduate certificate in Typeface design at Cooper Union and how did the experience impact your career?
TJ: After my apprenticeship with Josh, I had a crippling inadequacy inside me. I thought I was just a shadow of Josh, without anything unique to offer. I was producing typography and type design for clients, but never on the public retail market. My original plan was to save to attend the acclaimed KABK graduate program for typeface design.
I was in the process of saving for that program when I was chatting with Jessica Hische at a TDC talk and she pointed out that Cooper Union was starting a type design program in New York City. The deadline was that Friday at midnight and it was Thursday. I made it just in time for the application deadline and a month or so later I received a call from the TDC’s director Carol Wahler I was accepted into the inaugural class.
The program had a dramatic improvement in my career. Just being in a class with great designers like Nick Sherman and Carlos Pagan really pushed me to do my best work. The instructors also pushed me to become a better typeface designer. By the end of that program I stripped away that horrible sense of inadequacy I had since I left apprenticing under Josh; I did have unique and valuable perspective in my craft. Since then, I’ve published 3 typeface families retail, and had the pleasure to work with clients such as Express, Foot Locker and Starbucks. Going to Type@Cooper was the best decision I made for my career.

KW: Tell us about the typefaces you have designed?
TJ: Well, my first retail typeface, Garçon Grotesque was a simple brief; I can I make Copperplate Gothic better? Copperplate was one of those default design choices people make when they want to be fancy, stately, and stable. Instead of whining about poor choices, Garçon was my attempt to make this model work better. I did a big write up about the design process of the influential typography website, I Love Typography.

 
 
 
 
 

My second was Ductus, study on the fundamental of typeface design, the broad-nib pen. Ductus was originally from a client brief that got killed, but I was drawn to the idea of the fundamentals of calligraphy and flow.

 
 
 
 

My most recent release, Azote, also came from an client brief that was killed. The brief was for this multiline font that the strokes would get thicker in each weight. Nothing wrong with that, but it’s not very exciting either. I came back with the crazy idea, “well, what if the typeface adds lines to for weight?” That simple idea took almost 3 years to get done. But I do love the results, and I’m very excited to expand on the project.

Universally my least favorite part of the process is kerning. Not because it’s tedious; but because in kerning the entire system of your design will be tested. A lot of times there will be a drawing or spacing decision that kerning exposed; you then have to go back and make the adjustment. If that adjustment affects a fundamental aspect of the design — say for example the rounds are too loose in spacing and too round in shape, you’ll have to make those corrections to every single character that has a round. That may cost you tens of hours to correct. It’s a very stressful period of the design process to say the least.
KW: When did you start to box? And what is the relationship of boxing to typography?
TJ: I started boxing three years ago when I spent a year in Portland, Or. I was overweight and always wanted to pick up boxing. Pardon the pun, but I was absolutely hooked. I loved how the lessons of timing, rhythm and spacing from type design directly related to boxing. How deeply one understands these simple fundamentals is the difference between the amateur and the professional.

KW: What is TypeThursday?
TJ: TypeThursday is a meeting place for people who love letters that I organize. This includes online interviews with world-class type designers and users. As well as monthly type crits/ meet-ups in Brooklyn. TypeThursday’s mission is to welcome those who use and make type. To offer those who use type a chance to learn more about the complexities of typeface design. For those who make type, to offer a venue to develop their skills and be more informed about our craft. I recommend readers to check out our interviews on Medium , or check out our meet-ups on Facebook .

KW: What are your predictions for typographic design in the next decade?
TJ:As for the next decade, more robust typographic abilities on the web and apps are the trend. The kind of typographic expression possible will explode. Safari 9.1 now supports advance opentype features, finally catching up to the other modern web browsers.Frameworks that are easy to install and lightweight bring the robust print opentype options to the web designer today.
KW: What are your go-to typefaces for design projects?
TJ: A typeface I’ll make myself! Kidding aside, while I am biased because I worked on the project, the Freight Superfamily  is a masterpiece of type design.
KW: If you were a typeface, what typeface would you be?
TJ: My typeface, Azote. Formal discipline with an exuberant personality.
KW: Any recent typefaces released in the past year that knocked your socks off?
TJ: Obsidian: Hoefler & Co.; Dala Prisma: Commercial Type; Pakati: KLIM Type; Hobeaux: OHno Type Co.; and Frauen; and Lucas Sharp/ VLLG.
KW: What skills do you need to be successful in this field? How much is technology impacting typeface design? What advice do you have for students wishing to pursue a similar career?
TJ: You’ll need a mix of the logic of the programmer, mastery of figure-ground relations of the painter, the firmness and understanding of the salesman. Coming to resolution to the contradictory nature of type design is the key to success.
Technology is in every aspect of type design. Written language itself is a technology. But it’s better to say technology mediates everything in type design—How the printer or screen renders your outlines? How to automate repetitive tasks with programing? How type is distributed to anyone with an internet connection?
KW: If you had unlimited funds, what would be your dream project?
TJ: To develop a typeface library for every language in the world. A kind of Tower of Babel.
KW: What was the best piece of advice you ever received?
Be the strength for others to act.