Interview with Artist & Animator Dylan Kurp

Animation has been the staple of Mad Artist Publishing's core promotion and today I'm speaking with Sheridan's top 3D animation graduate Dylan Kurp. Dylan is currently working at Nitrogen Studios in Vancouver Canada. Dylan’s youth was built on a foundation of cartoons, Star Wars and video games. He spent most of his school days doodling on scraps of paper and hopes one day to use his abilities to become famous, wealthy and handsome. At least he has a plan :)

Marcin: Welcome Dylan and thanks for chatting with me. Now, you’re just getting into the industry and for those that don’t know of you. YET...could you tell us little about yourself.

Dylan: Thanks, Marcin. There’s not much to say really. I was born and grew up in Guelph, Ontario, Canada where I did my undergrad in Fine Art at the local University.  Like you said, my youth was spent watching Star Wars on VHS (non Special Edition!) and playing with Lego. In my spare time I enjoy eating and sleeping.

Marcin: That’s what a childhood should be! And as a kid, would you say animation was something you always wanted to do?

Dylan: Without a doubt. I’ve been pretty solidly obsessed with cartoons and animation since I was young and that sort of carried on long after a lot of people I knew lost interest or “got too old for cartoons.” During my undergrad I sort of lost touch a bit with animation but between art history lectures I’d sneak home and secretly watch episodes of Kim Possible.

Marcin: We met you at Sheridan College’s Industry Day, why did you pick that school?

Dylan: When I was first scoping out programs/colleges I didn’t understand why Sheridan was the only one showing a lot of their student films. It’s because they’re probably the only college in the world that gets individual students to direct their own films! You build and animate EVERYTHING on your own. It’s crazy when you think about it but probably the best opportunity to get your feet wet in 3D. I think that’s what attracted me to the school though. The quality of the student work and the opportunity to produce my own film.

Marcin: “Little Icarus” won best film in your program, how did that make you feel?

Dylan: Excited, confused and honored. I didn’t expect the film to be so well received and I’m just happy that people enjoyed it. There were a lot of great films this year so I feel like one lucky son-of-a-blee-blah.

Marcin: We both graduated from the same program. I found animation to be a lengthy but rewarding process. How do you feel about working months for a minute of video?

Dylan: It definitely had its ups and downs. But I found inspiration from a spline-cast I listened to with Andrew Stanton (I like him a lot). What I got out of it was that when you’re trying to create a film or story there’s always that excitement of starting out and that relief of being finished. The worst part is being in the middle because you feel like you have all these things to do and not enough time to do it in. But you just got to work through that anxiety and try to make the most excellent work you can. It’s never going to be perfect.

Marcin: If you could work for any company or on any project, which would it be?

Dylan: That’s tough. For me it honestly changes a lot but right now because there is a lot of really cool stuff out there! Right now though, without a doubt I’d love to be working on Adventure Time. That show kicks my ass.

Marcin: Tell me about your workflow, do you start on the computer or paper?

Dylan: Paper. I try to keep up with my drawing and planning out on paper helps with that. I always keep a note pad with me when I’m working on Maya. I just find it easy to get 3D vertigo in that program so find it useful to write down stuff or sketch out things I’m trying to model. Also, this has to be stressed: ORGANIZATION IS KEY. It’s not sexy at all but organization will save your ass in Maya. NAME EVERYTHING!

Marcin: In your opinion what is the most important and vital element of an animation?

Dylan: Story! It’s got to be a strong story and you got to find a way of getting yourself (and others) to care. If the story is weak, people are going to think “Why am I wasting time watching this?”

Marcin: Dylan, do you have any mentors or favorite artists?

Dylan: That’s a tough one, and a potentially huge list. Mentors? Werner Zimmerman was probably one of the most influential mentors for me. He helped me a lot with my drawing (which still need a lot of work) and was just great to talk to about anything (art or otherwise). Also Will Gorlitz for encouraging me throughout my undergrad and Susan Dobson for being awesome and giving me some of the most practical advice with regards to art making. 

Animators or artists? Glenn Keane. I hope one day to get a chance to meet him and shake his hand awkwardly! Also, Pendleton Ward, Evan Dahm, Henry Selick, Kate Beaton, Vera Brosgol, David Shrigley, Egon Schiele, John Singer Sargent, Mike Mignola, J. Scott Campbell, Brad Bird, Andrew Stanton... I could probably go on and on.

Marcin: Any advice you can give to an artist or animator?

Dylan: Keep an open mind. Try not to get hung up on a particular style, medium, or idea.

Marcin: Are you working on anything special right now, what’s next for Dylan?

Dylan: Well for now I’m just going to focus on my work and my job. 

Marcin: What are the top 3 websites you visit?

Dylan:  Google, Youtube, Facebook OR www.rice-boy.com, Frederator.com & Deviantart.com for better or worse.

Marcin: Thanks Dylan and I’m sure we’ll see a lot more of you soon.

Dylan: There’s not much there yet but I got one of them “Tumblr” things. dylankurp.tumblr.com

Marcin: This has been Marcin Migdal and Dylan Kurp, if you’re an inspiring animator or artist and want your chance at stardom, visit MadArtistPublishing.com, create an account on one of our websites and submit your work, who knows you may be featured or interviewed next!. For Awesome films visit www.Youtube.com/MadArtistPublishing.