We recently connected with Robbie C. Ward and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Robbie C. thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?
The biggest risk I’ve ever taken is one that I am still right in the middle of. I’m currently finishing my debut short film, which I began back in 2017, and I never imagined it would take so much time and energy.
When I began, I had just parted ways with DEDSA, my former band. I initially began animating because I wanted to create memorable videos to further my music career. However, as my Crohn’s Disease became more and more debilitating, performing and touring became far less possible, and I found myself falling more deeply in love with film until I came to the clear decision that I needed to find a new path forward.
I was never cut out for school, and so my love and knowledge of illustration, animation, film, and musical composition came entirely from a deep, obsessive interest and desire to create my own cinematic world. I had become increasingly frustrated with the limitations of making music videos and desperately wanted to pursue a project which utilized the entirety of my limited, niche skillset and would represent everything that I love.
As I entered my thirties and experienced more complications and hospitalizations from chronic illness, the weight of this project became even more apparent. With no education and the physical inability to commute or work a regular job, my whole future was depending on the outcome of this film.
Additionally, the rise of AI “art” in middle of production was completely unforeseen and has completely changed the context for a project like this. While initially discouraged and demoralized by this new technology, I eventually began to see my role within this new world in an entirely new light.
As I finally began to consistently post behind the scenes videos on Instagram, I was shocked to see the response. While I wouldn’t have pursued such an ambitious project unless I completely believed in it, I was still amazed by the outpouring of positive feedback I began receiving online. In a matter of a few months my account grew from about 800 followers to well over 200,000. And most amazing of all, from many of the kind messages I have received, it is clear to me that it is precisely because of the proliferation of AI images that people are engaging even more deeply with my entirely handmade animations. I have had a flood of requests for prints and commissions, meetings with international film producers and invitations to film festivals even though the film isn’t finished yet. Though there is still a long way to go, I am finally beginning to see that doggedly pursuing my crazy little idea is opening up many exciting possibilities in my life.
Robbie C., love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I was always the kid who happily sat in the corner with a box of crayons and a stack of paper, completely lost in my own world. My mom always provided me with beautifully illustrated books, and my love for animated movies like Pinocchio and Fantasia as well as Star Wars, The Wizard of Oz, and Godzilla firmly entrenched me in a world of imagination and creativity.
It took a long time to figure out how to meld my different interests, but the breakthrough came when my wife (girlfriend at the time) showed me an old TV show on YouTube in which Terry Gilliam demonstrated his cutout animation technique. At this point in my life I was playing in a band, obsessed with movies and illustrating my favorite book scenes just for fun, with the vague, far off hope that one day I might be a full time illustrator.
When she suggested that I try cutting out my illustrations and animating them to create music videos, all three of my biggest interests collided into a new fascinating possibility. Cutout animation showed me plainly that if I could draw it, I could put it onscreen.
My pursuit of this particular technique mostly came from the fact that it was technologically very simple and straightforward, but the longer I’ve done this, the more I feel that it sets my work apart, because few people have the patience (or stubbornness) to do everything by hand, especially as more and more people are seduced by the hollow ease of just having A.I. take care of it. Besides, working with paper and pencils and paint and knives is just fun!
I think A.I. has a lot of great, practical applications and I’ve seen some interesting creative work done with it, but on the whole, I believe that it is a horrendous mistake to confuse art with content, and to value efficiency over humanity. It’s here to stay, but I see it as my role to preserve traditional artistic techniques and show people that taking the creation out of creativity is a grossly unfulfilling exercise.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
I used to constantly strive for perfection and beat myself up when I failed to achieve it. One great thing that the advent of both digital illustration and A.I. has done for me is to help me embrace my limitations. It took quite a while to begin to relax my style, and though I still tend to be very fastidious and detail oriented, I am more inclined to allow unpolished pencil marks and find ways to highlight that yes, this is made by hand. These are real brushstrokes, real wood panels, real paper. If I wanted things to be slick and perfect, I’d just tell my computer what I wanted to see. But I’ve finally learned that the entire character and interest of a work of art shines through in the little flaws and mistakes.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
This year, I’ve been hospitalized 6 times, and I am facing major surgery next month. For a long time, I found my sense of identity and self worth in my ability to be creative and productive, and when my body doesn’t allow this to happen, it’s easy to feel like an uninspired failure.
A hard lesson I had to learn after my first trip to the hospital this year was that sometimes life intervenes and you simply have to adjust. When I first got back home, I was so tired and in so much pain that all I could do was sleep and sit around reading and watching movies. But eventually those books and movies started to ignite my passion again, and so I would tell myself I would at least draw for 5 or 10 minutes before dinner. And I did. And the next night it was 20 minutes. And then 30. Before I knew it I was back to working 10 hour days on my film, and now, after 7 years of work I only have about a week of animating ahead of me before beginning the final edit. Baby steps are real. Take it easy, do what you can, and don’t give in.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://robbiewardillustration.com
- Instagram: @robbiecwardart
- Youtube: Robbie C. Ward
Image Credits
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