Damien Gasgoigne Lecture

Well, it’s taken me a while to post this one!.. My notes have been lying on my desk for weeks and I’ve been soo busy that I didn’t manage to get this typed up until now!..
Damien Gasgoinge is a teacher of animation t the royal college London. He started out as an illustrator and his work is all pen/pencil driven. After he made us laugh for about an hour he managed to give us a talk on his work and the methods and practices he is involved with at the school..
He works in the world of advertising and most of his work is driven towards these ends but his lecture focussed mainly on his technique and methods rather than explaining (or even showing) his commercial work.

During his talk he repeatedly referred to his need to be doing something creative all (or most!) of the time...He really loves his work, which was apparent in his tirelessness and seemingly boundless enthusiasm. He sees being so creative as a kind of madness and he is not ashamed to admit it. He stressed to us the need to have something to record what we see around us. He took us through some photos and sketchbook material and entertained us with the different stories he invented around this source material.
He has no qualms about stopping someone he sees making a pose or gesture he finds interesting to quickly draw them.
He usually uses a Chinese pen in ink to capture these images and they are usually on a small scale. This gives his pictures a kind of immediacy and they retain their character more easily this way.

He took a little time introducing us to some of his students, (not personally, he used photos!) explaining their personalities a little and the different things he enjoys to do with them.. Some are currently working with him to develop some 3d work, based very closely on his drawings.
Although he stated that probably about 90% of advertising animation is now digital Mr Gasgoigne has tried to avoid going down this avenue. Perhaps noting that the people that tend to work on PCs all the time are more akin to lifeless zombies than the animated fun guy he likes to perceive himself as...Can’t fault his logic really...my girlfriend will attest to this theory whole heartedly (I always thought I was such a fun guy)...He equated working in 3D to driving a Porsche in a chip shop. I guess for someone that enjoys the freedom and creativity generated in a loose, fast environment having to sit in-front of a pc with all its protocol and limitations must be very tiring indeed and I can see why he might be more than happy to leave it to someone else. I guess it has its pros and cons.