Bill Otomo
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Where did you grow up? At what age did you start thinking about pursuing an artistic career?
I grew up in Nimes, in the south of France. I did love to draw as a kid, but I’m not sure when exactly I really thought about doing it as a job. Probably somewhere in middle school, as I remember writing an essay on ‘‘Where do you see yourself in XX years’’ about me working at ILM on the next Georges Lucas’ projects… ^^
Did you go to an art school or are you self taught? How did you develop your skills?
At the end of middle school, when I was around 14 years old, I decided to go to a special art section in high school, with a LOT of art class hours (I mean, up to 24 in senior year, plus of course the other classes), and tons of homework. It was a really thrilling time for me. We were studying everything from architecture to fashion, graphic designs, comics books. I discovered lots of things there that really opened my mind, and I improved really fast as we were basically drawing all the time.
Then with my friend Gobi (Baptiste Gaubert), I went to the Superior School of Décorative Arts of Strasbourg (now called Haute École des Arts du Rhin), where we met Fabien Mense, and formed the collective ‘‘Catfish Deluxe’’. There, we had our first taste of animation, but with not much equipment and no real formation (for animation, as the formation was more oriented on Illustration), so we kinda self-taught ourselves how to make our characters come to life. We still managed to do a little short for our graduation called ‘‘Catfish Hotel’’, using vectorized drawing into Flash… (it’s quite old and clunky, but you can check it online ^^’)
Have you always been supported in your artistic path or has it been challenging to let your family and friends understand your choice?
I felt really supported by my parents, though I think my mother was a bit worried that I couldn’t make a living out of it. She trusted me and my skills, but it was such a mysterious world, she had no clue if I could make it or not! I guess she only chilled out a bit when I started to effectively get my work published.
What was the strongest influence you had when you were growing up ( artists, movies, cartoons, comics, etc.. )?
Like many French artists of my generation, I grew up watching ‘‘Club Dorothée’’, a show which aired a lot of Japanese animation such as Dragon Ball, Saint Seiya, Ranma 1/2, and many more. Just listening to their OST’s still gives me the chills! I think I kinda aim to provide the same experience I lived following those characters as a child to today’s audience... that’s something I'd like to achieve.
Did you have a favorite subject to draw when you were a child and do you still have one today? If you do, what makes it so special?
I don’t remember what I actually loved to draw as a child, maybe helicopters? But as a teen I drew a lot of muscular guys, inspired by Dragon Ball, Hokuto no Ken, Street Fighter… and I also loved to draw Sonic the Hedgehog!
From the initial client idea to the final work: What goes through your mind and what is the method you use when starting a project? Could you describe it?
I can’t really say to have a method for this, but I know two things: Firstly, I like to have a LOT of time to think about the project, because when you just sit at your table and hope to have a good idea popping up just because you need it… well, that rarely goes well. I need to think about the project during my everyday life, feeding my imagination with everything around me, so when I grab my stylus I ‘‘just’’ have to deliver what came up through the process. Of course, you don’t always have the luxury of time, and in those cases, you simply do what you can.
Secondly, I‘m now in a position with my career where I simply don’t have the time and energy to engage in an endless proposal exchange with a client until he can figure out what he DOESN’T want (the ‘‘going to the grocery’’ process, as I call it, which would sound like: ‘‘I’ll take this head, with this hair, and this pants, and please make those shoes blue…’’). It ends up being exhausting and time consuming for both parties. I consider the designing process to be my job, so before starting, I now prefer to discuss ideas extensively in advance, to really get the feeling of who the characters should be.
Only then I make some proposals to the client, and at that stage, there’s no problem if something must be changed with the design, and I’m happy to discuss the details for it again and come back with other proposals… hopefully, not too many times! ^^’
What is your process in creating your art and what are your favourite tools?
Well, I rarely draw on paper these days, just thumbnail sketches, quick things to lay down an idea when I’m in the subway for instance… but digital drawing changed everything to me, now I couldn’t go back. Especially Clip Studio Paint, and the possibility to draw with vector lines that don’t look like vector lines… I LOVE this software… it still lacks a thing or two, like better tools to correct colors, but I think Photoshop, as a drawing software, is completely outdated.
What part of the creation process is the most fun and easy and what part is the hardest?
Surely the most fun is at the beginning, and the less fun is when you come to technical stuff. But in terms of easy/hard, I guess it just depends if you’re struggling or not: when you don’t feel a character or the first things that come to your mind are really basics, then it can be hard to find a fresh angle.
How do you feel about working as the Art Director at Chouette Co. on projects such as Droners (and IMAGO)? How challenging is it to drive a whole team?
I certainly feel lucky! It’s a fantastic working environment, with nice people, cool projects. I really feel my work there is valued, and my opinion trusted. I have to admit that being a team leader may not be my strongest skill so far, but I’m learning every day!
I think I still have some work to do on improving my communication, as I do tend to think a lot but don’t tell much, which can be a problem sometimes… aaaand I should really encourage people more often when they’re doing work, which is pretty much all the time (if you’re reading this, Chouette team, YOU’RE THE BEST, ok ? ^^)
What are some of the things you have learned from other artists who you have worked with or whose work you have seen?
One thing that I find great in my job is that I’m still learning every day! And I hope I will learn new things till the end… (like if I’m still doing this at 80, Miyazaki style). I learned storyboarding (for animation) only a few years ago, and I’ve written my first episodes scripts in the past two years. I also studied Blender a bit, and now I make environments in Dreams (a PS4 game ^^’). Most importantly, I have friends and colleagues around me that show me new ways to approaching things, and I think that’s really the most efficient way to learn.
What are you working on at the moment (if you can tell us)?
I’m still working as Background Lead Artist on IMAGO, but I have also started working on a new secret project here at Chouette Cie.
Do you have a long-term career goal? What would your dream project be?
I’d like to direct my own show, or maybe a movie, but to be perfectly honest, I also find that possibility to be a bit scary. Seems to be quite an exhausting job (and possibly very frustrating), especially when you have very high hopes and little means to achieve it. I also tend to be a little bit of a control freak, which I think is not a very good thing when you direct as you have to trust people and let them do their job, so I have to take all of these into consideration before thinking of embarking on that journey.
With that in mind, I do have many projects sleeping in my drawers, and I happen to believe that there are at least 3 or 4 that could be quite interesting… hopefully, I’ll manage to put one of them out there one day :)
Working in-house for a company or freelancing: what suits you best? And why?
Well, working in-house for a company can be comfortable, as you build up trust and bonds among people, and going from one place to another can also be a refreshing experience, which I really like. As for working from home, I don’t particularly like to mix work and private life, so having to choose, I’d say that I would certainly prefer to work in a studio.
What advice would you give to an artist who is dealing with an artist’s block? How do you boost your imagination and keep yourself creative?
I’d say never give up! But don’t force yourself either… it won’t do you any good if you push it too hard. Try to change your perspective on things, think out of the box, and seek inspiration anywhere (which may need some time which you might not have). Don’t be afraid to ask for help, people around you may have a fresh view on your problem and propose new leads.
Concept art, animation, illustration, comics, you name it. There are so many careers and when you are very young, sometimes you know only one thing: you simply love to draw. In your opinion, what should a young person take into consideration to make the right decision when choosing an artistic path?
I’ve started with comics books, but now I work in animation… and who knows? Maybe tomorrow I’ll find myself working on video games. I think it may not be that hard to switch from one career to another these days, so I personally believe that as a beginner you shouldn’t be too strict when considering a career path. Loving to draw really IS the most important thing because you have to keep in mind that it will be your job (a nice one, but still a job), so there might be times where it won’t be as fun as you wish it to be. It’s a career path that requires dedication. You’ll have to put a lot of time and effort into it, so you'd better like what you’re doing!
Also, don’t forget that doubts and questions are kinda part of the job, putting your art out there to be judged may often feel that’s YOU who’s being judged… which is not. But it does feel that way, and you must learn to be resilient and deal with it. I wish I could say that it gets better over time, but I really think it depends on who you are (for me is quite ok now, but I’m not there yet… ).
In your own experience, what would you suggest to someone who is inspired by your work and wants to follow your footsteps: should they work in one consistent style, or work on many different ones?
I think at the beginning you should really not focus on one style (which everybody tends to do of course), try as many things as possible to widen your possibilities… then maybe at one point you could try to pin down what’s YOUR thing (which won’t really be totally yours, of course, ^^’), but still keep an open mind.
If you had to recommend only one art book (a comic book, graphic novel, children book, ‘‘how to’’ book) to a fellow artist, what would it be and why?
That’s a tough one… I’ll say ‘‘COWA!’’ by Akira Toriyama deserve more love. I think it’s Toriyama’s work in its purest form. It’s really funny and has some action in it, but not too much. The art is just PERFECT, I love that book.
What’s your point of view about the industry today: what are the expectation for someone who wants to make a living with an artistic career?
I feel that we live in very interesting times. I surely miss a bit of the 80’s craziness, where networks would air any WTF show because ‘‘why not?’’. We’re leaving a quite sad period of really dull animation landscape (especially here in France) and the growing number of streaming platforms is certainly opening new possibilities, with lots of jobs on interesting projects.
Who are the artists who inspire you the most today and what are some of your favorite designs out there?
As I already mentioned, my all-time inspiration is Toriyama, but also Rumiko Takahashi, Taiyô Matsumoto, Eichirô Oda, Mike Mignola, Jamie Hewlett, and of course, Miyazaki, Hiroyuki Imaishi, Kôji Morimoto, Masaaki Yuasa. The designs for the Final Fantasy series (particularly the 7th and 9th chapters), Capcom's games, and Georges Kamitani's games had also quite an impact on me. There’s would be more to mention, but it’s difficult to choose among so much talent from the past.
As for today, there are really too many amazing artists out there, but I recently discovered Yogin’s work, and I love those designs, so funny and expressive… especially the Shark-cats ^^. I also follow Garrett Hanna, Joe Sparrow, Garo/Silvermender (I also love to draw long neck/long arms characters very much!), Georgie Mager super cute redesigns, Jocelyn Charles, Jonathan N Kondo animations, the storyboards by Kevin Molina Ortiz, and Spencer Wan… and so many others!
I also often think of my buddy’s works when I’m in trouble, like ‘‘How would Baptiste do that?’’, or ‘‘How would Fabien pull this up?’’. That can always help... and it’s ok to steal from your friends, I guess? ^^
We have a soft spot for hand-drawn animation, what is your opinion about the future of this art form?
I believe CGI is no longer a threat to it, both have the space to exist because even if (because of trends in animation) many projects tend to look the same, in the end, we still need variety. Most importantly, both worlds have their pros and cons: if you want to create a show with tons of characters and sets, that’s gonna be really expensive to do that in CGI. The same can be said about keeping characters expressive and unique, it’s hard not to lose something when you go 3D, even if you gain consistency.
Finally, where can we see your art online and get in touch with you? How can we buy your creations and support your work?
I don’t really sell anything, but you can follow my work on Twitter ( @bill_otomo ), Tumblr ( billotomo.tumblr.com ), and now also on Instagram ( @bill_otomo )! Yeah, I’m a bit late to the game, I know…^^’
Thank you, Bill :)
