During the fifth day of the Guadalajara International Film Festival (FICG40), the talented visual artist Ean McNamara gave a master class entitled: Mr. Director, Your Monster Is Sinking into the Lake.
Beginning with director Billy Wilder's famous anecdote during the filming of The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes, McNamara began by explaining, in a most amusing way, the relationship between the class title and his work as a visual artist in the film industry.
The artist continued his presentation by talking about New England, the traditionalist region where he grew up, as well as his family background and the starting point of moving to Baltimore to attend college and experience a new world outside of the conservatism in which he had grown up.
During his training, two personalities exerted a determining influence: his teacher José Villarrubia, famous colorist for Marvel and D.C. Comics, and Laurence Arcadias, who brought him closer to the project that would mark the beginning of his career in cinema: Coraline. Comics, and Laurence Arcadias, who brought him closer to the project that would mark the beginning of his career in film: Coraline.
Ean shared that it was not an easy road, as it was full of ups and downs that, over time, taught him not only to develop his creativity as an artist, but also to work on projects that require the collaboration of many people and the fusion of ideas from different places.
For McNamara, part of his creative process consists of questioning the intentions behind the spaces he draws, what he wants audiences to feel for his characters, whether they will be characters he has to like or dislike, but mainly, understanding their motivations and true desires.
During his presentation, Ean demonstrated that his ingenuity is not only in his work as an artist, but in his entire personality. From dressing up a box to explain the limitations a character can have, according to his design, to the use of lights and audience participation on stage to recreate a scene from Paranorman.
He explained that, in animation, not everything has to have a reason for being, and invited to explore that freedom that allows to go beyond the limits of reality. However, he stressed that this does not mean that behind the work of an artist there are no reflections and needs that arise during the creative process; on the contrary, there is hard work in polishing ideas to include symbolism and meaning to every detail of the work.
During the session, he shared that, for him, the brain has a romantic and a pragmatic side: the first is the one that lets the imagination fly with ideas that are sometimes difficult to land, and the second, the one that warns of the limitations of reality. In view of this, he advised: "Be romantic in your art and pragmatic with your time". (Be romantic in your art and pragmatic with your time).
In answering questions from the audience, McNamara explained how he deals with rejection and creative blocks, stressing the importance of seeking new motivations and finding what brings him joy, both inside and outside the world of animation. He also talked about the importance of incorporating play as a tool for teamwork, working with friends and having fun with them in the process.
Ean McNamara's master class not only allowed us to appreciate his talent as an artist in animation, but also his ability to transfer that creativity and sense of humor to everything he proposes, leaving an audience impressed and deeply grateful for an unforgettable experience.