Toronto artist Joe Pascale talked to us about his floppy animations, old horror movies and Jurassic Park pinball. Click here to see all of the incredible animations on his Instagram.
Enjoy!
How would you describe your current work? Have you ever explored other styles/mediums of art?
Floppy! My current work is experimental in the sense that for me, the learning process has been just as valuable as the final output. I’ve been pushing myself to learn new software (mainly Houdini), which has been extremely challenging. So a lot of the stuff you’ll see on my Instagram is mostly the result of me experimenting with different processes within the software, which usually turns into bloated characters dancing awkwardly in city streets. At the end of the day, if people check out my IG and have a good chuckle, I’d consider that mission accomplished.
I used to draw a ton when I was younger. Mostly images of deformed creepoids, which I guess is where a lot of my 3D work comes from. I really miss it but to be honest, I just don’t have the time to do both (illustration & animation).
If you weren’t an artist, what job do you think you would have?
Professional pinball player. I go to a pinball bar here in Toronto at least once a week and have a machine of my own (Jurassic Park). I find it very relaxing (when I’m not stressing about ball drains). I could play pinball for hours. I’m not that great at it, but I could still play if for hours.
Who/What inspires your work currently?
My favourite artist of the last couple of years has to be Sarah Sitkin. Her sculptures are so incredibly raw and full of flesh. On the 3D animation end of things, I find joy in the work of Erik Ferguson, Redhoot and Smearballs, to name a few. But I’m actually most interested in Illustration. I found a guy named Whoisnemos on Instagram recently and I can’t get enough. There’s just something so sad and beautiful about his characters that I love.
Some honourable mentions would be Nychos, Killian Eng, & Nicolas Rossius.
What are your favorite things to watch or search for on YouTube/Reddit/TV/Movies...?
In all honesty, I only use YT to stream music mixes while I’m working. I’m really into synth wave right now because it’s oddly nostalgic and also keeps me awake when I’m working late. And I have no clue how Reddit (or Twitter) work, so I stay away. If I’m looking for inspiration it will usually come from Instagram or my Vimeo feed. I follow a bunch of motion graphic channels and am constantly blown away by the amazing work that comes out every day.
As for films, I’m a kid of the 80-90’s so I have a soft spot for old horror movies as well as Tim Burton stuff (Beetlejuice, Batman + Batman Returns). I also just really like trash movies like Bodymelt, Society, Street Trash, Re-Animator… basically anything that involves skin melting or bodies being mutilated in a goofy way. It’s funny, as someone who works primarily in animation and VFX, I’m such a sucker for practical effects.
What do you have going on in 2019?
My wife and I just had a baby girl on March 10, so I’m dadding out pretty hard right now. It’s the biggest project of my life thus far and I’m learning new things every day. So that’s a pretty big 2019 thing.
On the animation front, I have some ideas for a series of shorts for Instagram that I’m working on. I’ve also been approached to work on some music videos so we’ll see what sticks. I really want to spend this year working on personal projects and just learning a bunch of new software. So much to do, so little time….
Music Credits: Denzel Curry, BadBadNotGood, Run The Jewels