Creative Sparks: Liam Harris – Animator/Illustrator at We are Fruition

Check out the latest edition of interview series, Creative Sparks.

Today, it features animator and illustrator, Liam Harris, who has worked with LiveWire Sport , Wimbledon and West Bromwich Albion Football Club on a host of cracking sports content.

In the interview, we discuss how he got into the industry, what traits you need to excel, his favourite work, the peers he looks up to and what he thinks the future holds.

YOUR BACKGROUND

Name

Liam Harris

Position?

Freelance Animation Director/Illustrator

Represented by

We are Fruition (London)

Companies you’ve worked with

Ralph Lauren, LiveWire Sport, WBA, Tennis TV, Premier League, BBC Sport, Beano, Barbour

YOUR ROLE

How did you get into illustration?

It’s a cliché answer but it’s something I’ve been doing ever since I was old enough to hold a pencil. I recently found old drawings of cartoon characters from when I was around six along with all the creative stuff I used to suggest to teachers to do instead of what they had planned. I was set on this as a career path from a really early age and I think they could see that so I actually used to get away with a lot because my passion and drive for art as a subject was so committed. While at school I would take drawing requests for other kids and they would pay me with their lunch money. Not a bad little business I had going!

What’s the most important personal quality for working in illustration?

Patience. I’ve only really come to realise this since leaving film school and that is you can’t rush things. I see so many cool pieces of artwork and character design from people I follow and I’ve always felt the need to jump the gun and just get the final piece complete in order to keep up with people, but it’s all about the approach and the development which makes the final outcome as good as it can be. Even now I’ll go back through old sketches and find unused designs which I can now actually fit to a current project, they just weren’t right for the time I did them. So without that development side of illustration you’re actually losing out on a back catalogue of the really cool ideas and concepts.

What do you love most about working in illustration?

It’s always been the creativity, what can I come up with that people haven’t seen yet? I’ll spend hours just rummaging through references of stuff, looking for a gap that people haven’t seized yet and what can I do differently from others. Is it a new way to paint lighting or shadow? How can I push the design of this character so that it looks and performs differently from things you’ve already seen? These are challenges I love to tackle but it does take time and patience. Sometimes you don’t get as much time when working on reactive stuff such as live sports so you’re kind of forced to get it done as quick as possible but on the rare occasions you have the beauty of time, then it’s really exciting figuring out something fresh and new.

Where does your inspiration come from?

I grew up on old school cartoons, I was fascinated by paper animation, how all these individual drawings when shot together created such seamless and explosive movements. Whether it was classic Looney Tunes, Raymond Briggs’ The Snowman or Who Framed Roger Rabbit, I was in awe of how this was done. I even used to tape them and then continually stop, pause and rewind so I could see the individual frames and how messy or detailed each frame was drawn. It felt like I was uncovering a secret of the animation world or something. There’s nothing quite like seeing your paper drawn frames create life on screen. It’s a real surreal and heartwarming moment.

Tell us about your approach and style as an illustrator – how do you describe yourself?

This is by far the hardest thing to answer, mainly because I don’t have a strict style. I’m always looking to adapt to new ways of working so I can give myself a better range when it comes to working on various projects. For example the way I would animate and design characters in my short films is poles apart from the stuff I do in sport. They require a sense of realism because you’re depicting people their audiences love and cherish, whereas shorts I’m let loose and I can play around as much as I want to find something unique and exciting. So I’m kind of a Jack of all trades, there’s not much I can’t or won’t try and illustrate. Even if it’s a style I’ve had no experience with before (such as the manga tennis piece I did for Tennis TV last year), I’ll research it and learn how the line work is applied, how the shadows sit on the colour etc. Sometimes its a good thing to have range but also a lot of clients reach out to specific animators/Illustrators because they’ve nailed down their own brand of work and it’s clearly theirs.

You’ve worked with LiveWire Sport on some terrific projects – what’s been your favourite?

I’d have to go with this year’s Blade and Bounce series for Wimbledon’s YouTube Kids Channel. I was fortunate enough this year to help oversee the three-part series with LiveWire and help come up with visual gags, storyboards and animatics which is where I really flourish. Storytelling has always been the thing I’ve wanted to focus on, so to be able to come up with cool ideas, character jokes etc was really fun and LiveWire had some brilliant animators on board to bring those scenes to life. If you’ve got kids who want to learn about the history of Wimbledon then please go check them out!

What’s it been like working with your boyhood club, West Brom – and what’s been your favourite project with them?

It’s been really great and I’ve been really fortunate to work alongside some really great people at the club. I approached them back at the end of the 2018/19 season when the fans were in need of a ‘pick me up’ following our Play-Off loss. By then I’d racked up a good client base in the industry and felt like I could approach the club with some good experience and ideas on what they could integrate next year that may put smiles on fans faces. That’s where the idea for the illustrated programme covers came in. I’ve done some great bits of work for them since but the programme covers were such a big bucket list goal that has to be my favourite. Even more so that we obtained promotion that season and I was fortunate enough to Illustrate Chris Brunt’s final game for the club, a personal highlight of mine. Hopefully we can do more cool stuff like that in the future!

Do you agree that illustration is now firmly embedded as part of the content mix now with clubs/companies/publishers?

100%. It’s booming at the moment, it really is, especially within the top end of sport. Lockdown gave people like me the opportunity to show companies how animation and illustration could benefit them. It would be great to see more clubs involving independent artists in the creation of club branded material, but the reality is it comes down to the club’s budget and in some cases art is deemed a luxury and not a necessity. I believe these artists have a lot to offer clubs. Many of them come from fine art and design backgrounds, so not only is their creative library extensive but their ideas could bring something new to the table that they would never have considered before. Clubs are always looking for what’s new, what’s fresh and whose branding is standing out this season. By collaborating with an artist with such skills, they’ll be able to explore those possibilities and start showcasing new and innovative concepts that could be the next step of art within sport.

YOUR THOUGHTS

What’s been the best brief you’ve ever received – was there one that got you really excited and how did it go?

I’d say it was more applied for than received. I got the chance in 2017 to make a short adaptation of a friend’s stage play called ‘The Book of Blood’ which revolved solely around three characters, whose arcs completely flip on its head. It was great to collaborate with the writer and see how far we could push the madness. As it was originally a two-person stage play, they were restricted in how far the comedy could go and how absurd the calamity could get but in the world of animation, there are no restrictions or boundaries so that was really exciting to explore. The end product turned out well, we were a little rushed towards the end as it was funded by a shorts programme from Channel 4 and they had specific deadlines, but it would be great fun to one day return to those characters and see what mad adventure they’d be on next.

What’s been the best illustration work you’ve seen in sport from a fellow illustrator?

I follow so many artists it’s incredibly difficult to name one. I would say however that this year’s Wimbledon illustrations by Grant Gruenhaupt were absolutely stunning. The attention to detail was phenomenal and done with such delicacy. It really made me think I need to pick up my game! I’m also a huge admirer of Dan Leydon’s work. His ability to just go for it and learn along the way is something I really admire. Even if his first attempt doesn’t go so well, he’ll share it and say why he thinks that and where he’s likely to improve. It’s an open and honest account of what it’s like to be an illustrator and he wears that badge with pride. I wish I was as upfront about my development!

In terms of industry peers, who do you most admire?

Gosh, there’s so many! I think the person who really influenced my development as a drawer and an animator is Joanna Quinn. I came across her work when I was applying to university. At that point I’d only animated flip books and I was super rigid with my drawing. I was so careful not to make mistakes that it was actually harming my drawing skills. When I finally got to university I became engulfed in her work, the loose pencil marks, the line work that was seamless yet energetic, it was all a real eye opener for me. It was incredible to see how free you could be with animation and still have it look incredible and be as funny and charming as Joanna’s work is. I was fortunate enough to have a workshop with her once which really was a thrilling moment. I was super chuffed for her this year when she got her well deserved Oscar nomination!

What’s been your proudest piece of work?

Probably my grad film from the NFTS. I’ve done lots of cool stuff since and are developing some new future shorts/shows that I know I’ll probably love as much but there’s something about making your first complete film with a team that you just cannot beat. The team I had during the making of that film couldn’t have been better. We were all on the same page and the vision for this sweet little story was grasped by everyone on board. In the beginning I had no idea how it would turn out or if anyone would even like it. But it was the best experience I’ve had and I’ve made lifetime friends/colleagues from it. Not to mention the three-year film festival tour the film took us on! It’s on Vimeo now so if you’ve got 10 minutes to spare and want to watch a charming and heartwarming story of a man stuck in his submarine in the sky then look no further!

What’s been the best piece of illustration artwork you’ve seen – non sport?

It’s not necessarily illustration but one of the best/most influential pieces of animation/design for me is the work of Sylvain Chomet. His films, from Triplets of Belleville to The Illusionist, are some of the most beautiful animation and artwork I’ve seen. Everything from the elegance of the environments to the wacky, quirky characters is utterly inspirational. A real animator’s dream project. If you haven’t had the pleasure of watching some of his films then I highly recommend it.

YOUR PREDICTIONS

What to look out for with illustration in 2022?

Every year I look for what’s new. For me, I always look to incorporate my love for animation and classic cartoons in to the world of sport. It’s a bold approach as many fans find it childish or not classy enough. However I disagree. As a kid growing up following football, there was nowhere near enough material from football clubs to entice kids into wanting to watch. Of course we had mascots but it felt very much an adult sport. I think nowadays that has started to change and I’ve been pushing for years for sport to step up and consider its younger followers. There’s a place for illustration and animation to do good in sport this year, I’m just hoping clubs will be brave enough to help you realise that vision.

We’ve seen illustration used in sport across a wide array of ways – birthdays, programme covers, social media promotions and even kit launches, are there any other ways you’d like to see it used going forward?

I believe there is room for it to become a staple in sport. I think having a kids division within clubs that adhere to younger supporters is essential. Like I said before, mascots are great but you can only see them from afar most times, so what about making them a character that promotes good and confidence. Perhaps the captain of the team is immortalised as a cartoon character who in each programme edition speaks about things related to them and offers support. There is real potential for these things to do good. We’ve all seen kids eyes light up when they finally meet their sporting heroes in person, but what about the kids whose parents perhaps can’t afford a ticket or can’t pay for them to be a matchday mascot. There’s space there for illustration and animation to step in and fill that void. If there’s anything I would love to accomplish within football clubs specifically it would be to give each young supporter the chance to feel at home and wanted by their club. Football can be an escapism for some, a time to get away from school or the difficulties of growing up and be a part of a community who all the share the same passion for one thing. I believe clubs should go that extra mile to bring them into the fold and make them feel like they really are a part of something.

Finally, what has 2022 got in store for you, any exciting projects you can tell us about?

It’s a weird one because I never know what’s in store, it changes on a weekly basis! I am, however, developing several projects of my own including a couple of children’s TV series and a new short film, something I’ve been dying to get back into. On top of all that I’ll be welcoming my first child in November! So I’ve no doubt that will be my biggest project of the year (or life) and, no doubt, the best adventure!