Interview
Joakim Juti
Joakim Juti is a Finnish-Mexican director, classical animator and illustrator currently based in Paris, France. He studied fim and animation in Vancouver, Canada, and since then he has directed award winning short films as well as worked in some of Europe's largest creative agencies as an Art Director and Storyboard Artist. “My unique multi-disciplinary and international background allows me to have different perspectives of the world and has taught me a wide array of skills. From creation to crafting, from story conception to storyboarding, from visdev to graphic design, etc. I can both quickly sketch an idea on a napkin and make ellaborate animatics. And all while speaking four languages (plutôt trois ans et demi parce que j'apprends encore le français).”
What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?
“I studied film and classical animation in Vancouver Film School but really my art journey started in childhood. When I was very little, I was unable to hold a pen or pencil for some reason and my parents were worried about how it would affect me in school. So, my dad bought a whiteboard and some markers and began drawing dots that I would have to connect by drawing lines. At first, my dad would help me hold the marker and guide my hand, but eventually I was able to do it myself. By connecting the dots my dad taught my to draw ladders, houses, and monsters and soon I fell in love with drawing to the point that I couldn't spend a day without doing it. Since then, I have been drawing dinosaurs, animals, and cartoons almost daily and it motivated me to go study animation and make my own films. And in 2020, I created my Instagram art account, Jutyrannus, where I could post all my paleoart and to my surprise it became a huge success.”
What inspires you?
“Various things inspire me, but I have taken a lot of inspiration from 90s Disney movies and Saturday morning cartoons. I also read a lot of Asterix and Tintin comics as a kid, where the clear black outlines and flat colors really appealed to me. I also get a lot of inspiration by reading up about animals and following paleontology/science news. There is a lot of story and design potential in animals, especially in extinct ones, that often gets overlooked.”
What themes do you pursue? Is there an underlying message in your work?
“Regardless on whether it's my film work or art on Jutyrannus, whether it's fantasy or based on reality, it's all somehow nature related. My dad is a farmer and so I spent a lot of my childhood in the country side, developing a love for nature and animals. I guess I hope that my work gets more people interested in wildlife, both living and extinct, and makes us all more concious about protecting the wonderful planet we live on.”
How would you describe your work?
“Cartoons meet science. Especially with my work on Jutyrannus, I like to take the latest scientific discoveries about dinosaurs and hominids and find ways to depict these animals in a way that is both stylistic but also accurate to the science. I like to think of it as if I'm drawing a stylized and anthropomorphic depiction based on a real animal, like how I would do it if I was, for example, drawing a cartoon lion, and not just re-doing the same old tropes we see in pop-culture dinosaurs, like the featherless raptors in Jurassic Park.”
Which artists influence you most?
“Probably the great western animators like Milt Kahl, Glenn Keane, and Don Bluth, but also the French-Belgian comic artists such as Uderzo. My grandmother is also a painter and I would be lying if I said that she didn't inspire me.”
“I like to take the latest scientific discoveries about dinosaurs and hominids and find ways to depict these animals in a way that is both stylistic but also accurate to the science.”
What is your creative process like?
“Spend a lot of time researching while also drawing sketches until I settle with something that I like. Since I draw digitally, I start with a sketch layer and then draw the line art on a layer on top. I then do the colors on a layer below the line art and sketch layers. Lastly, after the colors are done, I paint over my line art to give it color. Each character or element in a piece, such as the background or foreground, get their own sketch, lineart and color layers.”
What is an artist’s role in society and how do you see that evolving?
“We have been making art ever since we started painting on cave walls and carving statues out of mammoth tusks. It doesn't matter if us artists have a purpose or not, we will keep making art until the end of time because it's what we need to do to feel satisfied. We are a social animal and we like to tell things to people. Most of us do it by talking, but some of us communicate to others or to ourselves by making something. The techniques will change with technology and time but I don't think that this need to connect via creation will change.”
Have you had any noteworthy exhibitions you'd like to share?
“My short films, both animated and live action, that I have directed and animated are definitely something I can share. Films like Runo and Goodbye were screened in festivals around the world and won awards in the United States and India. They can all be seen on my Vimeo. I am working on making a new animated short film again. I can't say much for now but keep your eyes on my socials to follow my art journey.”
