Interview with animator Adele K. Thomas

What a way to kick start the week! …With the amazing work of Adele K. Thomas, Melbourne based freelance illustrator. Her specialities include, concept art, character design and environments for animation and children’s books. In recent months she’s even been spotted in a few background acting shots on TV!

Adele studied traditional animation at Queensland College of Art and her short film, Vial of Youth, won Best Animated Film at the 2006 PFTC QLD New Filmmakers Awards. Check it out below…

One of her most recent projects has been illustrating <strong><a title="Buy Monster Manual" href="http://www.murdochbooks.com.au/the-monster-maintenance-manual-9781741968088.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Monster Maintenance Manual</a></strong> by Peter Macinnis. Adele is currently shortlisted for the <a title="CBCA Crichton Award" href="http://cbca.org.au/index.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CBCA</a> <em>Crichton Award</em> for children’s book illustration and the winner is announced in August 2011. Another side project is a bible with <a href="http://www.cartoonnetwork.com.au/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cartoon Network</a> for an animated project that she pitched to them last year.</p> <p>For more of Adele’s work, you can check out her regular <a href="http://www.adelekthomas.blogspot.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">blog</a> posts here, and her <a href="http://www.adelekthomas.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">website</a>.</p> <h2>How have you got to where you are today?</h2> <p>Pretty much all I have been interested in was drawing – from childhood – and everyone who has known me at school will tell you, I was the one that could draw. And that is all I ever did.</p> <p>My mum has always encouraged me in art and acting, but I didn’t know what to do after high school. I tried getting into Tourism (seeing as I lived on the Gold Coast), but that sucked, so I decided to do a Diploma in Multimedia so I could get into a Bachelor of Animation a Griffith University.</p> <p>I did all that… made a graduate film… did an Honours year and then worked at Liquid Interactive in Brisbane as a studio artist! I mainly worked on web banners and educational games but wanted to work in the animation department. They weren’t interested in me and eventually the artwork ran dry in the Interactive department, so I went to work for <a title="Hoodlum website" href="http://www.hoodlum.com.au/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hoodlum Entertainment</a>. After the financial crash I had to find work elsewhere, thankfully <a title="Studio Moshi" href="http://www.studiomoshi.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Studio Moshi</a> tracked me down and offered me a contract as an animator and layout/background artist. So I moved to Melbourne with my boyfriend <a title="Maik Hempel feature" href="http://designmontage.com.au/2011/05/creative-feature-maik-hempel-indie-animator-filmmaker/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Maik Hempel</a> and finally got into the animation industry.</p> <h2>In a few words, describe yourself…</h2> <p>Persistent, geeky, hungry, silly, and a friend once said I was “chipper”<em>…I am pretty chatty.</em></p> <h2>What are you spending your time on at the moment?</h2> <p>I’ve just started a 12 week contract with Studio Moshi again. In my spare time Im working on a funded bible for a animated series I pitched to <a href="http://www.cartoonnetwork.com.au/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cartoon Network</a>. I want to teach myself Illustrator as its been years since I touched it, so I can apply for more jobs. Recently I finished designing a cast of characters for a <a title="Zactoons" href="http://www.zactoons.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Zactoons</a> production and illustrated a children’s book called <strong><a title="Buy Monster Manual" href="http://www.murdochbooks.com.au/the-monster-maintenance-manual-9781741968088.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Monster Maintenance Manual</a></strong> by Peter Macinnis.</p> <p><img decoding="async" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-1239" title="AdeleKThomas_AliceAndTheFunkyTimeRabbit_sml" alt="Adele Funky time" src="http://designmontage.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/AdeleKThomas_AliceAndTheFunkyTimeRabbit_sml.jpg" width="420" height="227" /><br /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-1236" title="AdeleKThomas_leprechauns" alt="Adeles Leprechauns" src="http://designmontage.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/AdeleKThomas_leprechauns.jpg" width="420" height="221" /><br /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-1235" title="AdeleKThomas_week01sml" alt="Adele sketch" src="http://designmontage.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/AdeleKThomas_week01sml.jpg" width="420" height="330" /></p> <div id="attachment_1237" style="width: 430px;" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-1237" title="MMMBook" alt="" src="http://designmontage.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/MMMBook.jpg" width="420" height="315" /></p> <p class="wp-caption-text">Character illustrations for the<br /> <em><a title="Buy Monster Manual" href="http://www.murdochbooks.com.au/the-monster-maintenance-manual-9781741968088.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Monster Maintenance Manual</a></em> by Peter Macinnis.</p> </div> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-1232" title="PinkElephants_colourV01_rgb_temp" alt="" src="http://designmontage.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/PinkElephants_colourV01_rgb_temp.jpg" width="420" height="252" /><br /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-1234" title="calculatorimps_colour01_rgb_temp" alt="" src="http://designmontage.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/calculatorimps_colour01_rgb_temp.jpg" width="420" height="252" /><br /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-1233" title="MMM_AKT2010_mudalligators_colour_rgb_temp" alt="" src="http://designmontage.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/MMM_AKT2010_mudalligators_colour_rgb_temp.jpg" width="420" height="252" /><br /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-1231" title="AvantCard_AdeleKThomas02" alt="Adele Avant card in stand" src="http://designmontage.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/AvantCard_AdeleKThomas02.jpg" width="350" height="503" /></p> <h2>Do you have a ritual for getting into the creative mindset? Or a creative process?</h2> <p>I’m best when someone jumpstarts me with a brief or idea or I see something that sticks in my brain. I usually doodle some thumbnails after researching images on google. If I need to relax my mind I’ll watch some dvds or TV series, see what some of my favourite artists are up to on their blogs, listen to music (usually 80’s synthpop and new wave), read up on whats going on in popular culture or exercise. <em><span style="color: #d2232a;">You have to take a break too, otherwise you just crash mentally and physically…which is what happened to me recently.</span></em></p> <h2>What or who inspires you?</h2> <p>My mum was and is always good for encouragement, otherwise other artist’s work and where they are at in their career inspires me, that makes me keep going as I like to think I can keep improving. Plus, I’m not really that great at anything else, so I may as well invest in my illustration. Having Maik around is very encouraging, as he is in the same industry as me and we can bounce off each other.</p> <h2>What are you most proud of?</h2> <p>I’m pretty proud of a few recent jobs, illustrating the children’s book and seeing my work in print was nice, seeing it on shelves in stores and having friends buying copies of it.</p> <p><span style="color: #d2232a;">Successfully pitching my series idea to Cartoon Network at SPAA, as its a pretty tough gig to achieve…got to avoid having to go all the way to Mipcom in France! </span>Also I recently did the character design for the cast of a Zactoon’s animated production and seeing those being animated is pretty awesome. Lastly, having my artwork on an Avant Card this June. I used to collect them, so when they asked me to do a artwork for them, that was pretty cool.</p> <h2>When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?</h2> <p>I don’t think I ever had any ideas of a grown up job… <em><span style="color: #d2232a;">I was too busy splattering paint onto paper and the walls, making crafty thing and irritating my pets. </span></em>Other than being an artist, it would have been working with animals as I had them around me from birth till 26, otherwise an actor…none of this girly princess stuff, not all girls want to wear pink frilly dresses.</p> <div id="better-author-bio-div"> <div class="better-author-bio-div-info"> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="http://www.designmontage.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/JenicaAvatar_60x60.jpg" width="60" height="60" alt="" class="avatar avatar-60 wp-user-avatar wp-user-avatar-60 photo avatar-default" /></p> <h4>Written by Jenica Smith</h4> <p class="better-author-bio-div-meta">Passionate about storytelling, design and creativity, Jenica is a Brisbane-based digital designer and founder of Design Montage. Follow on <a href="http://www.twitter.com/designmontage" target="_blank" rel="noopener">twitter</a>.</p> <ul> <li class="first"><a href="http://www.designmontage.com.au/author/jenica_designwiz/"><br /> View all posts by Jenica Smith <span class="meta-nav">→</span> </a></li> <li><a href="http://www.designmontage.com.au" title="Read Jenica Smith’s blog">Blog</a></li> <li><a href="designmontage" title="Follow Jenica Smith on Twitter" rel="external">Twitter</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <p></p> <hr /> <footer class="article-footer"> <p class="tags"> <a href="http://www.designmontage.com.au/tag/animator/" rel="tag">,Animator</a> <a href="http://www.designmontage.com.au/tag/childrens-books/" rel="tag">,Children’s Books</a> <a href="http://www.designmontage.com.au/tag/freelance-illustrator/" rel="tag">,Freelance Illustrator</a> <a href="http://www.designmontage.com.au/tag/interview/" rel="tag">,Interview</a> <a href="http://www.designmontage.com.au/tag/melbourne/" rel="tag">,Melbourne</a></p> </footer> <p> </p> <p></p> <h3 id="comments" class="h2"><span>One</span> Response to “Adele K. Thomas [illustrator-animator]”</h3> <nav id="comment-nav"> <ul class="clearfix"> <li></li> <li></li> </ul> </nav> <ol class="commentlist"> <li class="comment even thread-even depth-1"> <article id="comment-14" class="clearfix"> <header class="comment-author vcard"> <br /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-gravatar="http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/4b0f9151d3cbfe7c53e208ff837af64b?s=32" class="load-gravatar avatar avatar-48 photo" height="32" width="32" src="http://www.designmontage.com.au/wp-content/themes/DesignMontageCustom%28Bones%29/library/images/nothing.gif" /><br /> <br /> <cite class="fn"><a href="http://web-highway.com" rel="external nofollow noopener" class="url" target="_blank">Department of Transport cameras</a></cite> <time datetime="2011-09-15"><a href="http://www.designmontage.com.au/2011/07/adele-k-thomas-illustrator-animator/#comment-14">September 15th, 2011 </a></time><br /> </header> <section class="comment_content clearfix">Nice post, I love the website.</p> </section> </article> <p> </li> <p></ol> <nav id="comment-nav"> <ul class="clearfix"> <li></li> <li></li> </ul> </nav> <p>