Marcos Chin

FITC TORONTO

I just got back from FITC Toronto where I spent 4 days with some of the most intelligent and creative minds working in the industry of Flash, motion graphics, moving image, sound and interactive art and design. It was an incredible experience and my gut is still gasping from all the goodness that I inhaled while I was there. I was moved by so many of the speakers' presentations that I attended (about 10 in total) and also presented one lecture of my own, as well as being involved in a "Source and Imagination" panel discussion along with Camille Utterback, Shaun Hamontree of MK12, Dr. Woohoo, Jared Ficklin of Frog Design and Craig Swann (all of whom are outstandingly talented, kind, funny and generous people). For an illustrator who can harldy use Flash, and has had no concept until this weekend about anything to do with programming and coding, nor how to use algorithms and mathematics to inform one's artwork and/or design, I was wholly inspired. It makes me hopeful that my work has the potential to grow in a new direction.
It was incredible to listen to these artists and designers explain the critical issues that they experience while in their studios working on their projects. I realized that regardless of whatever creative discipline we are in, we are still connected by the questions that we ask while we are making our work, by the mental and physical labour that we put forth, and by our wanting to express ourselves and to make manifest our vision and voice our point of view.
I realized after attending this conference that I do love illustration... or more specifically I do love to draw. But sometimes working on so many commercial assignments diminishes that feeling somewhat. I become exhausted and confused from thinking so much, from working so much on such short deadlines, and so my pool of inspiration grows less and less. I sound ungrateful, I know, but I don't mean to be... Inspiration is something that I constantly seek out, and so when those moments hit, then I try to nurture them.