Background Design with ‘Clarence’ Background Artist, Thomas Wellmann (Pt 01) :: DIYA #22

The DIY Animation Show

Today we talk with story and background artist Thomas Wellmann, calling all the way from Germany! Thomas Wellmann wears many hats as an artist, being an illustrator, a background artist for Clarence and Summer Camp Island, a storyboard artist on Adventure Time, and an indie comics creator in his spare time! We were initially stoked to pick his brains just about making backgrounds for some of our favourite shows. But as we soon learned, and as you’ll soon hear, his wealth of experience lead to an enriching discussion on what it means to tell a visual story, whether through backgrounds, comics, or in the simplest of drawings. We loved his grounded, simple approach to his art, as well as his enthusiasm and curiosity towards making it, and we know you will too! So today in pt 1, we talk with Thomas about: - How he got to work on Adventure Time & Clarence… while still living in Germany - His favourite things that help him work effectively from home - His technical nuts & bolts process for creating backgrounds for Clarence - His lo-fi, no-frills approach to creating his art - And His philosophy on visual style and encouraging its evolution This episode is an indie production from your hosts, Jessica Doll & Lauren Morse. Our theme music is provided by Azureflux.