Today we’d like to introduce you to Austin Frick.
Austin, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I’m an animator and illustrator, both independently and with a group of my friends through the artist collective Loose Change. I’ve always loved experimenting with different mediums for art; as a kid I used to do things like making elaborate little people and gadgets out of twisty ties from the grocery store, or creating armor for my action figure out of tin foil. I wrote and photocopied comics about my dog, and did weird claymations with my friends. As I grew older, I realized the gift that animation gives artists in being able to tell a story with complete control of the entire experience. I was determined to be an animator and took the leap to move from my home state of Arizona all the way to Chicago, where I’ve been thriving ever since. These days I still love experimenting with different styles of animation and art in general. I’m most fascinated with stop motion and the visceral, authentic style that it lends to animation. As a student at DePaul, I’ve done so much great work under the professors there, from animating old cigarette butts to marker on glass to cut outs of 2D characters in a miniature 3D set. I get ideas every day about cool animations or new stories to tell, so for me being an animator is trying to bring as many of those ideas to life for people to see.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
For me, animation is a very isolating field. Because your identity and self-esteem is so intrinsically tied to your style as an animator, it can be difficult to remember that there are other people out there who are just as passionate and motivated and self-conscious as you are. Coming to Chicago for the first year or so, it got hard to animate because I didn’t know any other animators; my surroundings felt alien and I wasn’t sure if there was a community for me. Thankfully since then I’ve made some amazing friends who are incredibly talented and gifted creators. The people I’ve met through animation are some of my closest friends and have taught me so much about art and being an artist. These connections have been really valuable professionally as well, as a member of Loose Change I’ve made music videos for amazing artists like Portugal the Man and Cupcakkke, which never would have been possible without my talented friends.
Austin Frick – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I do lots of different art, but I love physical art the most. As a stop motion animator, I have lots of experience in fabrication. Anything from making stop motion puppets and sets, 3D printing, sculpting, to laser cutting, painting, and set dressing. Aside from that kind of hands-on work, I love anything related to storytelling, be that designing a scene through storyboarding or communicating personality through character animation. Away from the world of animation, I’ve done illustrations for two full length published books, which I really enjoy as well. I just love experimenting and doing new things as an artist.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
I’m not sure if this is a totally conventional answer, but this past year I just stepped down as the president of the Animation Lodge at DePaul (our school’s animation club). As a last act, my board and I decided to create and organize a showcase festival of student work in the animation community at DePaul. We weren’t expecting much, but we had hundreds of submissions, stretching from films to paintings to prints to sculptures. Way more people came than we predicted, including professors I really respect. It was a really humbling experience hosting that event, realizing how far I’ve come being a lonely, confused artist in Arizona to being surrounded and accepted by this flourishing community of animators just like me. It might not be a film or a stop motion, but having a hand in creating that event was definitely a high point, simply because it demonstrated how lucky I am to be in this field.
Contact Info:
- Website: austinfrick.com
- Phone: 9287070911
- Email: cptaustinfrick@gmail.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/austincandraw
- Other: https://vimeo.com/austinfrick
Getting in touch: VoyageChicago is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
