Interviewing Antimator, Illustrator, Music Maker: CYRIAK (Sweet Sixteen)

** It is advised that any person under the age of 12 is not suitable due to sci-fying fantasy creature images

September 2011

The interview project is called Sweet Sixteen - where you only ask 16 questions - no more, no less

Cyriak is a well known surreal animator. He is very popular on Youtube. This is where I got to know him from. I found his work in 2008 and still love it. He collaborates the unreal with various political, social, soap opera 'realities' - really questionning the real state of it all. For instance, he did a mash up of Eastenders, called 'Beastenders' and he enjoys morphing creatures/objects into other objects.

Back in 2006 he entered beatenders into a BBC Comedy Competition and won the opportunity of meeting the Manchester BBC crew and other film makers. In his own words, "I still wear the badge they gave me"

Here is the first animaion I had seen of his: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3JCESdFNyw

He applies amazing visuals and really gets you thinking on the edge. Being a writer myself I find his work really inspiring to watch.

1. Cyriak, you are my favourite animative master. The way you twist reality into a surreal world is truly amazing. Have you always been into the surreal, or what are your views on the surreal and real? Surreal to me, is rather real as I've got used to it, and the real is more unreal nowadays. Please tell me your view?

To me, the real world is every bit as surreal as anything I could create. I am often confusing it with dreams I have had, and have trouble remembering anything beyond a couple of weeks in the past. It almost feels as if I am dreaming myself into existence sometimes.

2. Taking two steps back, please can you tell me your 'real' name, age and also, if Cyriak is not your real name, where that comes from too.

Cyriak is indeed my real name. It was chosen 36 years ago from a book of European names and its origins are slightly mysterious, though possibly Greek.

3. You must live down South, as you use the likes of Worthing sea-front in your animations? Do you have any special location you like to use for your animation?

I currently live in Worthing, though I'm not sure how long that will continue. I don't really see any particular place as being my home, as I exist mainly inside my flat, which doubles as an extension to my head. The seafront is nice for animation though as it provides a very scenic backdrop.

4. I see you make illustrations. When did you start drawing, and what came first - the animation or illustration?

I drew and painted for many years before I got involved with animation. For me, art was always about telling a story or communicating an idea, which animation lends itself to perfectly. The illustrating withered away a bit after I started animating, mainly because the kinds of illustrations I liked to make took far longer to create than my animations.

5. Do you have any creative people who inspire you?

I take inspiration from culture in general, but favourite artists of mine include MC Escher, HR Giger, Dali, Svankmajer and of course Terry Gilliam.

6. Where do you get your ideas from, and do they spark up randomly? Do you ever get 'idea block' (like 'writer's block')?

Ideas tend to appear out of nowhere, usually when I'm not trying. I do run out of them occasionally - usually just before I'm expected to start work on a commission. Luckily There is usually enough time between jobs to recharge my brain batteries.

7. I think you have a great imagination. I think lots of people get excited by your talent. Do you get some people who dislike it?

Oddly enough for the internet I get surprisingly few negative comments, unless "WTF what drugs are you on!" is actually negative, I see that as a good review myself. A fair number of people aren't keen on my music, but as long as other people like it that will never bother me. I make what I make for my own enjoyment, so anything else is a bonus.

8. What's been your greatest animation so far that you've enjoyed creating?

Its hard to say I enjoy creating my animations, I guess I must do... but when I am in the process of making them its like struggling to climb an enormous mountain - its hard work but worth it for the view when you reach the top. The most work I ever put into a film was Meow, which took about 6 weeks to complete. It was fun to work on though, because my friend Sarah Brown was doing all the illustration - half the job of my videos is preparing the artwork for animating so that made a nice change.

9. For me, in one of your animations, you have a big hand flicking cars off the road. This is great. Have you ever thought about bringing this into a car advert. Have you ever created adverts? I watched your E-sting making, that was great. Please tell on the subject?

I'm pretty sure that idea has been done in car adverts since I made that, in fact its become a bit of a cliche now to have a giant pair of hands manipulating the real world. Originally my Cycles film was going to be all like that, but I thought it would be more interesting to introduce animated characters to mess around with the reality instead. I've worked on a few adverts, I'm actually working on one right now. Its a bit of a change to have someone else telling you what they want and asking you to make changes you don't necessarily agree with, but you soon learn to not be so precious about work that someone else is paying for.

10. Do you have any interests?

Beyond making weird animations, I enjoy drinking tea and killing zombies. There isn't much more to me than that, apart from sleeping.

11. Your top 5 objects:
1. My computer
2. My Kettle
3. My tea cup
4. My tea bags
5. My pint of milk

12. Do you hope to be making animations when you're an elder. If so, do you think they would change? If not, what would you be doing?

I don't really think more than 2 weeks into the future, so what I will be doing when I'm older is beyond my comprehension. In fact to a lot of my fans I am probably already old. I hope I am still making weird stuff though, or at least doing as little as possible.

13. I think your cow's that turn into spiders are amazing. What was that animation called? I think in the future, some science society would like to clone this for you. Do you believe in science? Or, are you religious? Or both?

That video was called Cows & Cows & Cows. I have a healthy fear of spiders so it was quite a challenge to work on those spider-cows. I hope they terrify other people just as much. I am a great believer in science, and a great disbeliever in religion.

14. Do you have a tip for artists that want to develop new ideas or projects?

Its usually a good idea to try and make stuff that you want to see, but doesn't already exist. Art for me is about filling in cultural holes, rather than making what you think people will enjoy.

15. I have to ask. The music in your animations is very fun. They are the sort of sounds the world should hear more of! Do you make the music?

Yes I try to always use my own music in my films. Its a personal thing, but also helps to own the soundtrack when you are licensing your videos for tv. I am always getting bands offering me the use of their own music but using my own tunes has become a kind of a brand thing now.

16. Last of all, do you get your five a day?