10 Questions With Terrence Walker

Mr. Walker began drawing comics for small local newspapers in the late 80s. With the arrival of the Amiga (ask that older nerdy guy a couple of blocks from your home if you don't know about that ingenious computer), he began experimenting with 2D projects and 3D animation. After earning his chops with world-renowned video game studios like Rainbow and Westwood, Mr. Walker began to experiment with cel-shaded anime-inspired animation. The moment Understanding Chaos was unleashed to an unsuspecting world, it inspired the new millennium of computer animators that you can do anime at home. His fame only increased with the release of Shadowskin, a sci-fi drama that's like a cross between Solo and Guyver. Now, TOKYOPOP is releasing his two shorts and his how-to guidebook nationally with Anime: Concept to Reality.

I've recently interviewed the ingenious one-man wonderkind about how he created his two major projects, the internet favorite Understanding Chaos and the episodic saga Shadowskin.

The X Bridge: How did you get the inspiration to create your own animated projects?

Terrence Walker: It's something that I wanted to do since I was a child. It is also something that I strived toward since the late eighties probably. The key was finding out that it could actually be done. In the past, I had always assumed that I would create a small trailer, or proof of concept, and then suddenly a major studio would throw money at me. I even expected that such a thing could happen through the studios where I worked over the years. It was a long road of disappointment finding that not only was that not the case, but that if anything close to it were to happen, there would be no artistic integrity left in anything I had created.

The technology is what changed everything. Over time I started to see all of the individual pieces of the puzzle, which shows that a film like Understanding Chaos is possible. Putting the pieces together was the challenge, but knowing it was possible was all the inspiration I needed.

What are some of the tools of the trade you used to create your shorts and projects?

Probably one of the biggest keys to making my projects a reality was the combining of 2D and 3D animation. I knew it wasn't realistic to think I could draw everything in a reasonable amount of time, and believe me I've tried, so what I needed a was a way to offload a large amount of the work to the computer. Using 3D animation and a cartoon renderer, or cel shader, such as in Lightwave 3D, I could let the computer do a large part of the drawing work, thus speeding up my production.

Using my painting tools, in a software called Aura at the time, I could draw only what was needed to get the overall result I wanted and finalize scenes. I didn't have to draw everything. I could also combine all of the different elements that make up a particular scene using Aura's compositing tools.

I've seen Understanding Chaos on Eye Drops (a computer-animation showcase that used to air on TechTV - jh) not too long ago (and I've enjoyed it very much), and it has this Metal Gear Solid meets Ghost in the Shell feel to it. How much has anime inspired your works?

Anime and particularly the works of Production I.G. have probably been the biggest inspiration for my work. The level of realism and the feeling of true filmmaking found in Patlabor II, Ghost in The Shell, Jin-Roh and Blood: The Last Vampire captured everything that I, personally, love about the possiblities of animation as a medium.

Do you see your work as anime or are you one of those guys that appreciates animation for what it is, an art form?

I don't like to categorize any form of animation, placing limits and labels on everything. People like categories. They want to separate CG animation from traditional. They want to separate U.S. animation from Japanese, Japanese from Korean. Why limit the medium? For that matter, why separate it from filmmaking?

Who are your heroes in animation, both foreign and domestic?

As someone who truly loves animation, that list could grow entirely too large too quickly. I tend to stick to listing the studios, being that there are far too many great creators out there. I am a big fan of older Disney works. I am also very partial to the works of Studio Ghibli and, of course, Production I.G. I am very impressed with recent works of Koji Morimoto and Satoshi Kon as well. Madhouse would probably round out my list very well.

Speaking of heroes, I checked out your official site, and I noticed this superhero project called Justice For All (aka J4A). Can you go into detail about what that series is all about?

J4A was actually not an original creation of mine. Created by Kevin Bair of the Palm Beach County Sheriff's office, this series was meant as an educational tool on the criminal justice system. The superhero characters all represented facets of the system and encountered villains which represented breaking the system. It was really well-written and a fun project to be a part of. There are good ideas out there everywhere. Sometimes people just need to be made aware that those ideas can be realized without millions of dollars and major studio backing.

Would you consider making more superhero-type projects?

I would not likely create another superhero project of my own. There's still plenty to do on Shadowskin. If, on the other hand, there was a project out there that I truly wanted to be a part of, I am open to the possibility. The real key is considering how much time is involved in creating animation. Because it requires such a major investment in time, I have to really love the project.

Now I hear you're making the leap that many in the animation industry tend to make, jumping from animation to the world of comics. You're currently working on a new manga project for TOKYOPOP, World of Hartz. What's the story behind that project?

I worked in the video game industry for many years. I encountered many interesting characters in the studios, and because I was also a big video game player, I encountered a wide variety of games. It is really quite amazing how games have affected our culture and have become a part of our lives. Many young people today can't imagine a world without games. With the advent of online gaming, people are connecting to people in ways not possible and never before considered just a few years ago. A player could team up with or go up against another player in another country. People can form relationships of all kinds over long periods of time. When one considers the question of "who really is on the other end?" It brings up some interesting issues.

You've made a couple of shorts on your own. Would you ever be interested in creating your own movie, ala Voices of a Distant Star?

Well, Voices of a Distant Star, being 25 minutes in length, would probably be considered a short as well. I know that Mr. Shinkai is working on something longer at the moment. I am certain by seeing what he has done, and considering what I have done, that creating my own feature length movie is a real possiblity. In fact, it has already begun.

One last question. Where do you see yourself in ten or twenty years?