Q&A with Lucinda Schreiber

My name is Lucinda Schreiber. I'm an Australian director, animator and illustrator currently living in New York. My work moves between handcrafted and digital illustration and animation and is often a combination of both.

How did you get started in visual art?

I've always made art of some form and it miraculously turned into a career which I'm very grateful for. Originally I studied Fine Art in Printmaking but was often pulled towards the computer lab on the other side of campus where I experimented with video and animation. Eventually I did a Master of animation, made a film, and have worked between animation and illustration ever since.

What are you working on now?

A range of things; animated film titles for a feature documentary, editorial illustration, commercial animation and my own art projects.

What tools and software do you use for your work?

It's very dependant on the project. For a stop-motion film I'll often make a rough digital animatic and then use varied mediums to bring it to life. In the past this has included paper, ink, chalk, cut-out puppets and occasionally people. For a digital illustration or animation I'll go straight to Photoshop or Flash using a Wacom tablet and hand-drawn elements to bring in a sense of tactility and warmth.

What is your ideal work environment?

It depends on the stage of the project I am working on. When I'm working on initial ideas or doing any kind of writing I find isolation works best. Usually my couch gets a lot of attention during this phase. For all other stages of production, I love going to my studio at The Pencil Factory in Greenpoint. I share a space there with an amazing group of illustrators and artists who are both supportive and inspiring.

Where are your favorite places for art?

Museums are a pretty obvious but never failing great place to see art. And New York has incredible galleries and museums. Other sources of inspiration are books stores, libraries, films, conversations, podcasts, day trips, day dreams and of course, the internet.

Who are the creatives you admire most?

They are vast and varied. I recently rekindled my love of Polish poster designers from the 50s and 60s. And I just came across an inspiring illustrator called Ilonka Karasz who was a cover designer for the New Yorker last century. Her work is very beautiful. Some animation directors I admire are Zbigniew RybczyDski, Norman Mclaren, Ren? Laloux, Yuri Norstein and Sally Cruickshank.