Meet our wonderful 2D Artist Derek Horan, currently working on Octonauts, Doc McStuffins and Henry Hugglemonster! When he's not filling our kitchen cabinets up with treats and goodies, he'll be found at his desk, pencil in hand, doodling away. We managed to pry him away from his lightbox for a few minutes to chat to him about his favourite subject: animation.

How did you become interested in animation?

I was around 10 or 11 years old when I was taken on a school tour to the old Sullivan Bluth studios. That was the first time I found out people could draw for a living! I had always been one of those kids scribbling away in the back of my notebooks or on sheets of wallpaper.

How long have you worked in the industry?

15 years. I was lucky enough to be accepted to Ballyfermot College (to this day I am still amazed I got in!). I didn't even know what a portfolio was, so I went into my interview with some rolled up drawings in a black bag!

I was very lucky on finishing college and getting freelance work with some small American animation studios doing storyboards and concept designs, with one job leading to another for a number of different studios, learning as I went from one job to the next. Then I applied to Brown Bag, and as they say, the rest is history and I have had the good luck to be with Brown Bag for the last 14 years having started off as a freelancer, working as and when the work was there, developing my skills and confidence as I went along.

What are your biggest influences & inspirations?

Chuck Jones (the creator of Road Runner, Wile E. Coyote, Daffy Duck and Bugs Bunny). I was very lucky to attend a lecture he gave in Ballyfermot College back in the early 1990s! I think he was such a big inspiration because he never seemed to tire of creating. He loved what he was doing, never losing that childlike enthusiasm and curiosity for life, as a creator and director he was and is to me the ultimate cultural ambassador for animation in all its forms!

What’s your favourite tool to use and why?

The mighty 2B pencil! I do work with a wacom tablet from time to time, but I just love that tactical sensation of pencil on paper, just scribbling away and not even thinking, just doing, letting it flow forth.

What advice would you give someone considering getting into animation?

Draw like crazy!

What do you like most about working in animation?

That no two days are the same and the people I work with! It's such a creative atmosphere where titles do not matter, the ideas flow thick and fast, back and forth, with everyone striving to put the best work on the screen and learning so much from the rest of the team, be it the art director, the 3D guys or the storyboard artist, learning to look at problems from totally different perspectives. 

What’s been the most challenging thing about working in animation? 

Deadlines can be sometimes be intimidating. But they do also help to enforce structure otherwise I would just happily keep on drawing away, coming up with way too many concepts and never finalising anything!

On a week to week basis, time is so very crucial, so at the start of the week we have a production meeting with the heads of all departments and production siting in on the meeting. We will do a break down of two upcoming episodes, flag any new characters, sets or props, talking through any ideas and concepts and running ideas by one another. Then we break and get stuck in!

Once I have I good pile of drawings I can then go and torment my art director, going over designs and concepts, fix and tweaking as we go, until we're both happy with the work. Then I get input from 3D just to make sure that something we design will not lead to weeks of heartbreak for them! Racing along all week knowing that everything has to be read, to be scanned in and ready to go for delivery so without deadlines I would be lost!

Want to see MORE? We've got tutorials from Derek showing you how to draw the Octonauts characters: Draw With Derek!

Are you interested in getting into animation? Keep an eye on our Behind-the-Scenes and Tutorials pages for more interviews, #TopTips and #AMAs!