Artist Spotlight: David Michael Chandler aka The Daily Doodles
What GIF best describes how you are currently feeling?
That’s a tough question, probably this one––
I am always at my desk writing and drawing and endlessly clicking on my laptop. If my internet dies, it doesn’t remove a distraction for me, it makes me much more distracted as I endlessly try to get the internet to come back on.
When did you first start making GIFs? What was your first GIF?
I believe my very first GIF was in April of 2012…? I forget exactly, to be honest. I had been doing the Daily Doodles for a year and a half at that point, and they were always regular ol’ illustrations and I think evolving them into GIFs was a natural process. Here is the very first GIF I posted (the great Kyle Harter assembled my drawings for me into the GIF as I didn’t know how to use Photoshop or anything)–
Before then, I had lots of ideas that I felt would be better if GIF’d, but it took me some time to both have a laptop that could handle GIF'fing, and be smart enough to make them on my own.
The first GIF I made entirely on my own was this––
To make my GIFs I use a combo of Photoshop and Adobe Premiere (a video editing program), and I was running those on a super tiny Notebook laptop that groaned each time I moved the mouse. I am on a better laptop now, thankfully :-)
What attracts you to the GIF format? How do you decide when something is finished at a still illustration or if you are going to turn it into a GIF?
Growing up I always wanted to be a movie director, so most of my ideas involve movement and editing, and turning my illustrations into short animations has been a lot of fun and helps satiate that desire to make movies or TV.
I try to only do what I am interested in at that moment, even with the commissions I do, and right now I much prefer making my drawings into GIFs over standard illustrations. I’m not that great at drawing, and I think they just come to life when I add movement. It adds something that I think makes the drawings and stories better.
Everything is still drawn and coloured by hand, and the combo of movement and illustrations done with coloured pencils (and the textures coloured pencils create) is fun to me.
If I have an idea that would be pointless to GIF, I wouldn’t force it into being a GIF (there has to be a reason for it or it’ll be boring), but it’s no coincidence that the ideas I favour are the ones that need to be animated.
The short length of GIFs is also attractive since it’s so much less daunting than trying to do an actual animated short; I’d likely never even try to do animation if a GIF wasn’t possible. It’s been a perfect way to educate myself on how to make my drawings move and to tip toe into the world of real animation (of which I still am a total moron, but it doesn’t seem as insurmountable as before).
What has been inspiring to you lately?
Another tough question! I think I can get inspiration from anything, and I always make sure to write down every idea I get immediately into my “idea pads.” They’re spiral notebooks that have thousands of image and story ideas, and I reference them when figuring out which drawing to do next.
Plus I know I will forget the idea very easily if I don’t jot it down right away.
Watching shows about space, nature, documentaries about worlds I’m not familiar with, all inspire ideas in my head. I also will kinda’ meditate to think up new ideas or solutions to current ideas… letting my brain float around almost always works.
Do you have a personal favorite subject you like to illustrate?
SPACE! I love drawing space-themed illustrations, and I have to tell myself not to do it so much so I’m not repetitive. I also love drawing old TVs, as watching stuff I shouldn’t be watching was such a big part of growing up, and I love how blocky and big old TVs are.
Who are a few of your favorite artists?
Probably too many to name, but I’ll try!
Several of them helped teach me how to GIF and were very supportive as I was learning to draw––
Kyle Harter
Chiara Adams
Fatma
Samantha
Other artists I love include (but certainly not limited to):
Miron
Max Capacity
Dain’s GIFs
Rubyetc
Saskia Keultjes
Pretty Whores
Sha'an
Carty
Michael Carini
Growing up I loved classic comics such as Lil’ Nemo in Slumberland, classic E.C. Segar era of Popeye, Pogo, Peanuts, Calvin and Hobbes, The Far Side, Tony Millionaire, Tintin, and too many movie directors, writers, and photographers to list.
What is your favorite GIF?
Of my own work? I was mostly happy with this one––
but I’m also annoyed at myself with certain elements I can do better. Every thing I’ve done has elements I just have to do better at executing, so I dunno if I can really say one is my “favourite.”
Besides current GIFs made by other artists, GIFs of out of context moments from old/weird movies are my favourite (like this)––
And I also love a perfect loop, like this one––
What’s next? Any fun projects you are currently working on and can share with us?
I’ve also started working on another book starring one of my reoccurring characters, "The Ghosts with Relationship Problems.” It’ll be an illustrated picture book showing different moments from a bad relationship two Ghosts are stuck in over several years.Making my first book has probably been the most challenging thing I’ve ever done, as making the drawings good enough while also updating my Daily Doodles site, doing commissions, has meant I haven’t had a day off in over 3 years.
Hopefully, the books end up being pretty cool and people like them!
Want more? Check out more GIF art from THE DAILY DOODLES on Giphy.com!