Today we’d like to introduce you to Paris Baillie.
Hi Paris, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I grew up in Hollywood and the valley, and so did my mother and grandmother – so my love for Los Angeles runs deep. It is a wild but magical place surrounded by beautiful nature, and I try to visually reinterpret the world I grew up in through the landscapes of my paintings and animations.
When I was a stubborn teen, I decided to peace-out and go to college on the opposite side of the country. I majored in Studio Art at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York. The studio art program at Skidmore is an incredible experience that covers all sorts of mediums and techniques. I’m so thankful for learning so many traditional practices that helped me develop as a fine artist… But by the time I was a junior, I was so done with figure drawing and painting still lifes. When I was figuring out what kind of artist I wanted to be, my work naturally started to focus on my love for my home and nature. I started to develop these Tulpa characters to replace myself and all other humans in my work. My Tulpa characters are tall, lanky, plump-bellied, loving creatures. Once I started including them in my practice, my work started to grow so much. I feel like they help me communicate my emotions and thoughts more clearly, and it seemed like other people were relating to these characters as well.
My junior year was also the first time an animation course was offered at Skidmore (while I was a student there). Sarah Sweeney taught a motion graphics and animation course that forever changed my life. I learned so much about animation and immediately became obsessed, but I was starting to feel unsatisfied with 2D animation. I asked Professor Sweeney if I could do the last couple of assignments as stop-motion experiments. She cleared out a storage closet in the studio art building so I could have a space to work alone with my camera. I’m eternally grateful for her for giving me the space and trust to experiment and grow. I made my first stop motion short called “Cave,” which was a wild claymation of me finding a cave filled with my Tulpa characters, and then eventually turn into one of them.
After graduating in 2017, I was very ready to move back home to LA. It felt like a dream come true finding the Experimental Animation MFA program at the California Institute of the Arts. Many of my favorite animators have graduated from this program, so it was truly an honor to be accepted and join this special community. I just recently graduated from CalArts in May 2023. I met some of my animation heroes and took classes from the insanely inspiring artists and filmmakers.
During my first year at CalArts, I made a stop motion short, “Tulpa.” I explain where my Tulpas come from, and then I have conversations with my parents and sister about what their Tulpas could be. You can hear these conversations as the Tulpas come to life in their dream environments on screen. The short has been shown at festivals such as Atlanta Shortsfest, New York Shorts International Film Festival, #MoStopMo Festival, Brooklyn Film Festival, and a few more. Now I’m just completing my thesis film called “Humantis.” The film focuses on these mantis-human-like creatures inspired by the orchid praying mantis. One of the Humantises is in denial about growing through a transformation.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Trying to execute any kind of artistic vision takes a lot of creative problem-solving, heartbreak, and learning. Stop-motion animation is incredibly time-consuming and requires a lot of patience. I am thankful for all the hours of struggling through mistakes because I was able to learn through those moments to become a better artist. I definitely do not feel thankful all the time while I’m struggling through animating or lighting… it’s not easy! There are moments where I question what I’m doing and feel like it’s time to quit, but when I see the finished product I can’t help but feel so excited, proud, and ready for the next project, struggles and all. To quote Nietzche sung by Kelly Clarkson, “What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger.”
Reflecting on my work, I tend to focus on finding the beauty in going through personal struggles. I’m pretty private about my personal life, but I want to stay true and honest when sharing stories. It feels easier for me to do this by using my characters instead.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I can’t help but love all forms of stop-motion animation – animating, lighting, puppet fabrication, set building, editing, and sound design. Animating my puppets has come kind of naturally to me because I used to act and dance (I’ve been told that my puppets move just like me). When I was a teenager I thought I was going to become a photographer, so I became obsessed with learning about lighting and cameras. Nowadays when I’m setting up a shot for one my films, I spend the most time on lighting. Sometimes setting up a shot can take longer than animating the scene. Yes, I might be a control freak, but everything about making my own stop-motion films is fun and rewarding. Animation allows you to play god! You can bring worlds to life that can’t really exist in our reality. It feels like a superpower.
After taking Stephen Chiodo’s puppet fabrication course at CalArts, I realized that anything can be brought to life. I try to be as sustainable as I can in my practice, and I feel like I’m pretty good at making cheap materials look professional. Trash can be beautiful too. My sets are usually constructed with repurposed wood, packaging materials, and general trash. I fabricated the Humantis puppets, flowers and leaves out of just masking tape, wire, paint with latex, and kleenex tissues. Sometimes you don’t need super fancy and expensive materials to make a film.
I do get nervous sharing new work and characters because they all represent vulnerable parts of myself. It truly means so much to me when someone else shares that they can also relate to my Tulpas. So far, none of my characters have faces or defined facial features. Everything they express is through their bodies and how they interact with each other. At Skidmore, I originally thought my concentration would be in painting and photography. I think working in “still” mediums for so long has helped me learn how to execute certain moments and feelings without any dialogue or things moving. I’m interested in still exploring this way of expression in my animation. My recent film, “Humantis,” has no dialogue at all, so it was a challenge at first to figure out how my puppets would perform the story in a way that was clear. I’m pretty proud of how I animated the Humanitises, and I look forward to sharing it with the world one day.
I’m excited about the artist and filmmaker I’m growing into. I LOVED watching stop motion animation when I was a kid – one of my favorite DVDs my dad bought for me was an Aardman Animation Creature Comforts DVD with 4 shorts on it. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of stop-motion animation. I’m curious to see how my work grows and evolves with me.
What does success mean to you?
I have no idea how to define success. Success can be so many different things! Having one good day of production with at least one tiny mistake feels like a huge success. I don’t care if it sounds cliche, but whatever happens with my career, I hope I’m happy. Having any kind of career where I can keep busy making my work, and I’m healthy and excited seems like a big success to me.
Contact Info:
- Website: parisbaillie.com
- Instagram: @pbfarts
- Other: https://vimeo.com/parisbaillie
Image Credits
Portrait and Studio Portrait by Andrew MacPherson Humantis BTS Photo by Clare Britton All other photos by Paris Baillie
