Meet Tamy Hadeed

We asked her a few questions to find out how she started her career in animation and what inspires her!

Tell me a bit about growing up and how you started drawing.

I’ve drawn since I was a kid and never really stopped. My mum, grandmas, and aunties were always making crafts and approaching life in a creative way. It always felt natural for me having personal projects like decorating my room, baking and painting pottery, sewing pouches for my crayons, or drawing in a graphic novel format.

When did you first realise that you wanted to animate?

When I was 17, I attended an electronic party and these amazing colourful visuals were on display around us. I was so perplexed at how effective they were in translating all of the instruments, I knew right there that it was something I would really like to do.

Did you go to college? Did you study illustration / animation?

I studied graphic design specialised in interactive design. By that time, Macromedia Flash was around and vector frame by frame animation was a thing. I got really into coding art and animating in a really rough way. Years later after I graduated, I dedicated time to study on my own the basics of illustration and animation through online tutorials, and consulting with professionals in those areas.

Did you go straight into the industry? Or did you do other jobs along the way?

I did start working on a TV channel, but it was mostly for motion graphics. Before graduating college, I joined an audiovisual crew, so I would spend my time making visuals for parties like the one that got me inspired into animating, I also performed as a VJ resident in night clubs and at events. I paused for a while to concentrate on learning illustration and finding my own style and got back to it after some years of practice. Now with some more experience, I’ve found my path back into VJing and animating in collaboration with other artists in the music scene.

Whose work do you admire? What inspires you?

I get inspired by everything, literally everything, everywhere and everyone has some spark to get my imagination flowing. I have special preferences though, like flowers and fruit, street fashion, afro music and dance, urban structures and post apocalyptic scenarios. I really love watching anime, and really admire the works of Hayao Miyazaki, Takashi Murakami and Studio 4C.

What do you enjoy most about your career?

I love the feeling of translating sounds into visuals, like synesthesia. Animation has the power to make people feel the colours, see the sounds, and hear the movements…it can really bring your attention and emotions to details you would let pass by in real life. It comes as a more natural universal language for me. But at the top of all that, I enjoy it (period). Animating is SO MUCH FUN!

What would be your dream job / project?

Right now I would loooove to travel while VJing. It would be amazing to collaborate on the road with other artists and connect with the communities through sound, drawings and interactive experiences. The possibilities are endless.