Born in 1989 in Hatay, Turkey, Gökalp Gönen could be one of the most talented animators out there. Gökalp, is a student at Yıldız Technical University studying Interactive Media Design. He studies in the areas of 3B animation, motion graphics and illustration. I had the chance to talk to Gökalp about how he started in the field of animations and how his life has changed ever since.
TH : What was your first experience with film/video?
It all started with a cartoon image I took to the “Uykusuz Mizah” magazine during my first few years in college. I began to view my cartoon image as a small film and got extremely excited .I decided to start creating a small film with this cartoon image. My first film was featured as a contemporary production at the Independent Film Festival.
TH : Are you currently working on any projects?
I am currently working on a short film. It has to do with a story line from when I was working with the Uykusuz Mizah magazine. I found my old notes about this story line in one of my notebooks and thats when I knew I should create a short film about it. I’m guessing that during that time I didn’t produce a film about it because it was too conceptual. During that time I had marked the notes regarding this project in yellow. At that time yellow meant that I would one day go back to it.
TH : What do you like to do during your spare time?
I enjoy following the news and latest headlines regarding science fiction. Sometimes I read science fiction, other times I simply play a computer game in that field. Aside from these two things, I enjoy music. Whenever I get a chance I I study clavier and fluet like instruments. I recently discovered the “duduk”, a tradtional woodwind instrument popular in the Caucasus, the Middle East and Central Asia. I also enjoy playing the tuning pin.
TH : Where do you see yourself in five years?
In five years, I see myself a part of an extremely talented team. I envision a team, where nothing can be done if one team member is not present. I want to be with a team that functions together. With this team, I envision us creating enjoyable short films and other animation projects. In five years I am going to be twenty eight years old. That means I’ll only have two years to start making plans for when I am thirty:).
TH : Do you have any advice for artists that are just starting in this field?
Whatever area you choose to pursue a career in, we all have one enemy and that is technology. Yes, technology helps us; however, many times it causes us to fall into creating projects that lack originality. Don’t let that happen.
Whatever area you choose to pursue a career in, we all have one enemy and that is technology.
We must always remember that technique is simply a pen. There are a million different types of pens out there but you must never forget that all of these pens do the same thing. They all produce something onto paper. Your own personal technique and originality is the most important thing, not the type of pen your using. You do not decide on the mark you leave on your paper, your technique does.
TH : What are your thoughts about Talenthouse?
I first heard about Talenthouse through a contest my friend entered. It is a universal platform that allows people to create portfolios with their work and share their talent. Talenthouse keeps artists actively updated with the latest talent through contests and special events. Most importantly it gives many young artists an opportunity to continue to pursue their dreams.
