A master in the art of evoking intense sensations and a cinematic feeling, even through the still frame, the illustrator\u2019s work feels as if it was made for this latest introduction of a meditative and meandering motion. \u201cMovement breathes life into figures and environments; it stretches time, and brings back imperfections that speak to a more embodied, hands-on process\u201d, the artist says. \u201cIt makes things feel more human, more alive.\u201d<\/p>\n
Whether it\u2019s volcanic eruptions<\/a> or sunsets through swaying trees<\/a>, Thomas has been asking himself which elements might emerge, move across or transform his serene scenes to give them a new sense of narrative. Whilst some of these liminal landscapes are drawn from places the artist has visited some are simply an ode to \u201cthose I dream of seeing one day\u201d, he says, \u201cI filter them through a dreamlike lens: bold colours, simple shapes, minimal compositions, whilst always keeping an eye for detail.\u201d<\/p>\n For a recent short for the Olympic Games (Le Plongeon) the illustrator animated a breathtaking sequence of a diver breaking the water in a more classic comic storytelling style. Beginning with a storyboard and creating two sets of sequences: one colouring a black abyss with stark white outlines and the other in full colour using a range of geometric forms. Thomas stitched these two worlds together in an immersive edit that pushes his slower floating works into a new narrative territory, still with the same atmospheric feeling to each frame.<\/p>\n These developments have added an extra layer of mystery and nostalgia to his illustrators world, there\u2019s now a little more time for us to rest in his scenes and run away with our imagination or simply wait in wonder<\/a>. \u201cI like the idea that my images remain a little-open ended,\u201d he ends \u201cthat it\u2019s not immediately clear whether they\u2019re comforting or unsettling […] I believe each viewer brings their own reading to the work.\u201d<\/p>\n