Self described weird kid Ian Jones-Quartey’s film “Unfair” is as hysterical as it is brutal. He learned early to roll with the (literal) punches, and as a result, has stories and talent to spare.

Channel Frederator: Where do you draw your inspiration from for your films?

Ian Jones-Quartey: I think that real life is probably the best inspiration someone can get! I like to do my commutes to work on the subway without being plugged in to an iPod. It sounds crazy but all of my best ideas have come to me from noticing something about my surroundings that I wouldn’t have if I were distracted. I think the best characters are usually the ones people make based on their friends. The way people interact is a really interesting thing to explore.

CF: What has influenced your style the most?

IJQ: I try to shy away from the term “style” and just say “the things I rip off”. It’s more honest. Doug TenNapel’s artwork is a major influence on me. I really adore the art direction of the first eight seasons of The Simpsons. I’m always sure to keep some Tezuka comics around when I’m hitting a block (Phoenix especially!). Ren & Stimpy and Looney Tunes also help. Early Fleischer cartoons were a huge influence on “Unfair”, what with the rubber-hose arms. Betty Boop M.D. is one of the funniest cartoons I’ve ever seen. I was also really into Masaaki Yuasa’s film MindGame around that time. That film took an autobiographical story and turned it into something weird and amazing.

I fell in love with the film SLC Punk when I was starting “Unfair” and it really influenced how I chose to do the narration. I didn’t see The 400 Blows until after I finished and to this day I still wonder what my film would have been like if I had seen it before. It does an amazing job of describing adolescence in a first person narrative. I would have storyboarded “Unfair” completely differently! Argh! I guess the lesson is to devour and rip off as many different things as you can find and your work will be all the better for it.

CF: What do you do to get past creative blocks?

IJQ: First I agonize over them, and then I try to lose myself in something else completely like a new book. Somewhere along the way I forget that I had a creative block, and then I get some new ideas!

CF: Do you have any upcoming projects you can tell us about?

IJQ: Well right now I am continuing the sometimes-weekly online cartoon nockFORCE! It’s based off of the conversations I have with Jim Gisriel who I met in college. He’s really witty, so whenever we talk it ends up sounding like a comedy bit. After recording our conversations, I put drawings to them and Jim does the lipsync and music. We do each one in about the space of a day or two so they’re not exactly fully animated, but they’re a lot of fun to make and each one is a unique challenge. Plus we put them up on YouTube right when we finish one so there’s instant gratification!

I’m starting to draw comics as well but the completion of those are pretty far off. It’s a totally different mindset than animation. I
used to draw comics a long time ago but I’m relearning them with some help from Rebecca Sugar. She’s amazing.

CF: Biggest drawback of being a kid?

IJQ: Adults hate it when the kid’s right and they’re wrong. Even if an adult concedes to being in the wrong the kid gets grounded anyway.

CF: Most craptastic thing about being an adult?

IJQ: Kids telling me I’m wrong. Go to your room!

Tell ‘em, Ian! You can check out Ian’s film “Unfair” right here on Channel Frederator.

-Bailee DesRocher