Jan-H. Behne, otherwise known by his alias; ‘Worst Animation Ever’, is an illustrator and motion designer, based in Hamburg, Germany.

Curator’s note: ‘Worst Animation Ever’… now let me tell you, that’s a stretch! Jan’s witty but ironic self-appointed title is the device he elects to brand himself with. This naming convention can be seen across his website portfolio, his Instagram, even his mammoth bike ride experience from Alaska to Mexico is labelled as ‘the worst idea ever’. That last one especially may be a little out of the ordinary but there’s certainly been worse ideas, like asbestos for example, or Segways… whoever came up with those need to have a long, hard look at themselves! Anyway, much like that trip to Alaska actually sounds pretty cool, Jan’s design portfolio is cooler than cool, it’s stunning. Plus, there’s something for everyone, from 2D and 3D animation to beautiful illustrations, he’s certainly a multi-talented fella. We shoot some questions his way to hopefully learn a thing or two. Doesn’t sound like a bad idea, right?

I recall first discovering your work via the Instagram account 'howiseedatworld' (a re-sharing channel that focuses predominantly on 3D digital art). It featured a video from your mini-series 'pattern-sliders'. In a sense this work is brilliantly simple, but also extremely satisfying and it got a tremendous reception on Instagram. Was this work created specifically for the platform and how do you utilise social media generally?

I started out on Instagram by creating different letters for a contest called '36 Days of Type'. After that, I more or less just continued posting my work. I think Instagram offers some really great opportunities to share your work. I definitely have to push it much more than I am doing right now. For me, Instagram is a visual playground allowing me to try out different techniques and styles. The pattern sliders were indeed one of those experiments. At the moment, I'm working on a fluffy alphabet to get more comfortable using the Hair-System in Cinema 4D. Every day I dedicate approximately 1-3 hours to creating one fluffy letter or one fluffy number. There will be also a game for mobile devices available soon.

You're a freelance designer. Have you always worked for yourself and if not, where did you work previously?

I am pretty new to freelancing. I started working as a freelancer in September 2017 and used to work for different productions and agencies before that. I learned a lot working at these companies but it didn't quite satisfy me. I wanted more freedom for my projects, styles and approach to working in general.

What inspired you to go out on your own?

Definitely all the amazing talents out there, the amount of cool projects aimed mostly at freelancers and the flexibility to work on small and big projects. It is such a great way of working and I’m very thankful for it every day.

From your experience, what are the disadvantages and advantages of life as a freelancer?

So in general, as a freelancer you are responsible for yourself. You are the artist, as well as the producer, as well as the controller – all at the same time. Having to deal with all these different tasks sometimes leaves you with a weird feeling, not knowing exactly if things are going to work out. Luckily, I haven’t had any major problems yet! On the other hand, as I already mentioned, I am very thankful to be able to earn my money with the work I really love doing. I feel really lucky and animation has always been very fascinating to me. The biggest advantage in freelancing is that you have the freedom to decide what work you want to take on next. If you really love what you do, working as a freelancer is probably the best way to express your style and work in general.

We enjoy getting a feel for the creative scene in other cities across the world. What's it like in Hamburg from a creative perspective?

Hamburg is such a great city to work in and live in. A lot of cool agencies, productions and artists are based in Hamburg. I absolutely enjoy the vibes of the city and I am happy to have so much talent around me and my work environment.

Your Instagram feed is full of 3-dimensional delight. Have you always been into this medium and how did you first get into it? It requires an entirely different approach compared to more traditional 2D design. 

I used to study Cinema 4D at university but I never got to a point where I would consider myself a 3D Artist. After university, I noticed that I could create more interesting styles by combining my 2D and 3D Skills. Even nowadays I couldn't say which I like more. I prefer to mix it up and see how it works together. Especially the combination of Adobe After Effects and Maxon Cinema 4D is a unique and easy way to bring different styles together and create new approaches.

Some of the styleframes featured on your portfolio site are pretty staggering. How do you go about approaching your work? Are you able to talk us through your process from start to finish?

Oh, it mostly depends on the type of project. For explainer movies, for example, I mostly start with a few days of look development to create a style and try out different ways of animating. I think about what style and animation would best suit the client’s topic. After that, I work out a very rough storyboard to get an idea of the whole film. If everything fits together, I usually start with the illustrations, 3D design and animations straight away to see how everything flows.

When viewing some of your styleframes, juxtaposed with a few of your illustrations, many of them are considerably different in style but equally very accomplished. They're all beautiful! Do you think it's important to be able to be adaptable as a designer?

That is pretty hard to say. When I was looking for my style, pretty early I figured out that I am just too interested in different techniques. I like 2D, 3D, stop motion and all sorts of other things. There are so many super talented people out there and every day I find more inspiration for different styles. I think every project deserves its own look. I absolutely admire all the creatives who have developed their own unique style. For myself, I noticed that my style might be a bit more of a combination between 2D and 3D elements. I'm just too curious about different ways of working. This keeps me motivated to learn more every day.

Did you ever consider pursuing anything but design? How do your other interests or characteristics impact your work and who you are as a person?

I'm not sure if I could do anything else because I really like what I do and I wouldn’t want to miss it. I believe in the power of animation and I think that it should be used more in a way of informing people about the topics that matter most. I'm definitely interested in all the important stuff that is happening around the world and I would like to see my work going more in that direction in the future.

You're still relatively young, 28 I believe? What are your aims for the future? Without sounding too much like a cringey job interview question, where do you see yourself in a few years time?

Oh, I'm already 30. I just launched my new website and haven’t updated my old one for a while. So feel free to check out www.worst-animation-ever.com. I would like to see myself working on projects that might be more important for our society. I also created a small movie about the power of animation, of course in a mix of different styles, to give the audience an idea of which look best matches which topic.

This a recurring question we like to ask but I personally always think our failings and how we learn from them shape our future work. Did you ever have any doubts? Was there a notable tough moment and if so, how did you learn from it?

As already mentioned, I became a freelancer in September 2017. Especially the beginning was a really tough time for me, as I was still working in my old job but had already laid out plans to work as a freelancer. I also didn’t have many savings left. I felt very uncomfortable and probably didn’t sleep much at all during that time. However, comparing my work situation nowadays to how it was back then tells me that it was the right decision to keep going.

Who or what inspires you? Anyone's story that you would particularly like to hear from? (We might be able to help with that!)

There are so many people who influence my work on a daily basis, but a few weeks ago I noticed a mini-series on Arte (German/French TV). It's about the human species and it blew me away. That's what I would love to be part of. This miniseries informs the audience about the scale of the universe and the ‘importance’ of the human species. Everything is developed, designed and animated in such a neat and entertaining way. One of the founders is a super talented guy called Clement Morin. I would definitely love to hear more about his ideas and how he got to that point.

As mentioned above, make sure you take a look at Jan’s brand spanking new website. You can also follow him on Instagram. There’s been worse ideas…