An interview with: Joe Vaux
- Mar 11
- 4 min read
"Joseph N. Vaux (born 1972, in Islip, New York) is an American animator and artist who works as a storyboard artist and animation director on Family Guy. Vaux created the artwork for the character Goliath on the TV series Resident Alien. He lives in Culver City, California." - wikipedia.org
Read on below for the full interview...
First of all how are you and how's life?
How am I you ask? Sad. The human race is filled with too many assholes. Too many people with e'ffd up priorities. Too much greed ignorance and attachment to tradition. All that said, I'm making a lot of art! Anger seems to be one of my great creative motivators. LMAO
Could you tell us about yourself, where are you from and what do you love?
I grew up on the East coast. Long Island, to be specific. I had a great childhood as the only offspring of two amazing artists. (Richard Vaux/ Sandra Benny Vaux. Look them up) I walked a weird line as a kid, One part jock, (playing soccer and volleyball and just loving competition) and one part nerd.(Mainly sci-fi movies, horror films, most animation, comics, toys that kind of stuff) I kept these worlds separate. I was late to the realization that I wanted to be a professional artist. Junior year in High school was when the bell went off. I was always creative, but definitely wasn't one of the cats that draws from the age of three. I had a lot to learn. I got an illustration degree from Syracuse University and was lucky enough to get a job as a background painter for a small Ralph Bakshi animated project. His project led to a bigger gig with HBO. This moved me from the East to the West.
My wife and I have been in the Los Angeles area for thirty years. (geez, that's more than half my life) The animation industry has provided my day job for all that time. Working on shows like Spawn, Tutenstein and Dilbert among others. Then I hit the jackpot! In 2004 I was hired on to Family Guy. Ive worked my way up the ladder within the show to be one of their Directors! I love this crew! Around 1999, I started to push my personal painted work. I participated in art events like Cannibal Flower and Create Fixate, and eventually made an impression with the awesome folks at Copro Gallery, now in Santa Monica. I've maintainied this dual creative lifestyle since then. Animation by day, personal art by night.
What are some of the re-occurring themes you feel most inspired to weave into your artworks and why?
I mentioned earlier, anger seems to be a common thread to my work. I do love the darkness and probably could use some therapy, but it's feeding my art machine. We treat this beautiful planet, animals, trees and all the little things like crap. My art is how I vent these frustrations. I like pitting monsters against mankind and showing natures wrath. Lately, Ive been digging into the escape. Painting little places to hide from the shit show.
Where do you think the fantasy / surreal elements in your work stem from and how much inspiration do you draw from the realms of dreams?
My creative process is a mesh of details from walks, sketchbook exploration and certainly day dreams. I often have some of my greatest creative lightening strikes as I'm drifting off to sleep. My brain likes to play and scramble ideas in that gray zone. When gold is hit I try to pop up and write it down in my sketchbook, which is usually nearby. Sometimes sleep wins and the gold is lost forever. Oh well.
Are there any particular books, artists etc that you hold close to your heart?
Inspiration is everywhere but certainly there are some key players. My parents have definitely given me my color sense and work ethic. Their work is quite different than their demented son, but the use of color is a strong in all our work. Heironymous Bosch and Brueghel are huge influences. obviously, their dark content is appealing, but also their extremely busy compositions. As far comtemperary work, their are too many to name, but their is a ton of amazing creators out there. I love and feed of their creations and energy.
What are you most proud of when reflecting on your directing work for Family Guy and what do you think makes the show so special?
My time on the show has been so rewarding. I've had so many opportunities come from the show that have been real bench marks in my years as a creator. We have a kind group of leaders that listen and respect the whole crew. From the writers to our Supervising Directors and Producers, the whole squad just wants to make a great show. I think that love is visible in the final product.
How are you feeling as we approach Spring, are there any particular feelings captivating you in recent times that you would like to share?
The world is on fire. Our leadership is shit. (Might make a few people angry with that comment) Spring, still has angry Joe, flexing. But aside from the outside world, I love watching things bloom, pulling weeds and feeding squirrels. I'm trying to stay positive and take care of the things I love.
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Discover Joe Vaux's art via their:
- Astral Magazine
