Artist chats: GRIFFIN LIAS

Griffin with their famous horse illustration

Hey Griffin! Tell us about your practice and process?

Hello! I am Griffin and I’m a multidisciplined artist and animator with a great love for horses and the environment. At the moment I am prioritizing my career in animation, however am also preparing for a Horse art show and curating a magazine section for ü4ia ! I graduated at the end of 2025 with a bachelor of animation and met some amazing people during my time there. Since then I’ve been doing odd freelance jobs, working casually as a barista and enjoying all the Brisbane art scene has to offer. Now I am about to start a full time animation position but that’s all I will say for now.. ;) 

My practice has always been a bit chaotic, very hands on and filled with a lot of passion. Currently, I mainly am working in 2D/stopmotion animation and illustration. In all my work I love to use colour, texture and be a bit unconventional. My space and work reflects my brain, whether I am in a permeate setup or someone where like life drawing I’ll always sprawl out and use one million things. Why would I use just one medium when I can use them all? My studio buddy, Maya Templer, also is a talented animator so together we have set up a stopmotion studio! I’m excited to see what we will create together when the busy period is over.  

Going forward in my personal practice, I am wanting to experiment more with sustainable physical works and environmental themes. I have a lot of horse art and I want to reflect more of my passions in my everyday work. I have recently started using eyeliner, paint marker and leaves to create a mini series of art from life. This has been so fun to experiment with and has made creating work so accessible. The world is my canvas, rather literally! 

For more of my work, check out my Instagram! @griffins.diary

You describe yourself as having a “love for stylised claymation.”

Oftentimes the general public have a limited understanding of claymation, and might not be aware of the stylistic range within the practice (thank you Wallace and Gromit!)

was your introduction to the diversity of claymation - and did any animators in particular have an impact on your work?

I first realised stopmotion was a thing at about 9. My mum took me to a stopmotion class at the local library where we got to play on iPads, so obviously I was down. We messed around with clay and I had an absolute blast. From then I would have a keen interest in all films stopmotion, my favourites being The Nightmare before Christmas, Fantastic Mr Fox, Coraline, all Wallace and Gromit and Memoir of a Snail. I didn’t think much again about actually doing stop motion animation until uni. I like to be working towards something, and after Highschool I wanted to continue my search into environmental education in an abstract way. So I decided I wanted to work in stop motion with recycled materials to create an education program that can be implemented into school, thus animation school here I come! I relocated to Brisbane/Meanjin from my hometown of Echuca and started studying at Griffith University.

Since then I directed my third year stop motion film ‘I Can’t Use This, Can You?’ about overconsumption and pollution. Going forward, I am excited to slowly chip away at getting the education program rolling, however life has a way of filling all my other time with amazing adventures. While it’s on the back burner at the moment, it is what I’ve been striving for since I started uni and know I will pick it up again. 

The claymation style came about for me in a class at uni, I was honestly being a bit lazy and didn’t want to work with full 3D puppets due to time constraints so looked outside the box. This is where I found the awesome TV show ‘Kiri and Lou’ and fell in love with it. This is a big influence on my stopmotion style and recommend everyone check it out, especially those with kids.

Your practice, I imagine, is pretty time consuming. Do you have any tricks of the trade to keep your attention on the task at hand? Do you find that you need to take some extended breaks to keep yourself interested, or do you like to just bang it out while the inspiration is fresh?

I am a professional multitasker at this point in my life. I have always struggled to do one thing at a time, I get so much enjoyment completing one thing and having something else almost done so I am not lost on what to do next. If I have a tight deadline or a quick turnaround I find I can focus if I really set my mind to it but I need to make sure my space is accommodating to my easily distracted brain.

My studio at Merivale definitely helps with this, a space I have with the intention to create. I do find myself however having a ‘relief’ task such as a painting or illustration on the side of whatever I am doing. This keeps me in a productive flow but allows me to take a break. Stretch breaks and rock climbing are also great physical breaks that always leave me feeling clearheaded and rejuvenated. I do find that I really enjoy my practice and when I’m enjoying something the time flies by.

To conclude, I keep myself motivated by staying busy when I am locked in but allowing myself necessary breaks, from friend hangouts or a climbing session, to keep my mind fresh.

You’re also a painter and illustrator amongst being in the animation field: do you find it easier to convey your ideas in one prectice other another?

I think illustration was a serious foundation for my animation path. I’ve been drawing ever since I can remember, trying to convert what my small brain was taking in and putting it into visual stories, whether that be about what the weather was doing or some far fetched story about my twin floating away in a river. Drawing held my imagination visually, something I don’t think I will ever be able to find in any other medium. Animation extended upon this and gave me the freedom to expand on this storytelling element.

For me I feel animation is more engaging in its story telling as I can choose the pace and control what is depicted more. Sometimes however I find painting and illustration more benefiting as I can portray more vulnerable moments without giving the whole story, letting the audience relate in their own way. I believe both things can be true for both animation and illustration but I find this is how my practice has developed. I think both practices are equally as important for me and hold different qualities according to what I am trying to achieve. 

FFinally: I see a lot of horses in your work. Is there a particular reason for this imagery or do you simply think they’re neat-o? Both reasons are very correct by the way.

Ever since I was a little kid, my mumma and I always bonded over horses. Moving from my hometown of Echuca at a young age, I grew up in Brisbane suburbia for my primary school years. My main (or mane haha) experience with physical horses was my grandparents harness horses. I’d see them twice or three times a year when we’d venture back to Echuca. Finally, I could be with REAL horses. This was a problem for three reasons.

1) I didn’t like horse racing, I love my grandparents but as a kid I didn’t get it, honestly I still don’t, and I felt bad that these poor horsies had to just run around and people yell at them. Definitely not for me. 

2) I couldn’t ride these race horses, and when I tried, I’d always get nervous they would start running me in circles. I still get scared things will run me in circles but definitely more in a metaphorical sense haha. 

3) I’m allergic, luckily, telfast is easily accessible.

Alas my love came from watching the horses with a cup of tea at my grandparents farm. They roamed the field as mum reminisced on her childhood pony, Smokey, and all the shenanigans they got up to together. 

But alas my star stable dream wasn’t over, following my parents divorce in 2015, we moved back to my hometown after city life. I could live the country bumpkin life I had craved while being in the city. That’s when I got my first (and last) horse, Biscuit. He was a yearling stock horse my mum and pop picked up for the saleyards. He was such a good horse even though he was green. We learnt together and tried to barrel race (poorly I must add, and only slowly in the paddock) still I loved him, allergies and all. I’d have dreams of him. After about a year however I was stupid and did everything you weren’t supposed to. Windy day, spooked horse, opening a gate while I rode him bareback with his coat on.. rookie mistake. I fell off and fractured my hip. I got wheelbarrowed back to the house and the ambulance gave me the blessed green whistle.

Anyways, after that I lost a lot of my confidence. While I’m sure bickky enjoyed his time in the paddock, he deserved to be loved by someone so mum gave him to a riding school. I didn’t want updates because I was sad I couldn’t of been a batter horse parent. 

From then on, all of my horse appreciation went back to talking to my mum and grandparents. I felt so connected to horses for so many reasons, they were so content in their paddocks with their grass, fed charf by my grandpa every morning a night, I couldn’t help but be jealous. I started thinking about horses so much it would be all I would draw, from real horses to my little ponies. As I expanded my art practice, my horse love grew with it. Horses became more than just an animal I like to a part of my identity, a creature I drew so much that it lived constantly in my mind. Now we are here and I still dream of having a horse to call my own, just so it can enjoy the lush grass while I watch with my cup of tea talking to my mum about the time we trained bickky. Maybe I won’t but I know my horse obsession is deep rooted and won’t be going anywhere. 

I wouldn’t have it any other way.

You can check out Griffins’s work here on her portfolio, or on their IG page here!