Meet Chris.

Chris is a talented animation student at UVU. Check out some of his videos on youtube. He is a natural comedian and a very good friend. Get to know him here, and melt a little when he talks about his love for his wife. Because it is adorable. 

You seem to have a story to share no matter what and no matter who you are around, how? You relate any part of conversation to what has happened in your life, it’s like a magic trick, a very good magic trick.

To be honest, I don’t really know! I think I’ve always had a good memory when it comes to things that aren’t super important, like movie trivia or childhood memories that don’t have a point. So whenever I hear something mentioned that I’m even remotely familiar with, I start talking. Sometimes I wish I could see a report at the end of the day that tells me how many obscure pop culture references or weird stories I spewed out in the last 24 hours. I have no idea what’s coming out of my mouth half the time. Honestly, I feel like my mind is pretty simple, but it always surprises me how much crap I have stored up there and how easy it is for me to pull something out.
Sometimes I feel like my brain is just a brain-shaped beehive, full of brain-bees who are all flying around thinking of different stories. Some are childhood memories, others are movies I’ve seen, and some of them are just stories I’ve thought up. They’re always in my head, and sometimes I’ll be reminiscing, reliving, and recreating all at the same time. It actually gets pretty annoying sometimes. 80% of the reason I have such a hard time reading these days is because all it takes is one word to set me off.
Here’s an example:
Let’s say I’m reading some textbook, and I see the word “hairy.” Suddenly my mind will go off down two paths: Harry Potter and Harry from Dumb and Dumber. Both of those thoughts will branch off into more paths. Dumb and Dumber gets me thinking about the cop who drank Lloyd’s pee, and what the heck that actor’s up to these days. He was amazing in Rocket Man, why hasn’t he been in anything else lately? On the other hand, Jeff Daniels, the guy who played Harry, is an awesome actor too. I remember another movie he was in, I think it was called Fly Away Home and it had a plane and some ducks in it. I never saw the movie, but the trailer for it was on a VHS recording we had of a Three Stooges marathon when I was a kid. Next thing I know I’m replaying entire Stooges episodes in my head. While I’m thinking about all this, the other half of my brain’s been going off on the Potter franchise and whether Alan Rickman has ever been in a bad movie.
That’s all within about 10-15 seconds. Sometimes I wish I had a way to turn it off, but it keeps things interesting when there’s nothing else going on.
Another big contributor is that I hate awkward tension. I guess some would call that a weakness, but there’s a difference between mutually desired silence and just that weird feeling in the air where people are afraid to talk. Unless I’m surrounded by dozens of loud extroverts, I usually go out of my way to break the ice and make everyone feel comfortable. That usually involves me telling an embarrassing or stupid story about myself, and I have no shame so it’s a win-win.

What is your most favorite thing to draw? What is your least favorite?

Probably my favorite thing to draw is plucky protagonists, anything or anyone who could be the main character in their own story. As I think back on everything I’ve drawn since I was a kid, I’ve always created characters that I would make up stories for. I guess it’s my “socially acceptable” way of making imaginary friends. I get to create these characters exactly as I want to and give them exactly the story I’d want to tell.
When I was a kid, I loved making characters who were just as hyper and out of control as me -just a bunch of wise-cracking, energetic would-be Looney Tunes. But as I’ve grown up, I’ve found just as much enjoyment creating characters who are flawed and looking for something more in life.
As for least favorite… this is tough to answer, especially now that I’m going into character design. I’ve been trying to condition myself to leave my comfort zone and draw things that I’m not used to or tend to avoid, so calling any of it my least favorite is almost sort of counter-intuitive.
BUT… between you and me… I hate drawing anything that’s photorealistic, especially people. There are SO many ways to see realistic-looking people, not the least of which is just going outside, leafing through photos or turning on the TV. I feel like drawing, as a medium, is better left reserved for a broader level of expression and embellishment.
I certainly appreciate photorealistic drawings, they take an insane amount of work to get right. I just can’t make myself do it. I personally see it as a waste of time. In my Drawing 1 class, our first assignment was to draw photorealistic portraits of our classmates and I was done an hour before everyone else. I didn’t see the point in capturing every little wrinkle and mole on that guy’s face.
I consider this a weakness, because a cartoon is a simplification of truth. If I’m not willing to take a long hard look at the truth, how can I really expect my cartoons to have any depth? People always relate better to material with roots in reality, so it’s something I’ve got to come to terms with at some point.

What has helped you pursue your talents/passions with so much confidence? (you’re really very good at what you do.)

I was very, VERY fortunate to have loving parents and siblings who encouraged all my weird imaginary fiascos. I still remember finishing movies like Jurassic Park and Star Wars, and having my dad lean down and ask me to guess how they did all that. He always encouraged me to figure out how stuff like that worked. My mom always read my stories and looked at my pictures with the same sense of excitement and love, it was an incredible positive reinforcement. As for Dan, Erica, Anne, Alison and Stephanie, they’ve all been creatively inclined in one way or another, whether it’s through drawing, performing, writing, sewing, playing music, telling jokes, or simply livening things up.
I truly believe I come from one of the most creative, brilliant and loving families there is. How lucky is that? I can’t even wrap my head around the concept of having to hide something like this due to unaccepting parents or harsh expectations, I’ve been truly blessed.
But it almost feels wrong to say I had just one family. The network of friends that I’ve had since middle school has been one of the most awesome “families” anyone could ask for. Looking back, when I consider how incredibly willing and cooperative my friends were on all the bizarre projects I asked them to do, I feel like I never really showed enough gratitude. My circle of friends was so supportive and open-minded, and our friendship has endured graduations, missions, moves, marriage, babies, you name it. I’m proud to call each one of them my family.
And then there was Jenni. Before I met her I was convinced that I would never find a girl who made me feel creative. Every relationship I got into, no matter how fun or beneficial it was, I was always hit with writer’s block or a “what’s the point” attitude whenever I picked up a pencil.
Meeting Jenni has been the greatest thing that ever happened to me, in every way I can imagine. In the context of this specific question, she made me feel like creating more than I ever have. I feel like a mad genius whenever I’m around her. Even if the stuff I’m churning out is crap, the amount of love and support she shows me is indescribable. I’m literally compelled to keep creating; to do anything less with all that positive energy would be a complete waste!
To sum it all up, it comes down to the people in my life. My family, my friends, Jenni… The network I’ve been blessed with all throughout childhood up until now… Not many people get to enjoy that like I have.

How have you found joy in the journey of life?

This has been something I’ve thought about a lot actually, and the answer has been different almost every time. One constant thing these past three years has been Jenni. I don’t know much about those marijuana cigarettes that all the kids are talking about these days, but I can guarantee that no drug on earth can come close to the bliss I feel cuddled up with Jenni on the couch, watching TV and playing Minecraft.
Being able to entertain people is another big one. I’ve been making crappy movies, acting, drawing, writing, singing, playing the friggin’ trombone since I was a little kid. There’s just something about being able to make people laugh or enjoy themselves that makes me feel like I’m fulfilling my purpose as a human being.
On a deeper level, something that’s brought me a great deal of happiness these past few years has been in teaching myself to slow down and pay attention to the smaller things. I tend to glaze over so much in a mad dash to get to the point, but lately I’ve been realizing that every single person, place and object has a story to tell. We’re all out there living life and surviving together. The marks we leave, and the marks that are left on us, tell such an amazing and beautiful story, and I’m really glad I’ve taken more time to learn from other people and hear what they have to say.

What is the most important life lesson you’ve learned so far?

The one lesson I have probably benefited from the most is to not get angry or depressed over things that are beyond my control. I had to learn that on my mission. I’d never seen so many things go wrong so frequently, and it took a serious toll on me, emotionally and mentally. It was months before I came to the same realization as Phil Connors in Groundhog Day; that the only thing in this world I have control over is my personality, my attitude, and the way I treat others regardless of my circumstances. Virtually everything else is more or less beyond my control, so why should I allow it to influence my behavior?
I know it sounds like some bogus hippie new-age garbage, but it really is something that I’ve come to swear by. I’ve had a few rough days since then, but none have lasted long or left very big impressions on me.
As a bonus lesson just to shamelessly tack on at the end here, I want to say that married life has taught me some profound stuff as well. Jenni and I have only been married a little over two years now, but it’s been absolute bliss because there’s nothing I care about more than making her happy and I know she feels the same about me.
If you’re not married and looking for someone to fill that void, don’t let that be a driving force in your decision making because that’s not what it’s about. Marriage is the natural progression that comes from finding someone you care about more than yourself, AND who cares about you in the same way. If it’s one-sided in any way, give that some serious thought.
In other words, if you want to be truly happy in life, don’t be selfish, and don’t marry someone who is selfish. Everything else falls into place if you’re willing to go out of your way to make life better for someone else.

Describe your art to someone who cannot see.

Oh geez, this is a hard one.
I almost feel like, if I was blind… I wouldn’t really care what somebody was drawing. I mean kind of the whole point of it is that it’s something you look at. And if I described it really well to a blind guy, then I’ve just made him wish even more that he could see it, and that isn’t helping anybody.

I think if a blind man asked what I was drawing, I’d groan and be like “Aahh you don’t really wanna know all that, do you?”
Maybe I’d sit him down and just make up a fun story for him. That’s what I do whenever I can’t draw anyway, it’s basically the same thing right? Anybody can enjoy a good story. Even deaf people because they’ve got braille. Wait no, that’s for blind people. What do deaf people have?… I guess just words, right? Like subtitles. But why would I bother with that? I could just draw them a picture because they’d be able to see it.
So, yeah, I’ll go with that.
The picture thing.

You’re one of the funniest guys I have ever met, have you always been funny or has it been something that has been developed over time?

I’d have to say both. On the one hand, I’ve been a weird kid for as long as I can remember. Every scenario I’ve found myself in, regardless of what’s going on, my top two goals in that situation have been 1) to do whatever I actually have to do and 2) to make somebody laugh.
On the other hand, my sense of humor has changed a lot over the years. I’ve gotten a lot more subdued in the way I tell jokes, and I’m a little more discriminating in who I reveal my crazy side to. I was a psychopath as a kid, but when you’re around other kids, that’s kind of the norm. Grown-ups are a little different, so the whole insane ADHD thing doesn’t fly so well. Fortunately, I tend to move slower in general these days due to an increase age and fatness, so it’s safe to say I’ve adapted a little bit.
One of the things I feel most inclined to attribute my sense of humor to, however, is my friends. It’s awesome to have so many buddies who love not only to laugh, but to make others laugh as well. Hanging out after school at the lockers, grabbing bags of burgers at Arctic Circle, or chilling at whoever’s house we felt like that night, we could literally go on for hours riffing off one another, telling jokes and laughing at them together. Even today, if you get a few of us in a room, we could just sit there on the couch and talk about… I don’t even know. Stuff.
And it’d be hilarious.