IA: What's in your opinion the most difficult thing to accomplish in a short film to make it a successful story?

TN: I like films which are not stereotypical. I want to see something that has not been told or that I haven’t experienced before, which makes all pure action and special effect films arbitrary. The biggest challenge in my eyes is always the ending of a film. It’s easy to open up a story, but to find a perfect ending and make everything round up and still unforeseeable is the really tough part.

IA: You own your own studio and do work for clients with specifics needs, do you think there's always a place for art in these kinds of projects?

TN: It’s my own decision on how much I want to fight for my own artistic ideas when I do a commercial job. Often the jobs with less artistic challenges are the more profitable ones, but finally I think it’s more important to develop my own style and to receive jobs from clients who book me specifically because of it. I see myself still in the process of developing this personal style. Practically, in most cases, it’s a compromise of my vision mixed with the needs and ideas of the client, sometimes more, sometimes less.

IA: Most of your work is done using 3D? What does 3D bring to your work that other mediums can't?

TN: My fascination with 3D is a combination of many aspects: It’s the freedom to create whatever I have in mind, it’s the endless possibilities where your imagination is the only limit, it’s the efficiency to produce huge scenes with nothing more than a little computer and it’s the non-linearity and flexibility which makes it possible to begin without knowing what it will lead you to. It’s like a toy that never gets boring and it combines form, motion, light, timing and much more in a single medium.

The Shaved Bumble bees - Click the Picture to read the Making Of

IA: One thing which has really caught my attention on your website is the variety of themes you express in your personal work. From “Bumblebees,” a very humoristic illustration, to “Blowout” and “Salad,” which are clear artistic tributes. What is, in your opinion, an illustration that owns your signature?

TN: In fact “The Shaved Bumblebee” has its own category, but overall there are some constant topics in my works. Often it’s a kind of absurd connection between multiple layers of time or dimensions. In “Delivery” it’s a bridge between big and small dimensions, in “Salad” it’s a bridge between classical oil paintings and modern creations, in “Edges,” and in some of my older works, it’s the connection between 2D and 3D and in “Blowout” it’s a future scene with artefacts of the past. I am constantly looking for new twists and connections. And there usually is a high amount of detail and a cinematic depth in the mood of my images, from a stylistic point of view.

IA: I also really enjoyed “Souvenirs” and other works you've done with your brother Nik. Can you tell us about the artistic relationship between you and your brother? How do you work together? What different influences you bring to each other?

TN: My brother Nik works as an artist in Berlin, but he mainly works in “real,” not digital art. You can see his work at www.niknowak.de. He builds large sculptures, like the “mobile booster” which looks like a fancy industrial product, but in fact it’s a handmade unique piece. We have a similar attitude towards art, we like to use it as a caricature and satire about our industrialized world, consumers and pop culture. We celebrate and also criticize the spawn of modern times. I think we both have a similar kind of fantasy and humour and it is a lot of fun to work together. We are living in different areas of Germany and we are not working together constantly, but when we manage to get together the ideas usually start flowing.