Nik Arthur is a Montreal-based animation director who has worked with YouTube, Vice, and Psycho Films — but his own projects don’t look anything like that work. His Organima series is animated by the likes of engraving directly into stone with a rotary drill, rearranging the skin on a leaf skeleton, or carefully shaping refracted light. He’s currently writing a new film about a very smart splash of water. We collaborated with Nik in our recent film (and you can watch the BTS on our Instagram). Below, he talks Ted Chiang, mechanical pencils, and his other life volunteering on farms in Japan.

What do you do when you hit a creative block?

I don’t think we need to be in output mode all of the time. When output isn’t feeling natural, I try to intake until output comes naturally. Usually through talking, reading, and watching.

What’s the worst recommendation someone’s given you?

Post more on Instagram.

What’s the last film you watched that moved you deeply?

Cave of Forgotten Dreams by Werner Herzog… absolutely mind-boggling.

What book have you gifted most?

Stories Of Your Life And Others by Ted Chiang.

What’s something you bought under $100 that changed your life?

I bought this nice, metal, kind of heavy mechanical pencil for like $15 that helped me love to write things down again.

Where do you go to find peace?

There’s this town in Japan that I visit sometimes to farm mulberry and help at a family-run paper mill.

Who is your forever inspo?

My partner.

What’s the last article you sent to a friend?

“Why Science Fiction Can’t Predict the Future — and Why That’s a Good Thing”

What’s the best investment (money, time, habit) you’ve made?

Learning a new language.

Write us a fortune cookie.

You are in control of your sense of time.

Follow Nik on Instagram and Cosmos.