In the world of Tristan Demers

Cartoonist Tristan Demers celebrates his 40-year career. The one who created the character of Gargouille when he was only 10 years old has since published nearly 80 books and sold more than 1 million copies in the French-speaking world. Even if he has a thousand and one projects, one of the most important activities, in his eyes, remains to meet young readers. The Press accompanied him in a class of 4^e year.

The bell has just rung at Fernand-Seguin school in Montreal. While the hallways are teeming with students heading to class, Tristan Demers welcomes The Press in the teachers’ room.

The cartoonist has just returned from Sept-Îles where he participated in the book fair. His stay on the North Shore will have left him with a memory: tendonitis in the wrist, courtesy of some 500 signatures of the weekend.

Despite his splint, the favorite author and illustrator of young people will spend the morning drawing with two groups of 4^e year.

It must be said that Tristan Demers is not used to stopping. In addition to creating children’s comics, he writes adult nonfiction books (such as Quebec 90which will be released this year) and albums for children (including his most recent, The Cookie Hunt). The one who hosted different DIY shows also designs sketchbooks.

Each year, he participates in about twenty book fairs in Quebec, but also elsewhere in the world. A few weeks ago, he was visiting France, Belgium and Switzerland.

Obviously, Tristan Demers does not hold in place. The fast-paced talkative artist loves when there’s action. It is perhaps for this reason that he succeeds in capturing the attention of young people, a generation accustomed to immediacy, he analyzes.

This morning, as soon as he enters the classroom, the eyes of about twenty children turn to him and will not leave him for the next hour and a half. (The students, who have good manners, greeted the representatives of The Pressdo not be afraid.)

On the large white sheets hung on the board, the drawings appear at a steady pace, despite the illustrator’s wrist tendonitis. Two babies, a unicorn and, of course, Gargoyle follow one another.

“I take a little 5-10 minutes to introduce you to my universe. After that, we will talk about yours, ”launches the cartoonist.

A bit of madness

When he started giving workshops in schools 35 years ago, young Tristan Demers offered advice on how to draw well. At 50, the message he wants to convey has changed. He wants to give young people the desire to imagine.

“If I draw a fish, do I draw it in water or in space? I make a bunny. Does he eat carrots or cheesecake? he asks the students. These, fascinated, quickly understand that when you draw, you can let go of your madness.

Looking for a long-necked animal to illustrate, Tristan Demers asks the children for help. “A giraffe”, they answer in chorus. “I won’t make a giraffe, you see everyone said the same thing. Originality is the rarest idea. There are other long-necked animals whose names don’t come to mind in less than a second,” he explains.

Ostrich, llama, emu, dromedary, flamingo… the choices are indeed multiple, realize the young people.

“You have to accept that your idea, which will be better and which will stand out, will come after everyone else’s. »

For the past fifteen years, the cartoonist has noticed that young people no longer allow themselves the space necessary to let their imagination run wild. “I think that, fundamentally, the child has lots of ideas, but before, he was bored,” he explains in an interview. He was playing in the park, in the alley. He grabbed a branch, it became a sword or a telescope. There, not only does he spend a lot of time in front of the screen, but his father buys him a sword that lights up at Dollarama. He no longer sees that the branch can become one. »

According to him, the judgment of others is also too important in the minds of this generation.

Far be it from him to throw stones at anyone, however. “It’s really a social problem, and I include myself in it,” says the author who reflected on the subject in the essay. The imaginary in disarray.

However, he is convinced that the workshops offered by artists in schools help to awaken the creativity of children.

What would he like young people to take away from his presence today? “Creative freedom and the power of art,” he replies. By being more free, you are less restrained. You put less tags on yourself. You find out where it takes you. The power of art, it does not go down the throat in a theoretical way, it can be seen by living it. But to live it, you have to let go. »