We did it again!
Check out AWC's second episode and learn more about the contributing artists below:
0:06 A Leg Up
By: Jen Prokopowicz
Website: prokopo.format.com
Instagram: @prokapop
Twitter: @jenprokopo
Music: Louie Zong
Website: louiezong.com
Twitter: @everydaylouie
Website: prokopo.format.com
Instagram: @prokapop
Twitter: @jenprokopo
Music: Louie Zong
Website: louiezong.com
Twitter: @everydaylouie
Animation Wild Card presents, @prokapop :⠀
⠀
Hi! I’m Jen, a stop motion animator and artist currently based in the LA area. I’ve been busy working professionally since 2007 and have had the good fortune to work on many fun projects at studios like Bix Pix, Stoopid Buddy, Bent Image Lab, Other Brother, Shadow Machine and Apartment D. Papercraft is my personal specialty, and one of the highlights of my career was getting to make a children’s book about bugs all made from paper. When I’m not working I enjoy cooking, hiking, and playing board games. ⠀
⠀
Hi! I’m Jen, a stop motion animator and artist currently based in the LA area. I’ve been busy working professionally since 2007 and have had the good fortune to work on many fun projects at studios like Bix Pix, Stoopid Buddy, Bent Image Lab, Other Brother, Shadow Machine and Apartment D. Papercraft is my personal specialty, and one of the highlights of my career was getting to make a children’s book about bugs all made from paper. When I’m not working I enjoy cooking, hiking, and playing board games. ⠀
Jen Prokopowicz
Director/Animator, @prokapop , shared a bit about the process of making Leg Up :⠀
⠀
One of my favorite ways to animate is on a down-shooter and I love working with paper so the method for this short came together pretty naturally! Paper and felt are pretty fast to work with, and I already had plenty of both materials in my stash.⠀
⠀
A down-shooter is a setup in which you have layered glass panels and a camera mounted above looking straight down through all the layers. In my apartment, the panels are mounted to the back wall of a wide closet using garage shelving brackets. The space is functionally still a closet, only moonlighting as a stage, so the whole thing is made to be convertible. I prop open the double doors and rig up a light-blocking curtain over them to make a vestibule to stand in. It’s still a small space but it’s enough! ⠀
⠀
I wanted the characters to have a 2D-ish look to them. Planning ahead with character turn-arounds helped me make replacement bodies to swap in when they rotate in space. The beetle also has replacement arms and legs to make posing easier. He is just under 2 inches high and animating articulated limbs at that scale proved to be a challenge, so having pre-made replacements was a huge help!⠀
⠀
One of my favorite ways to animate is on a down-shooter and I love working with paper so the method for this short came together pretty naturally! Paper and felt are pretty fast to work with, and I already had plenty of both materials in my stash.⠀
⠀
A down-shooter is a setup in which you have layered glass panels and a camera mounted above looking straight down through all the layers. In my apartment, the panels are mounted to the back wall of a wide closet using garage shelving brackets. The space is functionally still a closet, only moonlighting as a stage, so the whole thing is made to be convertible. I prop open the double doors and rig up a light-blocking curtain over them to make a vestibule to stand in. It’s still a small space but it’s enough! ⠀
⠀
I wanted the characters to have a 2D-ish look to them. Planning ahead with character turn-arounds helped me make replacement bodies to swap in when they rotate in space. The beetle also has replacement arms and legs to make posing easier. He is just under 2 inches high and animating articulated limbs at that scale proved to be a challenge, so having pre-made replacements was a huge help!⠀
Tiny Paper Animaiton
Downshooter Setup
In Progress Limbs
Limbs Animation Library
———
Animation Wild Card presents, @yuyustopmo :⠀
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Hi, I’m Yu, Yu. ⠀
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I’m a stop motion animator/fabricator from Taiwan. I founded my stop motion studio, Shadow Step 踩影子停格動畫工作室, at 2019. Thanks to the opportunity from Animation Wild Card, I can finally finish the Long Cat short which I have had the idea in mind for a while. ⠀
⠀
During the time studying MFA at USC, I met lots of wonderful stop motion people in LA. Got little experience from working and interning at BixPix, Stoopid Buddy, Open the Portal, and Netflix. Although I am currently back home, I will keep on the stop motion works and continue making some original shorts.⠀
⠀
Hi, I’m Yu, Yu. ⠀
⠀
I’m a stop motion animator/fabricator from Taiwan. I founded my stop motion studio, Shadow Step 踩影子停格動畫工作室, at 2019. Thanks to the opportunity from Animation Wild Card, I can finally finish the Long Cat short which I have had the idea in mind for a while. ⠀
⠀
During the time studying MFA at USC, I met lots of wonderful stop motion people in LA. Got little experience from working and interning at BixPix, Stoopid Buddy, Open the Portal, and Netflix. Although I am currently back home, I will keep on the stop motion works and continue making some original shorts.⠀
Director / Animator , @yuyustopmo , shared a bit about her process of making LONG CAT :⠀
⠀
I set up the set at the corner of the living room. All I need to do is cover the outdoor lights and plug in the LED lights in a voltage stabilizer to avoid the light flicker. Make sure I sit in a comfortable place that won’t kick the stage, and I can start to animate.
⠀
I set up the set at the corner of the living room. All I need to do is cover the outdoor lights and plug in the LED lights in a voltage stabilizer to avoid the light flicker. Make sure I sit in a comfortable place that won’t kick the stage, and I can start to animate.
Long Cat Assets
Long Cat Shooting Setup
Long Cat Storyboards
———
1:33 Early Internet
By: Meredith Mayer
Instagram: @lonelyjew1001
Song Name: Burn the Bed
Instagram/Twitter: @earlyinternet
Instagram: @lonelyjew1001
Song Name: Burn the Bed
Instagram/Twitter: @earlyinternet
Animation Wild Card presents, @lonelyjew1001 :⠀
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Greetings, I am Meredith, an animator based in LA. ⠀
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When I was 12 a horse had it out for me and broke my arm. With only one working arm I spent that summer learning to knit. It became a passion of mine.Fast forward 15 years and I had the idea that I wanted to combine my two passions, animation and knitting. ⠀
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SO badda bing badda boom here we are!⠀
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Greetings, I am Meredith, an animator based in LA. ⠀
⠀
When I was 12 a horse had it out for me and broke my arm. With only one working arm I spent that summer learning to knit. It became a passion of mine.Fast forward 15 years and I had the idea that I wanted to combine my two passions, animation and knitting. ⠀
⠀
SO badda bing badda boom here we are!⠀
Meredith Mayer
———
Animation Wild Card presents, @joe.heinen (AGAIN - WOOT!) for Round 2 :⠀
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Joe Heinen is a stop motion animator living and working out of Portland, OR. Born to a ghosthunter mother and rocket scientist father, Joe became interested in stop motion animation at a young age, eventually deciding to pursue that interest professionally. He studied film and animation at the Rochester Institute of Technology. Joe has spent the last six years working on such stop motion projects as Anomalisa, Tumble Leaf, and Cosmos. He is currently animating on Wendell & Wild. When not animating, Joe can be found making artisan ice cream and goofy drawings.⠀
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Joe Heinen is a stop motion animator living and working out of Portland, OR. Born to a ghosthunter mother and rocket scientist father, Joe became interested in stop motion animation at a young age, eventually deciding to pursue that interest professionally. He studied film and animation at the Rochester Institute of Technology. Joe has spent the last six years working on such stop motion projects as Anomalisa, Tumble Leaf, and Cosmos. He is currently animating on Wendell & Wild. When not animating, Joe can be found making artisan ice cream and goofy drawings.⠀
Joe Heinen
Creator, @joe.heinen , shared a bit about the process of making Square Squad 2 :⠀
⠀
The block puppet bodies are made out of wooden blocks with brass square stock where the limbs and eyes attach. The bodies are then covered with a layer of self-adhesive bandage and a few layers of latex. The limbs are made out of aluminum wire, also with brass stock and layered with bandage and latex. The eyes are painted Super Sculpey with small pieces of brass stock.⠀
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The red puppet has two bodies, one for when its mouth is closed and one when it is open, which are swapped mid shot as needed.⠀
⠀
The block puppet bodies are made out of wooden blocks with brass square stock where the limbs and eyes attach. The bodies are then covered with a layer of self-adhesive bandage and a few layers of latex. The limbs are made out of aluminum wire, also with brass stock and layered with bandage and latex. The eyes are painted Super Sculpey with small pieces of brass stock.⠀
⠀
The red puppet has two bodies, one for when its mouth is closed and one when it is open, which are swapped mid shot as needed.⠀
Yellow Puppet Kit
Red Puppet Kit
———
2:46 Eli, Episode 1: Watt's the Big Idea?
Story & Art: John Sumner
Website: johnsumnerdesign.com
Voice Characterization: Justin Michael
Website: heyjustinmichael.com
Trombone: Eli Gunnell
Website: johnsumnerdesign.com
Voice Characterization: Justin Michael
Website: heyjustinmichael.com
Trombone: Eli Gunnell
Animation Wild Card presents, John Sumner : ⠀
⠀
John Sumner spent most of his young life as a journeyman, traveling across the country and working a ton of odd jobs. Ultimately, all of these experiences would come in handy as he settled into the entertainment industry in Los Angeles, CA. ⠀
⠀
For the past decade, John has been primarily working as a Production Designer/Art Director/Builder for Film, Television, and Internet Content, with a focus on stop-motion.⠀
⠀
When John isn't working on professional jobs, you can usually find him carving tikis, drawing comics, and trying not to get his butt kicked by his wife and kids in Tae Kwon Do.⠀
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You can see examples of John’s work on his website: johnsumnerdesign.com
⠀
John Sumner spent most of his young life as a journeyman, traveling across the country and working a ton of odd jobs. Ultimately, all of these experiences would come in handy as he settled into the entertainment industry in Los Angeles, CA. ⠀
⠀
For the past decade, John has been primarily working as a Production Designer/Art Director/Builder for Film, Television, and Internet Content, with a focus on stop-motion.⠀
⠀
When John isn't working on professional jobs, you can usually find him carving tikis, drawing comics, and trying not to get his butt kicked by his wife and kids in Tae Kwon Do.⠀
⠀
You can see examples of John’s work on his website: johnsumnerdesign.com
Creator, John Sumner, shared a bit about the process of making :⠀
⠀
First up a quick sketch of my title card for Eli before settling on “Watt’s the Big Idea?”. You can see ghost images of the storyboards I drew up from when I scanned my sketchbook.⠀
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Next is hand painted cut outs of Eli with noodle arms and legs. I like to create 2d puppets, but shoot them standing up in space rather than use a down shooter so they can interact with dimensional objects. ⠀
⠀
Last is my garage setup. Since it’s a loft space, set shift is pretty tricky to deal with. Hence the sandbags to try and weigh the floor down. Oh well. Work with what you’ve got, right?⠀
⠀
Prior to this project, I had never once attempted to use Dragonframe to animate OR use Adobe After Effects and Premier to assemble my own animation. So what you're watching is actually my first solo attempt at making a stop-motion short. Needless to say, it was definitely a rollercoaster of emotion as I accidentally deleted my work... multiple times. And let's not mention how often I came face to face with that spinning beachball of death. (My poor computer wasn't created for the tasks I'm now asking it to perform, but he's powering through like a champ as best he can.). All in all, despite a few glaring wrinkles I'd like to iron out, but just don't have the experience yet to solve, I'm really happy with the way things turned out. The final product is pretty close to what I imagined it to be.⠀
⠀
First up a quick sketch of my title card for Eli before settling on “Watt’s the Big Idea?”. You can see ghost images of the storyboards I drew up from when I scanned my sketchbook.⠀
⠀
Next is hand painted cut outs of Eli with noodle arms and legs. I like to create 2d puppets, but shoot them standing up in space rather than use a down shooter so they can interact with dimensional objects. ⠀
⠀
Last is my garage setup. Since it’s a loft space, set shift is pretty tricky to deal with. Hence the sandbags to try and weigh the floor down. Oh well. Work with what you’ve got, right?⠀
⠀
Prior to this project, I had never once attempted to use Dragonframe to animate OR use Adobe After Effects and Premier to assemble my own animation. So what you're watching is actually my first solo attempt at making a stop-motion short. Needless to say, it was definitely a rollercoaster of emotion as I accidentally deleted my work... multiple times. And let's not mention how often I came face to face with that spinning beachball of death. (My poor computer wasn't created for the tasks I'm now asking it to perform, but he's powering through like a champ as best he can.). All in all, despite a few glaring wrinkles I'd like to iron out, but just don't have the experience yet to solve, I'm really happy with the way things turned out. The final product is pretty close to what I imagined it to be.⠀
Eli Sketch
Eli Puppet Replacements
Eli Shooting Setup
———
3:29 Penguin & Bear: Big Top Follies
Direction, Animation, Fabrication: Jeremy Fisher
Instagram: @0fish0
Costumes, Props, Title Cards: Corrie Walton
Instagram: @cyber_sprite
Instagram: @0fish0
Costumes, Props, Title Cards: Corrie Walton
Instagram: @cyber_sprite
Animation Wild Card presents, @0fish0: Hi! I’m Jeremy Fisher. ⠀
⠀
I'm a stop motion animator, art director and artist currently in LA. I’m inspired mostly from Star Wars, fine art, and old cartoons. I grew up in the small town of New Freedom, Pennsylvania and went to Ringling College in Sarasota, Florida to study art and animation. ⠀
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I’ve been animating professionally for the past 6 years on projects like Robot Chicken and Buddy Thunderstruck, and art directing the past 2 years for Hallmark Greetings and Batman: Choose Your Mission. ⠀
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My passion for sculpting has led to some weird places including making intricate miniatures for an immersive exhibit, sculpting giant aliens for Tim Burton, building a working 3d zoetrope, and making a giant Rancor costume for conventions. In my downtime, I’m most likely watering my plants and watching Star Wars films for the billionth time.
⠀
I'm a stop motion animator, art director and artist currently in LA. I’m inspired mostly from Star Wars, fine art, and old cartoons. I grew up in the small town of New Freedom, Pennsylvania and went to Ringling College in Sarasota, Florida to study art and animation. ⠀
⠀
I’ve been animating professionally for the past 6 years on projects like Robot Chicken and Buddy Thunderstruck, and art directing the past 2 years for Hallmark Greetings and Batman: Choose Your Mission. ⠀
⠀
My passion for sculpting has led to some weird places including making intricate miniatures for an immersive exhibit, sculpting giant aliens for Tim Burton, building a working 3d zoetrope, and making a giant Rancor costume for conventions. In my downtime, I’m most likely watering my plants and watching Star Wars films for the billionth time.
Jeremy Fisher
Director / Animator, @0fish0 , shared a bit about the process of making Penguin & Bear :⠀
⠀
Since the quarantine hit, I have been staying at my girlfriend ( @cyber_sprite ) Corrie’s place to limit our exposure and for our general peace of mind. That presented a couple problems considering she doesn’t have a separate workshop/shooting space like I do. ⠀
⠀
She was gracious enough to let me temporarily take over part of the living room on a basic folding card table. While the space has lovely windows that let in a lot of sunlight, it kept me from shooting during the daytime. I would animate once the sun went down, then do VFX/rig removal, and set up for the next shot during the daytime. ⠀
⠀
Corrie was a huge, huge help and stepped up to create the adorable clown costumes for the characters as well as illustrate the circus poster and title cards for me. She had to make use of leftover materials she had around like the ribbon on the clown hat.⠀
⠀
The puppets were from a previous abandoned project. I re-worked their design/personalities and imagined them as 2 kids who were bored at home, like I was as a kid, and what sort of hijinks I would get into to cure my boredom. Something I imagine a lot of kids are currently experiencing. Having the unfinished puppets made for a great place to start from. I got to ask the characters 100 questions and play detective: “who are these two? Are they friends? Where do they live? What are their hobbies? Do they always get along?” That brainstorming led to a lot of potential story ideas and eventually was distilled down to what appeared on screen.⠀
⠀
Seeing these characters come to life in front of me, after they existed in my head for weeks is the closest thing to performing real magic.⠀
⠀
Since the quarantine hit, I have been staying at my girlfriend ( @cyber_sprite ) Corrie’s place to limit our exposure and for our general peace of mind. That presented a couple problems considering she doesn’t have a separate workshop/shooting space like I do. ⠀
⠀
She was gracious enough to let me temporarily take over part of the living room on a basic folding card table. While the space has lovely windows that let in a lot of sunlight, it kept me from shooting during the daytime. I would animate once the sun went down, then do VFX/rig removal, and set up for the next shot during the daytime. ⠀
⠀
Corrie was a huge, huge help and stepped up to create the adorable clown costumes for the characters as well as illustrate the circus poster and title cards for me. She had to make use of leftover materials she had around like the ribbon on the clown hat.⠀
⠀
The puppets were from a previous abandoned project. I re-worked their design/personalities and imagined them as 2 kids who were bored at home, like I was as a kid, and what sort of hijinks I would get into to cure my boredom. Something I imagine a lot of kids are currently experiencing. Having the unfinished puppets made for a great place to start from. I got to ask the characters 100 questions and play detective: “who are these two? Are they friends? Where do they live? What are their hobbies? Do they always get along?” That brainstorming led to a lot of potential story ideas and eventually was distilled down to what appeared on screen.⠀
⠀
Seeing these characters come to life in front of me, after they existed in my head for weeks is the closest thing to performing real magic.⠀
Hat Fabrication
Shooting Setup
Tech View
Puppet Duo
———
4:07 Pleistocene Dream
Director/Producer: Sihanouk Mariona
Instagram: @sihanouk_mariona
Narrator: Laurie Olson
Art: Emily Franz
Photography: Matthew P Hazelrig
Instagram: @sihanouk_mariona
Narrator: Laurie Olson
Art: Emily Franz
Photography: Matthew P Hazelrig
Instagram: @matthewhazelrig
Animation Wild Card presents, @sihanouk_mariona ⠀
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Emmy Award-winning Stop Motion Animator, Director & Producer; ⠀
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Producing Non-fiction and Nature films for Museums. ⠀
Born in El Salvador, raised in Detroit, forged in New York City!⠀
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World Traveler, Director of the Stop Motion Chess Club, # 1 Ladytron Fan.
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Emmy Award-winning Stop Motion Animator, Director & Producer; ⠀
⠀
Producing Non-fiction and Nature films for Museums. ⠀
Born in El Salvador, raised in Detroit, forged in New York City!⠀
⠀
World Traveler, Director of the Stop Motion Chess Club, # 1 Ladytron Fan.
Sihanouk Mariona
Director / Animator / Creator, @sihanouk_mariona , shared a bit about the process of making "Pleistocene Dream" (shot in @savanimationz space):
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The first shot is my set up during animation as the glacial erratic is still perched on the rock formation before tumbling down.⠀
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Director of Photography @matthewhazelrig is setting up for a sunset shot of the Ice Age landscape.⠀
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Art Director @eafranzart creating the ancient landscape of Ice Age California.⠀
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Franz and Hazelrig setting up the stage for animation.⠀
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Franz's process for creating boulders and rock formations.⠀
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The Malibu coastline sketch that inspires the art direction.
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The first shot is my set up during animation as the glacial erratic is still perched on the rock formation before tumbling down.⠀
⠀
Director of Photography @matthewhazelrig is setting up for a sunset shot of the Ice Age landscape.⠀
⠀
Art Director @eafranzart creating the ancient landscape of Ice Age California.⠀
⠀
Franz and Hazelrig setting up the stage for animation.⠀
⠀
Franz's process for creating boulders and rock formations.⠀
⠀
The Malibu coastline sketch that inspires the art direction.
Stage Setup
Lighting
Inspiration Board
Set Dressing
Fabircation
Sketching
——
4:56 30 Day Beach Bod with Bill
By: Hannz Mulligan
Instagram, Vimeo, & YouTube
Voices: Law Miles-Hall
Music: “Creative Minds”, “Moose”, bensound.com
Foley: zapsplat.com
Instagram, Vimeo, & YouTube
Voices: Law Miles-Hall
Music: “Creative Minds”, “Moose”, bensound.com
Foley: zapsplat.com
Animation Wild Card presents, @Hannzol :⠀
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Hannz is a puppet/prop/costume fabricator for stop motion and live action. After graduating from the Maryland Institute College of Art in 2016, she moved to Los Angeles where she has mostly worked as a Specialty Costumer on productions such as Stranger Things, Mandalorian, Picard, West World, Aquaman, The Masked Singer, and Nickelodeon’s “Massive Monster Mayhem”. ⠀
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Big or small, she loves bringing characters to life, but her favorite is building Stop Motion puppets. In the animation realm, she has worked for Screen Novelties, Stoopid Buddy, Fullscreen Inc, Apartment D, and Cinema Fantasma. ⠀
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When Hannz isn’t working, she can be found Jogging the beaches and parks of LA, dancing the night away, or doodling in her sketchbook. ⠀
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Hannz is a puppet/prop/costume fabricator for stop motion and live action. After graduating from the Maryland Institute College of Art in 2016, she moved to Los Angeles where she has mostly worked as a Specialty Costumer on productions such as Stranger Things, Mandalorian, Picard, West World, Aquaman, The Masked Singer, and Nickelodeon’s “Massive Monster Mayhem”. ⠀
⠀
Big or small, she loves bringing characters to life, but her favorite is building Stop Motion puppets. In the animation realm, she has worked for Screen Novelties, Stoopid Buddy, Fullscreen Inc, Apartment D, and Cinema Fantasma. ⠀
⠀
When Hannz isn’t working, she can be found Jogging the beaches and parks of LA, dancing the night away, or doodling in her sketchbook. ⠀
Hannz Mulligan
Director/Animator/Fabricator, @Hannzol, shared a bit about the process of making
“30 Day Beach Bod with Bill”:⠀
⠀
Honestly, I just love a good joke. If I can sit through each step of the process and laugh out loud every time, I would want to give that feeling to everybody. ⠀
⠀
I started this project as an exercise for practicing all things stop-motion. From designing, writing the script, building the puppet, animating, to editing etc... ⠀
⠀
Then, AWC called out for artists and I couldn’t resist telling a goofy story. Some of the funniest things in life are the awkward, in-between, sometimes private moments of failing, because we can all relate to it. Bill nonchalantly fails as he struggles to touch his toe, but he keeps an optimistic and encouraging attitude, which really resonates with me.⠀
⠀
It was really cool bringing my own project to life from start to finish, I loved that I could approve my own designs and script, making what I thought were the best decisions for this project. ⠀
⠀
However, I really missed the creative conversations that come from working with others. It can be hard to keep motivated like when I doubt an idea, or I am stuck going in a wrong direction. That artist-to-artist feedback at any part of the process is very valuable in pumping the excitement back into my work. I shared my process a little bit via social distancing, but I feel like I missed out on the in-person energy of receiving feedback and bouncing ideas off of one another.⠀
⠀
Honestly, I just love a good joke. If I can sit through each step of the process and laugh out loud every time, I would want to give that feeling to everybody. ⠀
⠀
I started this project as an exercise for practicing all things stop-motion. From designing, writing the script, building the puppet, animating, to editing etc... ⠀
⠀
Then, AWC called out for artists and I couldn’t resist telling a goofy story. Some of the funniest things in life are the awkward, in-between, sometimes private moments of failing, because we can all relate to it. Bill nonchalantly fails as he struggles to touch his toe, but he keeps an optimistic and encouraging attitude, which really resonates with me.⠀
⠀
It was really cool bringing my own project to life from start to finish, I loved that I could approve my own designs and script, making what I thought were the best decisions for this project. ⠀
⠀
However, I really missed the creative conversations that come from working with others. It can be hard to keep motivated like when I doubt an idea, or I am stuck going in a wrong direction. That artist-to-artist feedback at any part of the process is very valuable in pumping the excitement back into my work. I shared my process a little bit via social distancing, but I feel like I missed out on the in-person energy of receiving feedback and bouncing ideas off of one another.⠀
Shoes
Armature
Body Buildup
Puppet Fabrication Workspace
Bill!
Animator, Hannz
———
Animation Wild Card presents @_Threadwood ⠀
(individually known as @alexiseved & @sdaros):⠀
⠀
We're a married stop-motion animation team hailing from the North East (CT specifically) and currently located in Los Angeles, CA. We've been collaborating and working together for over 10 years!⠀
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We've been a part of many stop-motion projects, big and small, and various studios here in the city. Scott has won an individual achievement Emmy for his animation skills, and we've both had team wins on 2 different Robot Chicken episodes as Animation Director and Art Director. Even with those freelance commitments, we've always prioritized working at home on personal projects that make us laugh.⠀
⠀
We spend a lot of our down time making weird faces/voices/dance moves at each other to try and make the other laugh - and sometimes they make for good shorts. This short series "Magical Cat" was inspired by a dumb song we sing to our cat when we get home from work (or if he emerges from another room after a long snooze). ⠀
⠀
We'd like to make it back to the North East and continue to share our sensibilities and sense of humor with anyone looking for a chuckle, or an eyeball-grabbing commercial.⠀
(individually known as @alexiseved & @sdaros):⠀
⠀
We're a married stop-motion animation team hailing from the North East (CT specifically) and currently located in Los Angeles, CA. We've been collaborating and working together for over 10 years!⠀
⠀
We've been a part of many stop-motion projects, big and small, and various studios here in the city. Scott has won an individual achievement Emmy for his animation skills, and we've both had team wins on 2 different Robot Chicken episodes as Animation Director and Art Director. Even with those freelance commitments, we've always prioritized working at home on personal projects that make us laugh.⠀
⠀
We spend a lot of our down time making weird faces/voices/dance moves at each other to try and make the other laugh - and sometimes they make for good shorts. This short series "Magical Cat" was inspired by a dumb song we sing to our cat when we get home from work (or if he emerges from another room after a long snooze). ⠀
⠀
We'd like to make it back to the North East and continue to share our sensibilities and sense of humor with anyone looking for a chuckle, or an eyeball-grabbing commercial.⠀
Alexis and Scott
Creators @alexiseved and @sdaros of @_Threadwood, shared a bit about the process of making Magical Cat Episode 2:⠀
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Like we mentioned for Magical Cat Episode 1 - Scott likes to plan his claymation shots even more than he normally would with any other puppet. You can see his cat shape sketches in the background - they're his roadmap for the action that will happen.⠀
⠀
We had one MAJOR hurdle for this round which was the heatwave that hit SoCal a few weeks ago. In the past we've muscled through them before, but this time we knew pushing our bodies to work through the heat would be devastating 🥵. So we opted to break down our setup in the garage and move it into the only space indoors we had available - our bedroom... Not an awesome solution, but WAY better for our health and safety which are paramount concerns right now.⠀
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Also, I didn't get to show you the "wrong" side of my set pieces last time so I thought you'd like to have a movie-magic look at what you don't see on camera. Pretty much everything on a stop-mo set is held together with black paper tape (for protection - it's strong and doesn't wreck the set), hot glue and a prayer lol.⠀
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... and then I was amused by the spare cat head in the background and thought you'd like a close up, you're welcome ;)⠀
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Like we mentioned for Magical Cat Episode 1 - Scott likes to plan his claymation shots even more than he normally would with any other puppet. You can see his cat shape sketches in the background - they're his roadmap for the action that will happen.⠀
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We had one MAJOR hurdle for this round which was the heatwave that hit SoCal a few weeks ago. In the past we've muscled through them before, but this time we knew pushing our bodies to work through the heat would be devastating 🥵. So we opted to break down our setup in the garage and move it into the only space indoors we had available - our bedroom... Not an awesome solution, but WAY better for our health and safety which are paramount concerns right now.⠀
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Also, I didn't get to show you the "wrong" side of my set pieces last time so I thought you'd like to have a movie-magic look at what you don't see on camera. Pretty much everything on a stop-mo set is held together with black paper tape (for protection - it's strong and doesn't wreck the set), hot glue and a prayer lol.⠀
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... and then I was amused by the spare cat head in the background and thought you'd like a close up, you're welcome ;)⠀
Pose Planning
Magical Cat Head
Blacking Out the Windows
Shooting Setup
Set Side View
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Animation Wild Card Bumper
By: Cami Kwan & Apartment D Films
Instagram: @camikwan
Instagram: @apartmentdfilms
Music By: Ellen Coons & Lee Young
Instagram: @cartoonraccoon
Instagram: @leemitchellyoung
Instagram: @camikwan
Instagram: @apartmentdfilms
Music By: Ellen Coons & Lee Young
Instagram: @cartoonraccoon
Instagram: @leemitchellyoung
Animation Wild Card presents, @camikwan :⠀
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Hey team! My name is Cami, and I am the Creative Producer at @apartmentdfilms!⠀
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I’m from Portland, OR, and my passion is children’s media, especially media that pairs animation and education. I spent my first few years in LA as an animator/armaturist at various stop motion studios before joining forces with my friends @mxmln.machinist and @seanchiridion to create our own studio, Apartment D! I’ve spent the last two years animating, directing and producing at Apartment D, and most recently directed an hour-long stop motion series "Meet Joss" for American Girl.⠀
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I love the stop motion industry, and I feel so incredibly lucky to be a part of such a warm, loving, weird, fun, interesting, passionate and insanely talented community!! It makes me so happy to be able to contribute to an awesome project like Animation Wild Card, and I can’t wait to keep seeing the amazing work our community creates!⠀
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Hey team! My name is Cami, and I am the Creative Producer at @apartmentdfilms!⠀
⠀
I’m from Portland, OR, and my passion is children’s media, especially media that pairs animation and education. I spent my first few years in LA as an animator/armaturist at various stop motion studios before joining forces with my friends @mxmln.machinist and @seanchiridion to create our own studio, Apartment D! I’ve spent the last two years animating, directing and producing at Apartment D, and most recently directed an hour-long stop motion series "Meet Joss" for American Girl.⠀
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I love the stop motion industry, and I feel so incredibly lucky to be a part of such a warm, loving, weird, fun, interesting, passionate and insanely talented community!! It makes me so happy to be able to contribute to an awesome project like Animation Wild Card, and I can’t wait to keep seeing the amazing work our community creates!⠀
Cami Kwan
Director / Animator, @camikwan , shared a bit about the process of making our @AnimationWildCard intro animation:⠀
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The logo is made of cut paper assets animated on a downshooter, which means it’s animated on a flat surface with the camera fixed above shooting straight down.⠀
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For the main assets, I sized and broke down our digital logo (made by @alexiseved) into separate parts, organized by color. I cut them out one color at a time using a silhouette cutter, which is sort of like a printer, but with a razor blade that can cut digital designs out of physical materials.⠀
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Next, I assembled the cut assets, then drew and cut out all the smear and in-between frames by hand. Once all the paper parts were made, I was ready to begin animating!⠀
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While animating, I sometimes found myself needing shapes that I hadn’t made in the beginning, so many of the smear frames and shapes were actually made in the moment, under camera. That’s one of the things I enjoy about animating in paper - it’s pretty quick to fabricate under camera if you find yourself needing an in-between shape you hadn’t foreseen originally! I also love that paper allows us to introduce smear frames, traditionally a 2D animation technique, into stop motion.
⠀
The logo is made of cut paper assets animated on a downshooter, which means it’s animated on a flat surface with the camera fixed above shooting straight down.⠀
⠀
For the main assets, I sized and broke down our digital logo (made by @alexiseved) into separate parts, organized by color. I cut them out one color at a time using a silhouette cutter, which is sort of like a printer, but with a razor blade that can cut digital designs out of physical materials.⠀
⠀
Next, I assembled the cut assets, then drew and cut out all the smear and in-between frames by hand. Once all the paper parts were made, I was ready to begin animating!⠀
⠀
While animating, I sometimes found myself needing shapes that I hadn’t made in the beginning, so many of the smear frames and shapes were actually made in the moment, under camera. That’s one of the things I enjoy about animating in paper - it’s pretty quick to fabricate under camera if you find yourself needing an in-between shape you hadn’t foreseen originally! I also love that paper allows us to introduce smear frames, traditionally a 2D animation technique, into stop motion.
Animation Assets
Cami At Work
Downshooter Setup
AWC logo animation before compositing
Animation Wild Card presents, @cartoonraccoon & @leemitchellyoung of the up and coming @quiet.delight studio:⠀
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Ellen Coons and Lee Young work together on freelance stop motion projects in a small garage full of spiders. They conceptualize and direct together; Ellen is good with design, set building & animation; Lee is good with camera & lighting, post effects, sound and tech stuff.⠀
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Ellen Coons and Lee Young work together on freelance stop motion projects in a small garage full of spiders. They conceptualize and direct together; Ellen is good with design, set building & animation; Lee is good with camera & lighting, post effects, sound and tech stuff.⠀
Creators, @cartoonraccoon & @leemitchellyoung , shared a bit about the process of making the music for our *NEW* @AnimationWildCard Intro :⠀
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Below is our home music studio set up - Socks are a very good drum sponge!
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Below is our home music studio set up - Socks are a very good drum sponge!
Pluto on Vocals
Socks for Dampening the Drum
Lee in Performance Mode
Ellen at Work
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Thank you for viewing Episode 2 of Animation Wild Card!