The Art of the Animator Part I

The animation films presented in this dynamic 3-part series demonstrate a variety of principles and techniques, from the traditional to the experimental. In Part 1 and 2, the animators discuss their works in progress while excerpts from the finished films provide a stunning illustration of the frame-by-frame process of animation. In Part 3, the films are presented in their entirety.

Ishu Patel--Afterlife, Bead Game, Paradise
In Afterlife, a bas-relief surface of plasticine is lit from behind, while the manipulation of thousands of beads went into the creation of Bead Game. For Paradise, two-time Academy Award nominee Patel returned to traditional watercolour, along with the intricate "hole punch" technique he describes in the film.

Caroline Leaf--The Street
In The Street, two-time Academy Award nominee Leaf works directly under the camera, adding and subtracting paint over a glass surface.

John Weldon--Elephantrio
Using ordinary pencil crayons, Academy Award winner Weldon displays what is considered a "traditional" animation technique: thousands of drawings on sheets of paper; each one only slightly different from the next.