Friday, November 21, 2008

Adam Phillips and Michael Swain (Scott's Pick)

For my last post, I've decided to use two different animators rather than just one. This is simple because I couldn't decide which one of them I wanted to post. They are not related and they are each awesome for their own reasons. The first animator I picked was Adam Phillips, who in my opinion may be the best internet animator alive. His work is simply amazing, fluid and colorful. He is an ex-Disney animator who left the corporate world and became an indie animator of nearly unmatched talent. His backgrounds are stunning. His characters are relatively simple, yet they have a whole lot of personality. His Brackenwood series (found here: http://www.newgrounds.com/collection/brackenwood.html) consists of the adventures of a single character in a beautifully developed world, which is particularly surprising given the series lack of dialogue. If you watch no other, than I suggest the YuYu (http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/310851) simply because it requires no knowledge of anything else in the series, isn't that long and is incredibly beautiful. If I had to relate his work to anything, it would be that Ornulf Opdahl for his ability to create an atmosphere and a full world without being too excessive about it. Here are some pictures of his:


But seriously, go watch his animations. They're amazing. Now, onto the next animator of the day: Michael Swain!


I picked Michael Swain, simply because he is awesome. He winds up putting a lot of detail into his backgrounds and characters, but doing very minimal movement with them. He still manages to create the illusion of life despite the little amout of movement that he uses. Check out his Mastermind series (all his animation can be found here: http://www.theswain.com/cartoons.htm). If I had to relate him to any of the other artists posted here, I'd have to say T.S.R., whose ability to create a strange atmosphere through their work is lauded by Emily. I don't know if I'd call his work grotesque, but twisted would certainly fit. His ability to create a strange mood is quite admirable. His other famous series would be the Blockhead series (found at the same link above), which is a far less obscene and even more quirky series. In this, the animation is even simpler, and the character design for much of it consists of a guy in a recliner (the conscience) and a smiley face with a body attached (the psychotic). These guys are some of the best animators on the web, and I seriously suggest giving them a look. Here are some pictures from Swain, but as I've written before, I highly suggest that you go and watch their animations, as these pictures really don't do their work justice.

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