In our latest Creative Waffle session, we celebrated all things animation: from the dusty, nightmarish worlds created by cult-favourite filmmakers The Brothers Quay to mesmerising matchstick motions from Japanese artist Tomohiro Okazaki.
The Brothers Quay
The extraordinary Quay brothers are two of the world's most original filmmakers. The identical twins started to make animated shorts in the 1970s and have developed a cult following in the years since. Their films often feature creepy, brooding scenes and inhuman characters made from doll parts and other materials, and tend to lean heavily on eerie scores as opposed to dialogue. Check out some of their work, including the critically acclaimed Street of Crocodiles.
Animating Myself by Kevin Parry
Something a bit sunnier now: animator Kevin Parry says he's always looking to experiment with different ways of using animation in his work. In his Animating Myself piece, he's imagined himself as a stop-motion puppet, being pulled, prodded and slapped around a room by his own giant hand. It captures the style perfectly, and the short video gives a glimpse into how he did it, too.
Tomohiro Okazaki
Stopping short of playing with fire itself, Japanese designer and artist Tomohiro Okazaki has created a bit of niche for himself by playing around with matchsticks. In his animations, he places an unlit matchstick on a table and — again, using stop motion — makes the red head of the matchstick slip, slide, dance and dive through a variety of geometric paper models. We're not doing it justice with the description, so check it out for yourself.
Your Name by Makoto Shinkai
Your Name is an anime film created by acclaimed auteur Makoto Shinkai, and tells a touching tale of two Japanese teenagers — complete strangers to one another — whose lives become bizarrely entangled. A fresh take on the Freaky Friday-style, body-swap trope, with astonishing animation and a soundtrack/score by J-pop-rockers Radwimps so good that it's warranted join performances with the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, Your Name is a must see.
The PEN Story
We know it's been a stop-motion-heavy roundup, but we've perhaps saved the best 'til last. Creators of this heart-warming video took over 60,000 images to tell the story of life, from childhood to travel, marriage and old age, all shot in an inventive and original way. It's incredible, and must have taken an unholy amount of time and effort to pull off. Give it a watch —there are definitely worse ways you can spend three minutes.
We'll see you again next time for another roundup of eye-catching creative work from all over the globe! In the meantime, take a look back at May's roundup .
