Not so long ago, I realized that I could create simple animations in Procreate, my iPad digital drawing program. As a child, my dream was to be a Disney animator. I’d draw The Genie from Aladdin, Simba from the Lion King, and I’m pretty sure that visceral dinosaur scene from Fantasia influenced my artistry as well. (Watching Fantasia as a kid at home from school, high on a fever, is the only way to watch it.)
I never became a Disney animator, for better or worse, but I did continue to draw. And although I am far, far, far from being an animator, I do enjoy animating.
I’m drawn to the storytelling aspect of animation. As a “still-life” cartoonist, you tell stories as well, whether it’s a “captured moment in time” one-panel cartoon or a rhythmic multi-panel cartoon. Animations can be as surreal as you want them to be, as down-to-earth, colorful, simple, extravagant, or as poetic.
Mine are concise. Because drawing frame after frame is a lot of work! I am in the process of learning Procreate’s new animation app, Procreate Dreams. It’s fun, and it’s something I have zero time for (which is part of the fun!)
Here are few animations I’ve made. Some new ones and one or two you may have seen. They are tiny, small things.
Am I Falling Down, Or Are Things Falling Up
Devoured by a Story
Potential vs. Kinetic
Relationships: A Cycle
Passing By
But I’m curious! What animates you? What was your favorite movie to watch when home from school? And what do you not have time for but still do anyway?
Thank you for reading. And watching!
And be well.
-Avi
Love your cartoons. I hope you have more time to animate. My husband worked in an office next to cartoon animators, who were drawing cartoons for a movie. It was one of the last movies with hand drawn cartoons. I remember the noise as they flipped through the drawings on semi-transparent paper, to see if the animation worked.
Aladdin. The Disney animated one.