|
|
Sven Bonnichsenindependent animator, puppet fabrication |
about me:I am an independent animator in Portland, Oregon. My current focus is on building metal armatures and puppet fabrication. For armatures, I've worked with aluminum, brass and steel. I am self-trained in use of the drill press, mill, lathe and silver solder. My knowledge of armature construction comes from hands-on practice and studying published materials by Lionel Orozco, Tom Brierton, Marc Spess, Susannah Shaw and others. For puppet fabrication, I am pursuing the process whereby one sculpts a maquette, creates a mold, and casts the final puppet in foam latex or silicone rubber. I recently traveled to Seattle on a series of weekends to learn human anatomy from master sculptor Kim Graham, who teaches the classical approach of building up a body one muscle at a time over an armature. I have made molds using silicone (for resin) and Ultracal 30. I am currently in the process of learning how to work with Dragon Skin silicone. I also have competency in computer animation using AfterEffects and LightWave 3D. My 12-minute animated film Madness from the Sea was shown at the 2002 H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival. I am listed in the Internet Movie Database for my work as an assistant animator on The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath. My work-in-progress, Let Sleeping Gods Lie, places digitally-enhanced actors in a computer-generated environment, interacting with CG creatures. I am co-founder of Scarlet Star Studios, and write articles for the Scarlet Letters blog. One fairly unique aspect of how I work is the extent to which I document artistic explorations. Here is a sampling of original tutorials and essays that I've written about stop-motion animation:
|
samples of my work:    |