While this cd/dvd set was released in February of 2008, I am just now getting around to celebrating it here on this blog (where it's basically still February). They Might Be Giants
"Here Come the 1,2,3's" is an inspired series of songs with such bopping beats that you can't not dance around the room when you listen to them. And just when you thought the music couldn't be better, you'll discover a dvd with animations for each of the songs.
I am honored to be amongst the animators who were asked to work on this project:
in the Spring of 2007 I got a call from TMBG to please animate their song about Number 9, called "Pirate Girls Nine". This was a very exciting prospect for me, as I love music, love their music, and am happy when working on kids' educational projects.
Something very special about this project in particular was having John Flansburgh of TMBG, as the art director. He was extremely smart, funny and encouraging during the process, and I felt it was a collaboration in that he was guiding the vision of this piece while understanding and speaking my visual language. This band is so overflowing with creativity and is so super-productive that I am pretty sure they must have read this book. I would love to be able to crank out a tenth of what they do, but am just very happy to have had the chance to work with them and hopefully some of it rubbed off.
Here are some stills from the animation "Pirate Girls Nine":
and the animation can be found on the above-mentioned cd/dvd package, and can also be see via podcasts. Eventually, I will have it on my site as well.
The secret brain behind this animation, and the person to whom I owe a million thanks for his help, is Peter Hamlin. He not only inspired the palette, but he put forth a great effort helping me get this project done in the relatively short time we had. We animated my drawings using Flash, and Peter has since continued on to do his own music animations using After Effects, for Enstereo.
Thanks also to Tim Wilder, who helped get this output to its final form.
And last but not least, to animator Lucy Blackwell, who brought the 'Giants to me. I will be blogging about Lucy in more detail down the road, and my hat is off to her for her visionary animation work on this album for the song about Number 4, called "Apartment Four".
