Stills from music videos created by Plastic Horse: 'Terror' by Futuro Pelo ft. La Flaca; 'Les Eaux de Naples' by Bleu Toucan

What is it like working as a duo? Have you had to adapt since the pandemic broke out?

PH: It’s nice being a duo, it keeps team meetings brief and minimises any trouble from having too many opinions floating around. We both handle all the aspects of animation and illustration but divide things up accordingly to suit each other’s strengths or mood depending on the project. During the last few years we’ve been working from different locations in the UK, therefore the pandemic hasn’t changed anything to do with our work luckily.

We also regularly collaborate with an excellent sound designer called Giacomo who works under the name Lost Machines. Sound is often overlooked in animation but the work he does really elevates what we do and plays an important role in our commercial projects.

Plastic Horse's showreel with music by Lost Machines

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Alice, as an illustrator why do you think clients are drawn to you for animation work?

Alice Bowsher: I think the simplicity and boldness of my work lends itself to animation really well. There is a straightforwardness with my drawings that in turn allows for a larger scope of movement and energy without over complicating things.

Looking at the results, it's as though the characters are made to move very intuitively, how do you go about this?

PH: We love animating Alice’s work! Her illustrations are perfectly suited to a more instinctive kind of animation, easily malleable and manipulated which means that all the fun stuff your brain thinks up can be put down in motion pretty quickly and effectively. Her characters are so expressive too that our job is made so much easier, we don’t really have to strain to add fun.

Do you think it is important to pair up with the right animator?

AB: Yes!! As soon as I worked with Plastic Horse, I could tell we were totally on the same wavelength. From the subtle movements, to the timing, I feel we share a similar sense of humour as to how we imagine things to be brought to life. As soon as a client mentions animation, I don’t think of anybody else but them.

Illustrations by Alice and animation by Plastic Horse: ANNA Money; Green Flag

Are there any challenges to working with supplied static illustrations, as opposed to creating everything yourself?

PH: There can be challenges, a lot of illustrators use complex texture and photoshop file systems which aren’t as well suited to animation, so you always have to be on your feet in this line of work. However, challenges can be fun sometimes. Creating everything ourselves is preferable, but there is a lot to learn from working with other people and seeing how they approach things.

As an illustrator, how does it work from a technical point of view?

AB: You have to make sure you’re organised. To make the animation as smooth as possible, I use photoshop to cut up the separate elements of the illustration into different layers, of which all need to be clearly labelled individually. When I’m working for myself, my photoshop files can become a bit chaotic, so it’s good practise for me to become more orderly.

Character illustrations by Alice Bowsher, animated by Plastic Horse for YCN 

Do you ever animate your own characters?

AB: Only very simple gifs, I would love to learn how to animate properly myself. In between jobs I often try to brush up on my skills a bit more, but it’s something that you have to give a lot of time and dedication to properly master. I greatly admire animators and the work they put in. I would absolutely love to one day make a kids cartoon full of my own characters. I have in the past made a few lo-fi stop motion films, which have a nice DIY charm to them which I like, but it’s nice to have proper polished digitally animated examples of my work.

Do you think animation is an essential skill at the moment for creatives to learn?

PH: Ideally we’d say no, just so we keep our jobs! The great thing about learning animation is you develop your skills across so many different areas. Working with time, sound, illustrating, designing typography, working with colour. You give yourself so many more options and combinations for creating work, there are so many ways you can be an animator. So yes, have a go as it's pretty fun and there is a lot of demand for it these days.

AB: I think having an understanding of how your work could potentially look animated is important, but I don't think its necessary for all illustrators to also be animators. Everyone's work is different. As mine is heavily character based, I think it lends itself well to movement. I wish I had paid more attention at university in our animation modules.

Links

About Alice Bowsher

Alice creates joyful illustrated characters and large scale murals, full of imagination and intrigue. She has illustrated and authored a number of children’s story books, and her clients include Bloomsbury Publishing, SoulCycle, ANNA Money and Boden.

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