Thunk of the Day is OFFICIALLY SELECTED for Broadway Cinema’s Short Stack Festival

Posted on January 13, 2023 by sojoanimation

Thunk of the Day “Favourite Year” has made the OFFICIAL SELECTION for Short Stack – Independent Short Film Night at Broadway Cinema This Sunday at 5:30pm!

This wonderful Thunk was one of a series commissioned by Small Steps Big Changes to celebrate chatting with our kids. It was dreamt up by Emily Taylor who is probably my biggest hero of creativity! I have been working with her now for a couple of years on a multitude of projects and have yet to meet her in person, so Sunday feels like a pretty big deal!

This is Emily! Her mum said, “This is the face of one excited little lady after reading your email! How bloody exciting!!”

Small Steps Big Changes: The Moon

Posted on October 10, 2022 by sojoanimation

Check out the corker of a Small Steps Big Changes episode. I feel like I’ve put the dream team together with this one. I’m performing along side the immensely talented Kieran Hardcastle, who plays both the Orange Monster and Blue Monster and the awesome Emily Taylor, who has been providing voiceovers for me since she was 4 years old and never fails to delight me with the oomph she puts into each line.

You can find all of my videos for Small Steps Big Changes here.

Sojo in LeftLion Magazine

Posted on September 30, 2018 by sojoanimation

I do love LeftLion Magazine so very much! Each issue is bursting with everything that needs shouting about in Nottingham. They champion awesomeness and help artists like me reach new eyes and ears. I was so very chuffed to be invited in to LL HQ, along with some of Nottingham’s finest illustrators to discuss a new, mammoth collaborative project! Let me tell about it…

The Goose is Loose

See the whole cartoon

For each issue of LL magazine a new version of ‘The Goose is Loose’ would be taken on by a different illustrator (or illustrator/writer team).

Our brief was this…

You know that goose on the goose fair round about? Well he’s gone missing. Now make a cartoon about it. Make sure the first frame is two people in a pub discussing the fact that he’s missing.

My Sojo version was mostly made on my iPhone 6, with a cracked screen, using an app called Adobe Sketch. It hit the streets of Nottingham in the September issue, which of course is the big run up to Goose Fair.

And now that the Goose is actually back, I thought it was the perfect time to share a little Sojo post all about it.

I hope you all enjoy it.

Lakeside Arts at Cantrell Primary School

Posted on April 29, 2015 by sojoanimation

Last week I was invited to run a Sojo Animation workshop alongside the Lakeside Arts learning team at Cantrell Primary School in Bulwell.

The kids in year five have been thinking about ‘persuasive arguments’ and have been using the book ‘The Great Kapok Tree’ to explore their ideas. What a cracking idea! Hats off to the teacher that thought of this. In the book the animals try to persuade a man not to cut down their tree. Rachel from the Lakeside Arts learning team transformed the class room into a rain-forest the evening prior to the workshops, ready for the children to discover in the morning. When I arrived at the school even the reception staff were full of smiles and excitement about how fabulous the room looked. I was in a less rainforesty (made up word alert!) room, but armed with a projector. The children animated their rain forest animals in ONLY 2 FRAMES (that’s extra tricky) and then handed over their freshly snapped jpeg files to me, to take away and compile into one, quite frankly, BRILLIANT animation. Well guys…I promised you that your characters would come alive in seven days so here you are. 🙂

You should all feel extremely proud of yourselves. I was blown away by your creativity!

The beautiful simplicity of a flip book.

Posted on March 9, 2015 by sojoanimation

Not long ago I was invited along to Lakeside Arts to get involved with some research into learning how to better design and make sensory theatre experiences for young audiences.

The research was conducted by University of Nottingham PhD student, Roma Patel. You can follow her work here.

Anyhow, this is all by the by, the point of this blog post is this…

On Friday I walked into university and my tutor, Sean Myatt, handed me a fabric covered, cube shaped box with a lovely card from Roma, thanking me for my help with the research.

And this lovely cube was packed full of the most gorgeous flip books. I couldn’t believe it! I hadn’t expected a pressie at all, but as far as gifts go, this was pretty perfect for a Sophie.

There is something very special about seeing the raw line art, those very simplified early thoughts of the designers and animators, and being able to hold those still sketches in your hands and with a nifty move of your thumb suddenly make those sketches come alive.

It’s fascinating! My kids agree. I think it’s time we make a flip book of our own.

Walt Disney’s Nine Old Men is a beautiful tribute to Walt Disney’s original animators and their matchless skill. Though the animators were mostly in their 30s and 40s, Disney jokingly called them his “Nine Old Men” in reference to a 1937 book of the same name. These animators are acknowledged as Disney Legends and unparalleled contributors to the history animation. Now their work is being celebrated in a collectible box set comprised of nine flip books, each featuring a beloved classic Disney scene.

So thanks Roma, you are very lovely.

Sojo Animation and Lakeside Arts @ Woodlands School for a ‘World Book Day’ themed Workshop.

Posted on March 4, 2015 by sojoanimation

Tomorrow Sojo Animation will be joining Lakeside Arts at Woodlands School to run a World Book Day themed workshop. We’ll be diving into the world of Roald Dahl and creating some of our own particularly horrible characters! I feel very proud to be involved. Thanks to the West 8 Education Improvement Partnership, which aims to: Raise standards of literacy. Increase parental involvement to improve school attendance and raise standards of achievement. Raise aspirations of children, young people, and their families in the community. Further develop the extended schools and and services in the area.

Update:

Wow! What a lovely day. I met some wonderful kids this morning, who created some fantastic characters. I wish I could share with you the presentations the children gave when sharing artwork with the group. Agh well… Here are a few pics…

This is a 35 year old lady who works with children and has 198 of her own children. She has red eyes, but not because she’s evil.

These dogs were all drawn by the same child. You wouldn’t believe how quickly he could create these sketches. I was completely blown away.

This was an evil platypus who was able to plug himself up to a conductor and harness the energy from lightening to do terrible things.

So it turns out that Woodlands School, a special needs school in Aspley, is full of the most incredibly brilliant children.

Thank you for having us.

‘Boo’s Nativity’ is to be screened @The Beeston Film Festival.

Posted on January 2, 2015 by sojoanimation

What a wonderful start to the year. ‘Boo’s Nativity’ has been selected to be screened at The Beeston Film Festival. Look at the lovely laurels! Click the link to find out more!

I am a lot a bit excited about this!

Holly’s Glowing Snowman

Posted on December 4, 2014 by sojoanimation

As ‘The Glowing Snowman Workshop’ fast approaches I thought you might like a sneaky peek at one of the little snow-fellas. This one is called Tom. He is six, lives in the woods and is apparently best friends with a bear. He is definitely not a baby duck and he doesn’t fancy wearing a hat.

I wonder what your snowman is going to be like 🙂

To reserve your place on the workshop click here. Alternatively you can send an email to hello@sojo.pro

Thunk of the Day #3 ‘What Not to Name Your Teddy’

Posted on September 5, 2014 by sojoanimation

The third ‘Thunk’ in a series of short animations celebrating the imaginations, artwork and voices of young children in Nottingham.

This ‘Thunk’ features the artwork and voice of a particularly brilliant 6 year old girl.

	Danielle on Sojo News: The Magical Mythica…
	Lana Cole on The Grumpy Hamster
	Sojo Animation in Le… on Big Bad Wolf
	mummypower on Sojo Animation and Lakeside Ar…
	sojoanimation on ‘Finish me, colour me!…

sojo animation

Celebrating the imaginations of children through puppetry and digital animation.

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