Episode 10: Animating the World and TikTok for Creators with Hombre McSteez
“Everyone starts drawing as children, I just never put my pencil down.” Hombre McSteez shares his unique animation style and how he harnesses the power of social media.
Armed with an iPhone, Sharpies, correction fluid, and transparent sheets – Los Angeles based Marty Cooper, a.k.a Hombre McSteez, is a ‘reality dementer’, as he creates stop motion animation over real life scenes.
He graduated from San José State University in California with a focus on storyboarding, and worked on major projects such as Ice Age: Continental Drift and Angry Birds.
Marty aims to make ordinary things extraordinary, and bring life to simple objects that are normally overlooked. He is known for his technique of drawing whacky characters on transparent plastic cels, an old-school animation technique that he has taken to the next level thanks to smartphone technology.
With over 150,000 Tik Tok followers in a matter of months, he has won multiple animation and Snackable Content awards, headlined GIF FEST 2019, and worked for the likes of 7UP, and Cartoon Network.
The Creation of the Universe
Created in 2008, this is one of the first Hombre McSteez animations. His first Aug(De)mented Reality YouTube video went viral after which his channel started to gain traction.
The rare Speckled Freeway Yak
One of the early cell drawings that led to his signature style. An animation technique that is within everyone’s reach.
“A fun animation that opened a lot of doors for me. You can play with perspective, dimensions and depth.”
The Laundry Monkey
Marty’s first attempt at taking his still cels and animating them. The animation style is known as Onion Skinning, a technique used in 2D computer graphics, allowing animators to see multiple frames at once.
“Over the years, I’ve explored the full realm of possibilities of cel animation.”
Aug(de)mented Reality 3
“You need to put all these animations on a reel and send them to Cannes Advertising Festival.” Following advice from a friend, Marty created his compilation which blew up on Reddit and generated 4 million views in a weekend in 2015.
“The next thing you know I was flying to Chile to film a 7UP commercial. It was a whirl-wind few years.”
Grumpy Butter
An evolution in Hombre McSteez animation technique as he uses stop motion and hand-drawn characters.
“Many people don’t notice it’s not with the cels anymore. But if the story calls for it, I still use the cels.”
Collaboration with @24framesofginger
Marty talks us through how the collaboration started and the process.
The power of TikTok for Creators
Marty has established a strong following through Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube and Tumblr.
“Social media is a calling card…You’re handing out a business card every time you post.”
TikTok is currently Marty’s biggest platform, “Most people that use TikTok are using it to create something, whereas, for Instagram, people are posting their lives. People who use Tiktok are not looking at it to catch up with friends or to see what their friends are up to. They're looking to be entertained.”
It all starts with the Sketchbook
Marty draws inspiration from his surroundings and social media, and organises his creative ideas through his sketchbook. He uses idea mining when looking for inspiration.
“I use my sketchbook as a creative tool to mine out different ideas. Experiment with shapes and let my brain go down weird paths.”
Idea Mining is an exercise that involves applying the purpose of the idea into different thinking strands. You start with something simple and observational, like your surroundings, then experiment with that by isolating or breaking down each element. Playing around with these elements, you can start your composition by piecing them together in a way that fits.
Recommendations
Marty also enjoys watching art series and animations and has recommended some that are work checking out:
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