Willy Hartland Is Animating His New York City Sketchbooks

Brooklyn-based Willy Hartland is an independent animator and storyboard artist who experiments with combining digital animation with clay models and cut-out techniques. His new ten-minute short film, New York City: An Animated Sketchbook is the subject of today’s Crowdfund Friday. It’s quite literally a living sketchbook of everyday life in the big city:

“The genesis for the film happened organically, growing out of the thousands of sketches I’ve done of New Yorkers over the past several years. Drawings of urban life as seen in subways, parks, cafes, bars, basically anywhere people will sit still long enough to capture with my quick contour line. Places where the dynamism of the city is evident and part of the concrete jungle that is the visceral pulse of a thriving city.”

The finished film will incorporate Cinema 4D, Flash and cut-out animation. With four minutes of the film already in the can, Hartland is asking for $17,500 to finish animation with an animation assistant, post-production, and to hire a sound designer and music composer. The campaign is currently at $7,896 with 26 days left to go. Rewards include signed DVDs of the completed film, original artwork, and the opportunity to appear as an animated extra.