Animated Inspiration: Crayon Dragon

Toniko Pantoja, a second year student at CalArts created this short film that really tugs at the heart strings. As I write this, Toniko's film has been making the rounds on the internet for about three weeks and is worth a look. One of the things that impresses me the most is that this is her second year film. While her designs may not be as polished or her animation as fluid as one expects from professional animators, you can see that she's got a solid grasp of story and her designs show a good sense of weight and timing. With a little more experience, she'll easily launch her animating skills to the next level of professionalism.