top of page
LUKE THE ANIMATOR
Hello! My name is Luke Frangeskou and I am a stop-motion animator with a background in 2D animation.
After graduating in Film and Animation at Birmingham City University in 2017, I spent years learning different animating styles and decided on stop-motion as my preferred medium.
I have since graduated from a postgraduate degree in Animation at the University of the West of England where I'm currently working on my final year short film, 'Chef Gustav', which is shot in multiplane and uses stop motion animation mixed with exaggeration techniques of classic 2D animation.
CHEF GUSTAV
'Chef Gustav' is the short film I created during my postgraduate degree. The film is about a snobby chef forced to fight a mischievous cat who will stop at nothing to steal the food he is cooking.
Shot in multiplane and animated with plasticine, 'Chef Gustav' is stop-motion animation combined with techniques of 2D animation, heavily inspired by comedic and slapstick violence from cartoons such as 'Tom and Jerry', 'Ren and Stimpy' and the works of classic 2D animator Tex Avery, where characters' movement was highly exaggerated and would constantly change shape with every big action.
To achieve this effect, I first created rough animations in TV Paint for the actions that demanded exaggerated movement, then I made plasticine moulds of each different body shape and finally I would insert each mould as an in-between frame when animating the shot in stop motion, creating the effect of seamless, fluid motion.
Fig 1. The cat slaps the chef with a spatula.
Fig 2. The chef spins around like a cyclone after being hit by a spatula.
Fig 3. The cat stabs the chef's hand with a kitchen knife.
Fig 4. The chef attempts to attack the cat with a broken wine bottle.
SILICON PRESS MOULDS
With this project, I had the opportunity to learn how to make my own silicon press moulds and, as characters are changing shape throughout the film, press moulds are essential for creating exact duplicates of plasticine moulds that were altered before to keep the default character appearance consistent when he isn't changing shape.
Step 1. Create walls around the object to make a press mould and spray the inside with a release agent.
Step 2. Measure the correct amount of silicon and catalyst, mix them together and place the mixture in a separate container.
Step 3. Place the mixture in a vacuum chamber to remove all the oxygen.
Step 4. Pour the silicon into the 4 walls and wait 24 hours to dry.
bottom of page