TGIFAF
Little Thing
Or Kantor
Or Kantor is an animator from Tel Aviv, Israel. His film Little Thing placed as 3rd Overall/Best in Show, 1st in 3D Animation, and 2nd in Audience Favorite at the 2017 Florida Animation Festival!
FAF: The protagonist in Little Thing is so cute and sympathetic, but also very unique. Can you take me through your process of creating these creatures?
OK: I first drew a rough sketch of these creatures when I was sixteen. It was my first color drawing. Before that, I only drew in grayscale, black and white–grim overly dramatic things–and I wanted to make something colorful, cheerful, and naive. Every once in a while, I drew him again with alterations. I would lengthen his nose from a cone to a trunk, changing his colors, even giving him hands at some point. One day, I looked through my old sketches and he jumped out as the perfect choice for the germ of the story idea I had for this film. I removed the hands and brought him back closer to his original design because I thought if I didn't have hands, it would be two fewer things to animate and make animating go faster and easier. I was wrong.
FAF: What is the significance of the colors you chose?
OK: As for the significance of the colors, I'm afraid it's a completely idiosyncratic choice. The main creature’s colors are like Christmas decorations that have been heavily tarnished and grayed over time. The other creatures that come towards him are purple and blue, which are my wife's and best friend's favorite colors and they wear them all the time. So, this tarnished naive thing would find companions in colors of my loved ones. The other thing is that they worked well against the big yellow and grey city.
FAF: What is the central meaning of Little Thing to you?
OK: For me, it’s about the search for companionship and hope.