Is there a Bill Plympton in the house?

Date published: May 4, 2005

This past Monday, Bill Plympton was on-campus to work with an illustration class and then later to give a lecture.

I mentioned to several co-workers that Plympton, the Oscar-nominated independent animator and cartoonist, was going to be on-campus and was blown away because none of them knew who he was. Not even the coworker who's undergraduate work was in illustration knew of him!

According to the email announcing his lecture:

Bill Plympton has been amusing and provoking audiences with his surrealist, off-kilter take on everyday life for several decades, and he has been a major figure on the indie-animation scene. His works have made the rounds of countless international film festivals, garnering grand prizes and other prestigious awards and recognitions. He was recently nominated for the second time for an Oscar for best animated film for his hilariously funny and Plymptonishly-weird animation, Hair High. (His first Oscar nomination was in 1988 for his short cartoon, Your Face.)

It was cool just listening to him talk and to see how quickly he could do caricatures and such. His lecture was also motivating inspirational in some ways. I mean, he's existed as an independent animator for decades now. Clearly not an easy task. He also just had a very down to earth personality.

Wanna learn more about this Plympton guy? Check out Plympton's official site and watch some of Plympton's short films on YouTube.