Local Animator Belle Mellor
Local filmmaker and Latest TV presenter Deborah Espect speaks with Brighton-based animator Belle Mellor.
Belle Mellor is an award-winning animator and illustrator. She has made animations for the likes of MTV, English Heritage and the WWF and some of her illustrations have been featured in a number of publications, including The Guardian, The LA Times, BBC Magazine and Classic FM.
– When did you realise you had a passion for animation?
When I was a kid, I was obsessed with A-ha’s video for ‘Take On Me’, and the animated crocodile in the title sequence for ‘On The Record’ – but these references will only be relevant to those watching telly in 80s! It wasn’t until I did a short course in animation that I started creating my own work, and discovered the thrill of seeing your own drawings come to life.
– What was your learning process?
The learning never seems to stop with Animation.
I started out on a short course in traditional 2d animation, which led to an MA in animation at the RCA. I loved working the old school way, but it wasn’t very commercially viable, so I’ve since had to really improve my digital skills.
I’ve done some one-to-one training with Angie Taylor at the Creative Cabin in Peacehaven, and I found it hugely useful to get bespoke training. These days when I find that I have a skill gap, I find sites like Skillshare very helpful and user friendly.
I’m currently teaching one day a week at the University of East London, and have found the process really reinforces and clarifies my knowledge (hopefully it’s working for the students too).
– What medium do you use?
In terms of drawing, I was always very attached to my ink pen and a pot of ink, although in the last couple of years I’ve made a transition to drawing in Procreate for animation projects. It was hard letting go of the whiff of paper and the sharpness of a real line, but must admit the development has revolutionised my workflow, and made commercial projects so much more manageable and enjoyable! Rather disappointingly, nobody seems to be able to tell the difference anyway! I also use Photoshop for editing images, and After Effects for animation.
– What animators inspire you?
I’ve recently come across an animator called Boris Labbé, and find his work very absorbing and beautiful. I loved Golem, by 1927, and found their mix of theatre and animation delightful. I enjoy Phil Mulloy’s gritty work, and have huge admiration for Joanna Quinn’s 2d animation skills, and I can’t stop watching Ori Toor’s gifs.
– And where do you draw your inspiration from to animate?
In terms of commissioned work, I enjoy getting my teeth into all sorts of topics (quantum physics, climate change, Indo Pacific relations, mental health, and 13th century Scottish History have all been recent ones!). I try to find clear and witty solutions to complex briefs. I particularly enjoy working for clients with an ethical outlook that I feel aligned with.
With personal work, I often start with a strong emotion (anxiety, fear, grief, envy, joy) and then explore the theme.
I like bringing a bit of humour into difficult topics if I can, whilst keeping some sort of emotional honesty in there.
– You mentioned Ori Toor’s gifs – and in fact, you make your own! How do you decide what makes a good gif?
Yes, I do love making gifs. I enjoy their cycling nature. As humans, I think we’re often caught in some sort of repetitive behaviour, and think gifs can poignantly capture that.
I think humans can’t resist a nice bit of movement, a and a good gif has a hypnotic quality.
– It seems that a lot of people still don’t realise what a long process animating is. Can you talk us through it?
Yes, it can be painstaking. In the past I’ve been quite a disorganised person, but to thrive as an animator I’ve had to retrain my brain to resemble someone who likes filing and details!
For a commercial job, the first stage of the process involves project planning and sketching out some initial ideas. Then I create a moving storyboard, which evolves into an animatic. Next I’ll create artwork on paper or Procreate and puppets in After Effects, sometimes using the DUIK plugin, and if time and budget allow, I’ll add as much frame by frame animation as I can.
– Have you seen different trends in animation throughout the years?
I think there are a lots of strong trends at the moment, fuelled by particular bits of software (Procreate, Illustrator and DUIK in particular). Some of it is lovely, although there is a risk of work starting to look quite generic…
– What’s your favourite part of being an animator?
I find the whole process very absorbing and challenging, and still get a kick out of seeing drawings and ideas take on a life of their own!
– And your least favourite?
On any project I usually have a mini meltdown when the bulk of work feels overwhelming, and I run around and say everything is awful and it’s all a disaster (just a small Mellordrama!). I have to go and reboot myself by the sea or somewhere calming, and then get back to the hard graft needed to finish the project…
– There seems to be quite a lot of animators in Brighton! Why do you think that is?
Yes, Brighton does seem to be bursting at the seams with illustrators, animators and graphic designers. I suppose it’s an arty, open minded town, and not too far from London, so it’s ticking lots of boxes for creative folk.
– You have done a couple of short animations that have a very Brightonian backdrop (the sea, bins! and The Little Mustard Shop) – do you have plans to do any more Brighton-related animations?
Yes, I was having great fun using the Adobe Aero app to create them, and will definitely be doing more soon!
– If you could make an animation about anything, of any length, with any resources you might need, and without money being an obstacle – what would it be?
I love the mix of live theatre or dance and animation, and feel very excited about projection mapping, AR and VR, so I think it would involve some sort of combination of all the above!
– And lastly, what work of yours can we look forward to seeing in the near future?
I’ve recently finished a project with Historic Environment Scotland, creating some animated projections for The Castle of Light at Edinburgh Castle. It was great fun doing some site specific work, and I’d love to do more of that sort of thing down the line. I’m also working on a couple of other projects with historical themes, which will come out later in the year!
You can check out Belle’s work on her website, Vimeo and Instagram page.
