DIY Animation

Amateur animation auteurs bring their homegrown creations to life

The requirements for making an animated film are pretty low. With a camera that shoots in single frames and an idea in your back pocket, you're well on your way. This collection showcases an assortment of dining table Disneys, who combine homebrewed talent with the all-important dedication and patience required to bring a story to life one frame at a time. Not that this was necessarily a solitary pursuit. From the 1950s onwards networks of amateur animators like The Grasshopper Group collaborated on filmmaking and distribution, and animated shorts were often a highlight of the amateur filmmaking scene. 

33 items in this collection

For Your Pleasure

The Battle of Wangapore

Plastic Platitudes

Mr Eppynt a Clara'r Fuwch: Y Bunyip

Feline Fun

Mr Putty Takes the Stage

Mr Eppynt a Clara'r Fuwch: Yr Enfys

Dinosaurs and Things

A Fly's Eye View

The puzzle that kick-started the 1980s comes to life in this amateur animation.

Cubism

A Note from Above

First Animation

Petty party politics gets animated - literally - in this amateur cartoon with a message.

Problems End

Little Red Riding Hood

ABZ on Sport?

On The Fifth Day

Animal Alphabet

The Bureaucats

A Change in the Weather

Animation Cocktail

A Child's Guide to Catching an Elephant Kit

Extra-terrestrial plantlife is discovered in the Welsh countryside causing mischief for scientist Dr Felix Ackerman, filmed in 1977.

The Cure

Legend of the Red Dragon

Keep Wales Tidy / Cedwch Gymru'n Daclus

Echo: Some Reflections

Nightmarish visions become a reality in this imaginative production that mixes live action, animation, and special effects.

The Fifth Minute

Generation Gap

To carry on his important work the ego-maniacal scientist Dr Kelly must obtain another hand … a hand which begins to take on a life of its own.

Hand in Glove

Welcome to the Losers Club

Old China

A Short Tribute From Blues To You

The Battle

A female protagonist falls prey to the ‘Shadowman', who stalks his victim before attack.  Uses stop-motion animation as well as live action.

Shadowman