Jun 9, 2020

Leica, adult swim, indie artists lead the animated scene of Ticktock

Tiktok is not just about viral dance, ASMR, and kids prank their parents. Scratch the surface - or rather, take advantage of the algorithm - you can find a wealth of playful, creative art.

Video sharing platforms that host user-generated clips of up to 60 seconds are incubating their own animated scenes. Highlights from the platform are featured in the Submarine Channel article.

This article leads with a great video by the animators of Leica (Cora Line, Missing Link). Riff on the fight challenge trend, where users watch remotely stage mock battles through smart editing, the minute-length movie features epic stop-motion scuffles between animated characters (some of which will be familiar to studio fans). See it below:

No one said animation was safe. ##fightlaikaanimator##fightchallenge##animation##stopmotion##laikastudios##laikansathome##fyp##foryou

? Original Sound - laikastudios

Laika was an early adopter of tiktok: Regularly uploading fun segments of animation and behind-the-scenes snippets to the channel Adult Swimming is another major player on the platform.

However, most of the animation accounts are from independent artists, and many of them have gained fame on tiktok. Submarine Channel's articles finger the best, including Tooty McNooty, an illustrator and animator with 4.1 million followers, and Trent Shy, who specializes in creepy clay animation works, a stop-motion tribute to my favorite blue characters! ##stopmotion##animation##satisfied

? Original Sounds - trentshyclaymations

Tiktok has been growing rapidly for years, but the lockdown has sent usage into the stratosphere. The company's ambition is also growing.Last month, it hired Kevin Mayer, Chief Architect of Disney+, as its new CEO, sending a clear signal about its intention to become a mainstream streaming platform.

Another task of Mayer is to manage the reputation issues of Tiktok.1 The platform, widely used by minors, has been accused of violating U.S. child privacy laws and has been caught on fire for failing to remove toxic content. It is also the subject of perennial privacy and security fears, due to its Chinese ownership.

(Top image: "Blue Clay" by Trent Shay.)