Why I'm animating The Magic Lantern.

I’ve made this yesterday and have now watched this little trailer about 50 times since. Have a look, see what you think.

It’s a mood, right? I needed to make a trailer for an upcoming thing I’m working on, and after listening to

Eric Falden

’s song “Puppy-Doo Dandelion: an improvisation in F Major” on the piano, I asked if I could use it, and he very kindly made a new recording for us. Truly stunning, isn’t it?

But there is more to this, there always is. This is not the first animation I have done about TML.

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I have been sharing all kinds of different aspects of what these Magic Lantern books are about for a while now.

I have told you about the origin of the idea, about the writing and illustration, and even the business side of it all. A whole lot of different facets that are all connected by a common thread, the books.

This series is a monumental task and requires most of the available time I have, so it makes no sense to spend time making an animation that will not be on the final page, right?

I think my wanting to do it came down to these few things.

Skill. I take a lot of pleasure in learning new things, and learning new skills. And after learning illustration, animation seems like a natural progression. So the temptation to learn it was right there.

Feel. It allows me to get a feel for the world. I spend so much time thinking about it, putting it all together on screen gives me a clearer sense of direction.

Indulging. In the end, it also gives me a sense of what could be. I think it’s in most, if not all of us, the hope to one day see our works adapted and brought to life. This is a selfish way, perhaps, of getting to peek through that window.

And earlier this year I did this:

5 seconds of animation.

It was an ordeal to be sure. I had to learn a whole new workflow and toolset, I fumbled through all the basics of animation and finally got serious about painting landscapes. I even got to go out and hunt for sounds to include here, from the wind to the birds. But the whole is definitely greater than the sum of its parts.

I took away a couple of things from this experience.

Animation is not a solo activity. There are just too many facets to it, and it’s such a large amount of work that it’s a burden best shared. I hope to one day get to do more of it with others.

I really needed to double down on the style, I have since worked on it and am very happy with the portraits of my characters, but I do wish the animation had that same style. Something to do on the next one perhaps?

The Magic Lantern - Books 1 to 3

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To you, from the home of magic.

Marco D Blanco.