The Elephant’s Song from Lynn Tomlinson on Vimeo.

This is the story of Old Bet, the first circus elephant in America, set to a tune sung by her friend, an old farm dog. Their story is portrayed in colorful, handcrafted animation, created frame by frame with clay-on-glass and oil pastel animation.

→ instagram.com/clayonglass

Animated and Directed by Lynn Tomlinson
Written by Lynn Tomlinson and Sam Saper
Music and lyrics by Sam Saper
Vocals by Deletta Gillespie and Brooks Long
Instrumentals and arrangement by Trucker Talk: Abby Becker, Greg Bowen, Jessica Keyes, Rich Kolm
Sound Effects by Elsa Lankford
Sound recorded and engineered by Shea Springer, Sweetfoot Studio
Additional animation by Lucy Saper and M.C. Tomlinson

AWARDS:
Audience Choice, Best Short Animation, Providence Children’s Film Festival, 2020
Climate, Environment, Biodiversity Prize, Festival Le Temps Presse, Paris, 2020
Best Music, TOFUZI, Batumi, Georgia, 2019
Best Narrative Short, Programmers Award, 32nd annual Virginia Film Festival, Charlottesville, VA, 2019
Best Animated Short, Sidewalk Film Festival, Birmingham, AL, 2019
ASIFA East, Independent Films, 1st Prize, NY, 2019
ASIFA East, Excellence in Music, NY, 2019
ASIFA East, Women in Animation Award, NY, 2019
Global Insights Stellar Award (Top Award), Black Maria Film Festival, 2019
Best Animation, NatureTrack Film Festival, CA, 2019
Best Short Film, Environmental Film Festival at Yale, New Haven, CT, 2019
Best Animation, Nevada Women’s Film Festival, Las Vegas, NV 2019
Best Animated Short, SENE Fest, Providence, RI, 2019
Best Sound Design, Chesapeake Film Festival, Easton, MD, 2019
Best Environmental Short Film, Chesapeake Film Festival, Easton, MD, 2019
Best Animation, Big Muddy Film Festival, Carbondale, IL, 2019
First Prize, Made in Baltimore Short Film Festival, Baltimore, MD, 2018
Best Experimental, 2nd Place, Los Angeles Animation Festival, CA, 2018
Best of Festival, Peekskill Film Festival, Peekskill, NY, 2018
Best Animation, Peekskill Film Festival, Peekskills, NY, 2018
Award of Merit for Animation, University Film & Video Association, Las Cruces, NM, 2018

INTERNATIONAL FESTIVALS:
Maryland Film Festival, Baltimore, MD, World Premiere, 2018
Ajyal Film Festival, Doha, Qatar, 2018
Hiroshima International Animation Festival, Japan
Animation for Peace Program, 2018
Ann Arbor Film Festival, Ann Arbor, MI, 2019
Cleveland International Film Festival, OH, 2019
Athens International Film Festival, Athens, OH, 2019
Canton Film Festival, Canton, OH, 2019
Cinekid, Amsterdam, 2019
High Falls Women’s Film Festival, NY 2019
Environmental Film Festival in the Nation’s Capital, DC, 2019
Athens Animfest, Greece, 2019
ASIFA South Animation Conference and Festival 2019
San Francisco Independent Film Festival, CA, 2019
Wild & Scenic Film Festival, Shastaland, CA, 2019
Cinema Sousa, Xiamen Animation Festival, China, 2018
Vaasa Wildlife Festival, Finland, Finalist, 2018
Aesthetica Short Film Festival, York, UK, 2018
San Jose International Short Film Festival, San Jose, CA 2018
China International Green Film Week, 2018
Woods Hole Film Festival, Woods Hole, MA, 2018
Edmonton International Film Festival, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, 2018

1:16am on Wednesday 17th July 2024

The Elephant’s Song from Lynn Tomlinson on Vimeo.

This is the story of Old Bet, the first circus elephant in America, set to a tune sung by her friend, an old farm dog. Their story is portrayed in colorful, handcrafted animation, created frame by frame with clay-on-glass and oil pastel animation.

→ instagram.com/clayonglass

Animated and Directed by Lynn Tomlinson
Written by Lynn Tomlinson and Sam Saper
Music and lyrics by Sam Saper
Vocals by Deletta Gillespie and Brooks Long
Instrumentals and arrangement by Trucker Talk: Abby Becker, Greg Bowen, Jessica Keyes, Rich Kolm
Sound Effects by Elsa Lankford
Sound recorded and engineered by Shea Springer, Sweetfoot Studio
Additional animation by Lucy Saper and M.C. Tomlinson

AWARDS:
Audience Choice, Best Short Animation, Providence Children’s Film Festival, 2020
Climate, Environment, Biodiversity Prize, Festival Le Temps Presse, Paris, 2020
Best Music, TOFUZI, Batumi, Georgia, 2019
Best Narrative Short, Programmers Award, 32nd annual Virginia Film Festival, Charlottesville, VA, 2019
Best Animated Short, Sidewalk Film Festival, Birmingham, AL, 2019
ASIFA East, Independent Films, 1st Prize, NY, 2019
ASIFA East, Excellence in Music, NY, 2019
ASIFA East, Women in Animation Award, NY, 2019
Global Insights Stellar Award (Top Award), Black Maria Film Festival, 2019
Best Animation, NatureTrack Film Festival, CA, 2019
Best Short Film, Environmental Film Festival at Yale, New Haven, CT, 2019
Best Animation, Nevada Women’s Film Festival, Las Vegas, NV 2019
Best Animated Short, SENE Fest, Providence, RI, 2019
Best Sound Design, Chesapeake Film Festival, Easton, MD, 2019
Best Environmental Short Film, Chesapeake Film Festival, Easton, MD, 2019
Best Animation, Big Muddy Film Festival, Carbondale, IL, 2019
First Prize, Made in Baltimore Short Film Festival, Baltimore, MD, 2018
Best Experimental, 2nd Place, Los Angeles Animation Festival, CA, 2018
Best of Festival, Peekskill Film Festival, Peekskill, NY, 2018
Best Animation, Peekskill Film Festival, Peekskills, NY, 2018
Award of Merit for Animation, University Film & Video Association, Las Cruces, NM, 2018

INTERNATIONAL FESTIVALS:
Maryland Film Festival, Baltimore, MD, World Premiere, 2018
Ajyal Film Festival, Doha, Qatar, 2018
Hiroshima International Animation Festival, Japan
Animation for Peace Program, 2018
Ann Arbor Film Festival, Ann Arbor, MI, 2019
Cleveland International Film Festival, OH, 2019
Athens International Film Festival, Athens, OH, 2019
Canton Film Festival, Canton, OH, 2019
Cinekid, Amsterdam, 2019
High Falls Women’s Film Festival, NY 2019
Environmental Film Festival in the Nation’s Capital, DC, 2019
Athens Animfest, Greece, 2019
ASIFA South Animation Conference and Festival 2019
San Francisco Independent Film Festival, CA, 2019
Wild & Scenic Film Festival, Shastaland, CA, 2019
Cinema Sousa, Xiamen Animation Festival, China, 2018
Vaasa Wildlife Festival, Finland, Finalist, 2018
Aesthetica Short Film Festival, York, UK, 2018
San Jose International Short Film Festival, San Jose, CA 2018
China International Green Film Week, 2018
Woods Hole Film Festival, Woods Hole, MA, 2018
Edmonton International Film Festival, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, 2018

1:08am on Wednesday 17th July 2024

The short film “Cracking Chirality” produced by the absurdly talented Day’s Edge Productions and The Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation, Inc. was published online today and will on Curiosity Stream shortly. Dusty Studio did the animation with myself and Miles Mason doing the stop motion, Phillip Evans doing much of the illustration and Yalan Wen doing the motion graphics. Thanks Neil, Nathan, Page, Kori and Alex for begin so easy to work with. :)

“Cracking Chirality” from Chemistry Shorts™ explores how the essential molecules of life, like DNA, RNA, and proteins, acquired their homochiral structures and how magnetic rocks at the bottom of a prebiotic lake, may have set the stage for life as we know it.

12:52am on Friday 8th March 2024

Confluence: Safe Crossing

SVA MFA Computer Arts 2023 Fall Exhibition

Opening reception: Thursday, November 9, 6-8pm

School of Visual Arts (SVA) presents “Confluence: Safe Crossing,” an exhibition of animations, films, prints and sculptures by MFA Computer Arts students, alumni, and faculty. Curated by India Lombardi-Bello, department assistant to the chair and outreach coordinator, and department administrative assistant Jack Meisterich, the exhibition will be on view from Wednesday, November 8, through Monday, November 27, 2023 at the SVA Flatiron Gallery, 133/141 West 21st Street, New York City.

At the opening reception on Thursday, November 9, alumnus Dustin Grella (2009) will park his Animation Bus outside the SVA Flatiron Gallery for visitors to gather, draw and animate. A timelapse video will be created and shared at a later date.

5:43pm on Friday 3rd November 2023

Vermont Animation Festival

Announcing Dustin Grella as the
2024 VAF Keynote Speaker!

Dustin Grella is an animator and documentary filmmaker whose work attempts to glean glimpses of colorful insight into the seemingly mundane.

6:26pm on Friday 27th October 2023

O FESTIVAL | Festival Animage

Animation Hotline, 2022 (Ohio Edition) will be screening in the Competition-4 programme at the ANIMAGE festival in Recife, Brazil on October 3-8, 2023.

Poster Design by Natalia Gregorini - IG @nataliagregorini

ANIMAGE2023_LivretoDigital.pdf

6:47pm on Tuesday 3rd October 2023

Animation Bus #03 from Dusty Studio on Vimeo.

Current progress on the animation bus that has chalkboard side so that people can draw on them.

11:37pm on Wednesday 23rd August 2023

Read the full New York Times article at:

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/14/arts/music/dead-and-company-final-tour.html

4:43pm on Friday 14th July 2023

Winners of the 53rd ASIFA-East Animation Festival! | ASIFA-East

Animation Hotline, 2022 (Ohio Edition) earned a thumbs up by the ASIFA community! Thank you for your love and support over the years. :)

7:05pm on Friday 26th May 2023

Water bottles with hand drawn labels that started in 2006. https://dustystudio.com/project/new-york-city-tap-water-2012/

7:18pm on Wednesday 5th April 2023


This is just a mockup, so it isn’t what the bus looks like right now. Although it is an actual photograph of the bus. I’m planning on putting some colorful painting on the front and the back and then the middle will be chalkboard paint, so that when we are traveling we can have other people draw on the bus and we can draw on it ourselves and make animations. For some reason I keep talking about myself in plural.

4:30pm on Wednesday 15th March 2023

Happy 6th birthday to Buddy, my life’s co-pilot.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CnmduKfrwvqKX4z8wZIFN319ujPymmiEK5xgHg0/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

3:00pm on Thursday 19th January 2023



I bought a school bus this summer, a little midsized school bus, and I’m going to turn it into a little mobile animation station with a studio in the back and a bed up front. (at Kenton County, Kentucky)
https://www.instagram.com/p/CjI5YK3LQm1/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

8:23pm on Friday 30th September 2022

Drawing on these football cards. (at Los Vegas Nevada)
https://www.instagram.com/dustingrella/p/CXmhA3Ylnd6/?utm_medium=tumblr

11:07pm on Friday 17th December 2021

Remote studio setup in Medina, OH https://www.instagram.com/p/B–JamoDL8t/?igshid=6za6w8eecsiq

6:58pm on Tuesday 14th April 2020

This is a scene that we did for the Lars Von Trier film “The House That Jack Built”.  This is Jack’s (Matt Dillon) explanation of the rising passion he holds for his art.  

12:58am on Tuesday 14th April 2020
MFJ

Hey everybody!! Millennium Film Journal wrote an amazing cover story on the studio. They came to visit and interviewed Dustin, and took some beautiful photographs of the space, the work, and the people who make it all happen. We’re so happy to be in this great journal and to have this article to show off. Visit the link above to snatch your own copy today!

5:16pm on Monday 28th January 2019

Animation Hotline #208 - Fengshui

oh hi Mark.  This one is pretty funny.  We were trying out some new materials, and really like how it turned out.  Jen did the absolutely amazing water-painting.  She is so talented.  Right now we are super busy working on the animated segments for an upcoming documentary about Daniel Berrigan, a Jesuit priest, that should (hopefully) be going to film festivals later this fall. But in the down time we are also working on new Animation Hotline videos.  I talked with Annabelle the other day and she had a great story about her name, so hopefully she is going to be calling in and telling that story, but for right now we are depending on you to call and tell your story!

Call us at (212)-683-2490!

4:01pm on Thursday 2nd August 2018

Animation Hotline #207 - Mask

Ah, yes, it’s Tuesday again! We’ve animated another anonymous monologue: one about moving into the city and the struggle to find first full-time employment fresh out of college. Changes and transitions mark growth but bring new doubts. Stay tuned for next week, more chalk dust (and possibly feng shui) coming your way! Have a story to tell/know someone who does? Call us at (212)-683-2490!

4:31pm on Tuesday 15th August 2017

Animation Hotline: Organs (#206)

A late night/early morning caller explains their floral-gory dream, helping us to create the B-Rated horror film we always wanted to. We’re busy keeping our earlier promise to crank these puppies out, which means you should be calling! Call now, call here, call there, call everywhere, call blue fish, red fish, one fish, two fish. You get the point. (212) 683-2490

6:22pm on Wednesday 9th August 2017
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