Dustin Grella discusses his path to professional animator. His hand-drawn stop-motion techniques using pastels on slate are as interesting as the source of many of his pieces: voicemail messages left by friends and strangers. This article appears in Adobe Inspire Magazine.

Interdisciplinary art may be a fairly new term in the grand scheme of art’s history, but interdisciplinary approaches to art are far from anything new. From the scientist, inventor and painter Leonardo da Vinci to the poet, painter and designer William Morris, artists have explored and combined various modes of interest and expression for centuries.

Hint fiction is having another contest this year.  I have animated a number of these stories from the previous anthologies.  They are perfectly short and very well though out and leave much to the imagination.  It is basically a story of 25 words or less that hints at a greater notion.  So if you are a wordsmith you should craft one up and if you win first prize I will animate it.  Here is what Robert Swartwood said about the contest…

This week, Tin House Reels presents three shorts from Dustin Grella’s  Animation Hotline, a series that artfully expands and exposes the private moments people whisper into telephones.