DON HERTZFELDT
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FIG 1 : Don Hertzfeldt, 2015
Don Hertzfeld is a 42-year-old American animator, writer and independent filmmaker. He is known for 14+ different animated films created between 1995; when Hertzfeld was producing student films until 1998, then professionally and independently from 1999-present, and he even animated a Simpsons couch gag in 2014. In his time of animating Hertzfeldt has had 161 different wins for his work and 26 nominations; this includes being nominated for an Oscar in 2001, and 2016. [https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0381116/awards]

Hertzfeldt has a pretty traditional approach towards animating. He often draws on paper, using traditional art supplies like pencils and pens and then photographs the frames, like stop motion. Now he occasionally uses a drawing tablet, as seen in World of Tomorrow:2, as times are moving far forward from his preferred medium. Hertzfeld goes about how he is funded fairly traditionally as well, he makes films independently and has been funding his own work for 20 years. His short films are not cinematic pieces, they are pieces available on the internet for free almost at every request; “We've all become spoiled as audiences, expecting everything to be free online all the time.”, (Hertzfeld, 2018). So how does he fund his art? His work is available to buy or rent online from Vimeo, to show people sometimes work is worth paying for. 
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FIG 2: STILL FROM REJECTED, (2000)

His traditional style allows him to create weird and wonderful animatics that are not mainstream productions, and by working for himself, by himself, he is able to produce exactly what he wants to. This is a big risk within the art and animation industry, but with 161 wins under his belt, it's safe to say Hertzfeldt has a good grip on animating. 

Hertzfeldt seems to have a preference for not only just the traditional method of animating, but the preference for dark humour as well. He often animates without a complete script, to keep the work exciting and when asked about his consistency of producing work he says: 'I guess there’s consistency in sitting in sad, lonely, dark rooms for long stretches of time? But every project has its own nuances and challenges. The hardest thing to do is never a creative thing, it’s just bringing yourself back to that desk every single day.' Don Hertzfeldt, 2015. 

Hertzfeldt has a passion for animating stories as he imagines them, his short films are considered more like art work than just animated shorts. There's so much more to them, like the pencil and paper, the traditional way behind them and his amazing way of working with lack of script and technology.

Illustrations:
Fig 1: Don Hertzfeldt, 2015 [Photograph] At: https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2015/05/don-hertzfeldt-world-of-tomorrow-interview (Accessed on 9 October 18)
Fig 2: Rejected, I am a banana, [Film Still] At: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/WesternAnimation/Rejected (Accessed on 9 October 18)

 Bibliography:
Carter, S. (2015) [Online] At: https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2015/05/don-hertzfeldt-world-of-tomorrow-interview (Accessed on 10 October 18)
Mufson, B. (2018) Don Hertzfeldt Explains How to Go DIY and Still Make Money [Online] At: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/j5v7d8/don-hertzfeldt-world-of-tomorrow-2-interview Accessed on 9 October 18)