Today we’d like to introduce you to Phoenix Rose.
Hi Phoenix, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I was born and raised in Oceanside, California. I’ve always been interested in storytelling and I knew I wanted to use art as a method of doing that. In college, I studied 2D and CG animation but about halfway through my time there, the Covid Pandemic hit and I got my first internship in a stop-motion studio in LA called Open The Portal. I ended up accepting the job and became a full-time puppet fabricator, starting as an intern and ending as an honorary department head!
I learned a lot there and really rediscovered my love for puppets and stop-motion animation in general. Since then, I’ve done other work at both Open The Portal and Apartment D, as well as opened my own home studio called Little Green Bug Animation Studio, where I’ve done projects for companies like SyFy, USA, Lego, Tongal, and more.
I’ve found I really like doing social media work and may branch out more into that though the possibilities are endless!
I’m currently working on trying to get 26 items on a bucket list done by the end of 2023 and I’ve been making weekly videos following that process.
I’ve been doing all sorts of stuff from publishing a book, making my own clothes, recording and producing an original song, destroying a wedding dress a la paintball, and so SO much more! It’s been a wild experience so far and I still have much more to do! I’m certain I’ll get to complete a lot of my list, though finishing it all in one year would be quite a feat! (Won’t stop me from trying, though!)
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The biggest road bump was definitely the Covid 19 Pandemic. It was very eye-opening in a lot of ways which were important for me to experience in order to grow into who I am now, but it was far from the way I had planned things to go and still very traumatizing for us all.
I ended up getting a lot of work during that time since animation really carried a lot of previously, live-action projects.
In a lot of ways, the Pandemic weirdly worked out in my favor- which feels weird to say.
I don’t know if I would have opened up Little Green Bug Animation Studio or even started my Bucket List Project, nonetheless been able to if the world hadn’t forced us all to slow down and really evaluate what is important to us.
Another big struggle that seems to be really impacting all of the stop-motion industry in general, is just the lack of a union. It really doesn’t make sense why stop-motion doesn’t have one when both 2D/CG Animation and Live Action do. It drastically impacts the pay of Stop-Motion Animators and while I absolutely love the industry, it makes it difficult to stay in it when the pay can be so low compared to our other animator peers working in different mediums.
However, I think the push in film in general to see Animation as Cinema instead of just for children may be the shift we need to create positive change for stop-motion animators in that way.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I tend to work primarily with puppets and animation (2D and stop-motion) but I’m also interested in social media management. I love mixing media styles. One of the works I’m proudest of is a short I made for SyFy/USA to air in between ads during Pride Month of 2022. It was a mixed media/stop-motion short called The Monster and Her Girlfriend and dove into topics of queer identity and why so many LGBTQIA+ audiences identify with aspects of horror movies. It was a love letter to both horror as a genre and the queer community.
A good portion of my work is aimed at the LGBT community and I’m so glad I’m able to make work for and about shared experiences, whether it be professional studio work or a silly animated short I post to Instagram.
I put so much of myself into my work and I think that’s part of why it stands out. I love experimenting with different techniques and mixing media together to create something new.
I’m always trying to keep my audience in mind while keeping true to myself and giving myself enough grace to allow for the mistakes that make the work look and feel human.
Are there any books, apps, podcasts or blogs that help you do your best?
I find talking to people to be a big source of motivation and inspiration. I try to learn from my peers as well as any ol’ stranger. I find myself looking back to those conversations a lot for inspiration. Old movies can also inspire a lot. I like to watch RankinBass cartoons for inspiration but even older stuff like classic French Noir or German Expressionism is great too!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/ivoxus?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/ivoxus/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phoenix-rose-makes-animation
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@ivoxus
- Other: https://ko-fi.com/P5P39O1U
