The Indie Animation Revolution // (PART ONE) How it All Began

[@Meppity]

⭐WHAT'S YOUR FAVE INDIE ANIMATED PROJECT?? ⭐ Why not add it to this spreadsheet!! docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1d1lw0ye4o4e9ddlueb0jHKdb3UphnpmqLyycZEDgurk/edit?usp=sharing

[@Zenzuke]

You forgot one of the last independent projects I've seen The Worm, although being from Mercury Filmworks it's a little less... indie and more just produced without lots of money.

[@Meppity]

@@Zenzuke I didn’t forget it! I just wasn’t able to include EVERYTHING!! And as you pointed out, Mercury Filmworks is a studio that works with larger companies so it’s not quite as indie and what I chose to talk about in this video. Feel free to add “The Worm” to the spreadsheet if you’d like though!

[@Strawberryrot]

The milgram project is an interactive animated series on KZbin but I'm not sure if it's independent

[@ryanrockers]

Love the sharing of animators and projects. I know of a few great animation channels that are always posting new projects (my own shameless plug here). Is there a list of channels like that?

[@gektoast4968]

I really love bigtop burger. It’s so charming

[@HexQuesTT]

I never see anyone acknowledge Worthikids, he's honestly my biggest inspiration when it comes to animation

[@asmaelle2530]

Love their work so much !

[@Imakebigotsseethe]

Worthikids is so creative and talented it's bonkers I love em

[@amazing5998]

Based

[@madstergarden187]

Absolutely I just discovered him this year! I’m so glad I did! I was in tears the first time I saw season one. So good!

[@kcmoon2214]

Aw man hell yeah! I love his work. It's from his shorts that I started following him.

[@calamondiin]

The number of warrior cat MAP animators who started off as kids just learned the ropes who went on to become incredibly talented animators makes my heart so happy

[@poweroffriendship2.0]

The world of web animation recalls that the Internet gives everyone a creative freedom with their unique styles and have a story to tell.

[@thffkfltm]

Well said.

[@celinegautreaux8703]

Although this video is focused on animation I feel like the game Omori deserves a reference. What started as a rough sketchy trailer on Kickstarter to a BEAUTIFUL and heartbreaking game with simple yet stunning animation, practically perfect music, and an emotional story that invests you into it completely for over 24 hours of game time went through SO MUCH to get to where it is today. And it deserves every last bit of fame and reward it gets. I will never shut up about Omori and it has changed the way I view and interact with the world

[@GaelRice]

Awesome research! I'm an indie animator that started off with undertale animations and now I'm almost 3 years into my original comic series. Sadly social media and marketing is absolutely exhausting, so my presence online has decayed drastically. They want you to post at least once a day or else they won't even bother showing your future posts to your followers?? I wish algorithms werent so $h*t

[@IDontReallyWantAYoutubeHandle]

i knew your username sounded familiar!! To this day I still know all the lyrics to fishy love, but don't even know the name of the original song used lmao. Keep at it my dude 👊

[@theanonymousunknown1949]

This is a very helpful video. Not only does it discuss where indie animation started and the deep history of it, but it just encourages me more to start animating a bit more, or at least draw more oc’s, so thank you for the video😋 looking forward to part 2

[@2dchai]

Thrilled to see more people talking about the history of indie animation! I wrote my Bachelor's thesis on this topic and remember how hard it was to find sources, but I really enjoyed the research stage for this paper. :)

[@Meppity]

Ooooh sounds so interesting!! I’d love to know what aspects you focused on as it’s such a broad topic!

[@princessthyemis]

Thank you for writing it and adding to the conversation around indie animation!

[@marymations]

SAME!! I'm writing a research paper on this same topic right now! I'd love to hear some recommendations on what sources to look out for!!

[@thinthle]

Things that might be mentioned on the Patreon cut I imagine and if not are fun to look up for those interested in more animation history: - 1914's Gertie the Dinosaur - 1941's United Productions of America, better known as UPA - 1905-1981's Lev Atamanov one of the founders of Soviet animation art - Hayao Miyazaki's Studio Ghibli - Artists like Don Bluth, Richard Williams, Tyrus Wong, Mary Blair, James Baxter and their influence on upcoming artists and studios branching out from Disney

[@lone_thebroadwalkqueen]

Honestly after the hazbin hotel video you made it kinda left me with a bad taste in my mouth about you and how you feel about independent animation (if that makes sense) but watching this really shows me how much love and respect you have for the medium 💕 KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK YOU’RE INCREDIBLE!!

[@dj-um7el]

True

[@becca9907]

as an animation nerd, this video is incredible well done!

[@r.achel044]

so glad harry partridge was mentioned. he's such a talented artist and a funny, nice guy

[@zeketheweeb9980]

To be honest I find it easier for people to just write their story, before they plan to animate. It's not easy to start making animation, I used to get so frustrated as a kid feeling like my work would never become big because I didn't know how to animate. However that is not the case. What I find interesting about Inde animation as a whole is its unique storytelling. You don't need to have a high budget to make the one best story ever because it just comes down to just really dedication and passion towards that. Well my physical art has gotten better, I myself just want to focus on writing my story first before I imagine it as a whole. Being very inspired by Japanese light novels, I plan to make my own light novel so that I can show people my art and storytelling. It's very hard to start your own animation and it can take time and effort to get better at it. But what I can say is people should never stop making their art, because as a whole everyone comes from different backgrounds and indie animation is just a good way to show people art and storytelling even if it is good or bad.

[@kori-rr8ro]

i’ve been inspired by indie animation since i was little and it makes me so happy to see various projects revived and so successful. i’m beyond happy to see so many masterpieces!!!!

[@bellasartcoven]

One example of a MAP that I think is really cool is “Rise of the TMNT reanimated,” where each artist is an assigned a clip from season 2 ep 10b. Like, they are straight up reanimating a whole episode, and I think that really speaks to the dedication and talent of these artists

[@Cosmic.Noodles29]

BABE WAKE UP MEPPITY JUST DROPPED A NEW VIDEO

[@TulipsForBrains]

Honestly, I've been really inspired by a lesser remembered show created by children on youtube from around 12 years ago. They're much older now, but their show has still been running to this day. What really inspired me though was how they were able to create a series and fandom in such a mind-blowing amount of time. Despite it being silly, the show they came up with started a massive amount of other indie creations more than I've ever seen under the title of object shows. The main show is named Battle for Dream Island. There has been more hate for it over the years because of people trying to put other down with their own creations, but it's still really impressive to me.

[@Tarikkb]

I finally have time to watch this !!!really hope indie animation breaks through to a new scale these years with everything that has been happening in the with the big studios , art for people , exactly !!! Also it was so nice meeting you today at lightbox ❤️

[@hankhumble3552]

I never hear anyone talk about him, but is anyone else subscribed to Vailskibum? He is soo good for keeping up to date with current animation news.

[@madstergarden187]

I honestly I feel the need to put down Amelia B and Louixie and finchwing There both amazing artists and animators that draw highly detailed animation in two weeks Have both influences younger generation to improve beyond what kids were making in the 2012 The warriors cats animation fandom has improved 50 time more with both of there encouragement to study real cats and humans people at age 13 are making more Disney quality animation by them selfs now. All thanks to these three and more

[@madstergarden187]

I would put down more but I feel like these three have had the most impact, out of anything.

[@bella_daze3092]

You talked about SO many indie shows that became my absolute favorites! Lackadaisy, Infinity Train, The THUMBNAIL has one of my favorite Glitch shoes besides Murder Drones❤❤❤ I am in love🎉🎉🎉

[@ErickBernardo_]

Something that really baffles me is to see how BFDI is usually ignored by the Indie Animation community. Like, it's really a fun show. Their creators started it in 2010 when they were kids, it's just for fun, and now today, it's on it's fifth season. Like BFDI itself is a accomplish thqt should be talked about. Idk what everyone else thinks about it, but that's my opinion lol

[@pumkinpatchwork]

honestly I wish you put FENNAH’s channel on the list. his character designs and animations inspired a lot of the way I design characters today, and I really wish his channel got more attention

[@poweroffriendship2.0]

Not to mention that FENNAH wrote a book about the characters.

[@tamaramolina8055]

this is an amazing video!! i'm currently on my second year of animation school and most of my professors work on indie animation while doing freelance work , even if you got your own big studio job, indie is always gonna be present and important.

[@chadyonfire7878]

brilliant presentation of various subjects within the developpement of animation , keep up the good content

[@squesh5974]

I personally quite love deadsounds autodale series as well as the stand alone and dinosaur stuff

[@alexdemaster_5796]

Hi Meppity!!!!!!!!!! it was so nice meeting you yestureday at lightbox!!!!!!!!!!!!! thank you so much for talking abt indie animation too! the talents of small creators really needs to be seen :3

[@tawnyfrogmouth2022]

OMG!! i'm so so glad mystery flesh pit got a mention. i got so excited when you said "this isnt animated but worthy of mentioning" and i was hoping it would be mfp!!

[@adeadphish7931]

Just started the video but i immediately love that you are going into the grand history of the medium including stuff like the Magic Lantern and Phantasmagorias. As long as humans have created art, they have worked to being their art to life through motion and it really is incredible where it started

[@flareboi]

diamond jack was one of my biggest inspirations growing up, i’m so glad to see it here 😭

[@JustMeMorgane]

Very impressed by the way you condensed months of classes on the early inventions into a few minutes and it was so much more interesting... I don't think remembering the names/inventors is very useful, it's just cool to know how things evolved! Can't wait to see the next part, this one was super interesting and showed me a lot of projects I'll now go and watch ~

[@anni3805]

I already enjoyed your videos, and I am also obsessed with those lecture type videos specifically about history, so this is literally the best thing I’ve ever seen. Can’t wait for part two!!

[@sparkydablaze]

HECKK YES so glad to see some map rep in videos like these! :D

[@SakuraOpalArt]

Anya!!! This video is so so well researched and informative!!!! I hope you get the sleep you so deserve!!! (also kinda wish I watched this video before my animation history class mideterm for review HAHA,,,)

[@Xenderman]

This is a super underrated video! One side of animation I really wish you touched upon is the animation meme community. They have an extensive history and have also resulted in some people who are absolutely fantastic animators. I heard you mention warrior cats MAPs, which are very similar and has a lot of overlap with the animation meme community, but I would have liked to see some of the indie animators in it mentioned, like Typh or Chinjireta

[@DasiaBlue]

This is so well done! The last time I’ve seen your content was a video that was done in a bit of bad taste, so seeing how much you’ve grown as a creator is really awesome!

[@imenemostefai8979]

I never saw anyone mention underveres when it comes to online indie animation But good GOD do i love the show and all the effort that the creator puts on the the show to pop up at least one episode in a year. I really wish she'd get more recognized in the online indie animation industry

[@sammydeangeles]

Thank you for explaining about Indie Animation as a whole topic. This is really helping me thinking about animation and artist as a big dream for me. Big Love from Sammy ❤

[@pey12slash09]

liam vicker’s work not being here is criminal

[@Kripaww]

Thank you for creating this epic look at the world of Indie Animation. Realizing I have missed out on a lot of amazing projects over the years!

[@CaptainLightner]

SAW ENA IN THE THUMBNAIL AND HAD TO I MMEDIATELTY WATCH HEHJGHSGKJHS EDIT:LITTERALLYU JUMPED IN MU SEAT WHEN I SAYW THE DREA MBBQ TRAILER EDIT 2: JOEL MENTIUION GOES WILD

[@strawberry-mews]

I just love these types of animations I want to be a animator someday. All these animations inspired me, I just love the stories people have created it’s truly beautiful.

[@ItsMeChrisWade]

Thanks for creating such a comprehensive breakdown on Indie Animation and its history! This seemed like ALOT to put together. Appreciate you and other KZbinrs lookin out for the Indie Sphere :)

[@youniqesparklez]

I don't usually follow someone after one video but Thai was such a well put together exploration I'm amazed

[@stepmanialdash]

one of the most underlooked animators out there is MinusT, not because their animations have like 10k views (all of his full animations have passed a million), but because they're so fast paced, action-packed, and just go ham on so many sfx and whatnot, that I genuinely think it's comparable to into the spiderverse in quality, and he makes them all by himself. Making bullet hell fight animations in 3d is like playing winter wind with one finger.

[@fennwenn3317]

I wish No Evil had come up in the opening, No Evil by Betsy Lee is pretty good! It's been running for a long time and you have to respect the dedication of that.

[@aninamated3984]

How fantastic! I am so happy for all the independent work that has come out! They are some of my favorite animations ever and they have inspired me so. Can't wait to see more great shows! ✨️

[@abaldy64]

I’ve always admire to indie animations creating such an amazing concept of storytelling and rich visualization. I say that we should support and share the knowledge to the small creators who want to get their stuff recognized, it’s the only way to beat the algorithm. Whoever read this comment, I really hope that your creativity, talent, and passion get recognized and keep going!

[@metallicsnake.]

Hey friend I had no involvement with this indie animation. It's going for an early 2000s anime feel its called the mutant Busters versus Bird Death #1. I am a humble fan with no money who just wants to spread the good word

[@foxlogic5568]

Thank you for making this video! I love that you dive into animation history! Please keep making more videos!

[@Sci-fi-gu7]

Gravity falls, the owl house, amphibia, Steven universe, adventure time, Kipo, she ra, centaurworld, the list goes on.

[@robbie_the_mastermind2176]

Pomni is a little clown girl and she is adorable for that.

[@calvineagar1863]

I honestly just clicked because I saw popular indie projects that I thought should get more attention showcased, but there was so much research and knowledge poured into this I had to stay, thank you!

[@timtam3730]

This is an amazing video and I throughly enjoyed it so Imma leave this comment to give ya that algorithm boost but I was a bit surprised that you didn't mention anything about Alan Becker because I think Alan had a huge impact on the KZbin indie animation space with his Animation vs Animator series and it's spinoff Animation vs Minecraft like at one point one of his videos was the most viewed video on KZbin with Minecraft in the title, and there were actual Harvard proffessors reacting to his Animation vs Math video.

[@Meppity]

Thank you for your kind words!! Don’t worry - I haven’t forgotten about Alan Becker. I discuss his work in the upcoming videos :)

[@timtam3730]

@@Meppity Cool! I will be turning in :)

[@Nugcon]

Cannot understate how much I love seeing Alan's growth throughout the years, from some kid making stick figures with his computer to managing his own animation team, making the coolest anime esque fight sequences and telling detailed stories without any dialogue

[@timtam3730]

@@Nugcon The fact that his videos barely have any dialogue is pretty genius because it allows people from all over the world to enjoy the series without any language barriers:)

[@Yosoyladisco]

WAIT THIS VIDEO NEEDS SM MORE ATTENTION

[@1toldyoualready86]

Your videos are just amazing and helpful

[@fanfals]

56:45 I think thats the first time I've heard someone call Twitter "X" without calling it Twitter first...

[@pariyanaseri-hagh1730]

i mean this video is just so nice to watch. thanks for sharing it, i loved how i just recognized so many references because i also grew up early 2000s. Was a great nostalgic ride and yet so informative annd beautifully presented!

[@danielibarra7375]

Wow, that comercial was amazing.. 35:09 there’s so much to say about the who video too, amazing. Wish I would have helped with the campaign.

[@mariesmith1071]

This is was very interesting and informative💗

[@pringrings22]

My heart was sinking when you said "Remember MAPs?". Like "NO Please not THEM"😭😭

[@arcadecaptainYT]

Underrated gems: -Gundar -Baman and piderman -dick figures -Hellbenders

[@wiiagent]

incredible documentary on animation. subscribed.

[@qnefe1977]

This video is real gold in 2023 youtube

[@loreyxillumina]

Finally someone appreciating Ena by Joel G, it is such a good show and Jack stauber!

[@screamsingay724]

Absolutely LIVING for that W2H clip in the opening montage

[@Officialtweed_13]

To be completely honest, we need more Indie project/animations, then corporate slop

[@notsostealthmission5184]

48:03 Dawg why are the fight scenes here genuinely fresh as fuck

[@its_loosha]

I’m surprised you didn’t mention the two “Spirit of Christmas” short films by Matt Stone and Trey Parker that laid the groundwork for South Park.

[@its_loosha]

Also, you mentioned Shrek: Retold, but you didn’t even acknowledge The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie: Rehydrated, what the hell?

[@Meppity]

Sorry bro, I can’t mention every. Single. Project. Under the sun!!! Besides, this is literally only part one :’0 Matt and Trey get their whole own segment in the next instalment… :P

[@its_loosha]

@@MeppityDo you have an ETA for part 2 yet? It’s been almost 7 months and I’m excited for it!

[@Meppity]

@@its_loosha Hi!! I appreciate your excitement!! Unfortunately life got in the way and I’ve been super busy. On top of that, the script took several different directions meaning the video will be much bigger than originally planned. I’ll be working on it later this summer and hopefully releasing in the fall (oof, basically a year late!! Hopefully it’ll be worth it though 👀)

[@mariesmith1071]

Lackadaisy is my favorite and ramshackle

[@heyheyitsjae2475]

I thought it would be a fun idea to keep track of some of the projects here I've seen Butter Lover Diamond Jack Best Friend In a Heartbeat Worthikids Joel G/Ena Jaiden Animations Meat Canyon (granted, only one or two of them) Kekeflipwork and Joel Haver's artstyles both ring a bell, but I'm aware they also have a chunk of imitators. I'm sure I've seen a ton Long Gone Gulch Amazing Digital Circus Fandom works can blend together a bit, but I'm positive I've seen that FNAF one and even though I know nothing about Heathers I'm pretty sure I've seen that Heathers animatic Shrek Retold Undertale FNAF Petscop Mystery Flesh Pit (Appreciate that Wendigoon shout out) Helluva Boss

[@somewherefar1286]

KZbin algorithm has been getting better

[@Game_Hero]

Hope A Fox in Space gets covered in part 2.

[@Zulu_Squad_Mr.Kindom]

Fun fact:the first indie series was eddsworld,created by edd gould in the 2003 and in the 2005 it was the sign of the fisrt youtube epoca.

[@BVK.]

54:58 Thanks for giving a heads up of what to expect in order to thrive in being indie, Knowing what will be faced gives a sense of direction and preparation, 👐.

[@shadowsfromolliesgraveyard6577]

This is a great dive into the history of Indie animation, but I didn't really get a good feel for why Indie animation is doing well again now After being really successful during the early internet I feel like there was a big gap where Indie animation was doing really badly online, but now it seems like there's a resurgence of Indie Animation again this year. I thought this would be covered & explained more going into this

[@Xenderman]

this is only part 1

[@Tipsy_Turby]

NO BC I GOT SO HYPED WHEN I SAW WELCOME TO HELL IN THE THUMBNAIL

[@campjessdesigns]

been following for awhile! got procreate dreams and im so happy to learn something new!

[@hectormanuel8360]

I’m sadden for the omissions of Quirino Cristianni and Lotte Reiniger 18:51 Wait I take my words back: 23:27 Crazy you got a strike on a public domain film… 25:56

[@spaceexplorer88]

May favorite Indy animated project is fs either the amazing digital circus or the mystery skulls animated series

[@isabellacarvalho7469]

I love the quality of your videos

[@tawnyevergreen4169]

I am in love with this video, I love animation and the ways it’s evolved over time, and I appreciated learning about the earliest animations. I am so emotional about this aaa Also! A couple indie animators who became popular through KZbin and I didn’t see mentioned are shandzii and toastyglow, I highly recommend checking out shandii’s Ship In A Bottle animatic and toastyglow’s Escape from Divinity series if you haven’t seen them :)

[@thcarneiro]

That is a huge research and organization effort! Thanks for sharing your knowledge!

[@angelix_8]

Genuinely, thank you so much for making this video!

[@thegeekclub8810]

Hey, great video! Just wanted to let you know that while you said the plushie campaign was ongoing until the 30th, the website says that it ended yesterday!

[@Meppity]

Thanks for the heads up! Should be fixed now!!

[@LilArrowInkorperated]

I like that you added meat cannon in there

[@Nintendofan781]

I've seen this happen a mile away people are not going to studios anymore and indie works are examples of that.

[@beautai549]

i had to pause the video to comment that you brought up some serious ptsd with that casual kiwi mention

[@pringrings22]

Can't wait to be on this list in like within the next year

[@HotDogTimeMachine385]

I wonder if you could consider the first seasons of RWBY indie animation. They were made by a bunch of nerds with a dream and two self-taught animators. The company only later developed an animation studio, but at first they were just improvising. I feel like that was a notable moment in what animation on youtube could achieve.

[@notsostealthmission5184]

53:06 LMFAO WENDIGOON MENTIONED

[@Faleko_Fares]

Masameer was the one who started the whole Indie animation industry

[@GreayWorks]

Nice video! Love to see more indie animated projects come to life and I got indie animated pilot out just saying if anyone wants to watch the big bad wolf and little red riding hood fights Simpson colored robbers in pig masks

[@captaincuttlefish]

This is super cool, and I look forward to more parts, but I feel like changing the thumbnail would be best? Half of the video is just general animation history, and not much about the “indie animation revolution” - series prominent in the thumbnails only get passing mentions like ENA or Vewn or Jack Stauber - I just wish there was more info on the indie animators most people know AS WELL as the more underrated ones and their impact on animation in general Despite my criticisms, I did very much enjoy this video, and I look forward to the next two parts!

[@Meppity]

Thanks for the feedback. I’ll be covering current indie artists in more detail in the next parts. Fair point regarding the thumbnail but eh, I don’t think anyone would be clicking on a thumbnail of a praxinoscope anytime soon. I was considering drawing a different thumbnail of cavemen but haven’t had an inch of time this week - this was my backup.

[@DOCTOR.DEADHEAD]

I wanna network with other animators and join teams for projects but my stuff just doesn't have a big enough reach man. I also don't really know where to look in order to meet people like that lol

[@schobdo8632]

I would love to watch a video on the "unexpected genius of illumination" :)

[@mrpillows]

Never seen your videos before but my very first thought was “whoa, what camera does she use?” And then I went to the description and saw that this is your first video using this camera lol

[@Meppity]

Haha good timing!! And yeah… The old videos all look so ugly now haha

[@jameshenry9157]

I should make a studio for indie creators and the people have ideas for the future of animation from 3D & old time cartoons and help Walt Disney fixing their issues from making ideas 🤔

[@harry.t.radio95237]

I was surprised to see animations like “Double King” from Felix Colgrave and “Afternoon Class” from Orso get mentions here. Though it would have been nice to see animators like Tontaro or Xploshi get mentions as well, as well as series like “Metarunner” or “Murder Drones” or even videos like “TeamFabulous 2” or “8-bit Trip”. You could have even featured channels like Pwnisher and his 3D render challenges.

[@banditoftheeast7488]

This video was great. I look forward to part 2.

[@mintmintmintmintmintmintmint]

Suggestions for next video: umami and boisvert. Best way I can describe these two are like the Death Grips of indie animation. Love them lots. Check them both out!