First Animation

In 1999 I started taking animation classes at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. I was already working in computer animation however I wanted to do something of my own as well as learn more. My first class was traditional 'cell' animation which was even more fun because it got me to draw - something I wish I would do more of. For our final project we had to create a 60 second animation. Usually that would mean 600 to 700 drawing but I decided to do what is called limited animation. Basically artists use one drawing and move it around or pause often on a still image. I ended up being a bit ahead of the curve because now most cartoons on Cartoon Network are done in this style.

'The Nissa' is an idea I still think about and would love to do more with. This project was done as if it were a trailer or advertisement of a movie. The Nissa is a troll that is assigned to protect a house. The main problem for him is the house itself and all it's annoyances like dust bunnies and electrical shorts (as briefly seen in the trailer). He flies around on a magical hammer that might just be smarter then the Nissa is. It helps him out. Oh, and he turns to stone during the day which accounts for all those ugly 'statues' in the gardens.
The narrator in the movie is me and the story I tell is not completely true, although my Dad did talk about the Nissa when I was very young. The Nissa (or Nisser) is a part of Norwegian folklore and is a very michevious troll. The most famous story involves the Nissa, a farm girl, and a bowl of oatmeal.
I did this project in Macromedia Director because that was what our Professor knew. Everything was first hand drawn, inked, then scanned into my computer. My friend Bryn Hendrickson (a comic artist himself) helped me ink the backgrounds. I would really like to redo 'The Nissa' in Adobe After Effects because I could do a little better job with the better tools. Would that make me like George Lucas? Should I leave it as is?
nissa_final.wmv