Review: Thom Glick. Illustrator, animator, writer of The Giant.

There is something subtly disturbing about the illustrations of Thom Glick. One is not sure if it is the reoccurring appearance of a boston terrier, the numerous monsters that become nightmare fuel, or if it is the realization that not all the human figures have proper anatomy. Whatever the case, Thom Glick’s illustrations are humorous and disquieting all in one go.

Coming from a formal training in illustration, Thom has just begun to expand his skills and to experiment in the realm of animation. He has taken his drawing to a level of obsession, as it takes twenty-four drawings to make a second of animation. His end goal is to create a nine minute long animation. This requires an almost monastic commitment, as he is attempting this feat by himself and within nine months. Because of the time restraints, Thom’s drawings have taken on a much more unfinished look, being simplified by lack of color and minimal backgrounds. This austerity adds to the bleak and unresolved tales that he writes which are the roots  for the animations.

He has also begun to write imaginative stories. Which is a large undertaking, since he only recently began to tell complicated fictions through his illustrations. He has written many narratives, each based in humanity, but having unobtainable hope and constant endurance as cornerstones.

Thom’s current story, the one he is painstakingly animating, is one concerned with the lonely trek of a woman who is following an unseen giant and attempting to get a clear picture of it with her camera, but failing. This is a tale of endurance, of an unobtainable obsession, of an unending cadence, and a mere moment in the long life and journey of this woman.

Fascinating, entertaining, depressing, and uncertain, this simple animated story is illustrated with the anatomy and humor that Thom has made his trademark. It promises to be an enthralling tale of the human condition.

To read Thom’s The Giant and to follow his animation process, his blog is: http://thomglick.blogspot.com or visit his website at www.thomglick.com