The Lost Thing is a wonderful children’s book by Australian artist Shaun Tan, with an unusual story and a unique look.
With the help of co-director Andrew Ruhemann and a small production team, Tan has been working for several years to bring the book to life as a 15 minute animated short. It was finally completed this summer.
Tan has been intimately involved as the storyboard artist, production designer and art director, with the happy result that his quirky vision as an illustrator has been wonderfully realized, something I would have thought essentially impossible for this particular book.
In particular, I’m impressed with the painterly and textural qualities of the final look.
You can see a trailer, stills and some production art on the film’s official website.
It Looks completely wonderful. I’m really looking forward to seeing the film.
Now if only there were a better distribution and marketing system for animated shorts.
[Via The Art Department]
[Addendum: Phil Willis was good enough to let us know that Leo Baker was the lead animator for the film. You can see additional scenes from The Lost Thing at the beginning and end of his showreel.]
