Let’s make some Christmas magic. The great snowball fight is an animated endless loop made from just 10 animated frames all handmade from paper shapes.

Each frame starts as a pencil sketch to get rough sizes and movements, I like to work out these animations like a puzzle, cutting each shape out of paper so that I’ve got something tactile to play with. I line up all the little paper shapes and start moving them, kicking the legs and arms how I imagine they would come to life. Nothing gets moved more than 10 times to keep it simple. When I’m happy with the movements, they get scanned in and turned into an animation, one frame after another, like a little flip book.

Using scissors to cut out shapes allows me to keep some of that handmade aesthetic, and bringing them into a digital space lets me work with color and pattern in a non-destructive way. The key to this style is all about “play.” Having fun is essential to making something joyful.