Meet Ellen Coons | Stopmotion Animator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ellen Coons and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ellen, how do you think about risk?
Being an artist is a huge risk, an endless search for income and stability. I wake up thinking this every day.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am a stopmotion animator, fabricator, and filmmaker. I love stopmotion because it combines so many art forms into one – drawing, sculpture, creative writing, crafts, music, science – these are all things I am lucky to have woven into my daily life. There’s always a bit of a puzzle to be solved; for example I am making a chicken puppet and deciding what to make the feathers of. Will it be felt? sequins? little bits of a plastic bag or maybe real actual chicken feathers? What will the chicken sound like? It can say ANYTHING because I am just making it up. I like finding challenges for myself and new ways to experiment, new ways to be silly and entertain other humans.

In December 2023 I won an Individual Achievement Emmy for my animation on “Shape Island” which is an Apple Tv+ show for children, and it has been the honor of my lifetime. Working in the animation industry here can be very rewarding and it can also be very harsh and fleeting, so it’s nice to have this big metal reminder that I did something. “Shape Island” was a beautiful show with inspiring plot lines and great voice acting, the director Drew Hodges was really fun. He would kinda let loose and be silly while he was directing the scene, and this really inspired me to try and capture that energy in the character acting. People think of stopmotion as tedious, but it doesn’t have to be. Laika is the stopmotion studio behind Coraline and they boast that it takes a week for 1 animator to produce 4.3 seconds… I have no idea why they brag about this. On the average television production each animator is expected to make 10 seconds a day! You can let loose and be zany, perfection is predictable and boring. This is what I try to remember when I’m working. Cartoons are not so serious 🙂

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Sunday: PCC Flea Market or Rose Bowl Flea Market
Namaste Spiceland buffet in Pasadena
nap
King Taco

Monday:
Tour of the Warner Brother’s Lot
Tony’s Darts Away in Burbank

Tuesday:
Visit to the Academy Museum
Movie at the Egyptian Theatre or the Vista
Mixto in Silverlake

Wednesday:
Leo Carillo Beach Day with my dog
Little Jewel of New Orleans in Chinatown

Thursday:
Huntington Gardens
Chong Qing Special Noodles in San Gabriel

Friday:
Bob Baker Marionette Theatre
Town Pizza

Saturday:
Grand Central Market and the Broad Museum downtown

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Shoutout to my teachers! It takes so much energy, confidence and compassion to show up every day and educate hoards of young people. They are the spigot of knowledge, role models, inspirators, and the beacons of hope for our next generation. They have to absorb scrutiny from all directions while maintaining dignity, authority and perfect communication. Most people would crumple under this amount of pressure. My favorite teachers included Leah Dates (6-9 grade), Mary Wertheimer (highschool English), Steve Stanchfield (2d Animation) and Larry Larson (Stopmotion Animation). Thank you all SO MUCH

Website: www.quietdelight.com, www.cartoonraccoon.com

Instagram: @quiet.de.light @cartoonraccoon

Image Credits
Tommi Cahill Arneson, Ancient Order of the Wooden Skull (cover photo and set photo with the hi-pink lighting) NATAS courtesy Marc Bryan-Brown photography (Emmy photos)