An Interview with Sobatoons, July 2025

Tell me about yourself as a creator! What got you interested in animation/filmmaking?  

When I was little(r), I was mostly fascinated by special effects, how they were made, and how they could tell stories and create feelings even if they were a little silly.  I think this is what drove me to learn animation in 3D CG first as I dreamed of making effects as well.  

The biggest drive to create a larger film project came from a character that somewhat haunted my mind.  I knew I had to make a film of her someday.  I would regret my life if I did not.  This is the purple lady at the top of the Sexbot Pandapocalypse poster.  I also vaguely become a version of her in the Silky's Tabernacle "transcendent world" scenes.  

What keeps you motivated to continue creating? 

The need to manifest thoughts/themes/sounds/images/sense-able experiences into the world is something I think some people have to do.  It is like a bodily function.  It has to happen or will you cease to exist in the same state you would otherwise.  

 If this makes sense, you probably create some kind of communicative art.  If it doesn't make sense, you probably don't.  

I think the word "creator" may be ruined now.  It makes me think more of blowing up watermelons riding a goat dressed as a chicken... while mewing in underwear borrowed from a sponsor.  Not judging.  I'd watch.  Perhaps the drive to do that is similar, which is fine, as long as the goat is OK with it.  

   

What do you hope to accomplish with your animations overall? What are some of your current goals/dream achievements?

My goal at one time, and to some extent now, is/was to represent or communicate the nature of the consciousness behind who you think you are in the mundane world.  That sounds sickeningly pretentious and makes me not be able to stand myself, so I try to make all involved symbolism as righteously silly as possible.  

Right now, at THIS MOMENT, I want Instagram followers!!  FOLLOW @SOBATOONS NOW!!  Tell your friends!  Don't make me start mewing in my underwear (or someone else's) to get online validation!  I'll probably even follow back!  And watch Silky's Tabernacle on FILMZIE !!  

I've also legitimately wanted to be in a ZINE for a long time!  They make one feel 'underground'.  In the olden times you often had to go someplace strange and cool go even get them.  All the zines I have came from strange events I attended.  Having my films mentioned in YarnBombZine is a goal achieved in itself for me!  I plan to pre-order the PDF version, print it on parchment, leave it outside for a week (or until it smells funny), then keep it forever as a symbol of my old-school legitimacy!  

Tell me about Silky's Tabernacle! What was the larger idea behind it, what did you want to convey and what did the process of making it look like?  

My kids and their friends were obsessed with fancy metal water bottles of the trendiest brands.  Simultaneously, I felt sometimes overexposed to and fatigued by "accomplishment" and "perceived status" obsessed adults.  Both the bottles and status seemed to be the same type of material-idolatry, with the same unnecessary financial and spiritual/perception costs, which was the framework/inspiration of the film.  From there I tried to make it as silly as possible and also an attempt parody heavy-handed-preachy indie films.... and may have accidentally made a heavy-handed-preachy indie film.  At least it's still silly!  

This was my first significant 2D animated film.  Having long ago worked in 3D video games, my earlier cartoons were all 3D based, even if they were cel-shaded to look somewhat 2D.  It is also the first film made in what I call "Derp-O-Vision", which is an almost rageful drive to recklessly create the characters with abandoned of a child drawing with crayons.  It makes the process more fun, much faster, and at the risk of looking less polished gives them a more underground (and ZINE-WORTHY!!!) appearance.  I know the elbows don't always line up!  I need to sleep!  It has gotten a bit exhausting for me to be competing by myself against films supported by grants and made by 100+ people.  "Derp-O-Vision" is me taking a break from chasing production values to try to get more stories manifested into viewable films.  

 Overall, what does your process look like? How do your films go from an idea to reality? (do you write the story first, then animate? is it more planned/calculated or more free-flowing?)  

I usually write something that resembles an actual screenplay.  That describes the scenes and dialog sufficiently to use as a base for animating.  I'll then create the 'assets' for the sets/worlds and characters.  Once those are done I go through the script again with time-induced distance from the act of writing it and tweak it.  After that, the animation process ends up 95% following the script with the rest involving some additions from resonating with the film world while making it.  I am loath to animate anything I don't use, so I try to have things as planned as possible in the script stage.  

Do you have any advice for people just starting out in animation or wanting to make full length films?  

You should make what you need to make.  Learn how to do it while doing it, don't wait to know everything first.  Every learning experiment can become part of an eventual project.  Blender and Krita are free!  There are hundreds of online videos to teach you now to use them!  I've met people at fests who make animation with sand!  Never use "that one thing" you think you need as an excuse to create nothing.

instagram.com/sobatoons