Women of Animation: Perks and Swag

One of the cool things about supporting animators (on Crowdfunding sites and thru their website stores) is the wonderful swag you can get. Yes, yes, I know: "virtue is its own reward" and we should be supporting these animators regardless of perks and rewards. But that doesn't change the fact that above and beyond the reward for being altruistic, the perks can be pretty cool!

So, I'd like to share some pictures of the wonderful products I've purchased, rewards I've been presented with, and gifts I've been given during my time supporting women animators.

Signe Baumane: Water spirit drawing/cel from Rocks in my Pockets

The "water spirit" from Rocks in my Pockets

Back when Signe and her producer, Sturgis Warner, were taking Rocks in my Pockets on tour, the closest it was going to screen to my hometown was Chicago. So, I enlisted a pair of friends who were familiar with the area and we made the five-hour drive to the windy city for a day of Chicago-style pizza and animation. I was already going to receive the DVD of her feature as a Kickstarter reward, but having seen sneak peeks at other venues, I really wanted to see her film in a large scale format. Well, Signe was floored that we made the ten hour round-trip drive to see her film. As a special 'thank you' for supporting her film, Signe gifted me a drawing from Rocks in my Pockets.

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Joanna Priestley: framed "cel" from her film All My Relations

Paper cel from All My Relations

In 2016, I was working on my history of women animators class for Huntington University. One of the most fun aspects of the class for me personally was expanding my research by hunting down lots of DVDs. Many of these films I had seen in the past during my college classes or at festivals, but if you're going to teach a subject, it's really best to refresh your memories. One such purchase was the latest compilation DVD from Joanna Priestley. For supporting her work, Joanna was kind enough to include an original production "cel" from her film All My Relations.

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Samantha Inoue-Harte: 'Stitch' print

Also back in 2016, Samantha made a return trip to Michigan's own Alma Con. Well, for this visit, she brought a bunch of Lilo and Stitch artwork that she had produced for the House of Mouse. Sami had obtained a license from Disney to produce a limited number of these prints and sell them as a fundraiser for cancer research, to which she donated all the proceeds. Well, I really like Lilo and Stitch... and Sami... and it's for a good cause, so...

Now due to peculiarities of licensing, I can't post an image of the print, but suffice it to say, when you have the chance to support someone who is promoting a worthy cause, you take the opportunity to help out if you can. :)

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Satrun Sisters: Fairy Sleep print


Fairy Sleep by Sarah Satrun

This was the first print that I purchased from the Satrun Sisters--the full story of which was printed earlier this week in part two of the Satrun Sisters' interview. A short while later, they visited the Grand Rapids Comic Con and I couldn't resist picking up two of their framed mermaid prints that would go along nicely with the fantasy art theme in one of my rooms.

Mermaid prints by Sarah Satrun

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Jessica Borutski - Foolish Kingdom t-shirt/Canadian Crest t-shirt

Foolish Kingdom by Jessica Borutski

Having been a fan of Jessica's work for years, when she started selling t-shirts with her delightfully subversive bunny on her website Foolish Kingdom, I had to have one!

Canadian Crest by Jessica Borutski

Jessica was also one of the first women I interviewed for this blog. For years afterwards, I'd see her at the festivals and say "hi" but I never had an opportunity to say "thank you for the interview" in a more tangible way until the summer of 2014 where she had an artist's table at TAAFI. So I was able to support her by purchasing one of her Canadian crest t-shirts. It never ceases to get a laugh and positive comments whenever I wear it.

Additionally, on Jessy's website Foolish Kingdom, she released paper cut-out dolls of her characters. So far, I've only got the I like pandas figures printed and assembled. But the mole and bunny from The Good Little Bunny with the Big Bad Teeth are on my list of things to do on a rainy day.

Panda 2 and Panda 1

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Monica Brujenes: Penguin & Peep Kickstarter rewards



Penguin & Peep! Little Moments by Monica Brujenes

The last animator I'll showcase is ASIFA Central's own Monica Brujenes. A year ago, Monica hosted a crowdfunding campaign to produce a cartoon book called Little Moments featuring her original characters Penguin and Peep. Some of the rewards you could get as part of this campaign included Penguin & Peep stickers, original hand painted art:

Penguin & Peep painting by Monica Brujenes

exclusive prints:

Exclusive Print by Monica Brujenes

and original autographed drawings in our copies of Little Moments.

Penguin & Peep ink drawing by Monica Brujenes

As I alluded to at the start of this article, yes we should be supporting women animators regardless of the perks--but that doesn't mean we can't enjoy the art that they create and make it a part of our lives. If you've clicked on any of the hyperlinks, you've been taken to these talented ladies' websites where you can support their work yourself. Regardless, I hope that in the future, you will all find a woman animator whose work resonates with you. And if you have the resources, take the time to support them financially. Every little bit of encouragement helps them as they produce their films.