Interview with Animator
Abbey Paccia
Creator of
"Pretty Ugly"
Watch it now!
There are several things that make "Pretty Ugly" a standout short cartoon, but the main things we at aniBoom noticed were the
great animation and beautiful message of this piece - that sometimes things that are ugly can be cute and good.
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Background I grew up in a big family with a lot of fun personalities. We all have a flare for exaggeration and love a good story. I think my interest in animation began there. I really love drawing, so it seemed like a perfect means to get the stories across.
I started watching a lot of cartoons and anime in high school and I think that's what really got me drawing a lot. I was terrible, but it was fun to write and draw along with my friends interested in the same sort of thing.
I went to Sheridan College for Animation when I graduated high school and loved it. I met some amazing people and learned a lot about art and film.
Influences As far as animation and film, I really love the old Disney stuff. Especially anything that Bill Pete was involved in. He's great. Some of my favorite people are Jim Henson and Hayao Miyazaki. Anything they've touched is gold. Brad Bird might be there too. I love everything he's directed. I also read a lot.
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The Process To make "Pretty Ugly" I hand drew everything but a few sparkles. The rainbows made my hands hurt, but it was still fun. The film was my 4th year project at school, so it took me two semesters to create from original concept to completion.
I think the biggest challenges were scheduling and budgeting time. It's hard to have a life while making a film. Luckily, all of my friends around me were working on films too. That's good for moral support.
Ugly things are usually really endearing to me. One time I saw a picture of the dog that won the "Ugliest Dog Competition." He really looked like a demon, but the woman that owned him looked so happy with him. I always like cheesy stories like that.
I also wanted to draw a poofy princess because I think they're ridiculous and fun to animate. The whole thing just went from there.
Aniboom Awards I entered the Aniboom competition because I got an email about it from someone who runs the site. I guess they had seen my film up on YouTube. Truthfully, I didn't know about Aniboom until that email, but I'm really glad to have been a part of the competition!
It was fun to see all the films submitted and get a chance to promote my own. I was really excited to have made it into the top 50. It's really thanks to my friends and family who spread the word. It was just nice to see people enjoying my work.
Watch
"Pretty Ugly
Go to
Abbey's Portfolio