Weird Willow - Updated December 2025
- Laura Von Talbot
- May 21
- 18 min read
Updated: 14 minutes ago
2014 is when I originally wrote 'Weird Willow'. Production for my stop motion film started around 2023. This is a post about my journey so far, where 'Weird Willow' came from and where I'm up to now in 2025, half way through making my film.This post will start from 2014, and will lead up to 2025, Present day.
2014
Beginning of Weird Willow.
In 2014 I wrote a poem called 'Weird Willow'. The inspiration came after the sudden death of Robin Williams, someone I had admired from a young age. In a world of mundane and regular, he always stood out to me growing up, and was one of my favourite actors as a child. He was hilarious, talented, zany and, of course... Weird.
I felt inspired to try and create something that embraced being yourself, where weirdness is something to be celebrated. I wrote the poem with messages I stood by - to 'be yourself', don't listen to negative people. Be uniquely you. I'm not a 'proper' writer. I'm not the best when it comes to grammar and spelling, but I love making up characters, and I think we all have a story to tell. I've always enjoyed creating poetry and short stories from a young age, regardless of whether or not what I've written is any good, I've always found joy in the process.
I wrote Weird Willow in my bedroom, it took me about 4 or 5 hours, and it was sometime in September 2014. I usually kept any poetry or stories I've written quite private, (who would want to read them anyway?) but, I thought this was cute. Maybe I could turn it into a book or something. I needed a second opinion. I went downstairs with my scribbled on bit of paper, full of inky mistakes. I lived with my parents at the time. My Dad was in the living room, I asked if he wanted to hear it, he said yes, and he sat and listened as I read the story. When I finished reading, he was tearful, and said 'excellent'.
This was such a good response for someone like me, who isn't a writer, and enough encouragement for me to do something with my poem. If my Dad hadn't have responded so well, I would have disregarded it, found it embarrassing and moved onto something else. I've always been supported and encouraged.
I was eager and willing. I was 24 and making my first proper book. I'd made comic books in uni, but they weren't anything I was proud of. I'd never made a children's book. Nothing I had made prior to this had made me excited.
I created some rushed and out-of-proportion illustrations. Nowadays I would correct any mistakes on photoshop, and improve the line-work with a drawing tablet. I'd spend days on one drawing, getting everything to the best standard I could.
I didn't own a drawing tablet then, so generally didn't correct any of my line work. I'd bash out a load of drawings, scan them all in, and colour everything using the touch pad on my laptop. No depth or shadow, just block colour. I didn't have a good eye for bad proportions, or a good eye for bad art, for that matter. I thought once the colours were on my drawings they would look good. This is of course wrong, but I just loved drawing.
I had made some illustrations to go with my poem. She was rough and ready. Very rough.
I tried to remember how to use Indesign. The last time I'd used Indesign was to make a booklet for my dissertation in Uni, and it wasn't very good. In fact, a friend had helped me with this as I didn’t have a knack for layouts. I hadn't made an actual book before. I tried to find what I could on google, but I still didn't understand page 'bleeds'. Pages where the illustration was displayed across the centre fold were a bit of a mess. Willow's face was even duplicated in the centre of one spread, giving her two noses. I didn't understand how to fix this and the proofs kept coming back looking bad.
Regardless of all the mistakes, I got it printed anyway, and couldn't wait for the copies to arrive.
These shoddy copies went to family, anyone I was close to at the time, and the small handful of people that bought one from my website or the odd art stall. I think I have 1 or two busted up copies still in my house. Needless to say, these books didn't go very far. But, they were generally well received by those close to me.
I submitted 'Weird Willow' to a few different publishing companies via email, but nobody was interest or even got back to me. I'd wait months for a reply, to get a response of something along the lines of 'er, this isn't what were looking for'. Which is fine, because I probably didn't research
what sort of work they published anyway.
I'd never submitted a book anywhere
before, so didn't know where to go or what to do. Even with all the dismissals and lack of response from publishing companies, I was still just happy I'd made a book.
My friends and family were very encouraging, my Mum got me to read the book in an assembly at the primary school she worked at - This was around 2016 or 2017 - after this, unbeknown to me, I didn't do anything else with Weird Willow for a long time.
Over the next 10 years, life happened. different jobs, moving house, relationships, new projects, new books, being settled, unsettled, settled, unsettled...
'Weird Willow' always stayed in the back of my mind as something I could maybe pick up again at a later date, or come back to when I knew what to do with her. I had the idea of making the images for the book out of felt, but who would have the time to do that?
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2023.
'Weird Willow' short film.
I'm now aged 33. with a 9-5 Job to pay the bills, and a spare room in my house which I've turned into an art studio. Ready to tackle bigger creative projects.
I've decided I'm making an animation. I'm making a stop motion, and I'm making it out of 2D felt. I've made a few moving GIF's, and played around with 'Flash' in Uni, but thats about it really. Much like the book, I don't know where to start or what to do.
All I know is I have a story I want to tell, and that I want to work in the animation industry. In Merseyside, UK, the animation industry isn't a thing. There are no cartoon studios in Liverpool, (that I'm aware of anyway.) I don't even know anyone that has the same dream as me. I've had a few trips to LA over the years, and these have been an inspiring experience, I've met some amazing people, but I haven't got my foot in the door, I haven't landed a dream career. I pitched a cartoon I wrote to Frederator Studios back in 2015, (Luna and the lava ghosts) and although they liked me and liked my characters, I didn't quite hit the mark enough for them to green light me. (and looking back, my ideas were cute, but deffo not polished enough to invest in.)
Sick of all the rejection and lack of jobs, I decided I need to create my own path.
I need to make something that showcases what I can do, even if I don't know how to do it yet.
I have Weird Willow, and thats better than starting fresh. The closing verse is:
'Love yourself for who you are.
Throughout the storms and mist.
Don't be swayed by other views.
Because 'normal' doesn't exist.
Be who you are, don't be afraid.
You’re rare, unique and free.
If people don't love you for who you are,
say ‘too bad. I can only be me.'
This story isn't quite the classic cartoon world I aspire to be part of one day, Willows story is a bit more of a message, and a little more serious than Cartoon Network shorts - But, It's something I really want to make with the aim of being part of that world.
Weird Willow will be made out of felt as I want it to look textured, and like a world a doll could live in. I think it should be 2D stop motion. So cut out felt rather than 3d needle felt. I've already figured out the hard way that in order to create 2d stop-motion, I need to figure out 2d hand drawn animation. Every angle needs to be made prior to filming. I may even have a claymation segment, but I'll see how I get on. Its all a learning experience and animation is pretty new to me
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2024
'Weird Willow' is in production.
I started sewing backgrounds for my scenes whilst researching how to actually animate with 2D felt. I cant find many examples of what I'm trying to do online, but I had to start somewhere, so I started with something I knew; sewing.
I've made the odd Christmas tree decoration out of felt, so sort of knew what to do. Paper templates, draw on the opposite side of the felt, etc. I don't know how to use a sewing machine or anything like that, so thought I'd start start with my hand-sewn houses.
I bought animation paper, stop motion equipment like 'Dragon Frame' and Im watching hours and hours of videos to try and figure out what I've gotten myself into. But, whilst I've been learning, I've been sewing. And wow, is animation complicated. Fascinating, scientific in ways, but complicated.
'production' has officially started, its early in 2024. and I've green lit 'Weird Willow' myself. No team, no real budget, no time frame. gulp!
I've been fitting all of this around my 9-5 job, and using my weekends to work on my animation. The whole process is fascinating, and its best to not get bogged down with the workload. Take it scene by scene, day by day.
If I get bored of one thing, move onto something else. if it all feels overwhelming, break it down into smaller sections. Each scene is only short, so this is the best way to look at it. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. how do you make a short film? One day at a time with a whole lot of patience.
'Weird Willow' has also coincided with my new found sobriety, something I'll very much need in order to make this happen. Everyday matters, the few hours in the evening after work matter. I can't waste this time drinking, let alone waste a day hungover in bed. I stopped drinking in March 2024 - Production officially started around that time too.
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2025 May update
'Weird Willow' possible halfway point.
I think I'm about half way through my animation. I've made most things, and done a few animation tests. I've found out that building the world out of felt, and making the characters takes a lot longer than actually animating, I thought it would be the other way around.
I think I still have another year or two ahead of me. But once everything has been sewn and made, I think I can get everything animated in a few months.
I've got shoeboxes full of scenes, one of Liverpool skyline, one of Willows bedroom, one of the school grounds and more. I've sort of made most of the characters, and I can see from trial and error that some things will need to be animated digitally. eyebrows, clock hands, etc. I don't think I can do these with felt. I'm not skilled enough to get these tiny details looking good and in time with everything else going on. Just the big gestures will be stop motion for now.
I've made a turnaround of Willow on photoshop, her proportions are much better, and for the first time in her life she's moving! From this turnaround I'll be able to figure out how she looks in each scene and I wont be restricted to certain angles. I'm hoping this will make a much smoother animation. I figured out how to make this turnaround with the help of a few youtube videos. This one being one of the most helpful https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvUkaBhwAFY - Character Turnaround by Bam Animation.
16 frames per second is apparently the best frame rate for stop motion films, rather than 12 or 24. Next step is translating those 16 images to felt. - at the time of writing this, so far I've make felt versions of the body and head.
The head wont be sewn down so the head can turn. This animation test shows the head turning 4 frames behind the body.
I haven't made the straps on the back of her dress as her hair will be blocking them, this seemed like unnecessary detail, I can't think of a scene where her hair will be moved out of the way of her back at this stage. Next step is actually making her hair. I'm unsure if i should sew this down, as if she's moving the hair movement would be different. She runs and skips in this story, so I'll have to figure this out.
The image on the left is one of 6 or 7 images in a dress up sequence - each image will only be on screen for a second, and these have taken me weeks to make.
This one is 12 frames per second - It needs to be re-made at 16. I have a little glittery bat that will be flying on screen next to her, just to make the image more interesting. Each of the outfits will all have another small animation going on to compliment the outfit and make the scene more interesting. Different coloured backgrounds will match the outfit Willow is wearing. Each outfit will be on screen for 1 second
2025 October Update
Travelling, story updates and animation progress
With the help of my parents, I was lucky enough to attend Annecy Animation Festival in June. Somehow I only discovered it's existence this year whilst researching animation film festivals - what a place. What a beautiful part of France. What an experience. I went there to learn, watch short films and network. Annecy is credited for having the best animation festival in the world, people travel from allover the world to attend. I can't believe I've never heard of it before, especially as France is so close to the UK.
After visiting this year, I have more of an idea for what sort of quality and standard the industry expects. I really need to bring my 'A' game. I'll only be making my film once, and it really needs to be as good as it can be.
I was making my film because I want to work in the animation industry, but now that I know about these festivals, a whole other potential opportunity has opened up. I'll submit Weird Willow to Annecy when its finished, but I also know that if it doesn't get in, it doesn't necessarily mean its bad. There are tens of thousands of submissions each year and under a hundred films are chosen, if that. 18,000 people attended the festival this year alone. Still though, worth a punt.
The festival is a week long, my mum came with me for the first few days to help settle me in and explore beautiful Annecy before the festival got going.
Later in the week, I attended a screening for the children's shorts category, some of the films were truly exceptional. 2 in a row had my sobbing ('Forevergreen' and 'Snow Bear', highly recommend watching if you can get hold of them online yet) A man called Andrew took a seat next to me in the screening. He worked at an animation company called Revelator studios. We got chatting, and would both like to successfully submit to the children's category. We also discussed the slim chances of being accepted. Andrew and his studio had submitted a film for this years festival, but had been rejected, so he was there to learn. He knew a lot more than I did, and was figuring out why these other films had earned a place. We exchanged some emails a few weeks after the festival, and I asked Andrew if he could
give me some feedback for my beat board and story for Weird Willow. He said this isn't something he would normally do, but kindly agreed, as I have no connections to the industry, and felt it would be beneficial for me. The feedback was incredibly helpful. It must have taken him hours to write. It was kind, constructive and... pointed out a major flaw in the story.
I realised I had to change a big chunk of the poem. Willow needs to lead the way, Willow needs to be strong and courageous and use her 'weakness' as her strength. I thanked him profusely for his feedback, and got to work on fixing the flaws.
I had a lot of work ahead of me.
Its now October, and my health hasn't been good the past few months. I was signed off ill from my 9-5 job and Weird Willow was put to one side for about 2 months. I'm feeling very behind with it, but I need to remind myself there isn't a deadline, I'm not a studio, its just me. I can push through and try to work on it, or I can focus on my health. Its been rough but I'm starting to get back on my feet.
I've created almost all of the characters out of felt, almost all of the backgrounds and I'm hoping to start animating properly soon. Been carrying on with tests to make sure things look correct on screen, such as no glare, reflection etc. I'm still learning the art of movement.
Heres a good example of my learning process: The animation on the left looks cute, but when you study it, so much can be improved. Her hair needs to bounce and spring up after it gets pulled down with the brush, it also needs to go a lot straighter whilst its getting pulled down. the struggle needs to go on for longer, her eyes need to reflect that she is struggling to get the brush through her hair, they need to squint or close. The hair that is blown off the brush needs to move in a loop, or a nicer formation, rather than just flop off. It also needs to appear that this is a normal day for Willow, she has crazy hair, which needs to be reflected in a satisfied smile after she manages to get the brush through. The smile needs to linger on. These are all important notes, and seem a lot for a small segment, but they will make a huge difference to the final animation. I think emotion in animation is everything.
Making these tests has made me realise I need to sew the nose down, as that wont ever move place, and I'll also need to make some sort of markers for the positioning of the eyes. Each turn around has 16 frames, do I need to make 16 sets of arms or will one be enough? Hands. Hands are going to be a nightmare. How many do I need to make? There is still so much I need to figure out, and so much work to do.
Music
I now officially have someone who will be creating the music for Weird Willow. But I'll talk more on that as it develops, very exciting.
The Beatles and elements of Pink Floyd come to mind for music, The Beatles especially, in how they can convey emotion in their music. Emotion is such an important factor for Weird Willow.
2025 November update.
I finished my first, finalised scene.
I'm not sure if you can tell from the picture, but this was HUGE.
The Liver building (which if you don't know, is the building in the centre) was one of the first things I created for this project. I made it far too big without realising, but at the same time, scaling up for this scene has worked well as the detail I've been able to include looks good on screen. Lighting this wasn't an easy feat for something this big, it took 9 ring lights but I am happy with the outcome.
This one short scene took months to sew and a few hours to set up and animate, but I want the opening of the film to be impactful and visually striking. We are setting the scene here, and it needs to grab the viewers attention.
The next section is currently being filmed and animated, so watch this space for updates!
Tomorrow I'm recording the voice over and I'm pretty excited. This seems like a good time to add an IMDB page for the project as I'm actually 'filming' now.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt38951320/?ref_=nm_knf_t_1 Nice to see this on there even if there isn't a huge amount of information yet. Feels more official.
I've put the release year as 2027 and I think this is realistic. 2025 December Update
I've animated my second scene which is Willow spinning and doing a hair flick. I absolutely love the final movement. The hands and facial features will be added digitally.
I learned the hard way that I'm not skilled enough at this stage to animate the facial features whilst moving the body. Not only that, but the eyes don't sit right on her face due to the hair, they also cast too much of a shadow with the multiplane. They will be easier, and look better digitally.
I have CD racks to support multiple panes of glass, in a bid to create a multi-layered animation set up. (Multiplane) - However the racks I've purchased are a little rickety and made out of thin plastic, so I don't trust balancing a3 panes of glass on them. I got them cheap online so I'll have a look out for sturdier ones. I'll stick with one pane of glass for now. This will sit on top of the background and the character can sit on top of the glass.
This test piece on the left has the glass laid flat on top of Willows base/body. The body isn't all the same height laid down due to Willows hair, so this created a lot of issues with light, especially when I tried to swap bodies to make Willow spin around.
Best option for me at the moment is that Willow is on top of the glass, the background is behind the glass and Willows features and hands are added digitally.
The Liverpool scene will transition into this Willow spinning scene by the trees moving the screen along - The Liverpool scene will pan up, and Willow will pan up. in between the two scenes will be trees.
Unsure how to do this at the moment. Possibly After Effects and I may have to call upon new friends I met last month...
I attended Manchester Animation Festival (MAF) in November and thought it was fantastic. I met so many great people, there were networking events, loads of screenings and director q&a talks. Massively insightful. The same level and quality of films as Annecy but small enough where you can go to back to back screenings, meet the directors and not have to que for hours and hours. The festival was right by Oxford Road station, which takes an hour for me to get to from Penny Lane, so getting there and back each day was s breeze. I actually can't believe I've never been before.
One thing MAF had which Annecy didn't was networking events - I know there are certain pubs in Annecy that are great for networking, but some people were just there to drink, which is all good, but having an actual event for networking was great, and I didn't feel like I was bothering people. I met some lovely people at MAF, just as passionate about animation as me.
I bumped into Peter Lord making a little morph out of clay and he seemed like a genuinley lovely guy, and very interested in everyone and what they were making. I love these sorts of encounters at festivals.
I'll without a doubt be back at MAF next year!
I also have my room secured for Annecy 2026 and got REALLY lucky with securing something for a reasonable price in the centre of the city. Very much right place at the right time!
A few days after MAF I recorded the voiceover for Weird Willow with my friend Jay Moffatt - I'm very lucky to know him, he's an incredibly talented composer who has worked on all sorts. However, he hasn't worked on an animated film. so I think this will be fun for him too.
He will be creating all the music and sound in Weird Willow and I'm very happy with our current voice over! We will be meeting up soon to discuss music in more depth.
Thats all on Weird Willow for now.
A life update -
We lost our beautiful family Labrador, Ruby, late Saturday/early Sunday morning 29/30th Nov.
She was the purest, most delicate soul and died peacefully in her sleep at 12 years old.
We are all in shock and the whole family is just heartbroken.
RIP beautiful girl. There will never be another like you.
A fly would land on her paw in the garden, and she would run into the house scared. She never understood how big she was.
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The film is being funded by family and friends, I set up a Go Fund Me this month, so if you're able to help out, please do! Anything at all is appreciated, even sharing the below video www.gofundme.com/f/weirdwillow
Thats all for now. If you want real time updates about this project, Please follow me on Instagram & Tiktok @eeveefoxart https://www.instagram.com/eeveefoxart/?hl=en
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