Five Dollar Friday — Jon Densk & 'Axolodyssey'
A filmmaker and their short film deserving of your attention
Happy Five Dollar Friday!
Today I have the pleasure of introducing you to animator Jon Densk, whose credits range from Space Jam: A New Legacy to Pixar’s short film Starling.
Jon’s next project is a short film called Axolodyssey.
Axolodyssey is a hand drawn short film that follows Jojo the Axolotl as he finds himself all alone in the world. Set in a fantasy-inspired Mexican lakeside, Jojo sets off on a journey to find his lost family. Along his way, he meets new friends of all kinds, sees new worlds beyond his wildest dreams, and faces his greatest fears against mysterious monsters.
Jon! I'm impressed by how your animation in Axolodyssey evokes the feel of Studio Ghibli. It's a bar that many aspire to reach but few actually do. I'd love to hear more about the process of finding your voice and style in animation.
Thank you very much. It is a high bar to reach, and I don't personally think I've even reached that level of professionalism myself. I'm always looking for ways to grow and putting in the time to grow my craft.
I was originally trained by Disney hand drawn animators. So I have a handful of Disney tricks and traits under my sleeve that I like to use personally. I started really finding my own voice, however, when I realized what it meant to truly craft a different person in your head. To me, a character isn't just a drawing, but a life that I'm in charge of conveying on the screen or page. So investing that care into my work is really where I found my voice because that kind of stuff comes from inside.
I became a big fan of Studio Ghibli and wanted to basically be one of their animators, but I can't escape who I am, and the Disney training so, ultimately, I'm a mix of my influences.
Animators don’t get enough credit for their role in character creation, especially in how it parallels what actors do in live action. Too often, only voice actors are recognized for bringing life to animated characters. I appreciate that Robin Williams, at the Aladdin premiere, gave credit where credit is due: 'They act with a pencil. [...] I kind of give an inspiration, and then they go with it.'
This may sound silly, but do you act out the scenes before you draw them?
I have a mixed approach to working out scenes. A lot of people thumbnail shots before starting a rough, but I usually just act it out in my chair and feel it for a while, then do it! If it's something super complex for Disney type level animation, with lots of high performing acting, I do sometimes get up to do something. But a lot of the time, especially with Axolodyssey or my own personal projects, I just know what I want in the performance, and do it typically on the first try, haha.
What's your favorite Studio Ghibli film? Is there one in particular that you've used as a touchstone for Axolodyssey?
My favorite is probably Ponyo. I love them all so much so it's a hard question to answer but yeah probably Ponyo. Something about that film is so fun and free. That's the film I use as a touchstone. Not trying to emulate it but to use it as a platform for what a cool movie for children would be like.
Besides Hayao Miyazaki, who else inspires you as a storyteller?
Jeff Smith! He’s actually my number 1, haha! He's the creator of the comic series Bone and I learned to basically draw from Bone. I owe everything to him, I guess! His work is the reason I believe in myself to create my own projects.
Why an axolotl as the star of your film? What drew you to the subject matter?
I simply saw a video online explaining what they were and how cool they were. I got pretty intrigued and soon after the idea for the film kinda hit me all at once.
Lake Xochimilco is one of the two lakes, I believe, where axolotls can still be found in the wild.
I've been to Lake Xochimilco! I didn't see any axolotls in the wild but I do remember their cultural presence.
They kind of live in hard to see areas, little pockets and caves. So, of course, the film takes place in a fantasy Lake Xochimilco. I haven't been but hope to at some point now! Especially if it's as fun as my film!
How do you relate to Jojo (pronounced ho-hoh) and his emotional journey?
Jojo is a lone axolotl on a journey to find his family. He finds a flier to a pet store selling axolotl, so they must be there! He meets some new friends and mysterious monsters on his way. The film was inspired by my experience during the pandemic where I wasn’t able to see my family for a year and a half. That whole living in a secluded world—fearing what's lurking around you and the loneliness—helped craft this very happy, colorful film, haha.
I'm so sorry you were separated from your family for so long.
Thank you. I think a lot of people had it much much worse than I did. I managed.
This is your second Kickstarter campaign for Axolodyssey. The first one came close but didn't quite reach its goal. Obviously you didn't let that stop you. How have you kept momentum going in the year and a half since that first campaign ended? What lessons did you learn from the first campaign that you applied to this one?
Yeah this is our second run around at kickstarting and luckily we got to our initial goal in just two days. We asked for much less this time, 10k instead of 50k, knowing we’d get that since we came so close to our goal last time.
Last time we actually had a deal with the school I went to where they would pitch in 15k if we got to 35k, and they’d use Axolodyssey as a class where I’d have students work in the film and I’d teach them. It was a really cool idea. The students would have been paid and everything. But the school backed out at the last second.
So since then I just started making the film and that’s been a good momentum builder in itself. Thankfully people are still excited about Axolodyssey. One thing I learned was to not give up until the clock runs out!
I understand this style of animation is labor intensive. Can you give us an idea of how long different steps of the process take?
All animation is super time consuming. No one really thinks about how much time goes into modeling and environmental design for computer generated animation! But, yes, hand drawing everything is a lot of work. Hard to say how long things take. I can rough out a handful of different shots a day. Making them clean takes a lot longer, and the background paints take a lot of time as well, but I don't do those!
Starling was a wonderful short film! What was it like working with Pixar? What were your contributions to the film?
Starling was a great film. It was a lot of fun, it was all remote. Everyone at Pixar is very nice and of course super talented. They know everything. I didn't contribute that much; I animated a few shots and designed some characters. I actually designed myself, my wife and two friends in one close up shot, haha!
We are immortalized in a Pixar production ;)
What advice would you give to someone just starting out on their own animation journey?
Follow what makes you happiest! Be true to yourself, and others will take notice.
That’s pretty good advice for filmmakers of all kinds. Thank you, Jon! Best of luck with the rest of your campaign and reaching your stretch goals.
You can join me in supporting Jon and his film Axolodyssey by contributing to their campaign here:
Thanks to new paid subscribers coming aboard, my weekly contribution has gone up from $15 last week to $16 this week.
Again: it’s better for everyone involved if you contribute directly to the filmmakers and don’t become a paid subscriber to this newsletter. But, if you ain’t got time for that every week, you can click the ‘easy’ button and I’ll contribute on your behalf.
🙏 Thank you to Dean DeMatteis for the beautiful logo at the top of this email.
💰 Vimeo is offering $30,000 grants for short films! The application window opens next week and closes April 18, 2025.
🥳 Congratulations to Timothy Jacob Elledge, Mac Watson, and Jeremy Lu on the successful conclusion of their respective campaigns!
⏳ There’s still time to contribute to Anna O’Donnell’s campaign for Rebound.
🏘 Reader-submitted campaign looking for support: Jesus Salazar Montero’s Behind Closed Doors
📬 Please share this newsletter with anyone you think might enjoy hearing more about short films or want to support artists and their ambitions.
✍️ And, finally, feel free to write back if you have a question for one of the filmmakers, an update on a short film project of your own, or if you just want to say hi!