Last year’s holiday card, while futuristic in nature, brought with it a feeling of nostalgia. For 2022, we decided to leap into that nostalgia even further by reminiscing on simpler times. We went pre-computers, pre-digital storytelling, to a fully handmade flipbook. Enter Ben Zurawski aka The Flippist.
Ben makes hand-drawn and thumb-powered animated cartoons. His work has been seen and shared by millions on the internet, and he is the go-to guy for flipbook ads for companies such as Disney, Nickelodeon, Nike, Netflix, Amazon, and dozens of professional sports teams. He currently lives in St. Louis, MO with his wife and 18 month old son...who has a voice-over cameo 'scream of joy' in this flipbook holiday greeting.
Click here to watch a flipbook about how Ben became The Flippist.
What started out as a one paragraph idea, turned into a one page storyboard, then a nearly 400 page flipbook. All hand drawn, the book is created using index cards and a mechanical pencil.
Straight from the creator:
“For this nearly 400 page flipbook, I drew inspiration from some of my favorite holiday cartoons...namely The Charlie Brown special (note the wimpy tree in the photo montage) and the Garfield special (which is pretty underrated and has some really touching moments). The holidays are certainly a time of joy and celebration, but there's also some bittersweet moments thinking of loved ones and memories from another time. For me, one way to celebrate and honor those memories is by sharing stories and weaving together old and new traditions. My own grandparents Dina and Ed passed away last year, so it's a bit of a tribute to them as well. Look for their initials carved in a tree trunk for a frame.” - Ben Zurawski
