"When You Broke My Heart"

For all it's bright colors, and whimsical, stylized design, the animated short "When You Broke My Heart" is sad tale indeed.  A king of sorts is left by his queen, due to his gaming.  He sets on a quest to win her back, but of course, comes across obstacles on his way.  It's another fantastic animated short from a group at Supinfocom.

The Art of Mike Azevedo

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Every piece in Mike Azevedo's body of work is infused with a Pixar-esque whimsicality. Between his rough digital sketches and his more refined pieces, Mike always manages to fit in one detail that brings a bewildered smirk to your face. A pulsating purple heart chiseled in the chest of a fire golem, the silhouette of a giant monster lumbering out of a forest. When it comes to illustration, it's the little things that count.

Check out more of his work after the break!

The Golden Bird

This very unique stop motion short was created by UK-based animator Cat Bruce.  It tells the story of a boy on a journey for a golden bird, after an initial brief encounter in the middle of the night.  However, things are not always what they seem.

The style and textures  are quite interesting, and looks as if she used the scraps from a variety of arts & crafts projects.  It works well, and really provides a whimsical look to a rather bizarre plot, which was based on a Brothers Grimm story.  One of the longer stop motion shorts I've come across in a while, I can't even imagine the time and effort put into such a piece.

Hem - Tourniquet

The song is folksy and chill, but it's really the animated music video that I loved.  Focusing on a variety of animals placed in some very human-like situations, the art style is colorful, whimsical, and utilizes some interesting textures.  It's abstract enough to be entertaining, but not so much that it wanders into pretentious art territory.  It makes me think think that Mr. Fox (of 'Fantastic Mr. Fox', of course) somehow found himself in the city, living a new fashionable, urban life.

Tag by Andre Avillanoza

Canadian animator Andre Avillanoza is the dude who we credit today's awesome animated short with. Tag is the colorful, whimsical story of two preschool/kindergarten-ish age kids playing with a variety of shapes. Well, fighting over them is more like it. The ending is a bit on the bizarre side, but it definitely comes around full circle. I especially enjoyed the childlike influences, such as crayon and colored pencil. Even with the bright colors and variety of shapes, there's something about it that seems somewhat understated. It pops without being overbearing.

Money Bunny Blues

Student animator Ellen Coons created this stop motion short for Cartoon Brew's Student Animation Festival, about a very interesting rabbit and his unique monetary, um, abilities. With the stop motion described as "quirky and whimsical", it has that endearing quality of imperfection that we love. Add to that, the slightly bizarre aspect, and we have ourselves a pretty damn good short. As someone who is half asleep on a Monday, I can appreciate it that much more.

OZO

From some very talented students at French school Supinfocom comes the charming animated short OZO. Ozo is a monkey-like creature-thing Who has his egg stolen by a crazy ostrich. He goes on a fun little journey in an attempt to retrieve his beloved egg. On a dreary, tiresome Monday morning like today, this whimsical and colorful animated short is just what we need. The students at Supinfocom never cease to amaze us. If you want to check out more info about this adorable short, check out the website!

Iluzia

This is a bit difficult to describe.  It's a little bit of quirk, mixed with a dash of WTF.  A tighty-whitey'd clad man is a big fan of a very full figured singer. When their two worlds (and animation styles) collide, they go on a bizarre yet whimsical journey.  The music is something else too.  Something about it really caught my eye.  Or I guess, my ear.  It's hard to believe this is an art school graduation project.