ABOUT ANIMATION JAM

Animation Jam was founded by me, Jim Stirk, in summer 2014.  Before this I spent ten years as Workshops Manager for Red Kite Animation, managing and delivering workshops with children, young people and adults all over Scotland (and sometimes further afield).  I graduated in animation from Edinburgh College of Art in 1997 and then worked for 6 years at West Highland Animation studio in Balquhidder, where I made Gaelic TV series and interactive games and comics.  Since then I've been teaching animation and working as a freelance animator.   

I love teaching animation and feel in tune with the funky ideas and creatures the workshop participants come up with (I may have become a cartoon character myself!)

Animation is magic – it lets you make impossible things happen.  You can be as creative and imaginative as you like and you don’t need expensive equipment or a lot of space.  It’s a great way to get your ideas across – you can say a lot in a short space of time.  You don’t have to be able to make intricate drawings or models to make a good film either: in fact the simplest ideas often work the best.  There are a lot of other things involved too – script-writing and recording dialogue for example – so there’s something for everyone.