Sci-fi and comics inspire Michael Lim’s seamlessly slick animations

Michael Lim’s music video for Alien Lipstick Fire's single Any Other Way is full of seamless and effortless transitions; from a hooded figure watching tv, to a plane soaring amongst the skies to a rocket ship turning into a lipstick. It shouldn't make sense, but it really does.

Not only showcasing some exceptional animation skills, the animator is always sure to stick to his brief and ensure his work matches the feelings the songs evoke. Before he starts animating, Michael tells us that he will “always listen to the music first because it allows the music itself to inspire me to animate”. So, to fit Any Other Way's 90s slacker rock vibe, he decided to apply “an interesting art style with a retro touch”. Moreover, the single was made by the band at the start of the pandemic; the restless, switching and changing quality of the animation is intended to represent the “frustration” of persistently staying inside.

In another of his recent projects, Transmutation – which won him a Yellow Pencil in D&AD New Blood Awards 2021 – Michael focuses on the effects of electronic waste. The animation was created for the phone company GiffGaff with of inspiring its audience to recycle their unused electronic goods. Showing an insect turning into a monster, as caused by an overflow of used phones, the piece plays with “dynamic motion”. Michael hopes such eye-catching visuals will “get people's attention and drive the message home”.

Having attained a degree in graphic design, Michael’s creative pathway didn't actually begin with animation. But, it was during his studies that he was introduced to the medium: “I had an animation class during one of my semesters where I gained my interests because it felt so fun being able to make things move.” Coupled with his love of sci-fi films and comics (his instagram persona aptly goes by Space Dawg), it wasn't long before Michael got his first job: animating a music video for his older brother, a music engineer. After enjoying his first project so much, he then “decided to further my exploration in the world of 2D animation.” Still practising graphic design to this day, Michael views the medium a helpful counterpart to his animation work. “As I studied graphic design, I acquired a diverse visual vocabulary, which allowed me to animate with different aesthetic points of view." Not only does graphic design assist the animator aesthetically, it also “problem solving" skills.

While Michael’s work may seem to focus on out-of-this-world themes, he tells us that he’s actually mainly inspired by his everyday surroundings. “I try to imagine my daily life as a movie, try my best to perceive things with a third person view, and find a way to transform this information into animation. It seems that Michael will never be short of inspiration, and his creative eye is always on the lookout: “I believe everything around us might be the start of something that will inspire us someday”.