Dan Michael has begun developing his career as an animator and filmmaker since graduating from The Northern School of Art’s BA (Hons) Animation course in 2025, combining traditional, digital and mixed-media techniques in an experimental approach to storytelling.
His final-year film, Blink, won the Animation category at the 2026 Royal Television Society Student Awards for the North East and the Borders. The film explores escapism, unhealthy habits and addiction through the story of Kyle, a character who uses an old television set to enter an imagined world where his creativity can run without limits.
Blink combines live action, stop motion, claymation and other animation techniques, alongside hand-crafted elements including painted backgrounds, cardboard and papier-mâché models. Dan collaborated with fellow students and lecturers to create a stop-motion version of the film’s central character, developing his technical skills across software including Toon Boom Harmony, Adobe Photoshop, Premiere Pro, Illustrator, After Effects, Audition and Blender.
“I wanted to take the opportunity to learn from others and other creatives around me and take advantage of my environment during my time at The Northern School of Art to demonstrate my skills, creativity and adaptability as a creative,” Dan says.
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