About me

My name's Elroy Simmons. I'm a 2D Animator. For seventeen years of the last 30 years, I worked traditionally (pencil and paper) most often. In 2017, I moved to drawing digitally - using a Cintiq tablet or a Wacom tablet, preferably using Photoshop (and I've experience using Toonboom Harnony and TVPaint to animate, as well); I've used AfterEffects and Flash/Animate infrequently, and I animate traditionally (drawing keys and in-betweens - and not rigged)
I'll take on board your expressed wish that I don't pass on my contact detail - but I would ask that you visit my Vimeo page and even. I'm a Sole Trader, essentially - who has often collaborated. My experience has seen me work as a Storyboard Artist, Character Designer and Character Developer, Animation Timer (Slugger), Lead Animator, Supervising Animator, Layout Artist, Animation Director and Director - I've brought in Final Picture (overseeing small crews) on behalf of Directors, and as Director. I've overseen small crews on most of the projects I've directed. I enjoy working with practitioners in other fields (as a crew member, or as Director). I'm polite, approachable and only occasionally obstinate.

I've taught Animation and Animation related subjects for 20 years, as well. I've taught adults and kids. Since 2023, I've taught a 5 day course (Character Design and Animation for Computer Games for 11-15 year-olds) at Central Saint Martins College in London, and in 2025, I taught the same course (pretty much) to 15-19 year-olds, for the first time.

In 2012, I finished a short film called "A-Z" (it was a personal, part-time production - and is a Pasticherie (that's me)/Spider Eye co-production.
/pasticherie
- features more recently uploaded work of mine. In July 2025, I graduated from Practitioners PhD studies in Animation at Leeds Beckett University/The Northern Film School. As well as completing a thesis (on Representation in Animation, broadly...) for the doctorate, I also completed a 2D animated short film - a cartoon about 'Fatness', named "Bread and Circuses" (also a Pasticherie/Spider-Eye co-production). The film won the Best Animation Award at Toronto's AltFF (Alternative Film Festival) at the close of 2024, and featured at a Los Angeles Film Festival in 2025.

I look forward to meeting you!

Elroy

Skills

2d animation, Animation Design, animation direction, Animation Layout, Animation Teaching, caricature, Character Design, Storyboarding

Sector Experience

Animation, teaching

Clients

Animate/Gateshead Council, Hansard Gallery, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Salvation Army Library, The Ebersole Hughes Company, University of Southampton