This is my first time doing stop motion animation. I used an app on my iPhone called "Stop Motion." I like to collect river rocks and paint them. I also played the little piano riff for this short.

This particular set of painted gnomes is a gift I made for some friends. And before I give them away I like to take pictures of them. However since I got this simple yet fun stop motion animation app for my phone, I decided that while in my creative streak might as well make an animation of them.

I know the animation is choppy and short, but at the time I did not have anything to balance these rolly-polly pebbles. Lastly, I used "Birdieberry" which is my name in the Youtube community.

I like gnomes. If there is any imaginary creature I wish to exist it would be gnomes. They are loyal to humans, whimsical, and shy. They sleep for a thousand years as a stone and have the strength of 10,000 men. I like to pretend that I wake them up with my paint brushes. Before I start painting the rocks I may sit for ten to fifteen minutes trying to visualize what I want on the "canvas."

(I really don't know how much more I can say about this so I'm typing up a long description because apparently that is the error page I keep running into every time I try to upload this.)

Um...one day I bought a gnome for my birthday. He was cute and pudgy. He had an expression like he was joyfully shouting with his cupped hands---or whispering a secret if you put him to your ear.

One day I came home from work and was sad to know that my cute gnome got smashed by a reckless person. I was depressed for a week because of it.

I have never purchased another gnome since because that one in particular had such personality. I also regretted never taking photographs of that gnome. Then one day I realized I can make them myself from rocks. It is truly my joy to make these things especially as a gift.

Enjoy!