Herzog and the Monsters from Lesley Barnes on Vimeo.

ately I’ve become increasingly interested in the work of Lesley Barnes. Based in Glasgow, she has quite an interesting body of work ranging from animated shorts, commercial work and even leather bookmarks. The characters that inhabit her work easily remind me of those found in the works of Lewis Carroll or the L. Frank Baum Wizard of Oz books. They’re more than well-drawn and interesting. They’re epic characters — and charming ones at that.

Herzog and the Monsters has no shortage of charm. With a playful use of typography and patterns, it tells the story of a boy living in a large house filled with old Penguin books and the world he constructs from stealing letters from them. The direction of the piece is flawless. I love the pace of the whole thing; its flow is wonderful.

Naturally, the accompanying music needs mentioning as it is quite nice in my opinion. It’s performed by Glasgow-based multi-instrumentalist Al Paxton who records under the name Metronomes. Just about everything in Herzog makes me want to make something. From music to art, I find it very inspiring. I hope you do to.

Special thanks to Rebecca for turning me on to it.