About ARTI

ARTIFICIAL ANIMATION (ARTI) is a mixed-media animation studio for film, television, and visual art. Known for combining live-action performances from real actors with stylized animation, ARTI has gained recognition for pushing the frontier of new techniques. ARTI won the International A.I. Film Festival for Heaven (2022), but later distanced themselves from generative A.I. due to ethical and aesthetic reservations. ARTI's work was exhibited at festivals and galleries in Munich, London, Seoul, Toronto, Madrid, Tokyo, New York, Milan, Lombardy, Salt Lake, Amsterdam, and Los Angeles. Artificial Animation was founded on March 17th, 2022, by director Kai Tattersall and creative director Valerie Jackson.

In collaboration with Mike Patterson, a pioneer in animation, ARTI developed a unique approach to rotoscope animation that combined traditional techniques with cutting-edge digital tools. Before the release of Dall-E and Stable Diffusion, ARTI began incorporating open-source generative A.I. into the animation workflow to help speed up the time-intensive elements of animation. Further experimentation with A.I. led to the award-winning film, Heaven (2022), which utilized Stable Diffusion to stylize actors and backgrounds. Filming took place in the Santa Cruz forests with support from the Digital Scholarship Symposium.

Following the film's completion, Tattersall started Artificial Animation (ARTI) to produce mixed media animation with A.I. taking less of a presence. ARTI created concert visuals for electronic and acoustic performances before beginning work on a limited series, Miko Was Here, which utilizes cyanotype printing and minimal A.I. processes.