Darren Walsh is a British director, writer, animator and voice artist. He uses stop-frame animation, live-action, and
CG in his work. He lives in London and is represented by production company
Passion Pictures, having worked previously independently and for
Aardman Animations
Aardman Animations Limited (also known as Aardman Studios, simply Aardman or Aardman Animation and stylised as AARDMAN as of 2022) is a British animation studio based in Bristol, England. It is known for films made using stop-motion and clay ani ...
.
Biography
Walsh trained in animation at
West Surrey College of Art and Design
Surrey Institute of Art & Design, University College (SIAD) was an art college in the United Kingdom from 1994 to 2005. It was formed from the merger of West Surrey College of Art and Design (1969–1995) and Epsom School of Art and Design (1893â ...
(now the
University for the Creative Arts
The University for the Creative Arts is a specialist art and design university in the south of England.
It was formed in 2005 as University College for the Creative Arts at Canterbury, Epsom, Farnham, Maidstone and Rochester when the Kent Ins ...
), where his graduation film "Oozat" (1993), using pixelation and mask animation, was broadcast on Channel 4 and won awards at the Cork International Film Festival and the Hiroshima Animation Festival.
He devised, directed, and voiced the four series of ''
Angry Kid
''Angry Kid'' is a British live-action/ stop-motion adult animated comedy web series created, directed, written, and designed by Darren Walsh (who also provides the voice of the title character) and produced by Aardman Animations for Series 1 ...
'' animated short films, which were commissioned by the BBC, produced at Aardman Animations, and won awards including Best Animated Short at the World Comedy Short Film Festival, Toronto in February 2003. Walsh devised and directed ''
Who Do I Think I Am?'' and also directed commercials, title sequences, and broadcast idents for BBC Television and Channel 4 before moving to London and joining Passion Pictures in 2003.
At Passion Pictures Walsh directed campaigns for
Sony Bravia "Play-Doh" (with Frank Budgen at Gorgeous Enterprises),
comparethemarket.com,
Peperami
Peperami is a pork jerky snack manufactured by Jack Link's. It is similar to BiFi and is manufactured in Ansbach, Germany, and sold in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, across multiples and independent retailers.
The snack has mul ...
, Specsavers, BBC iPlayer, Duracell and National Express Trains.
Walsh's animation direction on Sony Bravia "Play-Doh", where hundreds of plasticine rabbits take over Manhattan, won Best Animation at the 2007 D&AD Awards. The comparethemarket.com campaign, featuring the Russian meerkat character,
Aleksandr Orlov, won a silver and three gold awards at the 2010
British Television Advertising Awards The British Arrows (formerly the British Television Advertising Awards (BTAA)) is an advertising awards body in London, which honours the best moving image advertising in the UK.
Founded in 1976, the British Arrows awards advertising agencies and p ...
. The Orlov character was designed by Walsh and he has directed all of the TV advertisements for the campaign.
In 2008, he directed the film trailer
"Flying Penguins" for An
April Fools' Day
April Fools' Day or All Fools' Day is an annual custom on 1 April consisting of practical jokes and hoaxes. Jokesters often expose their actions by shouting "April Fools!" at the recipient. Mass media can be involved in these pranks, which may ...
Prank on the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
. It was filmed to promote the
.
In total, his commercials have picked up over 50 industry and animation awards since 2006.
In 2011, Walsh animated the clockwork mouse for ''
'', which was nominated for 11 Oscars, and he was also awarded an honorary MA from University of the Creative Arts, Farnham.
In 2011, Walsh was awarded an honorary degree from the
.
His most recent work includes being Animation Director on the first part of His Dark Materials, the adaptation of Philip Pullman's trilogy for TV.