David Firth (animator) facts for kids

David Firth is an English animator and filmmaker. He was born in 1982 or 1983. He is best known for creating the animated web series Salad Fingers. This series started in 2004 and is still ongoing. David Firth also helped write the horror comedy film Kuso in 2017.

Early Life and Education

David Firth was born in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. His parents, Rosemary and Graham Firth, were both artists.

He started making stop-motion animation when he was 13 years old. He used toys like Lego for his early projects. Later, he studied animation at the University of Lincoln in Hull. He also learned about television and film.

Animation Career

David Firth became well-known for his animated web series Salad Fingers. He released the first episode in July 2004 on a website called Newgrounds. He created the series using a program called Adobe Flash. This made him a notable artist in Flash animation.

Between 2004 and 2013, ten episodes of Salad Fingers were released. An eleventh episode came out in 2019. By 2020, the series had over 110 million views on YouTube. Many people consider it to have a cult following, meaning it has a dedicated fan base.

Other Projects and Collaborations

Since his early work on Newgrounds, Firth has made many different Flash animations. He also contributed animation to the BBC TV series Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe. He voiced the character Shrimp in an episode of the Adult Swim animated series Smiling Friends.

Firth also helped create a funny character named MC Devvo. This character is a dimwitted chav played by his friend Christian Webb. Their videos made fun of the music scene in Doncaster. In 2022, David Firth added an animated part to The Paloni Show! Halloween Special on Hulu. As of 2023, he is working on a video game based on his animated series Jerry Jackson.

Music Videos and Films

In 2014, David Firth created an animated music video for the Flying Lotus song "Ready Err Not". Flying Lotus, a musician, said Firth was one of his favorite animators.

Firth also co-wrote the 2017 feature film Kuso. This movie was directed by Flying Lotus. In 2016, Firth made an animated short film called Cream. It tells the story of a scientist who creates a special cream that solves problems but then gets out of control. The film was shown in London and featured Flying Lotus's voice. Firth and Flying Lotus also worked together to direct the music video for Flying Lotus's song "Fire Is Coming", which featured David Lynch.

Animation Style

Ryan Ball, who writes for Animation Magazine, described David Firth's animations. He said they are a "brilliant and original mix of funny, silly, and strangely creepy elements."

David Firth has said that he gets ideas from how unpredictable dreams can be. He finds it challenging to use this style in animation because animation takes a lot of planning, which is not spontaneous like dreams.