Tokyoplastic comprises of London-based directors Andrew Cope and Sam Lanyon Jones. The duo specialises in character design and animation. Over the course of a decade, they have created commercials, short films, designer toys and even a virtual pet. Their clients include Toyota, Nokia, Nike, Microsoft, and MTV.
In 2002 Andrew Cope started a personal exploration into character and animation. But it quickly became so much more. Tokyoplastic v.0.1 was a four-minute interactive animation, that seemed to come out of nowhere. Unlike anything we had been exposed to online before, within just a few hours, it went viral. Better still, Tokyoplastic continued to evolve. The animations were more ambitious with every new version of the site. Checking the site for updates became a regular pastime.
The huge success of Tokyoplastic came totally unexpectedly. Shortly after the website’s launch, on an MTV ident budget, the duo flew to Bangkok and set up shop. More big projects came in fast. Before they knew it they were creating a Super Bowl commercial for Microsoft, flying first class and being driven around in limos. However, far be it for the pair to let success go to their heads. They used Tokyoplastic’s good fortune to propel their work forward, embracing the ride.
A clever project birthed from curiosity, led by instincts, and driven by passion. A formula that the duo have retained to this day as their philosophy.
You can find Tokyoplastic’s animations on Vimeo and keep up-to-date with the “vector scientists” on Facebook.
