Dezeen Magazine

Hand-drawn animated music video by Rosanna Wan for Tom Rosenthal

Dezeen Music Project: a little girl drawn with crayons goes on a journey across the ocean in this animated music video by Rosanna Wan for Tom Rosenthal's track I Like It When You're Gone.

I Like It When You're Gone music video by Rosanna Wan for Tom Rosenthal

Wan drew all of the animation sequences for the music video by hand on rolls of newsprint and then digitally composited them together.

"It was a very economical process," Wan told Dezeen. "The kid is on one layer and the scrolling background is made up of all these other looping elements."

I Like It When You're Gone music video by Rosanna Wan for Tom Rosenthal

Rather than spend time trying to minimise the boiling effect - the wobbly lines that occur in hand-drawn animations because of the slight variations between frames - Wan chose to make a feature out of it.

"There's a meandering rhythm and melody to the song," Wan said. "I wanted that same quality to come through in the visuals."

I Like It When You're Gone music video by Rosanna Wan for Tom Rosenthal

The protagonist's journey starts in a small sailing boat, before she jumps into the ocean and continues on the back of a giant fish.

"The idea was to illustrate a simple journey, but to have that journey experienced in a new light, turning it into an adventure," Wan said. "It's about enjoying your own aloneness and rediscovering a landscape that has come to be taken for granted. That's how I interpreted Tom's song, anyway."

I Like It When You're Gone music video by Rosanna Wan for Tom Rosenthal

Tom Rosenthal is a musician based in London. I Like It When You're Gone is taken from his second album, Who's That In The Fog?, which was released last year on Tinpot Records.

I Like It When You're Gone music video by Rosanna Wan for Tom Rosenthal