# Hand-Drawn Animations of John Lennon Penwork by James Braitwaite By karl burkart | Published 2008-08-07 | Pop Culture Source: Trend Hunter, https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/amazingly-cool-animation-john-lennon References: [youtube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmR0V6s3NKk) Almost as a rebuttal to the over-saturation of computer animation in everything from TV to advertising to film, a trend is emerging for beautifully executed hand-drawn animation. Whether it's the work of BLU or the Yellow Sticky Notes guy or even the [Amazing Sand Artist](http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/sandimation-sand-painting-animation), these great pieces of home-made artwork are popping up all over YouTube. The one featured in this post is one of my favorites. I saw it at the Academy Awards screeners (it was nominated for best animated short). Penwork is by James Braitwaite, a young New York animator who visualized a conversation that his friend (and producer) Jerry Levitan had as a young boy with John Lennon. It's an actual recording of the conversation. ## Trend Insights (Trend Hunter) - Score: 3.1/10 - Popularity: 11% | Activity: 75% | Freshness: 8% - Audience gender: 50% men, 50% women - Primary generations: Millennial, Gen X - Top markets: North America ## Categories [Trend Hunter](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends) > [Pop Culture](https://www.trendhunter.com/popculture) > [Media](https://www.trendhunter.com/media) ## Key Themes ### What Makes This Trend Stand Out - **Hand-drawn Animation Trend:** The trend of beautifully executed hand-drawn animation is emerging as a rebuttal to the over-saturation of computer animation. - **Home-made Artwork Trend:** Great pieces of home-made artwork, like hand-drawn animations, are popping up all over YouTube. - **Visualized Conversations Trend:** Visualized conversations, like James Braitwaite's animation of a conversation between Jerry Levitan and John Lennon, are becoming a popular form of storytelling. ### Sectors Adopting This - **Animation Industry:** The animation industry can capitalize on the trend of beautifully executed hand-drawn animation as an alternative to computer animation. - **Youtube Industry:** The YouTube industry can benefit from the trend of great pieces of home-made artwork, like hand-drawn animations, being shared on its platform. - **Storytelling Industry:** The storytelling industry can embrace the trend of visualized conversations as a unique and engaging form of storytelling. ## Related on Trend Hunter - [Graphic Fashion Animation Campaigns](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/superflat-animation.md) - [Viral Non-AI Christmas Ads](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/le-mal-aime.md) - [Puzzle Animated Biopic Trailers](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/piece-by-piece-trailer.md) - [AI Animation Tools](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/tooncrafter-ai1.md) - [Human-Made Car Campaigns](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/the-coded-love-letter.md) - [Animated Biographical Movies](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/piece-by-piece.md) - [3D-Printed Flip Books](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/stl-sculptures.md) - [Transformative AI Art](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/drawings-alive.md) - [Stop-Motion Short Animations](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/over-the-garden-wall.md)