Adrenaline-pumped paper animation packs in the action

Clever use of paper seems to be an emerging trend this year in animation and here's one of the best uses of it so far. This six-minute animation combines elements of hand drawn animation with stop motion cut outs to create a fun-packed clip that's full to the brim with clever and inventive techniques.

Director and screenwriter Zhe Zhang spent a good chunk of his year at the animation and digital arts school of the Communication University of China on the short - and it shows. The animated short makes imaginative use of mundane props - from toilet paper becoming a waterfall to an animated flying paper plane - and pulls in inspirations from everywhere from samurai fighting to games like Street Fighter. With a relatively simple storyline, livened up with a few twists, this animation keeps you hooked for the duration as we await to see which of our actors will win the battle for the fair maiden.

Zhang is already becoming widely regarded in China, just recently receiving an invite to the prestigious Golden Koala Awards. We look forward to seeing what he comes up with next!

Words: Alex Williamson

Alex Williamson is an art and design student in London, who blogs about design, art and illustration. Follow him on Twitter.

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