About
My name is Bethelhem Molla, I go by Beth Molla on social media. I am a self-taught 2d animator and digital artist. I graduated from Alle School Of Fine Arts and design in industrial design department. Joining art school has helped me so much on my drawing skills. I had to learn animation on my own Since there are no 2d animation schools in Ethiopia. After graduation, I decided to open my own small company, Dede Advertising/studios. It’s a place where i create different projects.
Mender: Animated Voice
Is an animated sitcom movie, that is created by me, the story involves around six family members father Dashe, mother Ete, daughter Derry, son 1 Enkush, son 2 Ekuye and house maid Bilcha. We wrote their stories based on many Ethiopians. The family represents the average Ethiopian family. It’s not all laughs and fun, we also discuss important issues about racial differences, children going to school, women rights and other messages that can teach while entertaining. Mender is going to celebrate the many cultures of Ethiopia.
To create this, we are using 2d animation software (Adobe animate), Autodesk Sketch Book pro, Adobe Photoshop and Krita to draw backgrounds.
Creative Ethiopia
The movie industry in Ethiopia is common in producing normal romantic movies. Even if the industry is growing there are no animated movies for adults or children. As an artist I believe in variety and an animated sitcom in our main language will get many attentions. Mender is literally the first kind to be produced in Ethiopia. That gives us a good opportunity to be noticed.
Challenges
The problem is pitching our movie to the big people, even if they like the idea, they wouldn’t risk their money on something that was never done before here in Ethiopia. There aren’t enough people that work on 2D animation. There is interest but there are no schools that can teach these interested people. It doesn’t help that the equipment needed for the medium are expensive and most of the times inaccessible.
Hopes & Dreams
I want to educate people through my projects (like mender). I have high hopes to make this animated sitcom produced and release it for people to watch in their television.
Covid-19
Despite the anxiety of the disease going around in our world, i say it gives me more time to be alone and to focus on my projects. It helps me to calmly concentrate and come up with plans for when i go back to my studio. I can stay home and grow my drawing skills while i also focus on my hobbies like planting and reading.
Contact
Instagram @dede_studios
Facebook Dede Studio – ዴዴ ስቱዲዮ
One Reply to “DEDE Studios | 2D Animation”
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