'Simon's Cat' creative genius: Simon Tofield

Cats are among my favorites in life. They run the gamut from playful and silly to dramatic and arrogant. They are excellent communicators but only to those who take the time to notice the nuances. Cat lovers who are attuned to their felines will be generously rewarded with true affection and companionship peppered with humor and unpredictabilty.

My early morning habit is checking my e-mail while enjoying a hot cup of coffee. I relish the peace and quiet before the rest of the family comes to life. I happened to open a link to a YouTube posting entitled "Cat Man Do" and found myself laughing aloud uncontrollably! Rarely have I seen anyone nail cat behavior so perfectly! This was my introduction to the creative genius of Simon Tofield.

Simon Tofield is a British animator and the director of Tandem Films, a commercial studio in London. "Cat Man Do" was his first Flash-animated film short about a hungry cat's attempts to wake up his master. It won Best Comedy in the 2008 British Animation Awards. It was also this serendipitous effort inspired by his own kitten, Hugh, that went on to launch "Simon's Cat." Little did he know at the time that his first post on YouTube would get 3 million hits. Apparently there are a lot of cat fans in cyberspace!

Simon began drawing cartoons as a child and studied animation and graphic arts at De Montfort University in Leicester, England. His life-long interest in the outdoors and animals ,especially cats, has helped him develop a keen sense of feline behavior. He finds endless subjects to animate from the antics of his own three cats: Hugh, Maisie, and Teddy.

Simon, who has been drawing his cats for years, produces his computer images on a Wacom tablet with a Wacom pen then he plays them back at 25 frames per second. His great ear for cat language enables him to reproduce the sounds himself. They are recorded and dropped into the films by his sound engineer, Russell Pay from Shrooty. Besides "Cat Man Do," he has produced: "Let Me In," "TV Dinner," Hot Spot," " Hop-it," "Cat in the Box," "Snow Business," "Cat & Mouse," "Santa Claws," and, two other personal favorites, "Fly Guy" and "Hidden Treasure." The arrival of a new kitten has inspired a new twist in his most recent animation short "Double Trouble."

During this stressful holiday season, take a break and treat yourself to a hearty laugh by viewing these hilarious online animated short films. There are also four books of cartoons by Simon Tofield featuring his cats as well as calendars, T-shirts, and other gift items available from the website at www.simonscat.com.