Run Wrake Animation Archive

The personal archive of the work of British animator Run Wrake (1965-2012). The archive consists of Wrake’s work from his college days through to his death and comprises scrapbooks, cells and drawings (including examples of how drawings were manipulated using photocopiers), storyboards (including the detailed synchronisation of image and music), found objects and images, original paintings and illustrations and notebooks. Twelve bankers boxes and four portfolio folders, plus a small number of loose larger works.

John "Run" Wrake (24 November 1965[1] – 21 October 2012) was an English animator, film director, graphic designer, and music video director. He was best known for his 2005 short film, 'Rabbit'.

After graduating, Wrake worked freelance, illustrating and designing album covers and tour visuals for artists such as U2 and Howie B, in addition to directing commercials for companies such as Coca-Cola throughout the 1990s and early 2000s. He also directed music videos, many of which were for Howie B. He later began working with Animate Projects, which commissioned him to direct animated short films. In 2005, he released his animated short film entitled 'Rabbit', his most notable work. 'Rabbit' tells a morality tale about the dangers of greed through a Dick and Jane art style.[2] Wrake's main inspiration for the film was an envelope he found in a thrift shop containing children's educational stickers, illustrated by Geoffrey Higham, from the 1950s. The film received numerous awards and nominations, including a BAFTA nomination for Best Short Animation Film at the 2006 BAFTA Awards.