By now our own, personal apocalypse is not much more than a hazy memory, but after ongoing postponements due to hurricanes and blizzards, and a surprisingly shaken New York conference, we are happy to find ourselves back home, in Berlin, half-way relieved that the meteorite shower had mercy and decided to go down farther east.
We want to expressively thank all involved, artists, partners and attendees alike, for their endless will to survive, furious flexibility and never-tiring support.

After so much NYC related tough luck in a row, we are optimistically looking forward to making the next gathering happen as planned: on schedule, with tons of love towards the detail and filled with inspiring ingredients. We expect nothing less than 5 dense days of harmonious character-radiant warmth, joyful mingling and meeting, all graced by sunshine (from the inside).
This blessed moment is coming up sooner than you might expect, April 10 - 14, at the Pictoplasma Berlin Conference & Festival, and we excitedly look forward to share it with you.

By now things are shaping up rapidly - and we no longer can hide the latest avalanche of additions to the already enormous line-up of confirmed conference and character lab speaker, including Will Sweeney (UK), famed for his comic series "Tales From Greenfuzz", the accompanying vinyl toys, his very own fashion label Alakazam, and an never-ending optical acid bath of dancing pharaohs and voodoo jukeboxes from the future past; Sue Doeksen (NL), creator of wondrous worlds overpopulated by bright colors and friendly shapes, ranging from physical, digital, pencil-drawn, paper-cut, and everything in between;...

... mr clement (HK/UK), father to the iconic Petit Lapin, pushing the boundaries of traditional highbrow fine art by merging it with popular sub-culture from west and east; Gal Shkedi (ISR), director and illustrator based in Tel-Aviv Israel, represented world wide by Partizan, with a hyperactive imagination pushing simplicity to its most aesthetically pleasing limits; Fabian Koppenhöfer (DE), CG Artist juggling motion graphics, animation and vfx with a distinct edge towards character and an astonishing taming ability of the Cinema 4D software; and Anna Hrachovec (USA), DIY knitting goddess, toy designer and fiber artist, twisting familiar cultural touchstones with unparalleled playfulness and a few carefully placed stitches.

There is still 1/3 more t.b.a., but please take a long scroll down this awesome list of talent and look forward to soon to be added additions.

Next up, we're in the midst of finalizing the official screening programs from a sheer tsunami of ground shaking animation entries, will soon unleash all details on the various character walk exhibitions that will flood the city, and still have all the juice on communal jam-sessions, workshops and a whirlwind of all-night parties up our sleeves. But that'll need to be the material of our next newsletter.

Meanwhile, problem-free online registration awaits you on our site, as long as you act fast. Remember: you're just one lightning bolt away from a one week Berlin adventure, filled with inspiration in character heaven.

Earthquakes not included,

peter and lars