Rain Down From Above (2007) by Ivan Maximov

It is pouring down outside and there is not a glimmer of light in the sky. Not to worry, today it is time to immerse oneself in the aquatic world of one of my all time favourite animators Ivan Maximov and a gorgeous high definition (229mb) version of his 2007 Rain Down From Above. Visitors to the Animation Blog will be well aware of my fascination for his work. Here we are again in the same alternative universe of childhood where a girl and her puppy and three baby elephants exist happily enough until the rains come. Their home is perched high on a hill and the adults, for such there are even in Ivan's universe, leave the youngsters to get on with their chores. The elephants make hay while the sun shines though the onslaught of the deluge wreaks havoc, flooding the homes, washing away the sculptor's clay model and, calamity, sweeping the elephants and the little girl in the red dress down the hillside with a crashing waterfall ahead. No fears. The water spells fun for the other girl and her puppy on the water-driven roundabout and there's always a man with a net around when one needs one. Ivan is very sparing in his use of colour: aforementioned dress, band around the captain's hat and there's that metallic green fish we get to see. His characters are eccentric, whilst the artwork is magnificent, light and shade beautifully realised in the predominantly hand drawn work that has such clear delineation of light and shade; and always that eye for the idiosyncrasies and humour of life. Worth giving the images a click for the detail. Watch Ivan's work and the sun shines.