BY MEL SIGNOREILLYMATION
SUBSCRIBERS: 1,108,482
UPLOADS: 15
VIDEO VIEWS: 31,896,096
USER CREATED: SEP 1ST, 2013ILLYMATION
HEALING THROUGH ANIMATION AND SHARED EXPERIENCE:
AN INTERVIEW WITH ILYSSA OF ILLYMATION
In the past few years on YouTube, the animation community has
blown up with new and exciting artists and storytellers. Among
these expanding channels is Illymation, helmed by Ilyssa, a 21-year-
old animator on YouTube who, in just one year, has gained a loyal
and dedicated audience of one million subscribers.Illymation’s growth is shocking
given how hard it has become to
break through on YouTube nowa-
days — especially for animators —
but when you watch Illy’s anima-
tions, you can see why people are
drawn to her content.What lures people into her channel initially, she
suggests, is morbid curiosity. Her creativity shines
through as she tells me, “Girl talks about somethin’...
You’ll wince a little bit at that somethin’, but you’ll
watch it. It’s kind of like when you walk outside and
you see a really mangled squirrel, and you’re like, ‘I
should probably look into that.’”