If you thought there is only so much one person can do, think again! Animator, Illustrator and Educator, it is inspiring to see the myriad tasks just one creative person can perform. Shilpa Ranade is one of the few Indian women who has made a name for herself in the field of animation. Working independently on films, she also illustrates for children's books, teaches, creates concept art and animates for music videos, documentaries and feature films.

Ever since she picked up her first crayons, Shilpa wanted to draw. Guided by her father, who had always encouraged Shilpa and her two sisters to follow their passion, she joined the J J Institute of Applied Art in 1982 for a Bachelor's Degree programme. During those 5 years in JJ, Shilpa became a member of the film society - Prabhat Chitra Mandal. Here she was introduced for the first time to the world cinema - German, Russian and especially Eastern European Animation. That was it. Shilpa had found the one thing that combined two of her deepest interests - film and drawing.

Shilpa's creativity won her the gold medal at the degree exhibition at JJ. After graduation, it was disconcerting to Shilpa that her five years at JJ had only got her mastery over skills. A one-month stint at the Ad Agency - Trikaya only deepened her dissatisfaction. Shilpa then joined IIT Mumbai's Industrial Design Centre for her Masters in visual communication. The conceptual learning that happened at IDC along with a lot of theoretical study helped Shilpa find some of the missing pieces of her puzzle.

But there was still no animation. The IDC then did not have a dedicated animation department. There was neither faculty nor infrastructure for the subject. Students made films of their own accord. It at least gave Shilpa the opportunity to make films, experiment with the medium and moving images.

Next she joined Ram Mohan Biographics for 6 months, where she finally got to learn the workings of the animation medium - the basics and the skills. This was where she got firm grounding for her animation skills. But the focus there was on classical animation and it simply wasn't what she really wanted to pursue.

Shilpa had her heart and mind set on something else.

Two years at the TISS unit for Media and Communications. At that time, it was known as the audio visual unit. Here, Shilpa was involved in teaching communication through graphic design to students of social sciences and making educational videos on social issues, mental health, important topics like visually impaired parents bringing up sighted kids etc. This was a thoroughly enjoyable experience for her. While there, she created a film on Children's Rights which was set to music. Unfortunately, she was unable to complete the film.

In 1993, Shilpa went to RCA Royal College of Arts, London for an M. Phil in animation. This was what she really wanted to do. At RCA, Shilpa spent a lot of time reading writing, animating and doing her research. Her thesis was on "Indigenous images and narratives for socially and culturally relevant animation". While there, she made 2 animated films - "Mani's Dying" and "The Harvest", both of them received very well by the audiences. The bold colour palate and unconventional treatment combined with the uniqueness of the story brought Shilpa recognition as well as many accolades and awards.

Shilpa was also awarded a three month residency by the Museum of the Moving Image, London, for development work on "Naja Goes to School". It was a unique experience where she had to execute her work sitting in the Museum, almost like an exhibit herself, where visitors to the museum could watch her and ask her questions.

Another film Shilpa made was "The Childhood of Krishna" commissioned by S4C, Wales. It was part of a series developed to introduce world faiths to British students. The film was created using the miniature style and was a collaborative effort between various people. The film was produced by Shilpa's husband, Soumitra Ranade.

In 1996, Shilpa came back to India and set up Soumitra Ranade Productions in Mumbai in 1997 together with her husband.

In 2001, she joined IDC again, this time as faculty, where she was instrumental in setting up the animation programme at the Masters Level. The process of creating the curriculum, setting up the specialization course and co-ordinating has been a long drawn and tedious but fruitful one.

Currently, Shilpa is busy donning the multiple hats of illustrator, visualizer, writer and animator. Her ongoing projects are all diverse and equally interesting.

CURRENT PROJECTS:

1. Warli Painting - two research based books on the narrative folk tradition of the Warlis of Maharashtra for Tara Books, Chennai.
2. Production Design for an animated feature on Ali Baba for UTV.
3. Illustrations for 'Tiny Turtle', a children’s book for Scholastic India.
4. Illustrations for 'The Monkeys and the Cap Seller' an audio book for The Karadi Tales Company.
5. Animated short fiction ‘Drunkard of The River’ for Indis Lightbox.
6. 'The Mouse and his Cap', animated short for preschoolers, Il&FS / K yan

FILMOGRAPHY:

1. Mani’s Dying - 7min/ 16mm/Animation/1995 - Royal College of Art, London.
2. The Harvest - 2min/16mm/Animation/1995 - Royal College of Art, London
3. The Childhood of Krishna - 14min/Digibeta/Animation/1997 - S4C, Wales, Channel 4, London
4. Naja Goes to School - 7min/35mm/Animation/1999 - Channel 4, London.
5. Mouse Tales - The mouse with seven tails - 7min/ CD rom/ Animation/ 2006 - IL&FS/ K Yan
6. Perspectives on Mental Health - 60min/ 2 parts/ video/ 1992 - TISS
7. Pramila and Parvati - 30min/ video/ 1993 - TISS

BOOK ILLUSTRATIONS:

1. Little Vinayak By Shobha Viswanath
2. The Donkey and His Sacks of Salt Scholastic India/ English/ Hindi
3. Just So Stories By Rudyard Kipling
4. Mulla Nasruddin By Sharukh Hussain
5. The Wit of Tenali Raman Scholastic India
6. Birbal the Clever Courtier Anupa Lal, Scholastic India
7. The Comic Capers of Sheikh Chilli Anupa Lal, Scholastic India

MUSIC VIDEO:

Chanke Jahan Payal Teri By 3 Brothers and a Violin - Animation/ 5min/2005

ANIMATED SIGNATURE:

Osian’s Film Festival - 2004 & 2005

ANIMATION FOR DOCUMENTARIES:

1. Q2P - Dir. Paromita Vohra
2. Bhavishya Alliance - Dir. Paromita Vohra

ANIMATION FOR FEATURE FILM:

Mithya - Dir. Rajat Kapoor