A NEW BREED OF CHARACTERS IS TAKING OVER !
They’re invading art, media, advertising, fashion, internet and urban landscapes across the globe . . .

As market-friendly branding or its subversive inversion, loveable kitsch or urban art - CONTEMPORARY CHARACTER DESIGN, abstract and reduced to the essentials, has redefined aesthetic standards of visual communication worldwide. By playfully sampling and remixing visual codes, these characters evade established pictorial norms, confronting the viewer head on, emotionally and regardless of cultural background.

The PICTOPLASMA ARCHIVES began in 1999 as an extensive inventory, collection and showcase of contemporary character design. With the countless images collected, pictoplasma examines the vast array of possibilities characters offer as signs of an independent graphical language. Pictoplasma is a curated public archive of the most daring and outstanding characters in a growing global network.

In a series of PICTOPLASMA EXHIBITIONS, installations and happenings, we expose the viewer to the physical impact of characters in the third dimension: the tangible delights of plush dolls, the heart warming spontaneity of hand-drawn scribble lounges and the cool perfectionism of high-res, larger than life cardboard stand-ups.

The PICTOPLASMA ANIMATION FESTIVAL puts the style back into animation with a unique overview of outstanding international short films, music videos and motion graphics. Conceived as an event to alternate with the biennial pictoplasma conference, the two-day festival showcases fresh new character design reclaiming the world of animation.

Since 2004, the PICTOPLASMA CONFERENCE brings together a disparate community of international character creators and producers from the worlds of illustration, animation, design, street and fine art. The focus of the conference is less on distinctions of format, style or technique, than on the exploration of common territory. The lively exchange between the various disciplines highlightes the importance of contemporary characters in today’s visual understanding. Alongside the official program of lectures, workshops and panel discussions, an accompanying series of exhibitions, VJ sessions and parties attract a young, interested audience.

Timeless and stylish, the first two pictoplasma publications became overnight bestsellers, now referred to as the “old and new testament of character visuals”. The vast pictorial encyclopaedias focus on general tendencies and complex interrelations within contemporary character design. Recent PICTOPLASMA PUBLISHING editions include: a DVD/book set of characters in motion, graphics, animation and narration; a colouring and activity book, and the long-awaited third volumen of the pictoplasma encyclopaedia series.

Since the beginning in 1999 Picoplasma has evolved as the first platform for the distribution and collection of artistically conceived character design and art. Today, PICTOPLASMA SERVICES are able to act as a non-exclusive middleman between potential clients or agencies and the vast network of international artists, illustrators and cartoonists represented by Pictoplasma.