Ami Plasse: About

Amitai (ahh-mee-tie) Plasse, aka Ami, is a visual and motion artist born and raised in New York City. A 1995 graduate of Parsons School of Design with a BFA in Illustration, he spent 20+ years working as an Advertising/Marketing creative as a designer, illustrator, art director, animator and creative director. Always the prolific sketcher, he is rarely without a sketchbook or iPad chronicling characters, scenarios, and impressions as he navigates his world. A lover of motion and interactivity, he is always pursuing alternate ways to bring his work to life.

In New York, Ami spent years capturing the infinite array of interesting characters and interactions that he encountered on his daily commute on the subway. In Austin, where he relocated to in 2011, Ami found inspiration particularly in the energy of the music scene, capturing the artists and fans he encountered at clubs and festivals through his own unique lens. His rapid approach to drawing subjects in perpetual motion led to developing a new approach to animation, compositing quick, expressive drawings into short, animated clips.

In 2017, Ami left his Creative Director position to start Gonzo Viz, a studio focusing on live art, animation, illustration, group art projects, and creative workshops. As someone who relished the energy o drawing his subjects live, and in close proximity the pandemic created artistic challenges on many fronts. Professionally he was luckily able to adapt by working with events over zoom and other streaming platforms and even more fortunately he spent nine months as an animator on the recently released Richard Linklater-directed animated feature, Apollo 10 ½.

Ami currently lives in South Austin with his 3 teenage sons.

IG: @amirocks73 | @theangrycloud