Tommy Simms is an interdisciplinary artist from Wisconsin. He perfected his stop-motion animation technique while attending the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. His senior film, “The Legend of Leatherface Larry” went on to be showcased at the Festival de Cannes. After achieving his Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree, Tommy co-founded Out of Toon Studios. The studio’s team is dedicated to teaching the art of animation, while also creating original films. Their animated short, “Genie Gypsy Woman,” was awarded Best Animated Music Video at the Rincón International Film Festival. In addition to the work with Out of Toon Studios, Tommy has had his animations and puppetry featured on PBS, in local theatre productions, and at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. For years he has inspired the next generation of artists, teaching puppetry and stop-motion classes at art camps across the United States. His animated adventures now continue with SIMWIG films, currently creating music videos with the surf-pop indie-rock band, Fuzzysurf.