3D Artist Scum Boy Gets His Own Doc
Art

3D Artist Scum Boy Gets His Own Doc

A newly released documentary sheds light onto the life of transgender 3D artist Scum Boy, who has grown beyond social media buzz to become an acclaimed creative on-the-rise. Allison Swank directed Scum Boy, a self-titled short film that covers his world as a young South African, Jewish artist as he transitions from childhood to adulthood during some of the weirdest years in recent history.

Scum Boy has found popularity online because of his work in CGI animation, where he creates fearlessly stylized images that explore ideas of sex and identity — often tagged with brand logos in unsettling, twisted environments. It's only right that he gets a doc centering who he is outside of the mystery and how he came to create art that showcases a different perspective on the world.

"[Scum Boy's] narration drives this story accompanied by symbolic and cohesive visual cues," his team says of Scum Boy, which won Best Short Documentary at the IMDB Independent Shorts Awards in Los Angeles. "Using animated renders of his work, slick and gorgeous experimental studio set ups, and intimate at-home footage we get the full spectrum of this world inside and out."

Towards the beginning of Scum Boy, he details how he's feeling as a digital artist garnering attention. "I'm slowly coming to terms with the fact that I'm making art and people like it," he says. "There's still a lot of imposter syndrome where I'm like, 'Does anybody else know that this is bullshit, or is it just me?' But then I think, 'Wait a minute, this isn't bullshit, you like this, and this is what you do.'"

Later on, after talking candidly about his relationship, art and religion, Scum Boy speaks briefly about how grateful he is to be in this current position. "It was a dream for me to be where I'm at right now," he says. "When I was a kid, this is exactly where I wanted to be."

Check out some behind-the-scenes photos from the doc and watch Allison Swank's Scum Boy in its entirety, below.

Photos courtesy of Allison Swank/ Travys Owen

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