Daniel Savage is a multi-disciplinary artist, designer, and animator based in Brooklyn, New York, who operates under the studio name Something Savage. His work focuses on motion design, illustration, and printmaking, exploring modular animation systems through a unique blend of analog and digital processes.

Savage creates kaleidoscopic abstract animations using a pen plotter—a drawing robot that executes his multi-layered marker drawings frame by frame. “I’ve always wanted to find a way to combine clean geometric shapes with hand-drawn animation – the pen plotter is the most efficient way to execute this,” he explains. His process mirrors screen printing: separating colors into individual layers, the plotter translates his designs into precise grid layouts of filled patches and lines. Once drawn, Savage scans these frames at high resolution, cropping in close to achieve a distinct grainy texture that “adds a richness you can’t really get digitally.”

Working with the plotter forces Savage to “strip back the work to the bare minimum.” His dreamy color layers are limited only by his available markers, “which is great because I can’t overthink it.” The bleeding lines and layered hues create compositions that digitally translate sunsets, rivers, and moving landscapes. “There’s something interesting about letting nature inspire a robot drawing,” Savage notes.

Originally trained in percussion performance before switching to graphic design, Savage’s musical background informs his approach to animation. “My innate rhythm from playing drums definitely helped with animation,” he says. His work explores the tension between control and chaos, examining how machines can extend—rather than erase—the human hand in art. Savage has created work for clients including Comedy Central, Kanye West, and Google. His book Something Savage is forthcoming from Vetro Editions.