There’s no question that short and funny creative needlepoint videos can be a lot of fun to watch.

They’re also a blast to make, too!  (Just to be clear:  I am not talking about commercially creating a derivative work from copyrighted material:  this post is just about passing time on the beach, so to speak, with your latest internet gizmo.)

For example, I’ve often thought what it would be like if I could animate a canvas.  Or move different elements of a canvas around.  Or move one design element from one canvas to another, creating a different look.  As long as the design isn’t too elaborate, it’s quite simple to do, and takes only patience.

Julie Pischke Designs

Julie Pischke is a native Floridian who has lived in Key West for many years, and has designed many awesome tropical-themed needlepoint canvases.  I like their simplicity and bold colors, which one can plainly see in a canvas such as her Calypso Crab one.

It’s really a snap to load this image into your favorite graphics editing program and play around, then run it through a simple video editor for extra bells and whistles.

Here on my latest Vimeo clip you can watch the Calypso crab come to life, and it took only a few minutes to do.  I had to change the background a little, to fill in the big hole when I took out the crab, but you get the idea.  I’ve kept it basic and slow, so you can see the different steps Mr. Calypso takes to get across the canvas.

Jazzing this basic idea up is simple.

If I wanted to, I could easily have added two black dots to Mr. Calypso’s eyes, and have him stop and look around.  Or I could make his little legs wiggle, maybe to the beat of funky calypso music.  There really is no limit but your imagination to this kind of stuff, but of course in the end nothing beats getting the original canvas and stitching it!

It’s just that some stitchers like to have a little extra fun. 

Erin McGrath and Needlepointland.com, 2012 – 2016.