Alan Becker

Last updated

Alan Becker
Born
Alan Becker

Dublin, Ohio, U.S.
Education Columbus College of Art and Design
Occupations
Children1
YouTube information
Channel
Years active2006–present
Genres
Subscribers32.3 million [1]
Views9.03 billion [2]
Last updated: January 14, 2026

Alan Becker is an American online animator, YouTuber and artist best known for creating the Animator vs. Animation web series and the spin-off Animation vs. franchise, in particular the web series Animation vs. Minecraft Shorts.

Contents

Early life and education

Becker was born in Dublin, Ohio. He graduated from Scioto High School in 2007, and attended Columbus College of Art and Design, [3] graduating in 2013. [4]

While he was growing up, Becker experimented with pixel art on his family's computer in 2001. [5] Two of Becker's favourite animated short films were the 1953 Looney Tunes short Duck Amuck and the 1959 adaptation of Harold and the Purple Crayon , both of which contained animated characters using their surroundings to draw things out, which would become major inspirations for his later works. [5] Becker received his first laptop in 2005, an Acer TravelMate, which he used to begin animating using Macromedia Flash (currently known as Adobe Animate).[ citation needed ] His first official animation, titled Pink Army, was posted on Newgrounds in 2006. Becker created his YouTube channel on the 24th of July that same year. [6]

Career

On June 3, 2006, at the age of 17, Becker posted the animation Animator vs. Animation on Newgrounds, where it quickly went viral and led to it being re-uploaded on various media websites. [4] Shortly after, an unnamed company offered him $75 for "exclusive rights" to Animator vs Animation, but he decided against it, heeding the advice of Steven Lerner, owner of Albino Blacksheep. [5] Later, he discovered that his animation had been uploaded to the website eBaum's World without permission. After Steven Lerner used this as evidence in a legal battle against eBaum's World, Becker accepted a $250 payment for use of the animation. However, following a change of heart, he claimed to have returned the money and had the animation removed. [5] On May 14, 2007, Alan Becker posted Animator vs. Animation on YouTube. [7]

In June 2007, Atom Films paid Becker more than $10,000 to be able to post the animation on Atom Films’ website. [8] Atom Films persuaded and funded Becker to create a sequel after the success of his first animation, resulting in the creation of Animator vs. Animation 2.[ citation needed ] According to the Wall Street Journal, Alan Becker’s Animation vs. Animator 2 has won a Webby Award. [8] In 2007, then 14-year-old Charles Yeh offered to create an online game based on the animation, and Becker agreed to collaborate with him. [9]

Becker continued releasing animations, animation tutorials, and further spin-offs of the Animator vs. Animation series. [4] Becker announced a Kickstarter for a card game based on his animations, which was released in May 2018. [10] [11]

On June 24, 2023, Becker released an animation called “Animation vs. Math”. As of January 14, 2026, the animation has 100 million views. [12] Becker has since released several other STEM-related animations including "Animation vs. Physics", "Animation vs. Geometry" and "Animation vs. Coding". [6] Oxford University mathematician Tom Crawford has created an analysis video for both "Animation vs. Math" and "Animation vs. Geometry". [13] [14]

On March 26, 2025, Becker announced another Kickstarter for an upcoming fighting game titled "Animation VERSUS", with a release date set for June 2028. [15] [16]

Awards

In 2007, Animator vs. Animation 2 won a "People's Choice" Webby Award. [4] [17] [18]

In 2024, Becker received the IMI Award and $50,000 from the Independent Media Initiative (IMI) for his work on "Animation vs. Math". [19]

Filmography

YearVideoNotes
2005Pink ArmyAlan Becker's first published animation to Newgrounds.
2006Animator vs. Animation Season 1 (ep. 1–4)A compilation of Animator vs. Animation episodes 1-4.
Animator vs. Animation The origin story of Victim, an animated stick figure who gains sentience and fights against Alan, his creator.
Animator vs. Animation 2The origin story of The Chosen One, a second stick figure given fire and laser powers due to his name who fights Alan, like Victim before him. Won a "People's Choice" Webby Award.
2010Animator vs. Animation 3The origin story of The Dark Lord, a figure specifically created to fight The Chosen One after he breaks out of captivity.
2014Animator vs. Animation 4The Origin story of the Stick Gang, consisting of Red, Yellow, Green, Blue and The Second Coming.
2015Animation vs. Minecraft (original)The Stick Gang discovers Minecraft and fights Herborine, who possesses Red.
2017Animation vs. YouTubeThe Second Coming and Green fight the YouTube logo.
Animation vs. Minecraft Shorts Season 1 (ep. 1–14)The first compilation video of Animation vs. Minecraft Shorts. Many abilities and systems of Minecraft are shown, such as redstone, potions, and going to the nether and the end, and the mysterious stick figure Purple is introduced.
2018Animator vs. Animation Season 2 (ep. 5–8)A compilation video of Animator vs. Animation episodes 5-8. Beginning as a miniseries called Animator vs. Animation Shorts, it was compiled into one entry in 2020 before being retroactively renamed to Season 2 in 2023.
The Virus - Animator vs. Animation5The Stick Gang fights One of The Dark Lord's very first virus bot (ViraBot).
The Chosen One's Return - Animator vs. Animation6The Chosen One returns to Alan's PC and destroys the virus bot (ViraBot).
Animation vs. League of LegendsThe Stick Gang discovers and plays League of Legends.
2019The Flashback - Animator vs. Animation7How The Chosen One and The Dark Lord went from friends to enemies, and the origin story of The Dark Lord's virus bots (ViraBots).
Animation vs. PokémonThe Stick Gang discovers and fights Pokémon.
Blue's New SuperpowerA fundraiser for the organization Team Trees in which the Stick Gang plants a lot trees using Blue's newfound ability.
Animation vs. Super Mario BrosThe Stick Gang discovers and fights Super Mario Bros.
2020Animation vs. Minecraft Shorts Season 2 (ep. 15–19)The second compilation video of Animation vs. Minecraft Shorts. The Stick Gang continues to get into trouble as they mess with lucky blocks, have music battles with note blocks, and more.
Animation vs. Minecraft Shorts Season 3 (ep. 20–30)The third compilation video of Animation vs. Minecraft Shorts. The new antagonist King Orange is introduced in his attempt to take the Minecraft Icon from the Stick Gang, with Purple revealed to be serving him.
The Showdown - Animator vs. Animation8The Chosen One leaves Alan's PC and goes to confront The Dark Lord, who plans to unleash virus bots into all of the internet. The Stick Gang follows him and watches their fight.
2021Animation vs. Arcade GamesThe Stick Gang discovers, plays and fights Arcade Games.
Animation vs. TrashA fundraiser for the organization Team Seas where the Stick Gang cleans up the oceans, using Blue's power to destroy trash using dollar bills.
2022Actual ShortsA series of short videos showing daily adventures of characters from the Alan Becker universe. These are the only animations on Alan's channel that are posted as YouTube Shorts, as opposed to full-length videos.
2023Animation vs. Minecraft Shorts Season 4 (ep. 31–36)The fourth compilation video of Animation vs. Minecraft Shorts. The Stick Gang once again get into episodic conflicts, doing things like having a concert, a race, and playing Bedwars on Hypixel.
Wanted - Animation vs. Animation 9A group of mercenaries capture The Chosen One and The Second Coming, and are revealed to be working for a dull Gray Victim.
Animation vs. MathThe start of Alan's Animation vs. Education series. The Second Coming learns how to do mathematics.
Animation vs. PhysicsThe Second Coming learns how to do physics.
The Box - Animator vs. Animation 10Victim interrogates The Chosen One and fights him inside of a cube, in which agent controls the physics.
2024Animation vs. GeometryThe Second Coming learns how to do geometry.
Influencer ArcA series of Vlog-like videos created in-universe by Green and uploaded to a separate YouTube channel.
Victim - Animator vs. Animation 11How Victim escaped Alan's laptop back in 2007 and created Rocket Corp with his first friend and lover, Mitsi.
2025Animation vs. CodingYellow learns how to do computer programming.
Animation vs. AddictionBlue fights an addiction and The Second Coming helps by teaching him to do meditation.
App StaffThe Stick Gang decides to mess around with King Orange's block staff and inserts apps from both Alan's PC and phone instead of blocks.
Speedrun CompetitionThe Stick Gang, including Purple and King Orange, speedruns Minecraft.
Mercenary TryoutsThe Origin story of Victim's mercenaries consisting of agent, Hazard, Primal and Ballista.
Beta - Animation vs. Minecraft Shorts Ep 0The Chosen One and The Dark Lord discover Minecraft long before the creation of the Stick Gang.
Animation vs. WaterA fundraiser for the organization Team Water, where The Second Coming and Blue give unfortunate people drinking water using Blue’s power to turn money into resources.
Hacker - Animator vs. Animation 12Victim changes his name to H4CK3R and The Chosen One's name to NO ONE, granting him tech-based reality-warping powers. He terrorizes Alan's PC and teams up with The Dark Lord, who has been rebuilt by some of his ViraBots that survived the events of AVA 8, to resurrect Mitsi.
Hardcore Manhunt - Animation vs. Minecraft Shorts Ep 37The Stick Gang's Minecraft World becomes a Hardcore one.
The Far Lands - Animation vs. Minecraft Shorts Ep 38The Stick Gang explores the far lands.

References

  1. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/@alanbecker
  2. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/@alanbecker
  3. ↑ animation_magazine (October 19, 2010). "Animated People: Alan Becker" . Retrieved December 14, 2024.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Noblit, Jennifer. "Becker shooting for 4th 'Animator vs. Animation' installment". Dublin Villager.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Becker, Alan (June 3, 2016). "The Story of Animator vs. Animation – 10th Anniversary".
  6. 1 2 "Alan Becker". YouTube. Retrieved December 7, 2024.
  7. ↑ Alan Becker (May 14, 2007). Animator vs. Animation (original) . Retrieved March 27, 2025– via YouTube.
  8. 1 2 Schechner, Sam (June 22, 2007). "The Joy of Sticks". Wall Street Journal. ISSN   0099-9660 . Retrieved December 28, 2024.
  9. ↑ "Animator vs. Animation Game". ALAN BECKER. November 20, 2018. Archived from the original on February 27, 2019. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
  10. ↑ "Animator vs Animation, The Official Card Game". Kickstarter. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  11. ↑ "Animator vs Animation". BoardGameGeek. Retrieved March 27, 2025.
  12. ↑ Alan Becker (June 24, 2023). Animation vs. Math . Retrieved March 27, 2025– via YouTube.
  13. ↑ Lang, Jamie (August 7, 2023). "The Math Checks Out In Alan Becker's Viral Short 'Animation Vs. Math'". Cartoon Brew. Retrieved December 7, 2024.
  14. ↑ tomrocksmaths (July 5, 2024). "Oxford University Mathematician REACTS to "Animation vs. Geometry"". TOM ROCKS MATHS. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
  15. ↑ Alan Becker (March 26, 2025). Animation VERSUS! - Reveal Trailer - Kickstarter . Retrieved March 27, 2025– via YouTube.
  16. ↑ Cichacki, Shaun (March 26, 2025). "'Animation Versus' Is the Creation of Alan Becker, the Creative Genius Behind 'Animator vs Animation', and It Blew Past Its Kickstarter Goal". VICE. Retrieved March 27, 2025.
  17. ↑ Noblit, Jenniferddd. "Becker shooting for 4th 'Animator vs. Animation' installment". Dublin Villager.
  18. ↑ "First-Ever Webby Film & Video Awards Unveil Nominees for "Oscars of the Internet" | The Webby Awards". www.webbyawards.com. Retrieved August 14, 2024.
  19. ↑ "Alan Becker". IMI. Retrieved March 27, 2025.
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