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
Subscribers31.7 million
Views8.74 billion
Last updated: October 15, 2025

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, [1] graduating in 2013. [2]

When he was growing up, Becker experimented with pixel art on his family's computer in 2001. [3] Two of Becker's favorite 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. [3] 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. [4]

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. [2] 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. [3] 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. [3] On May 14, 2007, Alan Becker posted Animator vs. Animation on YouTube. [5]

In June 2007, Atom Films paid Becker more than $10,000 to be able to post the animation on Atom Films’ website. [6] 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. [6] 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. [7]

Becker continued releasing animations, animation tutorials, and further spin-offs of the Animator vs. Animation series. [2] Becker announced a Kickstarter for a card game based on his animations, which was released in May 2018. [8] [9]

On June 24, 2023, Becker released an animation called “Animation vs. Math”. As of November 5, 2025, the animation has over 95 million views. [10] Becker has since released several other STEM-related animations including "Animation vs. Physics", "Animation vs. Geometry" and "Animation vs. Coding". [4] Oxford University mathematician Tom Crawford has created an analysis video for both "Animation vs. Math" and "Animation vs. Geometry". [11] [12]

On March 26, 2025, Becker announced another Kickstarter for an upcoming fighting game titled "Animation VERSUS", with a release date set for June 2028. [13] [14]

Awards

In 2007, Animator vs. Animation 2 won a "People's Choice" Webby Award. [2] [15] [16]

In 2024, Becker received the IMI Award and $50,000 from the Independent Media Initiative (IMI) for his work on "Animation vs. Math". [17]

Filmography

YearVideoNotes
2005Pink ArmyAlan Becker's first published animation to Newgrounds.
2006Animator vs. Animation Season 1 (ep. 1–4)The Origins of victim, The Chosen One, The Dark Lord & the Stick Gang with Red, Yellow, Green, Blue & The Second Coming.
Animator vs. Animation The Origins of victim.
Animator vs. Animation 2Won a "People's Choice" Webby Award. The Origins of The Chosen One.
2010Animator vs. Animation 3The Origins of The Dark Lord.
2014Animator vs. Animation 4The Origins of the Stick Gang.
2015Animation vs. Minecraft (original)The Stick Gang discovers Minecraft.
2017Animation vs. YouTubeThe Stick Gang discovers YouTube.
Animation vs. Minecraft Shorts Season 1 (ep. 1–14)The first Season Animation vs. Minecraft Shorts.
2018Animator vs. Animation Season 2 (ep. 5–8)Started out 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 first virus bots.
The Chosen One's Return - Animator vs. Animation6The Chosen One Return's & destroys the virus bots.
Animation vs. League of LegendsThe Stick Gang discovers League of Legends.
2019The Flashback - Animator vs. Animation7How The Chosen One & Season The Dark Lord became enemies.
Animation vs. PokémonThe Stick Gang discovers Pokémon.
Blue's New SuperpowerA fundraiser for the organization Team Trees.
Animation vs. Super Mario BrosThe Stick Gang discovers Super Mario Bros.
2020Animation vs. Minecraft Shorts Season 2 (ep. 15–19)The second Season Animation vs. Minecraft Shorts.
Animation vs. Minecraft Shorts Season 3 (ep. 20–30)The third Season Animation vs. Minecraft Shorts.
The Showdown - Animator vs. Animation8something inside of The Second Coming awakens & destroys The Dark Lord alongside with minions, the virus bots.
2021Animation vs. Arcade GamesThe Stick Gang discovers Arcade Games.
Animation vs. TrashA fundraiser for the organization Team Seas.
2022Actual ShortsThe only animations on Alan's channel that are posted as YouTube Shorts, as opposed to full-length videos.
2023Animator vs. Animation Season 3Similarly to Season 2, it was originally titled "Animator vs. Animation VI" (not to be confused with The Chosen One's Return) before being renamed to Season 3.
Animation vs. Minecraft Shorts Season 4 (ep. 31–36)The fourth Season Animation vs. Minecraft Shorts.
Wanted - Animation vs. Animation 9victim's Mercenaries capture The chosen one & The second coming.
Animation vs. MathThe start of Alan's Animation vs. Education series. Where The second coming learns Math.
Animation vs. PhysicsThe Second Coming learns Physics.
The Box - Animator vs. Animation 10victim tortures The chosen one.
2024Animation vs. GeometryThe Second Coming learns Geometry.
Influencer ArcInvolved Vlog-like videos created in-universe by Green and uploaded to a separate YouTube channel.
Victim - Animator vs. Animation 11How Victim escapes the animator's laptop.
2025Animation vs. CodingYellow learns coding.
Animation vs. AddictionBlue fight's a Addiction & The Second Coming helps him.
App StaffThe Stick Gang mess around with the block Staff & use apps instead.
Speedrun CompetitionThe Stick Gang Speedrun Minecraft.
Mercenary TryoutsThe Origins of victim's Mercenaries.
Beta - Animation vs. Minecraft Shorts Ep 0The Chosen One & The Dark Lord discover Minecraft. Before the creation of the Stick Gang.
Animation vs. WaterA fundraiser for the organization Team Water.
Hacker - Animator vs. Animation 12Victim change his name H4CK3R & terrorise the animator's PC.
Hardcore Manhunt - Animation vs. Minecraft Shorts Ep 37The Stick Gang's Minecraft World becomes a Hardcore one.

References

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