Shorts are alive and well, and finding new ways to reach audiences. Patrick Smith has created six short films since 2001, including his latest, Puppet. © . Patrick Smith.

Once upon a time and apart from the occasional animated feature, "cartoons" meant short cartoons -- Hollywood creations starring now legendary characters who filled out double bills at a studio-owned chain theater.

The studio and theatrical distribution system that supported this golden era may be long gone, but animated TV series starring popular characters in 11-minute adventures are happily carrying on the Hollywood tradition. Meanwhile, shorts are thriving outside of TV as well. They've adapted to new technology and have found new ways to reach audiences. Shorts cartoons serve a different purpose these days -- several different purposes as a matter of fact.

Making money isn't one of them, or at least not near the top of the list if you're an independent animator. "My students get tired of hearing me tell them there's no money [to be made] in independent shorts," says New York animator and instructor Fran Krause. Cartoons are a labor of love for this crowd; as with any artist, it's a form of self-expression that can't be denied, and earning a living is a secondary consideration. "For the most part I make a living doing commercial work," Krause adds, "but it's hard to see your creative output watered down by marketing decisions. When you make your own films, you don't have to run your work past committees or advertising clients -- you can make a decision in three seconds."

Krause's for-hire work has shown up on the Discovery Channel, Nickelodeon and Saturday Night Live, but independent cartoons (Moonraker and Birdhouse, both made in 2004) are a way of recharging his creative batteries. Balancing freelance assignments and personal projects can be tricky, however. "I used to make my own films during the two or three months I'd be out of work over the course of a year, but for the last couple of years I've been employed pretty much full time. I have to resort to making 30 second films with my brother Will." Krause is referring to films like Robot Dance Party, which actually runs 55 seconds and was made in a mere three days for a New York ASIFA screening. In the meantime, he's keeping his fingers crossed that Cartoon Network will greenlight a series he's developing for them.

With his own production company (Blend Films), a slew of directing credits to his name (including MTV's Daria and numerous TV commercials) and a side career as a painter, one wonders where Patrick Smith finds the time to make short cartoons for himself. Yet he's managed to create six personal films since 2001 featuring chisel-featured characters trapped in vividly realized, allegorical situations. (The sixth film, Masks, is due out in 2007.)

Smith says that originally, his independent films were "100% subsidized" by his commercial work, but now they're beginning to pay their own way. "Funding is starting come in from different sources. I'm getting more European TV deals from channels in different countries. For example, I just signed a contract for distribution in Germany for I think Euros1,000. That's not a lot, but there might be 10 or 12 such contracts in Europe alone. That begins to add up."

Bill Plympton's Oscar nomination for Guard Dog increased the short's earning potential. "It had great distribution," he points out. "It ran in over 100 theaters." © 2004 Bill Plympton.

Smith looks at his independent films as a way to keep his creative edge sharp and keep his name and work in the minds of the New York advertising community. The day after a recent invite-only showing of Puppet, his most recent short at a Greenwich Village screening room, Smith estimated that "half the people there were from the advertising world. It's relative -- a lot of agencies want to hire the independent people. Last night wasn't to show off the last spots I'd directed; it was about independent film. It's a little more legitimate and I think people appreciate that."

Krause points to superstar independent animator Bill Plympton as one of a tiny handful of people actually earning a living from their animated shorts. Whether not that's actually the case is between Plympton and his accountant. However, with his instantly recognizable style, Plympton (like Smith) enjoys a steady stream of advertising work to accompany his personal films, and is particularly well versed when it comes to marketing his work. Both men point to long-running venues like the Spike & Mike Festival and The Animation Show, compilations that run in theaters and appear on DVD. "The Animation Show is my favorite," says Plympton. "Don Hertzfeldt and Mike Judge [the compilation's organizers] have a lot of energy and compassion. They really believe in their films and work hard to get good press and good audiences. They pay a lot more money, too -- multiple times what Spike pays"

Plympton adds that an Oscar nomination (like the one he received for 2004's Guard Dog) increases a short's earning potential, particularly with new outlets like Magnolia Pictures' compilation of Oscar-nominated cartoon and live-action shorts. "It had great distribution," he points out. "It ran in over 100 theaters.

"There's a sort of mythology that it's impossible to make money on short films. I, and a bunch of others, including Don Hertzfeldt, have proven that's not true. You can make money if you're smart, keep your budgets low and your films short and funny. Short, cheap and funny -- kind of the way I like my women."