Barnaby J. Dixon, a multi-talented puppeteer, animator, musician, singer, YouTube star, and social media personality hailing from Britain, has captivated audiences worldwide with his incredible performances. With his self-titled YouTube channel, he has gained immense popularity, particularly through his hilarious comedy/vlog series featuring the lovable bird puppet, Dabchick. Since establishing his channel in 2011, Dixon’s subscriber count has skyrocketed to over 700 thousand, with an impressive total of nearly 70 million views. His online fame extends beyond YouTube, with a strong presence on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, boasting thousands of followers on each platform. Additionally, Dixon has garnered the support of over 300 Patreon backers. As a talented stop-motion animator, he has also delighted audiences with his acclaimed projects, including ‘Eskos’ and ‘Once Upon a Time in a Shed’.
Quick Facts
- Born Country: England
Rise to Fame
Barnaby Dixon started his YouTube channel, “barnabydixon,” on October 30, 2011. His first video, a stop-motion animated short called “Eskos,” was posted on the same day. The project was originally filmed in 2009 with rented space and equipment from The Engine Room in Bridgwater. “Eskos” received positive reviews and has garnered over 1.8 million views to date.
Introduction of Dabchick and Other Characters
On January 24, 2015, Dixon introduced his audience to a puppet/stop-motion hybrid character named Dabchick in a ten-second video. Dabchick made its official debut on April 4, 2015, in the first episode of the video series “Shell We Dance?” Initially, Dabchick did not speak, but Dixon eventually provided the character’s voice.
Dixon unveiled a new puppet character, a velociraptor, on Christmas Day 2015. This puppet later became a part of the Dabchick series. In May 2016, he introduced a tribal humanoid puppet named Manu and created a dancing video series around the character. On August 19, 2017, Dixon revealed a glow-in-the-dark bug puppet created in the same style as Manu. This bug puppet was also featured in the Dabchick videos.
Introduction of New Puppet Concepts
On October 12, 2017, Dixon introduced a new puppet concept where his face was digitally morphed onto a glow-in-the-dark humanoid puppet’s head. He started using this character in his videos. On July 9, 2018, he showcased a new furry puppet with glowing features, created by combining aspects of an aardvark, armadillo, and porcupine.
Recognition and Performances
On September 20, 2018, Dixon was interviewed by Adam Savage for the web series “Tested.” On October 15, 2018, he unveiled a finished concept of a new digital face puppet, which he used in a performance of a cover of “Oogie Boogie’s Song” from the film “The Nightmare Before Christmas” on October 30. Dixon has also covered other songs using his puppets, such as “Under Paris Skies,” “Hello,” and “Life on Mars.” In addition to his YouTube channel, he frequently performs live puppetry.
Other Works
In 2013, Dixon released a stop-motion animated Western short film called “Once Upon a Time in a Shed,” which takes place in “the great indoors.” In 2019, he worked as a puppeteer on the Netflix series “The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance,” where he created a puppet show performed by characters SkekGra and UrGoh. His style of hand puppetry has been compared to stop-motion animation.
Family & Personal Life
Barnaby Dixon was born on April 1, 1990, in England. There is limited information available about his family and upbringing.