OTTAWA, Ont. – February 19, 2026 – To celebrate its 50th anniversary in September, the Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF), North America’s largest animation festival, has unveiled its official 2026 poster, created by acclaimed Canadian cartoonist and designer Seth.
Founded in 1976, the OIAF has spent five decades championing animation as an art form, presenting groundbreaking films and connecting audiences with world-class creators. Each year, the festival commissions an artist to design its official poster, a long-standing tradition that has included illustrators and animators such as Torill Kove (2025), Matthew Rankin (2023), Wong Ping (2022), Gary Baseman (2007), Gary Panter (2005), Dave Cooper (2001), and Wendy Tilby (1990).
For this milestone year, Seth brings his signature mid-century aesthetic and storytelling flair to a whimsical new image featuring Owlbert, a scholarly owl surrounded by stacks of books, and Frogworth, a projector-operating frog. The pair reflect the festival’s mix of intellect, creativity and humour.
“When I was asked to draw the poster for the Ottawa International Animation Festival, I was only given one requirement,” said Seth. “It must have an owl in it. That was fine with me. I like owls. They are a great classic cartoon image … Out of nowhere, a nerdish frog appeared to run the film projector. No names were requested for these characters yet, ‘Owlbert’ and ‘Frogworth’ found their way into my brain.”
In his artist’s statement, Seth highlights the creative kinship between comics and animation. “Graphic novelists and animators are related, but they come from very different branches of the cartooning family,” he said. “My medium is all about stillness, and animation is all about movement … I have the deepest respect for the noble calling of animation in all its various forms, and it is a lovely honour to draw this year’s poster.”
“For our 50th, I wanted to find an artist who truly reflects a Canadian sensibility and aesthetic,” said OIAF artistic director Chris Robinson. “I’ve long admired Seth’s hypnotic, emotive, and original work. With an introduction from Luc Chamberland, who directed Seth’s Dominion, the OIAF Grand Prize winner for Best Feature in 2014, I reached out and was thrilled when Seth agreed to collaborate. The result is everything I hoped for: a distinctly Seth creation that captures the OIAF’s spirit—warm, mysterious, and a little offbeat.”
About Seth
Seth is a cartoonist, designer and collector. His Books include Wimbledon Green, George Sprott, and It’s a Good Life if you Don’t Weaken. He was the designer for The Complete Peanuts, The Collected Doug Wright and The New World-Comics from Mauritania. He is the subject of the award-winning NFB documentary Seth’s Dominion and was the winner, in 2011, of the prestigious Harbourfront prize. After 20 years of serialization, his Graphic Novel, Clyde Fans, was published in 2019 and went on to be the first graphic novel ever nominated for the Giller Prize. In 2021, his bronze sculpture arrangement, Living Room Suite, was installed in front of the Art Gallery of Guelph. In 2022, Seth was honoured by the French government as a Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. He is currently working on a new long graphic novel which will appear in the years to come. He lives in Guelph, Ontario, with his beloved wife Tania.
Statement from the Artist
When I was asked to draw the poster for the Ottawa International Animation Festival, I was only given one requirement. It must have an owl in it. That was fine with me. I like owls. They are a great classic cartoon image. Immediately, I settled on a typical bookish, tweedy owl. The go-to owl. I suppose I could have gone against type and done, say, a skinny little punk-rock owl, but who am I kidding? It was always going to be this frumpy old owl. That’s my sensibility. Out of nowhere, a nerdish frog appeared to run the film projector. No names were requested for these characters yet, “Owlbert” and “Frogworth” found their way into my brain. I assume they have a kind of Siskel and Ebert sort of relationship (aha—thus the “Bert” part of the name).
When I turned in the drawing, my good friend Luc Chamberland (animator and director) asked me why I had surrounded Owlbert with books instead of film canisters. It was a good point. Though, to be honest, it never even occurred to me. Owls are wise. Owls read books. If I had a screening room, it would be full of books. In this case, surely they are books about animation!
Graphic Novelists and animators are related, but they come from very different branches of the cartooning family. My medium is all about stillness, and animation is all about movement. It is an interesting difference. When I first saw some of my work animated, I was amazed to fully realize how utterly apart these two branches are. It was a good experience for someone like myself who genuinely loves animation and thinks they understand it…but perhaps is kidding himself. I have the deepest respect for the noble calling of animation in all its various forms, and it is a lovely honour to draw this year’s poster.
Good luck to all the nominees.
Seth
Palookaville, 2026
About the Ottawa International Animation Festival
The Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF) is one of the world’s leading animation events, providing screenings, exhibits, workshops, and entertainment since 1976. Attracting artists, producers, students and animation fans from around the globe, the OIAF brings together art and industry to experience world-class animated works. OIAF’s 50th celebration runs from September 23 to September 27 at venues throughout downtown Ottawa