Dave Schlafman won the Ecospot contest sponsored by CurrentTV and the Alliance for Climate Protection. For the contest, Schlafman had to animate a brief public service announcement about the climate crisis.

Not only was his animation of elephants falling from the sky clever, but the theme of sustainability inspired his animation process. Schlafman told Bostonist, "I decided to draw and paint on recycled paper bags for the backgrounds...keeping with the spirit of the contest (and they have a dirty, grungy feeling). I then designed some characters and elephants. I scanned in the drawings and cleaned them up in the computer."

Schlafman also credits effects artist Evan Sussman, animator Jesus Colon, and sound designer Joe Pleiman for helping him with production. He said that the creation of the entire clip took "about two months."

Here's the clip, "The Sky Is Falling":

This PSA will appear in the Alliance for Climate Protection's new television campaign, and Schlafman won a 2008 Toyota Hybrid. Right now, he's working on animated shorts for the National Fire Protection Association and a series called "The Idiotic Adventure of Philippe and Pierre." You can find out more about Schlafman at his official website.

PSA from Current TV. Check out some of Schlafman's sketches for the PSA after the jump!