Animated Embroidered Music Video
Tharsis Sleeps: The Heavy Metal Embroidery Masterpiece Brought to Life with Wilcom
Every so often, a project redefines what embroidery can be — and Tharsis Sleeps did exactly that.
This animated, embroidered music video for the heavy metal band Throne stunned both the embroidery and creative industries. Unlike traditional animation, Tharsis Sleeps was literally stitched frame by frame, transforming thousands of embroidered images into film.
The result wasn’t just art. It was a technological and creative triumph — a vivid reminder that embroidery can transcend fashion and branding to become cinematic storytelling.
In this blog, we’ll dive deep into the story of Tharsis Sleeps, break down how embroidery technology made the project possible, and explore the lessons every embroiderer can take from this jaw-dropping animated embroidered music video.
Embroidery as Moving Image
Animation is usually drawn, rendered, or digitally composited. But the creators asked a radical question:
“What if we stitched every frame?”
The Vision and Execution
Design and Direction – Tom Bunker & Nicos Livesey
Born from a passion for 70's heavy metal, the embroidered animation project was inspired by customizing denim jackets and embroidered band patches.
Tom Bunker (London-based Creative Director at ManvsMachine) and Nicos Livesey (director whose style fuses technical innovation with creative expression) have long been known for pushing creative boundaries.
Each second of footage required dozens of individual embroidered images, bringing texture, depth, and tangibility that pixels alone could never achieve. The result was movement that shimmered under light, with every thread adding unique life and dimension.
For embroiderers and digitizers, Tharsis Sleeps wasn’t just experimental — it was revolutionary. It proved that embroidery can capture motion, narrative, and emotion in a way no other medium can.
The Technical Feat
Creating Tharsis Sleeps was nothing short of monumental. Producing a 3.5-minute music video in embroidery is no small undertaking. To bring Tharsis Sleeps to life, the team needed to create over 3,000 unique embroidered frames. That meant thousands of digitized designs, stitched out with incredible precision, and then captured one by one in sequence.
Each frame was carefully digitized in Wilcom software, stitched on denim fabric, photographed, and sequenced using stop-motion technology. Every second of the final 3.5-minute video represented thousands of individual decisions about density, underlay, color, and tension. That’s where Wilcom software became an essential part of the process.
Wilcom’s Role in Bringing Thread to Life
To achieve such detail at scale, Tom and Nicos relied on Wilcom EmbroideryStudio to handle the immense technical demands of this animated embroidered music video.
1. Vector-to-Stitch Conversion
Much of the animation began as hand-drawn and vector artwork, digitized by Tim Gomersall and Nicos Livesey.
2. Control Over Stitch Types
Different parts of the animation required different textures—satin stitches for crisp outlines, fill stitches for bold blocks of color, and run stitches for fine detail. Wilcom’s advanced stitch editing ensured each frame had the right balance of density, texture, and definition.
3. Consistency Across Frames
Perhaps the biggest challenge in embroidery animation is consistency. Wilcom’s ability to save and replicate stitch setting parameters meant the team could maintain uniform thread density, stitch angles, and compensation across thousands of frames.
4. Production Efficiency
With Wilcom’s Design Library, the team was able to catalogue every frame, while the Production Worksheets provided detailed instructions for the machinists. It’s the kind of workflow efficiency embroidery businesses rely on daily—and here it was applied at a massive scale.
The partnership between software precision and artistic ambition made Tharsis Sleeps possible. Without Wilcom, a stitched film at this scale might have remained just an idea.
Marketing Lessons from a Heavy Metal Embroidery
While Tharsis Sleeps is undeniably art, it’s also a brilliant case study in marketing and innovation. The video generated enormous buzz, proving that embroidery can grab attention in unexpected ways.
Showing embroidery in unconventional formats (like animation, sculpture, or digital storytelling) reframes it as modern, high-tech, and emotionally engaging.
Imagine the potential of applying this thinking commercially:
- Brand Campaigns & Commercials:
Animate a logo or slogan using embroidered motion sequences for a tactile, handcrafted feel that stands out from digital noise. - Social Media & TikTok:
Short embroidered “motion clips” could bring products, mascots, or messages to life — combining the authenticity of craft with the shareability of social platforms. - Corporate Storytelling:
Use embroidery animation to visualize your brand’s history, mission, or process — stitch by stitch.
This creative approach doesn’t just make embroidery look modern — it repositions it as a medium for storytelling, innovation, and emotion.
Lessons for Every Embroiderer
Even if you’re not planning an embroidered film, Tharsis Sleeps offers powerful takeaways for Wilcom users:
- Think Beyond Garments
Embroidery can live on walls, in motion, or online. It’s not just decoration. - Learn Your Tools Deeply
Maximized every detail of Wilcom’s digitizing power. When you master your software, you unlock creative freedom. - Work at Scale with Confidence
Whether you’re producing 3,000 frames or 300 uniforms, the principles are the same: consistency, precision, and efficiency. - Celebrate Texture and Imperfection
The tactile irregularities of embroidery are what make it unique — the “digital fingerprint” of a handmade craft. - Use Innovation as a Marketing Tool
Showcase your process, film your machines in action, or turn your next digitizing experiment into social media content. Creativity sells.
Conclusion: Stitching the Impossible
Tharsis Sleeps stands as a landmark in creative embroidery with millions of stitches transformed into living motion — proof that embroidery isn’t limited by fabric, but only by imagination.
For anyone working in embroidery, it’s an invitation to dream bigger.
So the next time you open Wilcom to digitize a logo or motif, ask yourself:
Could this design move? Could it tell a story?
If embroidery can make a heavy metal video come alive — it can absolutely make your next logo or campaign unforgettable.
Watch The Animated Embroidered Music Video
