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October, 2022:

Truly Independent Animation

Oct 31st, 2022
by rodney.
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Happy Halloween — and blessed Day of the Dead! At Lightbox this year we came across a new animated project called Stormfellers, created by professional character designer Brookes Eggleston. At their web site there’s a YouTube video detailing the genesis of the story, and the world, and most importantly the characters. Stormfellers are “A rough and tumble gang of misfits protect their island from the ravages of constant monster-like Storms. There’s Aecious the Storm Conduit, Quilver the Quilled Marksman, Glangor the Heavy, and Biko the Field-Medic.” Brookes has even created a plushie toy of Biko the healer. There’s also a whole gallery of character designs from this and other projects.

image c. 2022 by Brookes Eggleston

Helping Real Animals in the Real World

Oct 29th, 2022
by rodney.
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Expedition Art is an art group on a mission. Here’s how they describe themselves: “Expedition Art is a global collaborative of artists who have joined together to raise awareness for wildlife and nature conservation through art. Our company works with other non-profit organizations focused on conservation and helps them educate others through the power of visual communication.” To those ends they sponsor illustration contests, wildlife art workshops at conventions and other events, and even real-life drawing field trips into the wild. Their web site has lots of art examples, as well as instructional videos.

image c. 2022 by Ester Conceicao

Furries and Fungus

Oct 27th, 2022
by rodney.
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Recently we made a trip to this year’s Lightbox animation industry trade-show in Pasadena, California. We met a lot of very cool and talented artists, including Shawn E. Russell. Here’s how her web site describes her: “Shawn is a wildlife and imaginative realism artist specializing in creating detailed depictions of animals melded with plants and fungi in symbiotic relationships… Shawn has worked with independent board game creators, food & beverage packaging, & private art collectors. She offers her personal work for sale online and at art fairs, comic/anime conventions across the US where she enjoys connecting with fans, collectors, and clients in person.” As you can see, the artist works a lot in highly detailed black-and-white. If you happen to find yourself in Terre Haute, Indiana, make sure to visit their personal gallery called Seek.

image c. 2022 by Shawn E. Russell

Same Canada?

Oct 25th, 2022
by rodney.
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The Oates & The Elphyne is the interesting title of a new full-color graphic novel written and illustrated by Michael Walsh (Comeback). The description goes like this: “The Oates family moves to their ancestral home in Newfoundland following a pair of tragedies.They arrive at their Grandmother’s house, where they reunite with their orphaned cousin. Shortly after arriving, Beth, the youngest sibling, is kidnapped by a dark creature. Her older siblings set out to find her and bring her back, finding themselves in the Elphyne—a magical world that exists between the ordinary world and the afterlife. In the Elphyne, the imagination of children has the power to shape everything around them. The children, along with some new allies, must travel through the Elphyne to confront The Dark King, a mysterious being whose arrival has started to corrupt the Elphyne in frightening and unexpected ways. It is up to Beth’s siblings to rescue her from his clutches.” Not mentioned in that description is the fact those “new allies” include an anthro bear and a winged fairy. It’s available now in hardcover from Humanoids.

image c. 2022 Humanoids

Those Were The Days, My Fur-riend.

Oct 23rd, 2022
by rodney.
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We came across an add for a new anthology of furry fiction called When The World Was Young. So we checked out the web site: “The invention of writing postdates, invariably, the invention of storytelling. After all, what purpose is there to writing, until you have something to write down? Excavate these writings, then. Decipher them carefully. Let them, at last, convince you to forget writing until instead they sit across the fire, speaking to you oral traditions, folktales, and of days long, long past When the World Was Young.” The book is due on December 1st, and proceeds will go to help various indigenous tribes.

image c. 2022 The Furry Historical Fiction Society

African Adventures

Oct 21st, 2022
by rodney.
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More from the latest Animation Magazine: Zizi and Hannibal is a South African animated series that’s been picked up for distribution by Monster Entertainment from Ireland. “Zizi is an adventurous and curious five-year-old girl. Her best friend, Hannibal, is a bumbling, fun-loving Hippo. Together they explore the beautiful places of Africa and meet all the wonderful animals that live there. Hannibal loves singing songs, rhymes and having fun and Zizi is always keen to learn more about the animals they meet.” Now we’ll see where it gets shown!

image c. 2022 Pixcomm

Guinea Pig Gullible

Oct 19th, 2022
by rodney.
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Recently in Animation Magazine they talked about a new kids’ TV series in production called Olga Da Polga. We got this from Beyond Rights, the production company in the U.K.: “Created by the legendary children’s writer Michael Bond (Paddington Bear), Olga Da Polga is a charming new pre-school title about a lovable and highly imaginative guinea pig who loves telling tales. Joining guinea pig Olga in her adventures in the garden are tortoise Graham, hedgehog Fangio, and Noel the know-it-all cat – alongside ‘The Sawdust Family’. Currently in production by Maramedia (Hushabye Lullabye), Bond’s delightful and amusing stories are being brought to TV screens for the first time in a live-action drama with wonderful talking animals and gorgeous animation.” No word yet on when it’s coming out — or where in the world, either! Stay tooned.

image c. 2022 Puffin Books

Ewe Gotta Admit…

Oct 17th, 2022
by rodney.
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It’s MIPCOM season, and that means a host of animation production companies are gearing up to plug new cartoon series they hope to sell in their homelands and (hopefully!) all around the world. Shows like Karate Sheep, from the French animation company Xilam (home of Zig & Sharko and the current Mr. Magoo). “Trico is an enthusiastic sheep who loves to share new objects and ideas with the rest of the flock. This causes ruckus in the mountain pastures, which all inevitably end up at Wanda’s expense. [Wanda is] a tough ewe whose job is to keep the sheep safe. Not a small feat, especially when Wolf is always lurking, waiting to make the most of this newfound chaos.” Xilam have a preview trailer for the show (and many others) at their web site.

image c. 2022 Xilam

What Did YOU Do During COVID?

Oct 15th, 2022
by rodney.
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One thing that definitely happened during the COVID lock-downs was that on-line comic artists got real busy. Among them was Alex Graham, creator of Dog Biscuits, a slice-of-life underground funny animal comic. Now Fantagraphics have brought together many the on-line black & white pages in a single hardcover graphic novel. “It’s July 2020 in Seattle. Gussy struggles to keep his dog biscuit boutique afloat while a global pandemic rages unchecked. The loneliness of lockdown and social distancing drives his employee Rosie to betray her principles. Rosie’s roommate Hissy is at a personal crossroads. A love triangle emerges as they find themselves tangled in a web of police brutality, protests, drugs, dating apps and COVID chaos. Taking place over the course of just a few days, this is a snapshot of humanity — okay, animals — in crisis.” The Observer has a detailed review with lots of sample artwork as well.

image c. 2022 Fantagraphics

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