FableVision Studios Blog http://fablevisionstudios.com/blog Happenings at FableVision Studios Mon, 17 Jun 2013 20:46:19 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 Creative Juices Summer Open House Art Show 2013 http://fablevisionstudios.com/blog/2013/06/17/creative-juices-summer-open-house-art-show-2013/ http://fablevisionstudios.com/blog/2013/06/17/creative-juices-summer-open-house-art-show-2013/#comments Mon, 17 Jun 2013 17:17:10 +0000 tyler http://fablevisionstudios.com/blog/?p=3404

FableVisionaries weren’t going to let some bad weather rain on their parade (literally) during the 4th annual Creative Juices Open House Art Show last Friday! Art lovers from in and around the city arrived at FableVision Studios dressed in complete rain garb to celebrate one of the best community events of the summer (in our opinion). With sketches, photographs, and poetry lining the walls, guests at the Creative Juices Open House Art Show were able to get a taste of our staff’s outstanding artistic abilities as well as a couple of creatively mixed juices along the way! Here’s a taste of the variety of talent showed at this year’s event:

Visitors at Friday’s event didn’t have to look to the walls for samples of FableVision’s creativity. In the corner of the room, a 3D printer set up by our company President Gary Goldberger quietly chugged away, turning a 2D computer image into a plastic figure in a matter of hours.

Hidden away in the company green room was this cartoon gem created by Director of Art and Animation, Bob Flynn! This life-sized drawing captured the attention of many passing guests. Can you spot any familiar characters?

Production Assistant Jordan Persson took FableVision Studios’ little blue television and put a looping video on it perched atop our popcorn machine stuffed to the brim with candies.

Naomi Greenfield was at it again! Our Creative Strategist’s balloon talents made waves at last year’s Open House so this year, she decided to reprise her role. With Tami Wicinas as her model, Naomi pulled out her bag of tricks and crafted a dress fit for a queen!

While the adults were busy mingling with exhibitioners, the kids had the chance to hang out with some creatures their own size… puppets! These furry characters visited courtesy of Puppet Showplace Theatre, and were a hit with some of the younger visitors, along with this tablet-controlled video game that we blew up on the big screen, created by Creative IT & QA Specialist, John Groh.

Big, BIG thanks to everyone who braved the harsh weather conditions to visit our Studio and say hello. Join us next time!

]]> http://fablevisionstudios.com/blog/2013/06/17/creative-juices-summer-open-house-art-show-2013/feed/ 0 Zebrafish SPF 40 Release and Giveaway! http://fablevisionstudios.com/blog/2013/06/17/zebrafish-spf-40-release-and-giveaway/ http://fablevisionstudios.com/blog/2013/06/17/zebrafish-spf-40-release-and-giveaway/#comments Mon, 17 Jun 2013 15:11:49 +0000 renee http://fablevisionstudios.com/blog/?p=3421 Post written by Lead Artist and Zebrafish SPF 40 illustrator Renee Kurilla.

The summer-y sequel to FableVision’s first graphic novel, Zebrafish, hit bookshelves one June 4, 2013. It’s called SPF 40! I’m particularly excited about this one because in the eight or so months I worked on it, I grew so much as an artist and had way too much fun doing it. In this blog post, I want to share a little bit of my process with you and give you a sneak peek into the world of SPF 40.

To celebrate SPF 40′s release, we’re doing something awesome: a giveaway! Starting this week, retweet any link to this blog post from FableVision Studios’ Twitter account @FVStudioBoston, and be sure you’re following us! Do those two things and you’ll be entered to win a free copy of Zebrafish SPF 40 that’s signed by FableVision founder Peter H. Reynolds and myself, with an original doodle inside the cover just for you! The contest ends June 21st, so don’t miss out.

A portion of the book’s proceeds will go to the Boston Children’s Hospital. Both Zebrafish books include one of the main characters dealing with the trials and tribulations of growing up with a disease, whether it be Leukemia, Asthma, or Diabetes. The Darwin quote on page one of SPF 40 hints at that:

“In the long history of humankind (and animal kind, too), those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed.” – Charles Darwin

Writer, Sharon Emerson, brilliantly compares the group of kids to a flock of just-hatched sea turtles on the sand, sliding towards the ocean. They are strong, determined, and pretty great role models, too! In the first book, we introduced you to the main characters: Plinko, Jay, Tanya, Walt, Vita, and Gwen. In SPF 40, we follow the same characters, plus two: Scott Otto and Coley Greenling (both age 11). And it’s the best time to be a kid: SUMMERTIME! Tanya and Plinko venture to Camp Stickleback to be camp counselors, while Vita, Jay, and Walt stay home and revive a Book Mobile. (Spolier Alert!) To wanna-be-rock-star Vita, that seems like a complete waste of time, but of course something happens to make her rethink her negative thoughts. To prepare for all things Summer Camp, I re-watched and listened to episodes of Salute Your Shorts (a la 1990′s Nickelodeon). The final character of Scott Otto is actually based on “Sponge” from the show! Here are a few character iterations I went through before deciding what they would look like:

Sponge (TJ Eyster) from Salute Your Shorts!

As someone who never went to this type of summer camp, watching Salute Your Shorts was an ideal way for me to visualize how Camp Stickleback would be laid out. Here are a few concept sketches I drew of the camp that never made it into the book:

Here are a few more progress images: Sketch, Ink, Color.

I couldn’t have done it all by myself. Lots of the inking and coloring was helped along by FableVision’s Lead Animator, Didi Hatcher (who also animated the Zebrafish Webisodes back in 2008). Animator, Hannah O’Neal and many of our summer interns in 2011 were colorists as well. Lead Artist, Keith Zulawnik, added some lighting flare to the important pages and once again acted as Walt Burbot for the Caduceus scenes. Ellen Crenshaw, also lended some of her top-notch comics knowledge to storyboards for a few chapters. Here’s a brief look at some of the interior pages:

Before we settled on a cover, Designer, Sonia Chaghatzbanian (from Simon & Schuster) and I went through about a million iterations!

After all of the planning and sketching, SPF 40 is out in the wild. You can find it at your local bookstore and I hope you’ll enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed drawing it!

Remember, be sure to follow and retweet any link from the @FVStudioBoston Twitter account to this blog post for a chance to win a signed and doodled copy of Zebrafish SPF 40! Contest ends June 21st.

]]> http://fablevisionstudios.com/blog/2013/06/17/zebrafish-spf-40-release-and-giveaway/feed/ 0 Project Spotlight: The Evolution-Health Connection—Animations for New York Hall of Science http://fablevisionstudios.com/blog/2013/06/03/project-spotlight-evolution-health-animations-for-new-york-hall-of-science/ http://fablevisionstudios.com/blog/2013/06/03/project-spotlight-evolution-health-animations-for-new-york-hall-of-science/#comments Mon, 03 Jun 2013 13:48:35 +0000 sarahd http://fablevisionstudios.com/blog/?p=3305 Continue reading →]]>

Post written by Director of Art & Animation, Bob Flynn

In October of 2012, Jeff Kennedy Associates came to us with a project to teach about the evolution of various health conditions for an exhibit at the New York Hall of Science.  Jeff Kennedy Associates came to us with four scripts that had already made it through scientific approval from the people at the New York Hall of Science. Our task was to bring life to the scripts, through our designs and animation. Everyone said they wanted these to be educational, but definitely silly and entertaining. We love that kind of challenge.

Over the past few years, FableVision has become increasingly interested in the connection between education, science, and technology. Through projects like the New England Aquarium’s Biomimicry App, we have been able to combine our media expertise with our love of education to create both fun and interactive educational experiences! With the help of Jeff Kennedy Associates, who we’ve previously worked with on a series of animations for the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, our company has managed to successfully launch the Evolution-Health Connection exhibit, which discusses the relationships between evolution and modern-day health issues, including back pain, sun burns, lactose intolerance, and obesity. The project is scheduled to appear at the New York Hall of Science later this year.

From the start of the project, everyone was throwing around the word “cartoony,” which is always music to my ears. Whenever we take on an animation project at FableVision, I really consider a visual style that I would like to explore—which is usually an extension of design styles I normally work in. In these animations I tried to push shape and color—using an economy of line. The backgrounds are flat and sparse—with no texture. So, those were the constraints I set.

Here are some sample frames from the animation.

Then it was on to storyboarding. We’ve been using new software at FableVision, Storyboard Pro, which truly made boarding these out a breeze. And I could get into way more detail, framing out a lot of the key poses so that when I gave my layouts and designs to Hannah O’Neal, she had a lot more to go on for animation direction. And she totally nailed these, especially Back Pain—that one came out exactly as I envisioned when I was boarding it. The project was drawn and animated completely in Flash (CS3, if you’re curious).

Here’s a sample storyboard sequence.

While I led the effort on storyboarding, design, layout, and backgrounds, Hannah O’Neal was busy animating each of the four segments, alongside Taryn Johnson, who worked on the animatics, and was produced by Paul Mock. I’m really proud of our collaboration with our client, Jeff Kennedy Associates. I think the animations balance what we always strive for at FableVision, teaching through storytelling with just the right amount of humor.

]]> http://fablevisionstudios.com/blog/2013/06/03/project-spotlight-evolution-health-animations-for-new-york-hall-of-science/feed/ 0 YOU decide on the next great kids’ show with Amazon Studios’ Original Pilots http://fablevisionstudios.com/blog/2013/05/09/you-decide-on-the-next-great-kids-show-with-amazon-studios-original-pilots/ http://fablevisionstudios.com/blog/2013/05/09/you-decide-on-the-next-great-kids-show-with-amazon-studios-original-pilots/#comments Thu, 09 May 2013 17:27:28 +0000 sarahd http://fablevisionstudios.com/blog/?p=3278 Continue reading →]]>

Have you heard? Amazon Studios, a new branch of the Amazon empire, has put out some original pilots–including five kids’ shows–for viewers to watch for free, comment on and help decided their broadcast fate! Amazon is following in the footsteps of Netflix, who saw an enormous increase in their business following the release of their original series, especially House of Cards. (Have you watched it? It’s great.) The New York Times reported that Netflix’s quarterly revenue peaked over the $1 billion mark for the first time ever, directly influenced by the release of the series.

Well, Amazon is doing something in the same vein, and it’s pretty awesome. “Amazon Original Pilots: You help decide which shows become series” reads their page. They’re testing five kids’ pilots and eight adult comedy pilots. This isn’t your typical focus group situation. Anyone can watch the pilots for free, and then the viewer can take a survey to vote on their favorites, and write reviews. Winning pilots will be made into full seasons.

We’re excited about this new way to allow user input into broadcast decisions. More good ideas can be seen this way, and it opens a dialogue directly between consumer and viewer. And especially with kids’ programming, parents have the immediate opportunity to provide feedback and input. We were so excited to see that three of the pilots were from some of our favorite clients and partners. You should totally check them out and leave feedback; voting officially ends next week, so be sure to get over to their site and vote ASAP!

Creative Galaxy comes to you from Out of the Blue Enterprises, who we partnered with on the SuperWhy! World for PBS Kids Play! We’re so excited to see a show that introduces kids to different types of art and encourages them to think and act creatively to solve problems in their world. There’s not a lot out there on kids television that does this, so we’re really looking forward to this hopefully being added to the kids media landscape! We are already think of some awesome, fun and creative interactive experiences for Creative Galaxy!

Creative Galaxy explores the concept of using art to fix a problem. Friends Arty and Epiphany visit the library that Arty’s mom built, but are sad to see that everyone checks their books out to read them. To entice readers to stay in the library while reading, Arty and Epiphany visit the Painting and Museum Planets to do art research. Their discoveries inspire them to decorate their library at home, making it a beautiful place for their whole community to spend time in.

Sara Solves It comes to us from Out of the Blue Enterprises and our prolific kids television neighbors, WGBH Boston.  We love the textured backgrounds, the fun city world Sara and Sam live in, the catchy songs and, as we always see out of WGBH, the strong curriculum backbone.

Created by the producers of Curious George, Arthur, Blue’s Clues, and SuperWhy!, this fun, new animated series entertains kids 3-5. Sister Sara and her younger brother Sam are on their way to a pizza party in Sara Solves It. Sam forgets his stuffed animal in the elevator, which is being operated by their troublesome neighbor Victor Vector. Sara has to figure out how to find Victor and Sam’s stuffed friend when she realizes the elevator is “mixed up” and complicates their search.

And from our friends at Jim Henson, we have in Jim Henson’s Teeny Tiny Dogs.  We love seeing names like Lisa Henson, Joe Purdy and John Tartaglia attached to this series as we’re big fans of their work on Dinosaur Train, Sid the Science Kid, and Sesame Street; the show was created by Howard Baker of Rugrats.  Also, who doesn’t love tiny dogs? Integrated into the show is an inspiring 21st Century educational curriculum researched and developed by the UC Berkeley Greater Good Science Center: How to be happy!

Teeny Tiny Dogs is a puppet preschool series that follows the hilarious shenanigans of four teeny tiny dogs, Dinky, Butch, Butterfly, and Polly, during their day at Doggie Daycare. Despite their teeny tiny size these four furry friends have BIG FUN and invite the viewers to join their playful pack.

So make sure you check out these great pilots, make sure you write comments after viewing them. And congrats to our friends and partners for being part of this exciting showcase!

]]> http://fablevisionstudios.com/blog/2013/05/09/you-decide-on-the-next-great-kids-show-with-amazon-studios-original-pilots/feed/ 0 FableVision is Boston Strong http://fablevisionstudios.com/blog/2013/04/23/fablevision-is-boston-strong/ http://fablevisionstudios.com/blog/2013/04/23/fablevision-is-boston-strong/#comments Tue, 23 Apr 2013 15:37:56 +0000 Naomi http://fablevisionstudios.com/blog/?p=3229 Continue reading →]]> It’s been quite a week here in Boston. All FableVisionaries are safe and accounted for. We were all shaken up by Monday’s bombings, the continuous stream of horrific images during the week, and the tense and stressful events of Friday. We are overwhelmed by the outpouring of support and messages from so many of our friends and clients. Thank you. People from all over the world have come out this week to say and show how much they love Boston. We are so appreciative of all that love, as it certainly does help feel like we’re not alone in our mourning. FableVisionaries take great pride in our hometown and our beautiful location in the heart of Boston’s Seaport district. We really do, in all our fibers of being, LOVE Boston.

Here at FableVision, we are passionate about storytelling. It’s one of the reasons we love living and working in Boston, a city so deep and rich in history and stories.  The stories that have come out of Monday’s events are tragic and harrowing, but also heroic and inspiring. We are trying to find strength in the good.  The selflessness of fellow Bostonians who put their own lives at risk to help those in need. The courage of the many injured to soldier on and be strong.  The awesomeness of the Red Sox to keep winning and give us something to smile about. And we are keeping close the stories and memories of Patriot’s Days past, before it was tainted by these recent events.

We are also passionate about the visual medium. The images from Marathon Monday have now been seen all over the world. Here at FableVision and around Boston, we have been trying to continue to find beauty in the images of Boston that we WANT the world to see. The images like those seen outside our window at the studio–of the Boston Harbor, of the brand new Boston Tea Party Museum, of the majestic Institute of Contemporary Art, of the awesomely goofy and iconic Hood Milk bottle outside the Boston Children’s Museum.

So we are sad, but we are strong. Boston Strong. And we are all eager to get back to work and continue our work of making the world a better place. We hope you will too.

With love from Boston, The FableVision Team

]]> http://fablevisionstudios.com/blog/2013/04/23/fablevision-is-boston-strong/feed/ 1 FableVision Studios’ and National Wildlife Federation’s Earth Day Celebration http://fablevisionstudios.com/blog/2013/04/22/fablevision-studios-and-national-wildlife-federations-earth-day-celebration/ http://fablevisionstudios.com/blog/2013/04/22/fablevision-studios-and-national-wildlife-federations-earth-day-celebration/#comments Mon, 22 Apr 2013 20:46:48 +0000 sarahd http://fablevisionstudios.com/blog/?p=3248 Happy Earth Day! Since it’s Ranger Rick’s favorite holiday, the National Wildlife Federation is celebrating with a BIG sale on their apps for kids, including our Ranger Rick’s Tree House app. We tweeted out an original story about Ranger Rick and his friends in Deep Green Wood helping the earth.

]]> http://fablevisionstudios.com/blog/2013/04/22/fablevision-studios-and-national-wildlife-federations-earth-day-celebration/feed/ 0 Ranger Rick’s Tree House: Issue 2 http://fablevisionstudios.com/blog/2013/04/08/ranger-ricks-tree-house-issue-2/ http://fablevisionstudios.com/blog/2013/04/08/ranger-ricks-tree-house-issue-2/#comments Mon, 08 Apr 2013 18:53:36 +0000 sarahd http://fablevisionstudios.com/blog/?p=3109 Post Written by Lead Artist Renee Kurilla

A few months ago, I wrote some words about Ranger Rick’s Tree House, an app I designed at FableVision for the National Wildlife Federation. This project is just the gift that keeps on giving! In fact, Ranger Rick’s Tree House was recommended by the Parents’ Choice Awards. Ever since the launch of the App and Issue #1 (below), we have been hard at work on Issue #2.

The second issue (below), which is a spring-themed download, includes two new games, new “Who Am I?” animals, brand new articles (Grizzly Bears and Ocean Giants!), seasonal Tree House Decorations and MORE!

Here are some close-up samples of the art and title screen I created for the new issue. The first of the two new games in Issue #2: Manta Mission! First, here are some preliminary sketches.

And then, what it became!

Here are some backgrounds, one of underwater seascapes, and some above-water sights.

The second game, a matching game disguised with flies! Ribbit Rodeo! Lasso up some dinner.

Check out the before and after!

Can you tell what’s hiding behind that door?

Enjoy the new issue!

]]> http://fablevisionstudios.com/blog/2013/04/08/ranger-ricks-tree-house-issue-2/feed/ 0 FableVision Studios’ #tellmeafable http://fablevisionstudios.com/blog/2013/04/02/fablevision-studios-tellmeafable/ http://fablevisionstudios.com/blog/2013/04/02/fablevision-studios-tellmeafable/#comments Tue, 02 Apr 2013 15:39:47 +0000 sarahd http://fablevisionstudios.com/blog/?p=3173 We are excited to show you our first “Tell Me a Fable” Twitter special event in its entirety! At FableVision Studios, we believe storytelling can be done effectively in many different formats, so we were excited to take on the task of telling a social media generated story through social media itself.  After asking our @FVStudioBoston followers to submit ideas for a story they’d like to have told by our team, we fell in love with one about a little boy who creates a robot to do his chores (submitted by @Blast_Fantastic)! The resulting fable below was written by Production Assistant Jordan Persson, and illustrated by Lead Artist Renee Kurilla.

We tweeted the fable out over the course of a week, two tweets a day. It gave FableVisionaries a unique way to collaborate in a new medium. This is our first #tellmeafable so be sure to follow us at @FVStudioBoston so you can submit your own fable idea for the next round. Check out the whole thing in its entirety below.  Enjoy!

]]> http://fablevisionstudios.com/blog/2013/04/02/fablevision-studios-tellmeafable/feed/ 1 PAX East 2013: A FableVision Recap http://fablevisionstudios.com/blog/2013/03/27/pax-east-2013-a-fv-recap/ http://fablevisionstudios.com/blog/2013/03/27/pax-east-2013-a-fv-recap/#comments Wed, 27 Mar 2013 19:37:46 +0000 sarahd http://fablevisionstudios.com/blog/?p=3135 Every year PAX East opens its doors in Boston to anyone linking arms with the gaming industry. More than 60,000 swarm into our city: many are costumed, though many are not. Amidst the fanfare, the games, the controls, the booths, and the buzz there’s one thing that holds the three-day extravaganza together: passion. Often you’ll overhear people staring at each other (mouth slightly drooling from over-stimulation from all the lights) and saying, “What do you wanna check out??”

But there’s a lot more there than just gamers looking at games. Though the primary focus is on games, there’s also massive networking action as well. It’s an opportunity to connect with fans, publishers can find potential clients, prominent people in the industry walk around in the wild. It’s a convention that’s by gamers for gamers. Several FableVisionaries joined the masses. Here’s their report.

Tami | Artist/Animator:

Out of all the attractions at PAX, even though the big-name game companies had the largest, flashiest and loudest booths, I found the growing Indie Megabooth the most inspiring. I kept being drawn back there for fear that I had missed some hidden treasure. And I think I still managed to miss some. They are small, intimate, the developers are right there to talk to, and though they don’t make much money, the games themselves are much more innovative and unafraid to explore what’s possible, both functionally and artistically. I was very happy to see a lot of 2D art and design.

Some indie games that stood out: Tengami, Guacamelee, Apotheon, Don’t Starve

Taryn | Production Assistant:

The smaller studios and indie games definitely had the most variety of gameplay and artistic styles, which was really refreshing to see when most of the bigger studios are focused on subtle variations of the same tried and true theme. The Indie Megabooth had the most excitement and the most innovation, a creative bubble in the midst of the larger booths. Having the smaller companies mixed in with the larger ones gave them a leg up in a competitive industry, and made their games viewable to the fans who were drawn there for more well-known games.

Another great aspect of PAX was the tabletop game room. It’s a place where people can play games together just for the love of games and have fun.

John | Creative IT & QA Specialist:

There was a lot to see, and even more to learn from at PAX. I saw a lot of people pouring their hearts and souls into their passions solely for the sake of chasing those passions. Meeting indie developers is always a breath of fresh air in the industry. The way they explain their games is often so full of passion, because they live for that game.

Jordan | Production Assistant:

I’d have to say that my favorite part of PAX (aside from seeing a friend wear 30 free 2XL-sized T-shirts at once) was the misleadingly-titled “I’ll Show You Mine If You Show Me Yours” panel. In it, a group of experienced game developers showed videos and told stories of their very first bug-filled attempts at games. Even for someone who doesn’t make games, it was a great reminder that failure is a natural part of the creative process.

Renee | Lead Artist:

The best part of my experience at PAX East was meeting Tim Schafer from Double Fine. He’s one of the co-creators of my most favorite games of all time, Day of the Tentacle (circa 1993!) He signed my floppy disk. So awesome.

Hannah | Artist/Animator:

My take away from PAX East was inspiration. I was lucky to witness a panel on how Games Designers are Defining the Next 50 Years of Education. It was a discussion by Steve Swink who worked with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation on a game for schools called “Doctor’s Cure.” Besides the interesting take he had on using games to educate kids and get them involved in their own education, he said something to think about: the importance of everyone learning programming language. He made the point that as we progress with our technology it’s becoming more and more important to know and understand programing. He argued that it’s something we should be teaching our kids (and ourselves) because not knowing programming language is leading to it’s own sort of illiteracy of the tech driven world around us.

Keith | Lead Artist:

Some of the big take aways from PAX this year for me were (these aren’t exclusive to the Indie Megabooth):

Media Molecule‘s new PS Vita game called “Tear Away.” The player controls a paper hero running in a paper world, but utilizes some of the unique features of the Vita — tapping on the device, blowing air, etc. The style is BEAUTIFUL, and worth checking out, especially if you’re a fan of paper craft.

Capy’s new game called “Super Time Force” — a throwback side scrolling shooter in the same vein as Contra. One of the unique aspects of this game is the ability to go back in time and correct your mistakes. Piggybacking on that mechanic, you can choose characters with unique abilities to strategically play through, then time warp back and play through simultaneously with your previous self. It’s a trip for sure and really fun to play.

Carbine Studios’ new MMO “WildStar” — I’ve been following artist “Cory Loftis” for a long while and has been a big inspiration to me and my work. When he announced he had been working on a game a while back, I was thrilled. I’m happy to say that his art style translated over REALLY well into the 3D space and the world Carbine has created is amazing. It’s a perfect blend of next gen — while still keeping it stylized, colorful, and cartoony. I got a chance to talk to some of the team members working on it — they’re a great team making a great game.

DoubleFine (founded by Tim Schafer) was sharing a booth with Capy, they were talking about their Kickstarter adventure game called “Broken Age.” Last year they announced that they would be creating a new Adventure Game, much like the good old days (Day of the Tentacle, Secret of Monkey Island. They set their goal at $400,000 — and ended up shattering that goal at almost $3.5 million. I also got to meet Tim Schafer which was pretty awesome.

]]> http://fablevisionstudios.com/blog/2013/03/27/pax-east-2013-a-fv-recap/feed/ 0 Spotlight on Animation-ish User, Jason Lethcoe http://fablevisionstudios.com/blog/2013/03/13/spotlight-on-animation-ish-user-jason-lethcoe/ http://fablevisionstudios.com/blog/2013/03/13/spotlight-on-animation-ish-user-jason-lethcoe/#comments Wed, 13 Mar 2013 15:34:56 +0000 sarahd http://fablevisionstudios.com/blog/?p=2890 Since we launched Animation-ish in 2008, it’s been exciting to see how it’s been used in creative ways. It’s been especially awesome to see internationally published author, storyboard artist, and Hollywood animator Jason Lethcoe take to it so professionally. His studio, Wizardtree Animation, calls themselves “an animation studio that spreads the joy of what we love through original content creation.” A perfect match for FableVision software, don’t you think? We reached out to him to see a little bit more about him, his work with Animation-ish, and beyond.

Watch: Jason Lethcoe’s Mr. Mimbly.

FableVision (FV): Tell us a little bit about your background — what made you want to go into animation?

Jason Lethcoe (JL): I’ve loved animation since I was a little kid, especially the old Disney cartoons. As an adult, it was a real treat to get to work at Disney and several other studios and to get to draw Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny and many other characters I grew up with when I was young. I got to work with some of the artists that actually knew Walt Disney!  They really taught me a lot when I was there.

Now, I have my own studio, Wizardtree Animation, and I get to draw and animate the things I love every day.  I also write books for kids!

FV: What are three cool things about yourself?

JL: (1) I once slid down the French Alps on my belly while wearing a Hefty trash bag. Kids, don’t try this at home. (2) I’ve spent the night in a haunted hotel and lived to tell the tale. (3) I’m a member of a secret society called the Brotherhood of Thaumaturgic Cartographers and we went on a real life search for Sasquatch. I won’t tell you what we found… But let me just say it was amazing.

FV: How did you find out about our Animation-ish software?

JL: I really like Peter Reynolds’ illustrations and stumbled upon his FableVision site. Being an animator, the Animation-ish software looked so fun to try, I had to download it. I’ve been hooked on it ever since!

FV: What makes Animation-ish a unique software?

JL: There are many professional grade programs out there that are so filled with “bells and whistles” that they don’t focus on the most important part of creating traditional animation… the drawing! Animation-ish has such a friendly, easy-to-use interface that it makes it easy for beginners or even pros to sit down and start making cartoons. I absolutely love it and prefer it to some of the vastly more expensive programs I’ve worked with.

FV: Who is Mr. Mimbly?

JL: Mr. Mimbly is an ambassador of goodness, a little magician with a magic mustache that tries to help everyone around him with his unique abilities. He’s a character I came up with for a book series I’ve been writing and he really came to life when I started to feature him in short, 30 second cartoons that feature positive and encouraging messages. His design style is similar to the cartoons I loved growing up as a kid in the 1970′s, borrowing heavily from cartoony approaches like Rocky and Bullwinkle.

The philosophy at Wizardtree is to promote the positive people, places and things we love. Our motto is, “An acorn, lovingly planted, will produce a mighty oak” and we try to put love and goodness at the forefront of our business.

Sometimes we create what we call a “FAN-vertisement” about a product just because we think its great. This is done purely to promote and share something awesome with others and give something back to the company or person that inspired us.

So, I’m currently directing several projects for classrooms and also doing some work for Hollywood.  But Mr. Mimbly is our character mascot, Wizardtree’s “Mickey Mouse,” and his good hearted reminders about a positive way to live keeps us centered on the reasons for what we do.

FV: What kind of art inspires you?

JL: I love illustrations that feature lively line work and simple, judiciously placed color. Most of the work Wizardtree does reflects this style.

FV: What kind of projects are you working on now?

JL: There’s a longer Mr. Mimbly story I’m animating, all with Animation-ish. I also recently finished creating a bunch of Tom and Jerry animatics and some work for DreamWorks on an undisclosed project.

We’ve done several projects for Wireless Generation and are also hard at work on many new and inspiring short cartoons and commercials. I’ve found that in this fast paced world of social media and tweets, 30 seconds is often the perfect length to tell a simple, thought provoking story or concept.

All in all,  I’m having fun every day and I really love what I do!

Watch: Wizardtree Animation’s video for the KIA SOUL.

Jason Lethcoe‘s work has been included in The Little Mermaid, The Tigger Movie, Mickey’s Once Upon A Christmas, The Pagemaster, Disney’s Home On The Range, Surf’s Up and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.

He is also an internationally published author of several critically acclaimed books. Amazing Adventures From Zoom’s Academy, his first series, was made into the movie Zoom starring Tim Allen in 2006. His current book series is titled, No Place Like Holmes.

Mr. Lethcoe works in Thousand Oaks, California where he runs his own animation company, Wizardtree Animation Studios, and lives with wife Nancy and their three children Emily, Alex, and Olivia.

Watch: Wizardtree Animation’s ‘Wings For The Soul’ for the American Library Association.

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