Thursday, August 10, 2006

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT: Shhhhhh!







We at Funnypages Productions have been working on a few projects that we can't talk about for quite awhile now. A few of them are starting to get to a point where we can start "mentioning" them. Probably the biggest one, an anime influenced (note, I did NOT say it was anime) animation series for worldwide distribution, is not quite ready to name, but we have permission to show some images. For this project, Rob and I are co- directing and co-art directing. We have a team of people all over the country contributing to various pieces of the project from Character designs, storyboarding, layouts, and backgrounds. Again, I am not allowed to say what it is just yet, but I'd love to hear what you all think of the characters and backgrounds. I know this isn't much, but maybe I'll post some more soon.

BTW, I'd love to say Rob or I painted those backgrounds, but we didn't. And no, Miah and Heath, they weren't created in Illustrator! Old school or no school!

23 comments:

Heath said...

Old school or no school! haha!!

Very interesting! Tom, I can't wait to hear more.

So when are you and Roberto gonna farm out some scenes to get this idea animated??

sushipajamas said...

oooooooo, sooo pretty...

*faints*

see thats what this artwork does to me...oh no! *faints*

lydia

tulanoodle said...

I really like the designs overall. They have a really good blend of anime and traditional animation. If I were to give some suggestions, it would have to be that something about the old man's eyes look to young. Maybe if they were to be lidded heavier?

Rob Bodnar said...

Wow! I love the BG's. The characters are great. Sorry, the robot guy is kinda creepy, he does not match the others.

Randy said...

Wow, Tom. This is cool.

Are you guys doing the show in widescreen for HD, or full frame? Those bgs are gorgeous, and I love the kid designs. They're all good, but the kids are awesome.

~R

Mark Behm said...

Cool! Congratulations, Tom.

Tom Bancroft said...

There are some really good comments here, thanks. I'm glad most are really liking it. Whew. The comment about the Professor/Dad is a good one. And, no, Rob is not the Robot. Just drawn by him.

Craig Mackay said...

beautiful background images and nice character lineup.

Jeremiah Alcorn said...

Well I'm glad to see you guys can finally post something for us to have a gander at. The bgs look just great, nice colors, a fun slightly pushed style, and of course strong compositions...Personally I'm not a huge anime buff(sorry to all of you die hard anime fans out there), but I think the characters definitely have the anime feel and I can't wait to see them moving and acting and feeling. All in all, it looks great fellas and like everybody else, I can't wait to see more. Keep that Funnypage greatness comin' guys!

Rob Corley said...

Uhm....Ok, but Master Glenn, sorry to have to disappoint you, but I didn't design these characters...another artist did. I made tweaks to the Robot based on notes from our client. I forgive you for your mistake.
Rob

Rob Corley said...

I never said I didn't like them my friend. I was simply correcting your honest mistake.

Rob Corley said...

Yes I do and your more than welcome to your opinion, even if I disagree.
Thanks!

mike said...

jeez! those backgrounds are AWESOME!

i honestly don't know what to make of the charcters yet without knowing who the characters are. they're nicely drawn. i'd like to see them in color though...

Rob Corley said...

Eek;
Thanks for the support. With this particular project we are limited in our budget and schedule to do full "Disney" style animation, not only that, but this pilot will be animated overseas and that will also effect the way it will be animated. We are anime "inspired" in our approach to this project and we want the animation to reflect that look and feel. As Disney trained artists this has been a real challenge for us stylistically and we've relied on many other talented artists to help make this all happen.

Dee Fish said...

Wow. I personally think the character designs are pretty good, if a little general feeling. My favorites are the robot and the older gentleman. (Mostly because he kinda looks like a NON-Mad version of Dr. Clayton Forrester from MST3k.

But really, it's those backgrounds that caught my attention first. The artists responsible are really magnificent. I look forward to seeing how this develops and wonder what the color palate for the characters will be that will interact properly with such deep bk's.

sushipajamas said...

backgrounds!!! oooh, so thats what bg meant, sorry...my bad. yes, well, the backgrounds are gorgeous. i love them! and 'passiongreek' if you dont think those backgrounds are "anime influenced" then you havent watched much anime have you? or you've only seen a limited selection.

but i would like to see more emotion in each of the characters...like show their personality and stuff. they all look the same right now. and i cant say i'm too fond of that robot. maybe if he wasnt so bulky.

lydia

K.B. said...

Don't know what it is , but the bgs look great.Congrats and best of luck on the project.

Cedricstudio said...

Wow, I'm very happy for you both. What a fun opportunity to build an entire world from scratch! Nice work overall. Like everyone else, I think the backgrounds are gorgeous. But I have to agree with Dandy Q. Dog, the characters are good but they do feel kinda generic. But then again, that might have something to do with the anime thing. Anime characters all kinda look the same to me anyway.

I love the professor's hair. He looks eccentric and down-to-earth at the same time, a nice balance. The Mom is nice but her body shape could be a little more appealing. By "appealing" I don't mean "sexy", I mean aesthetically pleasing.
The kids are nicely drawn. The robot has a fun body but the face needs something. Maybe if the eyes were farther apart?

Overall nice work! I can't wait to see them animated against those gorgeous backgrounds.

ohmyalikins said...

Beautiful work!! I could hear you whispering all the info, I won't tell anyone, k? ;)

Scribbler said...

the backgrounds are fantastic. Great blog, gonna have to traul through the archives, stunning work.

Anonymous said...

hey is that for CBN animation, I have been trying to get down with that for the longest, where do I get info for them. thanks. I know Big Idea is not hiring.

alan said...

Are the boy and girl twins? I like very much what you're doing and as all projects tend to have some evolution as they progress I look forward to seeing this. What is the time frame for release? Will it be box office or dvd or tv?

Do you ever accept submissions for future ideas?

Anonymous said...

Tom I really love these backgrounds, they're so beautiful, whoever painted them... Love all of them, the lab and the outdoor and the school!
WOW! So these animated series will show up on CBN? When will they broadcast these series? I definitely want to watch this!
Gosh I wish more artists would create art pieces like these for Christian channels! You know, that's a goal I have, is to open an animation studio with my fiancée (also artist) and that way use our talents to God =)

Great job! Keep it up!
-Miriam