The Good Old Days

I’ve told the story before. Thundercats introduced me to 80s cartoons and like most folks of the 80s Thundercats holds a place near and dear to my heart. The characters are iconic the concept was fresh for its time and it has rightfully earned its place being immortalized in pop culture.

Thundercats, like many of the action cartoons of the 80s, had a fleshed out, well-defined style of animation with detailed realistic looking characters. Over the years, mainly to cut costs and maximize profits, networks have moved away from that style and have either gone the route of 3D or adopted a much less defined comical portrayal of characters. The networks target a younger, less risky, audience so they’ve determined that comedy is the way to go. Both in story and image. With the massive success of shows like Spongebob Squarepants, Adventure Time, Stephen Universe and Gravity Falls they believe they have found a formula for success. They believe that applying that formula to virtually any concept will achieve the desired goal. So their latest application of that formula is with “Thundercats Roar”. Have a look at their introductory video.

The internet, however, was not amused and let the folks at Warner Brothers know how they felt.

Is everything going to look like some screwed up mashup between Steven universe, teen titans go,adventure time?
That #ThundercatsRoar isn’t thundercats.
Not everything needs to be a damn comedy. I don’t have nostalgia levels of those who grew up with it, but- pic.twitter.com/pBl1dhh98p

— Busy Kitty (@LeoneLaTwerk) May 19, 2018

To illustrate their displeasure, many parodies started popping up on Twitter demonstrating what would happen if the popular art style were to be applied to other classics.

I hope X-Men gets a reboot soon#ThunderCatsRoar pic.twitter.com/JHOcpPB9Uy

— Simon Boxer (@sboxle) May 23, 2018

Whatever your thoughts are on Thundercats Roar, these parodies popping up are pretty great.#ThunderCatsRoar #CartoonNetwork pic.twitter.com/CKT0TeMMLU

— Jim Zub (@JimZub) May 21, 2018

The YouTube video posted by Warner Brothers got a record number of dislikes.

While there were those defending the reboot for the most part the majority of folks were upset. Basically folks were saying if you want to create shows with the cartoony style that targets younger audiences that’s fine. But why should you do it with such an iconic series as the Thundercats? Fair enough.

Thundercats Roar means opportunity for the independent creator.

Here’s my take on Thundercats Roar and it is from the perspective of an independent creator. Thundercats is owned by Warner Brothers. That means they can do pretty much what they want to with it. I don’t have to like it, but my dislike of it affects them in no way. The studio wants to make money. They’ve found what they believe to be a formula that works and it is well within their rights to apply that formula to anything they own. I don’t like what they did with the iconic series. But I’m not their target group. The original Thundercats from the 80s, in my world, will always be the “real” Thundercats and that’s absolutely fine. Let them do what they will.

The result of the repeated application of this “formula” though, is that the place has become absolutely saturated with that style and there’s a niche of people that are tired of it. When we decided to work on the Celflux Animated Short I chose the 2D action animated style of the 80s to do it. I surmised that there were people out there, like me, who had a feeling of nostalgia for 80s styled action cartoons and who longed to see something like that again. Some tried to discourage me and told me I should use 3D because it’s “popular”. Or that 2D action cartoons don’t have an audience. The reaction to Thundercats Roar shows me that is not necessarily the case.

Since the networks are saturating the airwaves with this new comedic style, it’s creating an opportunity for independent creators like me who are doing something different to reach an audience who is looking for something different. Imagine if you will if big name studios were all doing 80s style action cartoons. Do you think I would have any hope of Celflux being seen at all? The answer would be a resounding no. But with the growing frustration with the current cartoons, I can present an alternative to that small niche that is looking for an alternative. Celflux has the opportunity to stand out from the crowd like an oasis in a desert. So to Warner Brothers, I say “Keep doing your thing.” Of course, there’s still no guarantee that Celflux will be a success. That’s why it’s called “opportunity.”

If you want something different, support independent creators.

I have been saying for a long time that the future of 2D animation lies with independent creators. Because networks want to be “safe”, indie creators are the ones taking chances and trying new things. Presenting alternatives to the cookie cutter model that the large studios have settled on. I would encourage anyone out there who is tired of the same old same old to look for and find an independent creator who is doing something that you like and support them. With your help that creator can bring something into pop culture to help balance the scales so to speak.

One such project you can support is Celflux. We very recently launched our first crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo. If you are a lover of 2D hand-drawn animation and if you are nostalgic about the awesome cartoons of the 80s. If you would like to support 2D hand-drawn animation and help keep it alive and relevant. If you support the creation of diverse content. Then the Celflux animated mini-series is the project for you. We have been working on Celflux as a graphic novel since 2013. We started work on the animation in 2017 and are committed to seeing it completed. So consider this project if you’re looking for independent creators that you can support. You can also support by spreading the word and letting others know what’s happening.

Visit Indiegogo

Conclusion

So in conclusion. Thundercats Roar is what it is. Folks that are upset about it have a couple choices before them. They can either rage about it, which is a popular thing to do on the internet, or they can seek out alternatives that they like and support it. I would encourage everyone to do the latter.

Till next time.

Everard J. McBain Jr.

Everard is the Creative Director and CEO of GemGfx. GemGfx is a multidisciplinary design consultancy based in Trinidad and Tobago. He has been involved in the field of Graphic Design for over 14 years. He is also the art director and co-author of the graphic novel Celflux which he created along with his wife Dixie Ann Archer-McBain.

ww.gemgfx.com

The post What Does The Thundercats Reboot Mean To Me As An Indie Creator? Opportunity. appeared first on Celflux - Graphic Novel & Animated Series.

When we decided to create the Celflux Animated Short, a few folks asked, some in a rather patronizing way, “Why did you choose to use 2d animation?” One person went so far as to say “Don’t you know that no one is using 2d anymore.” Yeah. They actually said that. Now to be fair, the last feature-length film released by Dinsey with any hand-drawn elements was Princess and The Frog in 2009. Paperman was released in 2011 but was just a short. Someone also pointed out to me that there was also Winnie The Pooh which was also released in 2011. It had a smaller budget but was indeed feature-length. It’s poor performance at the box office, along with that of Princess and The Frog, caused Disney Exects to rethink their 2D department. Most people cite the reason for this to be an issue of cost. Traditional animation, they say, was getting too costly to create without any guarantee that it would give a return. 3D films such as Frozen, Toy Story, and Finding Nemo, cost less and rake in millions at the Box Office. So there’s been no major theatrical release of a traditionally animated film in years. So perhaps it’s safe to say 2d is dead… but only on the big screen.

Does 2D animation have a future?

Blizzard is a company known for developing some of the best games around. Classics such as Starcraft and Warcraft. One of their latest games has already become a hit and powered its way into pop culture. Of course, I’m speaking about Overwatch. Apart from creating great games, Blizzard for years has been known for creating some of the most breathtaking 3D shorts known to man. This was no different when it came to Overwatch. Marvelous 3D work was done on the various shorts that told the character’s backstories. Recently, however, for the release of their character Doomfist, Blizzard shocked everyone by releasing Doomfist’s origin story as a 2D animated short.

The release quickly racked up about 11 million views online with many fans commenting that they would definitely watch a 2d animated series if Blizzard made it.

John Lasseter, former head of Pixar, once said:

“I love the medium of hand-drawn animation. I think it’s fantastic. I never quite understood why animation studios… were deciding that audiences weren’t interested in watching hand-drawn animation anymore. What an audience doesn’t want to watch are bad movies. They want to watch good movies.”

So what he’s saying is that 2D and 3D are just mediums. It’s what the creator does with the medium and how they use it to tell a good story, that makes the difference.

So there’s definitely a future for 2D animation because there’s still an audience out there who appreciates a good story. Also, with the closing of one door, the big screen, many other opportunities have arisen for 2D animation.

The Future of Independent Animation Lies With Independent Creators.

There was a time when comic books were created by teams. Writers, artists, Inkers, Colorists and Letterers. Times have changed. There are now independent creators who do everything themselves. There was a time when animation was done by an entire studio. But again, times have changed. Just as in the comic book industry, more and more individuals are creating independent 2D animated projects. 2d animation is thriving online, in Europe and in Asia. Here are the reasons why I believe the future of 2d animation lies with independent creators.

The Availability of Technology

With the development of various accessible animation programs such as Toon Boom, TV Paint, and Adobe Animate, the ability for independent creators to develop their own projects has come within reach. Phenomenally talented animators are rising up all over the internet and producing quality work. Such a thing would not be possible if the software and technology did not exist.

I have told the story before of Makoto Shinkai. He was the creator of 5 Centimeters Per Second. A movie that he created all on his own over a period of seven months. He did this because he had access to the programs that the company that employed him used. Programs such as Photoshop. Which is what I use to animate by the way. His story to me is most inspirational because it proves that independent animation is possible. He was one of the first to do it and many other creators have followed in his footsteps.

The Ability to Reach an Audience

The internet has changed the world in so many ways. It has made the world accessible. Before a creator had to be in a studio in order to get his work out to the public. The studios and production houses were the gatekeepers. Independent animators can now reach out on their own and find an audience to support their projects. Through social media such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter creators can communicate directly with their fans. Through video hosting websites like YouTube and Vimeo, creators have a place where fans can access their creations. Through crowdfunding, such as Kickstarter and Indiegogo, thousands of independent shorts and series have been successfully funded.

The Opportunity For Diversity

When the big name studios were the only ones creating the animation all the stories and the characters, for the most part, looked the same. Now that there is a diverse group of creators at work the animated projects themselves are diverse and made up of diverse characters. LeSean Thomas is the creator, writer and director of Cannon Busters. An animated adventure featuring diverse characters. He worked for years on several popular animated series. One of the most popular is The Boondocks. The pilot for Cannon Busters was successfully funded on Kickstarter to the tune of USD $156,535 and has recently been picked up by Netflix.

Read about it on Forbes.

And yes. Cannon Busters is 2d animation.

There’s also Urbance. Urbance is a 26-minutes animated action series for a 16+ audience. Written and Directed by Joel Dos Reis Viegas and Sébastien Larroudé. A topic that hits with stunning visuals and blasting tunes; Urbance brings you into a post-modern story world, made of hip-hop vibes and electronic influences. It successfully raised CA$ 229,300 on Kickstarter.

Urbance is also 2d animation.

These diverse animated projects would most likely have been turned down by a large studio but independent creators are able to bypass those conventional routes and bring their work directly to the public.

Conclusion.

So is 2D animation dead? No. Not really. This is why when we decided to create our own animated short, I made the choice to do it with 2D and taught myself how to animate. 2D animation is very much alive and well in the hands of independent creators. So we encourage everyone who loves 2D animation to support the indie creators that do it.

We are also throwing our hat into the ring with our own animated short. We are currently working on Celflux Reluctant Heroes The Secret Weapon and will be releasing the first 20-minute chapter online in April 2018 for everyone to see. Watch the trailer:

We will also be launching an Indiegogo campaign to help fund two more 20-minute chapters.

Early Bird Sign up Here!

Help us spread the word so that ours can be another successful independent animation project. We encourage every to continue to create because like animation the only limit is your imagination.

Till next time

Everard J. McBain Jr.

Everard is the Creative Director and CEO of GemGfx. GemGfx is a multidisciplinary design consultancy based in Trinidad and Tobago. He has been involved in the field of Graphic Design for over 14 years. He is also the art director and co-author of the graphic novel Celflux which he created along with his wife Dixie Ann Archer-McBain.

ww.gemgfx.com

The post Is 2D Animation Dead? Not Really. appeared first on Celflux - Graphic Novel & Animated Series.

Due to the overwhelming success of the Black Panther movie and because Marvel recently announced that they have moved up the release of Avengers Infinity War to April 27th (our launch date), we have decided to push back the launch date of our crowdfunding campaign. It is believed that much of Avengers Infinity War takes place in Wakanda and we acknowledge that nothing else will be happening on April 27th. Our new launch date is May 25th, 2018. This means you have more time to sign up early and grab the early bird bonuses. Thanks to all those who have already signed up. Mark the date and spread the word. Are you excited about the Celflux Animated Short?

Greetings Celflux fans.

What a ride this Celflux journey has been. Those who have been with us from the beginning know that it’s a labour of love. The late nights, the sacrifices, all worth it because we are passionate about this little project of ours. It’s hard to believe that it’s been four years since we started working on issue number one. We’ve learned a lot and our little project has grown quite a bit. Today, we are three issues down and also working on an animated short. So we believe the time has come for us to take a leap of faith to the next step of our journey.

As you guys know Celflux is a totally independent project by Dixie Ann and I. For three years it’s been a team of two. Everything you see in the pages of Celflux was put together by just us two. Both of us write the story and I’m responsible for all the visuals. When we decided to work on the animated short it was the same. We both came up with the story and I taught myself how to animate to deliver the visuals. At this point, we needed some help. We needed to bring our characters to life by giving them voices. We were extremely lucky to find an awesome group of voice actors who came on board and lent their voices to our characters. Our team went from two to fifteen. This included a talented musician who also came on board to give the short an original score. We are totally indebted to them all because each person that came on board did so because they saw our vision and fell in love with Celflux. They all lent of their time, talent, energy and equipment to help us make the short a reality. We’ve released our first trailer check it out below:

The Next Step

Ever since day one we’ve have avoided crowdfunding. There are a few reasons for this.

Firstly, as we said Celflux has been a labour of love. Making money from it has never been our motivation. Those who follow us on social media know that we don’t push sales because it’s not our priority. Anyone who is passionate about what they are creating can identify with this. You just want to create and you find a way to do it. You don’t concentrate on monetizing it. Many might say that’s not a good thing. They might be right, but it’s the reality. Don’t get me wrong money has its place. However, historically, the desire to make money has never been a good motivator for anything. We’ve got enough of that in the world.

Secondly, Crowdfunding is somewhat of a litmus test to determine who are your real supporters. Most projects have a lot of followers, but you are not sure how many of those are loyal fans. Crowdfunding helps give you a clear picture, really quickly, about how much real support you have. Not too long ago I was introduced to the 1% rule of internet culture. It’s the philosophy that states that 90% of the participants of any internet community only view content (they are called lurkers), 9% of the participants actually participate by commenting, liking, sharing etc., and 1% of the participants are actually invested, emotionally and otherwise, in seeing you succeed. I’ve seen quite a few crowdfunding campaigns fail that had large numbers following them. Large following numbers does not necessarily translate to a large amount of support. So we’ve stayed away from crowdfunding because we really did not know if we had enough real support. But I guess the only way to know is to make that leap.

Thirdly, fear of failure. This is basic. No one wants to fail. No one wants to be seen failing. But most can tell you that if you never try, you will never know. Better to try and fail, than to fail to try.

Fourthly, not having a good enough track record. When we started out in 2013 we came out of nowhere. Nobody knew us from Adam. We were just a couple working on a book. Who would support newcomers and strangers? Not many folks would. So we had to take the time and build the awareness of the Celflux brand so to speak. Make people aware of Okira and her team. Let people get to know about the project and the folks behind it. While Celflux is far from being a household name, we believe that Celflux is a lot more known now than when we first started. People can also see that we’re dedicated to this project for the long haul otherwise we would have let it go a long time ago. Folks can see our progress and are aware of the quality of the characters and project as a whole.

So these are the reasons we’ve avoided crowdfunding in the past. Today we are overcoming all those fears and taking Celflux to the next step. We’re talking the Celflux Animated Short to Indiegogo.

Sign up and see the first of three chapters for FREE!

Release Date & Breakdown

The Celflux Animated Short will be one hour long. It will be made up of three twenty minute chapters/episodes. The episode titles are; I. Assault II. Alone III. Awakened.

We will be releasing the first twenty-minute chapter “Assault” on 25.05.18. At the same time, we will be launching our first ever crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo. Everyone who signs up early will get to see the first chapter for free. You can sign up on our Indiegogo pre-launch page.

Sign up and see the first of three chapters for FREE!

For our crowdfunding campaign, we’ll be offering all three chapters on one DVD or digital download along with lots of other perks. We’ve got comics, posters and more. We’ll be giving more details in the coming weeks. Help us spread the word by sharing the news with your friends. With your help, we’ll be able to make the Celflux project a success. Thanks to all who have supported Celflux thus far and we’re looking forward to great things in the future.

Everard J. McBain Jr.

Everard is the Creative Director and CEO of GemGfx. GemGfx is a multidisciplinary design consultancy based in Trinidad and Tobago. He has been involved in the field of Graphic Design for over 14 years. He is also the art director and co-author of the graphic novel Celflux which he created along with his wife Dixie Ann Archer-McBain.

ww.gemgfx.com

The post Celflux Animated Short Coming To Indiegogo appeared first on Celflux - Graphic Novel & Animated Series.