Through Frames in Sketch and Story

  Animation history is filled with two kinds of series, those that manage to run for years or even decades, and those that burn bright and disappear before audiences have time to fully appreciate them.  When we look at this contrast purely through ratings or studio decisions, we miss the deeper, more interesting story that happens. The one rooted in the creative decisions that shape the foundation of a show long before it reaches the screen. From a creator’s perspective, longevity is rarely an accident.  It emerges from a combination of conceptual clarity, character elasticity, worldbuilding depth, tonal stability, and a production pipeline that can support a sustained creative vision. The life span of an animated series is woven into its very design. This article explores that creative engine of longevity. Throughout, we’ll ask the guiding question behind many great shows. Like what makes an animated series capable of lasting? And why are some stories naturally des...

There was a time when the animation pipeline was a one-way street. Studios made the art and fans consumed it. End of story. With increasing developments in technology and the growth of the digital media space, the fans are practically in the writers’  and executives board room. Well, at least, close enough to change the decisions on projects. In today’s animation landscape, fandom is part and parcel of every fabric of each animation production that is made, be it, from entertainment, which is mostly affected to animated music videos. Although in some ways, it isn't really seen as front and center of keeping or shaping a lot of the animation community. Animation fandom serves more than people to impress, but also influences the major decisions that happens creatively and culturally . It steers conversations, drives demand, inspires creative risks, and sometimes even shapes entire projects. It’s not hyperbole to say that the fandom has become one of animation’s most powerful for...

  Every adaptation is a translation and every translation, no matter how faithful, changes something. When a comic, novel, or web series is adapted into animation, the process can do more than reimagine a story.  Well you might be wondering, what's the big deal about a story from a novel, comic book or a type of literature becoming an animated series or show.  This is where things interesting.  Imagine for the same public figure or celebrity, they are two different types of fans for the same thing? Same content, same person, same themes, but like two countries with a border, the fans sit on two sides of the same coin. This tends to arise from the change from literature to animated media. It can split the audience into two distinct, passionate worlds, which are, the original fandom  (from the literature work) and the adaptation fandom   (for the animated work) Sometimes, they share the same heartbeat. Other times, they speak entirely different creative l...

One of the quiet miracles of animation is that it never really lets you outgrow it.  You can be seven, seventeen, or seventy, and still find yourself caring, and sometimes deeply about a cartoon character or an animated story. Fandom, in that sense, is ageless, but how people participate, love, create and connect with it changes with time. The animation fandom may sometimes come off as just one culture, but when plucked on it's fabric, it conveys, what can look like a generational mosaic.  From kids, teens and adults, there is a fandom to be had across generations, and most importantly, how either of them embrace their Saturday morning cartoons. Kids often discover their first taste of the animation and cartoons with a great sense of wonder and magic, helping them live out their wild imaginations on the playground.  Teens often experience their fandom with a bit more depth, and look build identity. Animation for them touches on relatable aspects as they carry through ...