2A! Blog

Wonkidos: Animated Social Skills for Kids

2012-01-26T12:00:00.002-05:00

2A! is proud to invite you into the wondrous world of the Wonkidos!

Evan is a young boy who loves playing with his favorite toys, the Wonkidos! Wobbles, Stacks, Apps and Sparkles spring to life in Evan’s imagination, and together with Mr. Know-It-All App, help Evan learn valuable social skills in a fun and entertaining way!

Tricia Estrada, founder and president of Brighter Futures for Beautiful Minds (BFBM), thought up the idea of an animated series that would help her son, who was diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder, learn the social and life skills he would need to succeed. She realized the importance of using visual tools like illustrated stories and organizers to help children understand different concepts and motivate their behavior. She also realized that through the use of mobile technology, she could allow anyone to access these tools at anytime, anywhere. Where parents might have difficulty getting through to their children, the animated characters could easily grab their attention and help turn an otherwise frustrating moment into a teachable one.

Read more of Tricia’s story.

2A! is extremely proud to have helped design and develop this series for BFBM. Together, we are currently producing 18 short-form episodes which will be available at www.wonkidovideos.com.

Every episode was carefully written by 2A! and BFBM, and has been reviewed with input coming from developmentalists, researchers, doctors, and most importantly, parents. You can download and watch each video when you sign up at www.wonkidovideos.com.

We hope you enjoy this first video and welcome you to check out the rest. There are currently 3 episodes available with more coming soon!

Copyright © Brighter Futures for Beautiful Minds, Inc.

Rick Parody: Weak!

2012-01-05T13:30:00.003-05:00

2A! spoofs Rick Perry: Strong ad with Rick Parody: Weak animation!

This animated short is a spoof of the notorious "Strong" video put out by GOP Presidential candidate Rick Perry on December 6, 2011.

Our version is titled "Weak" and stars "Rick Parody," a humorous animated character who, through various acts of cartoon violence, reveals the hypocrisies contained in the original ad.

2A! directed and animated this short in Flash!

Check out the screen shots below, then head over to YouTube and give us a "like" if you're so inclined. ;)

Copyright © Two Animators! LLP

"When Santa Got Sick" App - UPDATE

2011-12-06T11:00:00.039-05:00

Last year we posted about the fun illustrations we were doing for a new storybook app called, When Santa Got Sick! Version 2.0, which features some new illustrations and updates, has launched and is currently in the top 10 best sellers in the "children's religious" category on amazon/kindle apps.

2A! designed the characters and illustrated the scenes for Food4Thought Productions. Be sure to head over to amazon and download the app for yourselves!

When Santa Got Sick is an interactive storybook app written by Greg Perkins, that tells the tale of what happened when Santa was too sick to deliver presents one Christmas Eve.

© Food 4 Thought Productions Inc.

Corey & Friends: Giant Corey! (PG-13)

2011-12-02T11:00:00.021-05:00

2A! enters the crazy world of Corey & Friends!

Corey & Friends follows the misadventures of Corey, as he and his oddball group of friends get into all kinds of trouble. In their first adventure titled, “Giant Corey,” we meet Corey, Jason, Kyle, Max, Kelly and Megan, and learn what happens when someone dares to insult Corey’s favorite sport… Pro Wrestling!

2A! directed and animated this short, which was created and written by Corey Snowden, for FlipThis TrumpCard Productions.

Copyright © FlipThisTrumpCard Productions

The Fine Bros Team-Up with 2A!

2011-09-29T14:30:00.054-04:00

2A! has officially teamed up with the fabulous Fine Bros to create some killer animated shorts!

Our first collaboration, "You’re Entering Puberty Charlie Brown," has just launched on The Fine Bros YouTube channel. The short is a hilarious spoof on the classic Peanuts cartoons, and examines what happens when Charlie Brown and the gang hit puberty. It was written by The Fine Bros and animated by us!

If that weren’t cool enough, we also collaborated to create an Animated Outtakes video, which you can find on our YouTube channel, and a semi-embarrassing Behind the Scenes video, which can be viewed on The Fine Bros 2 YouTube channel.

"Trifecta attack!"

Be sure to check out all three videos and subscribe to The Fine Bros on YouTube. Because they rock!

Copyright © The Fine Bros. & Two Animators! LLP

Cartoon Fails: He-Man

2011-08-24T09:00:00.002-04:00

2A! has the power for another Cartoon Fails!

Every Thursday this summer, Break.com will be releasing a new episode of Cartoon Fails! These short animations poke fun at pop-culture and the cartoons we all grew up watching. This episode... He-Man!

2A! animated this short in Flash, with our pals at Snark Rocket producing!

Copyright © Break.com

Cartoon Fails: Captain Planet

2011-08-03T09:00:00.002-04:00

2A! partakes in some rubbernecking for another Cartoon Fails!

Every Thursday this summer, Break.com will be releasing a new episode of Cartoon Fails! These short animations poke fun at pop-culture and the cartoons we all grew up watching. This episode... Captain Planet!

2A! animated this short in Flash, with our pals at Snark Rocket producing!

Copyright © Break.com

Political Cartoon: Debt Season

2011-08-01T12:00:00.006-04:00

For those of you who missed this over the weekend...

Here's my interpretation of the current debt ceiling debates in Washington, between Obama and Boehner. Our politicians are definitely acting "Looney!" =P

And here's a clip of the classic Looney Tunes short!

Illustration © Joe Costantini

Cartoon Fails: April O'Neil

2011-07-27T09:00:00.005-04:00

2A! brakes for Cartoon Fails!

Every Thursday this summer, Break.com will be releasing a new episode of Cartoon Fails! These short animations poke fun at pop-culture and the cartoons we all grew up watching. The first episode we worked on features the many news bloopers of April O'Neil, from the 80's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon.

Warning!! April has a potty mouth in this one. =P

2A! animated this short in Flash, with our pals at Snark Rocket producing!

Copyright © Break.com

Animated Demo: Sifaka World!

2011-07-11T12:00:00.000-04:00

We often get asked about our work on Sifaka World, so we thought it would be cool to post a demo video we created back when the virtual world (MMO) was still being developed. This video shows just a few of the cool world areas, games, and characters 2A! designed and animated for Sifaka World!

You can also view more of our Sifaka World artwork on our blog and website.

Enjoy!

Copyright © Sifaka Productions, Inc.

"Weedy's Revenge" Game

2011-07-07T12:00:00.003-04:00

2A! shows off our weed wacking skills with the Weedy's Revenge game!

This is our second team up with Digital Backlot for Growums.com. "Weedy the Weed" is on the loose and wreaking havoc in town! It's your job to help "Duke the Cuke" stop him by spraying him with your weed repellent!

2A! handled coding, animation and assembly of this rootin' tootin' Wild West Shooter-style game, using Digital Backlot’s awesome 3D artwork.

Be sure to head over to www.growums.com to test your weed shootin' skills!

Copyright © Growums

College Humor: A Warning From The Future

2011-06-22T09:00:00.021-04:00

2A! travels back to the future... or, err... the past?!

Have you ever wondered if you made the right decision when you got married? Well, College Humor asks the same question in this hilarious short about a guy named Dave who travels back in time to warn himself about his own future.

2A! animated this short in Flash, with our pals at Snark Rocket producing!

Copyright © Connected Ventures, LLC

"So You Think You Can Grow" Game

2011-06-21T09:00:00.014-04:00

2A! gets our grove on with the So You Think You Can Grow game!

We've teamed up with Digital Backlot to create a series of fun games for Growums.com. The object of this first game is to hit your keyboard arrow keys in the right combination to water and grow your tomato plant. If your timing is off, you'll face the judges' insults. If you impress the judges you’ll move on to the next level, and grow another inch closer to the stardom you've always dreamt of!

2A! handled coding, animation and assembly of this fun Dance Dance Revolution-style game, using Digital Backlot’s awesome 3D artwork and designs.

Be sure to head over to www.growums.com to test your growing skills!

Copyright © Growums

Animation: You Rock My World!

2011-06-08T14:00:00.006-04:00

This animation is a great way to tell that special someone how much they mean to you. Especially when you're sleeping on the couch because you forgot your anniversary again! LOL =P

Another animation from our "flirty" batch of SweetIM's. Enjoy!

Copyright © SweetIM Technologies Ltd.

Understanding the Life Cycle of the EAB

2011-05-19T18:00:00.000-04:00

2A! helps spread the word about the Emerald Ash Borer Beetle (EAB).

Nature Walk - Understanding the Life Cycle of the EAB is an educational video for the Stop the Beetle website and will be used to teach people about the Emerald Ash Borer Beetle, which is an invasive insect that is killing Ash trees by the millions.

2A! teamed up with our friends at JMH Education to write and direct this 4-minute Flash animation.

Copyright © USDA

2A! Launches Mobile Site

2011-05-16T16:00:00.000-04:00

Don’t have Flash on your iPhone or other mobile device? No problem!

2A! recently launched our “i-compatable” mobile site. The abbreviated site allows visitors to learn a little about our studio and view select videos and artwork without requiring Flash. This is the first version of our mobile site, so expect it to grow as we continue to make new content available. And of course, you can still see our full Flash website on your desktop PC or Mac.

Copyright © Two Animators! LLP

Animation: Hot In Here

2011-05-04T09:00:00.002-04:00

If the Devil looks like this, then sign me up for a looong stay! Just kidding, this is another animation from our "flirty" batch of SweetIM's. Enjoy!

Copyright © SweetIM Technologies Ltd.

DC Water: A Drop's Life

2011-04-20T10:30:00.004-04:00

2A! helps spread the word about DC’s clean water!

Have you ever wondered what happens to a raindrop after it falls from the sky?
DC Water offers up their answer in this cool, educational short, which tells the story of DC Water’s "Clean Rivers Project" from the perspective of a few drops of water.

2A! helped animate this short for Snark Rocket and Free Range Studios.

Copyright © DC Water 2011

Animation: Knockout Girl

2011-04-14T17:00:00.003-04:00

There’s no better compliment than having a beautiful girl tell you “you’re a knockout!” Of course, the fact that she could actually knock you out might be a bit intimidating, but who cares… it’s the thought that counts.

Here’s the first in an all new batch of “flirty” SweetIM animations. Enjoy!

Copyright © SweetIM Technologies Ltd.

Flirty Sweet IMs

2011-04-07T17:30:00.003-04:00

Our latest batch of SweetIM animations (pictured above) has launched and boy are they hot! They’re all part of a flirty-themed batch, and include our humorous takes on bad one-liners.

2A! developed the concepts, designed and animated the characters, and provided the audio. Check out some hot screen shots below, and then head over to www.sweetim.com to download the FREE application.

Copyright © SweetIM Technologies Ltd.

Character Designs: Nuts

2011-03-30T09:00:00.018-04:00

Who knew nuts could be so fun to draw?

Following up on Tom's post last week, here's a shot of the cast of nuts we designed for The Skinny On Nuts Website. These characters were really fun for us, because they hearken back to our roots of drawing wacky characters with big circle eyes. The bottom layer in the image is our initial line-up of characters, while the top layer contains a few revisions.

Anyway, go check out the site which we helped design, and be sure to "like it." Spread some love people!

Copyright © National Peanut Board

The Jersey Shore meets Dragonball Z

2011-03-24T16:00:00.004-04:00

2A! takes Goku on a trip to the Jersey shore!

Ever wonder what would happen if The Jersey Shore cast met up with the Dragonball Z cast? Neither did we, but College Humor sure did, and boy are you in for a treat. Prepare for orange tans, frosted tips, and a Super Saiyan sucker-punch in this action packed, animated battle!

2A! animated this short in Flash, with our pals at Snark Rocket producing!

Copyright © Connected Ventures, LLC

The Skinny On Nuts Website

2011-03-22T12:00:00.046-04:00

2A! gets healthy by adding The Skinny on Nuts Website to our diet!

Did you know that peanuts are not only good for your heart, but also good for your exercise routine? That's because eating peanuts, along with other nuts, provides the body with many of the necessary nutrients that help you get moving. This fun, educational site was commissioned by The National Peanut Board and is chock-full of important nutritional information about your favorite nuts. Get the "skinny on nuts" at www.skinnyonnuts.com and find out how eating nuts can be part of a healthy diet.

2A! helped design the Website and characters, and provided music and animation. We had a great time teaming up with LBVD to work on this project!

Copyright © National Peanut Board

Fun Art Fridays: Awesome Optimus Prime!

2011-03-18T15:00:00.018-04:00

"Autobots... transform and roll out!"

This super-cool illustration of Optimus Prime was created by Greg Kleid, one of our awesome background artists. Greg drew this as a present for his nephews and we just had to post it. Man, I wish I had an uncle as cool as Greg!

Illustration © Greg Kleid

Fun Art Fridays: The Thundercats' Mumm-Ra

2011-03-11T09:00:00.023-05:00

"Ancient Spirits of Evil, transform this decayed form into Mumm-Ra the Ever Living!"

Now that I got that out of the way... Mumm-Ra is one of the all-time coolest villains! He starts off looking like a pathetic old man hobbling around in mummy rags, and with a few choice words becomes the baddest baddie the Thundercats have ever faced. Of course, in reality they usually beat him pretty easily, but we're talking about my distorted childhood memories here!

This guy's been a long time coming, so I hope you like him. I like Mums so much that I also did a warm-up sketch, which I've included below. Enjoy!

Just like my heroic team shot, these dudes are part of a larger drawing I’m doing for fun. Next up... Ma-Mutt!.

Until then... "Thundercats HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

Illustration © Joe Costantini

Fun Art Fridays: The Thundercats' Jackalman

2011-03-04T09:00:00.009-05:00

Here comes Jackalman, the club-wielding (and sometimes mace-swinging) evil mutant jackal!

The evil mutants were the perfect examples of incompetent lackeys, and Jackalman here was no exception. These bumbling baffoons were always screwing up Mumm-Ra's evil plans. Speaking of Mumm-Ra, looks like he's up next!

Just like my heroic team shot, these dudes are part of a larger drawing I’m doing for fun. Remember to check back next week for Mumm-Ra.

Until then... "Thundercats HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

Illustration © Joe Costantini

Fun Art Fridays: The Thundercats' Vultureman

2011-02-25T09:00:00.009-05:00

Watch out for Vultureman, the I-have-no-idea-what-the-heck-his-weapon-is evil mutant vulture!

Seriously, this is the weapon that came with the toy, but what is it? Some type of bird claw on a stick? Or maybe a bird cage cleaner?

Anyway, like my heroic team shot, Vultureman is part of a larger team drawing. Again, I'll be posting each villain as I finish, then the whole image once it's done. Next up is Jackalman!

"Thundercats HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

Illustration © Joe Costantini

Fun Art Fridays: The Thundercats' Monkian

2011-02-18T09:00:00.037-05:00

Did you see the new images for Cartoon Network's Thundercats revamp?

I wasn't sure at first, but I think the new designs are growing on me. I'll have to reserve final judgement until I see the new show, but that news lit a fire under me to finish up my Evil Mutants illustration. So this week I'm posting my take on the mace-wielding Monkian!

Just like my heroic team shot, these dudes are part of a larger drawing I’m doing for fun. Next week I'll post my Vultureman, followed by Jackalman, Mumm-ra, his dog Ma-Mutt, and then the final team shot.

Until then... "Thundercats HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

Illustration © Joe Costantini

Oh, The Places You'll Actually Go!

2011-02-16T15:00:00.013-05:00

Here’s a “whimsical tale of mediocrity” brought to you by College Humor!

Oh, The Places You’ll Actually Go is a spoof of the classic Dr. Seuss story of the same name (sans the “Actually”). In the animation, our protagonist learns the harsh truth about what will happen to all of his childhood hopes and dreams. Even though the tale is a cynical one, we still had fun working on it!

2A! animated this short in Flash, with our pals at Snark Rocket producing!

Copyright © Connected Ventures, LLC

Character Designs: IRL Files

2011-02-09T12:00:00.010-05:00

Following up on our last two posts, here are the character designs we created for College Humor’s IRL Files.

I had a blast designing this group of characters… I really just let loose and drew whatever came into my head, as opposed to doing multiple rounds of design. It’s definitely fun to just go with the flow as opposed to working a design over and over to death. The characters were drawn in Flash, but there’s actually not very much reuse here... just some hands and one body type being reused.

Here are the links to the videos if you'd like to check them out:

The Road Trip
Dad's New Phone

College Humor - The Road Trip

2011-02-02T12:00:00.008-05:00

Here's the second IRL Files short we animated for College Humor.

We created two videos in this style, where we design and animate a short based on a voiceover track. This short is called, The Road Trip, and is about a road trip that dosen’t go exactly as planned.

2A! designed and animated this short in Flash, with Snark Rocket producing!

Copyright © Connected Ventures, LLC

College Humor - Dad's New Phone

2011-01-26T12:00:00.014-05:00

Here's the first of two more videos we recently animated for College Humor!

This animation is part of a series CH calls their IRL Files (In Real Life). Basically, we are given the voiceover of a character telling his story, and it’s up to us to design and animate the piece. This first one is called, Parents Just Don't Understand: Dad's New Phone, and is about what happens when a parent gets their hands on a smart phone. I’ll follow up and post the second video next week!

2A! designed and animated this short in Flash, with Snark Rocket producing!

Copyright © Connected Ventures, LLC

College Humor - Hipster Superheroes

2011-01-19T17:30:00.003-05:00

2A! helps answer the age old question… What would your favorite superheroes be like if they were hipsters?

This new short from College Humor explores the possibilities, poking fun at such classic heroes as Spider-Man, Hulk, Batman, and more!

2A! helped animate the short in Flash, with Snark Rocket producing!

Copyright © Connected Ventures, LLC

College Humor - Pocahontas Spoof

2011-01-13T11:00:00.002-05:00

Here’s another intoxicating College Humor animation!

This time College Humor spoofs the amazing “Colors of the Wind” song from Disney’s Pocahontas. Their question… “What if, instead of the miracles of nature, Pocahontas introduced John Smith to weed?”

2A! animated this short in Flash, with our pals at Snark Rocket once again producing!

Copyright © Connected Ventures, LLC

More "When Santa Got Sick" Art

2010-12-30T12:00:00.027-05:00

As promised yesterday, here are some more of our When Santa Got Sick storybook illustrations! First up, Mrs. Claus and the Elves are trying to solve the problem of how to deliver gifts without Santa.

Below, a few Elves step up with solutions, but they aren't very good ones.

Finally, one little Elf comes up with a solution that even Santa likes!

Head over to the iTunes store to download the app and get the full story!

© Food 4 Thought Productions Inc.

"When Santa Got Sick" iPad App

2010-12-29T15:00:00.005-05:00

2A! helps spread some holiday cheer!

We were recently asked to create some fun illustrations for a new iPad app called, When Santa Got Sick! The app, which is currently available at the iTunes store, is an interactive storybook written by Greg Perkins, that tells the tale of what happened when Santa was too sick to deliver presents one Christmas Eve.

2A! designed the characters and penciled the illustrations, while the final pages were painted by the gang at Burton Design Group (who also produced the app). Check out some of our work below, then head over to iTunes to download the app for yourselves!

Here is the approved line-up of our designs for Santa and his elves.

Below is one of our favorite pages, including both the rough layout and tightened character pencils.

We'll try to follow-up with some more of our favorite images tomorrow. =)

© Food 4 Thought Productions Inc.

Pinocchio wants to be a what?!

2010-09-23T10:00:00.001-04:00

We all know Disney’s classic tale of Pinocchio, but what happens when College Humor slaps their irreverent wit on it?

Find out in this hilarious spoof, which recently premiered on CollegeHumor.com, and explores what would happen if Pinocchio questioned his gender.

2A! animated this short in Flash, with our good pals at Snark Rocket Studios producing.

Copyright © Connected Ventures, LLC

Character Designs: Bear Snacks!

2010-09-14T17:30:00.012-04:00

Thought I’d share our human designs for College Humor’s Bears are Bears animated short.

These kids were fun to work on... They were all drawn with the line tool in Flash. If you look closely, you’ll see how all the guys share the exact same bodies. That’s right, with the exception of their heads, all the male body parts are the same symbols, just colored differently and resized.

Unfortunately, these kids end up as lunch for a group of ravenous cartoon bears. At least they give us a few good laughs before they go!

Copyright © Connected Ventures, LLC

College Humor - Bears Are Bears

2010-09-10T17:00:00.006-04:00

What do cartoon bears really eat?

Find out in this amusing video, which recently premiered on CollegeHumor.com, and tracks the eating habits of your favorite cartoon bears!

2A! animated this short in Flash, with our good pals at Snark Rocket Studios producing.

Copyright © Connected Ventures, LLC

Fun Art Fridays: Mega Man Rocks!

2010-08-27T17:00:00.009-04:00

I've been feeling nostalgic for simpler times lately, so I decided to draw one of my favorite characters from one of my favorite NES games... Mega Man! I spent way too many hours of my youth playing the first 3 games. =)

I've also included my WIP sketches below... Hope you like!

Illustration © Joe Costantini

College Humor - Drunken Internet Distractions

2010-08-17T17:00:00.001-04:00

Here's another short we animated for our friends at Snark Rocket Studios.

The animation, which recently premiered on CollegeHumor.com, takes a look at what happens when an ordinary college guy browses the internet while under the influence. As you can imagine, this one ain't for the kiddies! :P

2A! animated this short in Flash, with Snark Rocket producing. Check out some screen shots below, then watch the movie above.

Copyright © Connected Ventures, LLC

Beetle Busters: Freeze & Collect Game!

2010-08-09T17:00:00.030-04:00

2A! catches beetle mania with the Beetle Busters: Freeze & Collect Flash game!

We worked with our friends at JMH Education to create this online game which helps spread awareness about the Asian Long Horned Beetle, or ALB for short. The ALB is an invasive pest that destroys trees and threatens our industries and wildlife habitats.

In the game, players use their magnifying glass to identify the ALBs and then freeze and collect them. See how many points you can earn by collecting as many ALBs as you can spot, and help stop them from spreading. Don’t forget to answer the bonus questions between levels to earn extra points!

Check out more screen shots below, then head over to www.beetlebusters.info and play the game! Good hunting!

Copyright © USDA

Intel Software Network Article #2

2010-08-05T17:00:00.014-04:00

Last month I posted that I was writing some "how to" articles about Flash animation techniques for Intel Software Network. You can read my first article here. The articles range from beginner to advanced subjects and my latest, "Image Sequences or Vector Art in the Development of Flash* Games and Virtual Worlds?" just went live.

The Intel Software Network is a website that connects people with developers and Intel engineers. By joining, you can get expert advice from the developer community, join discussions, find out about software development products, and share your own specialty with your peers. It's a doorway to the broad range of programs, products, resources, and content available to the software community from Intel.

Click here to read the article online!
Download a PDF version here.

Copyright © Two Animators! LLP & Intel® Corporation

Critter Concept: Monster Blob

2010-07-27T17:00:00.011-04:00

So here’s the last design in our series of cute, yet vicious little critters. Again, this little guy started with Sarah’s Sketchbook version (top) and then I did my version in Flash (bottom). First this dude blinds you with his obnoxious coloring, then he slimes you to keep you from getting away, then he eats your brains! Munch, munch, munch!

Copyright © Two Animators! LLP

MMMs: "Z" is for Zombies

2010-07-26T17:00:00.012-04:00

We did it! We achieved our goal of making it through the entire alphabet -- that means a Monday Morning Motivators exercise for every letter! I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling pretty good about this achievement. It’s the little things that keep us happy!

Another big THANK YOU to everyone who suggested a theme over on our Facebook page! We really appreciate your support!

With that, we’ll be taking a break from our Monday Morning Motivators for a little while, but you can always check out our previous exercises if you get bored. Hey, why not give one a try yourself? If you do, feel free to post it over on our Facebook page for us to check out! We’d love to see what you come up with. ;)

Anyway, here is the final alphabet letter theme… “Z” is for ZOMBIES!!!

Copyright © Two Animators! LLP

Critter Concept: Monster Worm

2010-07-20T17:00:00.009-04:00

Here’s the third design in our series of cute, yet vicious little critters. This little dude was really fun to draw! Sarah nailed his look pretty much on her first sketch (top), then I had my fun with the blue lines and color mock in Flash (bottom). I wouldn’t mind having this little guy hanging out in my garden -- of course, I guess I’d need to start a garden first, but anyway… ;)

Copyright © Two Animators! LLP

MMMs: "Y" is for Yorkies

2010-07-19T17:00:00.022-04:00

Mark brought up a good point today... Did you ever notice how Yorkshire Terriers kind of look like Ewoks? Well, they do! I didn’t realize it before, but after sketching them today I found it easy to end up with something resembling an Ewok. Anyway, this week’s Monday Morning Motivator’s theme was chosen by Nataliya Platonava over on our Facebook page. Thanks again for the adorable suggestion!

It looks like we’re coming to the end of our alphabet exercise with next week’s theme... anything starting with the letter “Z." So anyone who hasn’t made a suggestion yet should drop us a line here or on our Facebook page. Become a fan, suggest a theme, and if we dig it we’ll draw it.

For those that don’t know… MMMs is our weekly exercise where we pick a theme and spend the first hour of each week sketching. The sketches can be loose or tight, but the point is to work out the weekend stiffness and draw something new.

Now without further ado, we present... "Y" is for Yorkies!

Copyright © Two Animators! LLP

Fun Art Fridays: Galin Modric

2010-07-16T17:00:00.020-04:00

This character is the result of yet another fun exercise I did for the Design-A-Character group over on Deviant Art. The idea behind this challenge was to design a character based off of a provided name –- in this case, the name is Galin Modric.

So many things came to mind when I heard the name... a dark-ages wizard, a soul-stealing grim reaper, or a sci-fi bounty hunter (just to name a few). I chose to go with the latter. So, here you have it... Galin Modric, sci-fi bounty hunter extreme! Enjoy!

Copyright © Joe Costantini

Background Design: Future Alleyway

2010-07-14T17:00:00.014-04:00

Is it a blast from from the past or a visit to the future? Either way, a little over a year ago we posted about our work on the Tier Drop! animated teaser. I was put in charge of painting the backgrounds for this production, so I thought I'd share some of my work.

First up, is the "Future Alleyway!" Seeing as our main character really only travels "two days" into the future, I just needed to reference some current alleys. ;) So I went with your standard dirty alley, which I found to be humorous since we expect the future, even if only two days into it, to be better, brighter and more wonderful.

Next up are my layout lines, which I drew in Flash and filled with blocks of flat color. We sometimes do this to choose our colors, then we'll take this into Photoshop and paint the shadows and highlights, etc.

Last but not least, here is Mark's original animatic sketch. As you can see, he laid out the very basic shot and I had to actually define and embellish all the background details.

Copyright © Supplier-Works

Critter Concept: Monster Snake

2010-07-13T17:00:00.007-04:00

Here is the second design in our series of cute, yet vicious little critters. Again, this guy was started by Sarah in Sketchbook Pro (top) then tweaked by me in Flash (bottom). All of the designs in this series were concepts for a game where little critters like this would be attacking you!

Copyright © Two Animators! LLP

MMMs: "X" is for Xenopus

2010-07-12T17:15:00.013-04:00

Xenopus may not be a highly-skilled warrior princess, but it is a highly-aquatic frog native to Sub-Saharan Africa. This week’s Monday Morning Motivator's theme was once again suggested by Michelle Costantini over on our Facebook page! Thanks again Michelle!

Next week's theme is anything that starts with the letter "Y," so anyone interested in making a suggestion can drop us a line here or on our Facebook page. Become a fan, suggest a theme, and if we dig it we’ll draw it.

For those that don’t know… MMMs is our weekly exercise where we pick a theme and spend the first hour of each week sketching. The sketches can be loose or tight, but the point is to work out the weekend stiffness and draw something new.

Now without further ado, we present... "X" is for Xenopus! Ribbit!

Copyright © Two Animators! LLP

Fun Art Fridays: Robo Alien Insect Dude!

2010-07-09T17:00:00.013-04:00

This dude started as a doodle in my sketchbook one night... then I just kept adding lines here and there while at lunch or on the phone, etc. Sometimes it's just relaxing for me to draw without any sort of end plan for an image. Plus, I always love the chance to sketch on paper again!

I added some quick grays for a background in Photoshop. I may end up coloring him in the future, time permitting of course. We'll see...

Copyright © Joe Costantini

TikiToon: Cuckoo for Coconuts

2010-07-08T17:00:00.000-04:00

Today’s post is a look back at a fun Web short we animated for TikiMon Island called, “Cuckoo for Coconuts!” We’ve mentioned it a few times here on the 2A! blog, but never actually got the chance to post it. So here it is!

The animation features an adventure with Monsoon and Ungowa, two TikiMon characters based off of the line of toys from Mezco Toyz. The figures were already in production when we created this short, so their cartoon designs were based off of the existing toys.

We had a blast working on this project, which included designing and animating this short, as well as a series of Flash games and the Tikimon Island website. Enjoy!

Copyright © Mezco Toyz, LLC

Background Design: Sifaka User Homes

2010-07-07T17:00:00.017-04:00

We all need shelter; it's a rule of nature. We human's have homes, animals have habitats, and in Sifaka World you can get the best of both with user homes for your animal avatars!

Our user homes started with the idea of a basic hut, with a wood floor and straw roof, that players could customize to their own liking with various furniture items. Below is my initial sketch of the empty hut.

As you can see, the inside of the user home got enlarged from the initial sketch to the color mock (below). We needed to make sure these huts had ample space inside for players to decorate and move their avatar around.

Below is the final base hut built in Flash. Now we’re ready to start decorating…

Players can earn points to buy furniture and other fun objects for their homes by playing the various games on the site. Another exciting option of these homes is you can even invite your friends over. Just think how jealous they'll be when they see your big screen TV! Below are a few screen shots of how we decorated our user home. In the second image you can even see the grid we had to adhere to when designing the user home and furniture items for game play.

Decorating and furniture buying is a fun thing to do -- at least until you see the price tag! I'm still saving up to get a hot tube in my own user home. ;)

Copyright © Sifaka Productions, LLC

The Mad (Republican) Tea Party!

2010-07-06T17:00:00.007-04:00

2A! travels to a political wonderland by animating The Mad (Republican) Tea Party!

Here’s a cool short we animated for our friends at Snark Rocket Studios (formerly Camp Chaos), which recently premiered on CollegeHumor.com. The animation is a political spoof that, with the help of the iconic characters from Disney’s Alice in Wonderland, pokes fun at today’s political climate… more specifically the controversial Tea Party movement.

2A! worked on the character animation in Flash, for Snark Rocket! Check out some screen shots below, then watch the movie above. Enjoy!

Copyright © Connected Ventures, LLC

Fun Art Fridays: GPK Family Portrait

2010-07-02T17:00:00.024-04:00

I thought I'd share a recently finished GPK style portrait I created. It was based off of a Garbage Pail Kid from the original series, Jolly Roger. Below you'll see the initial pencil sketch, color rough done in photoshop, and final oil painting on canvas. I wanted to make it fairly large, so it ended up being around 24 x 30. I'm really happy with how it came out. Enjoy!

Illustrations © Mark Pingitore

Squirt Gun Bandits: Bar Background

2010-06-30T17:00:00.012-04:00

Last but not least in our series of Squirt Gun Bandits game backgrounds, we've reached the final stage: the big bad boss!

This level runs along the same influences as last week's, with old west saloons as the inspiration. This background was more straightforward, as everybody is familiar with the scene of the cowboy at the bar. Since the villain only pops up from behind the bar, we only needed to separate the bar and everything in front of it from the background image. We also tried to keep things colorful and kid friendly. The bottles in the back are soda as opposed to the whiskey held in most. I like how at first glance, they look like the real thing until you try and read the labels. Most players don't pay attention to such detail though, as they have a boss to defeat! It takes some quick squirt gun shootin', but I feel this baddie is going to end up all soggy.

Copyright © Sifaka Productions, LLC

Critter Concept: Monster Dino

2010-06-29T17:00:00.008-04:00

I know he looks cute, but trust me, get too close and he’ll bite your hand off!

This adorably fierce little dinosaur is the first in a series of critters that Sarah and I designed last year. Sarah started the designs with her Sketchbook Pro roughs, then I swooped in with my Flash versions, where I added some monstrous “bling” like spikes and claws, etc., and finished it off with color.

I don’t know about you, but I think this little guy would make a great pet.

Copyright © Two Animators! LLP

MMMs: "W" is for Walruses

2010-06-28T17:30:00.011-04:00

Walruses are so hot right now!

This week's Monday Morning Motivator's theme was chosen by Jay Sabo over on our Facebook page! Thanks a bunch Jay!

Next week's theme is anything that starts with the letter "X," so anyone interested in making a suggestion can drop us a line here or on our Facebook page. Become a fan, suggest a theme, and if we dig it we’ll draw it.

For those that don’t know… MMMs is our weekly exercise where we pick a theme and spend the first hour of each week sketching. The sketches can be loose or tight, but the point is to work out the weekend stiffness and draw something new.

Now without further ado, we present... "W" is for Walruses!

Copyright © Two Animators! LLP

Fun Art Fridays: Beach Girl

2010-06-25T17:00:00.014-04:00

Summer is here! And what better way to celebrate than by donning a bathing suit and going for a swim? Since I'm not a big beach goer myself, it's much more fun for me to draw those who prefer to soak up the sun and sand.

Enter this sketch, which was a doodle that turned out better than I had expected. This impossibly long-haired beach girl is making sure her suit is in top form. Her style is loosely based on the style of Leiji Matsumoto, a favorite artist of mine.

Have a great weekend and enjoy the summer!

Copyright © Sarah Gencarelli

Intel Software Network Article

2010-06-24T17:00:00.043-04:00

I've been asked to write a series of "how to" articles for the Intel Software Network about Flash animation techniques. The articles range from beginner to advanced subjects and my first article, "Integrating 3D Image Sequences into Flash" just went live.

The Intel Software Network is a website that connects people with developers and Intel engineers. By joining, you can get expert advice from the developer community, join discussions, find out about software development products, and share your own specialty with your peers. It's a doorway to the broad range of programs, products, resources, and content available to the software community from Intel.

Click here to read my first article!

Copyright © Two Animators! LLP & Intel® Corporation

Squirt Gun Bandits: Saloon Background

2010-06-23T17:00:00.026-04:00

Last week we showed the Street Background to the Squirt Gun Bandits game. We used a very customizable approach to the Street, because that's where players spend most of their time. Once they've progressed past the various Street levels they get to the Saloon interior, where we went with a more traditional approach to creating the background.

A Saloon seemed like the best place for the game's baddies to hide out in, so I went about researching saloons of the old west. Photos from that era are all in black and white, but it's easy to imagine the colors of that time. Places like saloons were able to afford things like wallpaper, so I tried to use that to add variation to the woodwork.

Even though we designed this background to be less customizable -- as it was only needed for one level -- we still made sure to build it out in layers. This way the programmers would have an easier time hiding those pesky villains behind objects. Below is an example of how we broke up the layers.

Once players defeat all of the baddies in this level, they move onto the final boss who hides further inside, behind the bar. Stay tuned for a peek at that background next week...

Copyright © Sifaka Productions, LLC

Character Designs: Even More Fairies

2010-06-22T17:00:00.018-04:00

Following up on my last few posts -- Fairy Dude and More Fairies -- here are even more fairies!

I really started to like where things were headed at this point. The characters started to become less humanoid and more fantasy, which is pretty cool. I was starting to use the vegetation as part of their bodies, rather than having them just wear leaves and flowers as clothes. My favorite is the dude on the far right... his face is based off of a goat's. "Bleet, bleet!"

Copyright © Two Animators! LLP

MMMs: "V" is for Vultures

2010-06-21T17:30:00.016-04:00

Don’t look now, but this week’s Monday Morning Motivators are circling above your heads! Move over happy Unicorns, today’s Vulture theme was chosen by our very own Mark P, who rarely chooses to draw cute and cuddly things. ;)

Next week's theme is anything that starts with the letter "W," so anyone interested in making a suggestion can drop us a line here or on our Facebook page. Become a fan, suggest a theme, and if we dig it we’ll draw it.

For those that don’t know… MMMs is our weekly exercise where we pick a theme and spend the first hour of each week sketching. The sketches can be loose or tight, but the point is to work out the weekend stiffness and draw something new.

Now without further ado, we present... "V" is for Vultures!

Copyright © Two Animators! LLP

Fun Art Fridays: Cheeseburger & Fries!

2010-06-18T17:00:00.006-04:00

Move over Cholesterol. Stand aside Trans Fats. Here comes Frankie French Fry and Charlie Cheeseburger in the next Fast Food sensation... Artery-Clogging Action Time!

These guys are the result of another fun exercise I did for the Design-A-Character group over on Deviant Art. The idea of this challenge was to design a character based off of a food item -- in this case I chose my favorite "bad-for-you" meal, a cheeseburger and fries! Mmmmmmmmmm…

The above image is a shot of my dynamic duo racing into action! Below are my WIPs of both Charlie Cheeseburger and Frankie French Fry's initial designs. I created Charlie first, then decided to design Frankie -- because what’s a burger without the fries, right? Anyway, hope you like these dudes. ;)

Is anyone else getting hungry all of a sudden? =P

Copyright © Joe Costantini

Animated Short: Mr. & Mrs. Oasis!

2010-06-17T17:30:00.009-04:00

2A! serves up a toast to Mr. & Mrs. Oasis on their wedding day!

Here's a cute Web short we created a while back, with our friends at Lucid Marketing, to promote the (then new) Oasis Washer and Dryer combination. The short pokes a little fun at the idea of "the perfect couple" by depicting a wedding ceremony for the two appliances.

2A! animated the Flash short using images of the actual products cut from Photoshop, along with new Flash art. We also supplied the audio. Enjoy! ;)

Copyright © Kenmore

Squirt Gun Bandits: Street Background

2010-06-16T17:30:00.003-04:00

The Wild West can be a dangerous place, so you better make sure that you can handle a squirt gun better than the outlaws can! Here is the first in a series of background designs 2A! created for the Squirt Gun Bandits game. This is the level one "Street" scene…

This background was designed to allow the villains to walk from side to side across the screen, along with multiple objects for them to hide behind and jump out from. All the architecture and landscape were drawn through, which means every element is complete. This allows the freestanding background elements to be arranged to add complexity to the game play for additional levels. Creating things this way allows for more variation while keeping the game's budget in check.

Check out the image below to see how we broke this background's pieces apart...

Copyright © Sifaka Productions, LLC

Character Designs: More Fairy Sketches

2010-06-15T17:30:00.016-04:00

Following up on last week's Fairy Dude post, here are some more concept sketches that I drew. The first guy is a bit too human, but I like where I started heading as I worked my way towards the right of the page. The little dude in the middle still cracks me up. Anyway, more to come next week, so stay tuned... ;)

Copyright © Two Animators! LLP

MMMs: "U" is for Unicorns

2010-06-14T17:00:00.014-04:00

Even though I really wanted to sketch the planet-consuming Unicron -- from 1986's Transformers The Movie animated feature -- we decided to take a break from drawing killer predators this week. With multiple votes over on our facebook page, we decided to go with a more peaceful, mythological animal... the Unicorn!

Next week's theme is anything that starts with the letter "V," so anyone interested in making a suggestion can drop us a line here or on our Facebook page. Become a fan, suggest a theme, and if we dig it we’ll draw it.

For those that don’t know… MMMs is our weekly exercise where we pick a theme and spend the first hour of each week sketching. The sketches can be loose or tight, but the point is to work out the weekend stiffness and draw something new.

Now without further ado, we present... "U" is for Unicorns!

Copyright © Two Animators! LLP

Fun Art Fridays: GPK Flashback Concepts 2

2010-06-11T17:00:00.017-04:00

Here's the second round of concepts from the Garbage Pail Kids Flashback "Where Are They Now" set I worked on. It was a lot of fun to revisit cards that I loved as a kid and update them. Again, I've included the original card next to my WATN concept.

Card images are courtesy of geepeekay.com!

Copyright © The Topps Company Inc.

Clothing Designs: Geisha Biggetts

2010-06-09T17:00:00.020-04:00

Chickity check-it! Today I present some costume designs we created for Smallie Bigg’s lovely ladies, the Biggetts.

These sassy gals from The Smallie Biggs Show -- which 2A! worked on a few years back -- were Smallie’s right hand girls, always there to help him dish the latest entertainment gossip. One particular episode called for the girls to be dressed like Geisha, so of course, I was asked to do the honors. I dressed them both like Maiko, which are the youngest and most ornate of the Geisha. I must say, they look pretty hip in those colorful kimono. Biggity Bam!

Copyright © Sprint

Character Designs: Fairy Dude

2010-06-08T17:00:00.023-04:00

I find it pretty shocking to go through my unused artwork and see just how many sketches I’ve drawn over the years. I’m a firm believer that every drawing makes you a stronger artist -- even the ones you aren't totally happy with. Anyway, this is the first in a series of Fairy designs I was working on last year. The idea was to have characters that lived in the forest and used their environment to fashion clothes, build homes, etc. This dude turned out pretty cute, but we decided to go in a different direction for the project, so he ended up in my unused pile. ;)

Copyright © Two Animators! LLP

MMMs: "T" is for T-rexes

2010-06-07T17:00:00.023-04:00

STOMP! STOMP! STOMP!

If having to outswim killer sharks wasn’t hard enough, prepare to outrun an attack by today’s massive Monday Morning Motivators! Today's theme was suggested by David Jamieson over on our Facebook page. Thanks again David!

Next week's theme is anything that starts with the letter "U," so anyone interested in making a suggestion can drop us a line here or on our Facebook page. Become a fan, suggest a theme, and if we dig it we’ll draw it.

For those that don’t know… MMMs is our weekly exercise where we pick a theme and spend the first hour of each week sketching. The sketches can be loose or tight, but the point is to work out the weekend stiffness and draw something new.

Now without further ado, we present... "T" is for T-rexes!

Copyright © Two Animators! LLP

Fun Art Fridays: Captain Canuck Contest

2010-06-04T17:00:00.017-04:00

I was recently asked if I would try my hand at drawing Captain Canuck for a contest that TheAmbushBug is throwing over on Deviant Art. It looked like fun and I really dig what he’s trying to do -- supporting an artist and his original comic book creation -- so I had to give it a shot!

Anyway, here’s my entry... Above is the final colored image and below are my inks, drawn in Flash, and my original concept sketch scribbled on paper. Hope you like them!

To learn more about Captain Canuck, his creator Richard Comely, and the art contest -- which runs through August 15th 2010 -- head over to TheAmbushBug’s DA page. And don’t forget to try your hand at drawing Captain Canuck too! There are cash prizes! ;)

Illustration © Joe Costantini
Captain Canuck is Copyright © Richard Comely.

Animation: See You Tomorrow!

2010-06-03T17:00:00.008-04:00

Believe it or not, we've come to the end of the SweetIM videos. With that said, we're working on another batch right now, so we'll definitely be back with more. For now I'll leave you with "See you tomorrow!" Well, not really tomorrow, but soon, I promise. ;)

Copyright © SweetIM Technologies Ltd.

Background Design: Tuffy's Interior

2010-06-02T17:00:00.016-04:00

Following up on last week’s post showing the Tuffy’s Tavern Exterior background 2A! created for Sifaka World, this week I’ll share the tavern interior.

Tuffy is one lucky wolverine to operate such a place! Just look at this cool tavern brimming with barrels of his delicious root beer, seats to play cards with your friends, a piano on stage for some tunes, and a spacious upstairs in case you need to stay the night. We wanted to convey a much warmer, more welcoming Western-styled saloon for this background. I think it worked out well!

Head over to SifakaWorld.com for some refreshments and live entertainment!

Copyright © Sifaka Productions, LLC

Character Designs: Last of the Desert Dwellers!

2010-06-01T17:00:00.020-04:00

We hope everyone had a good Memorial Day weekend! Monday Morning Motivators will return next week with the letter "T," so if you want to make a suggestion you can do so here or on our Facebook page!

In the meantime, here is my final sheet of Desert Dwellers as promised. I consider these guys to be more in the Star Wars realm... taller and less cartoony. The cool part about this project was that it allowed me to play with different ideas, so while some of the Desert Dwellers I came up with are cute or wacky looking, these dudes are a bit more serious looking. It's definitely fun to have the freedom to experiment. ;)

Copyright © Two Animators! LLP

Fun Art Fridays: Warcraft Trio Sketch

2010-05-28T17:00:00.020-04:00

Uh oh! I'm at it again with my World of Warcraft fan art!

Once guild members realize that I'm an artist for a living, some ask me to draw them pictures if I have the time for it. Since this is something I enjoy doing anyway, I try to oblige. This piece showcases my friend's three level 80 characters: a Draenai Shamen, a Night Elf Hunter, and a Night Elf Druid.

I would probably have more characters at level 80 myself if I didn't love to draw so much in my free time. Which is a worthy trade-off in my opinion. I'll have a color version of this ready soon, so stay tuned!

Copyright © Sarah Gencarelli

Animation: Gotta Go Guy!

2010-05-27T17:00:00.012-04:00

I don't really have much to say about this week's SweetIM animation, so.....um....gotta go! ;)

Copyright © SweetIM Technologies Ltd.

Background Design: Tuffy's Exterior

2010-05-26T17:30:00.001-04:00

Here's another fun background design 2A! created for Sifaka World!

This background is the exterior shot of “Tuffy's Tavern,” a restaurant located in the North American region of Sifaka World. The tavern is a place where you and your avatar can kick back, listen to some tunes on the piano, and enjoy a frosty mug of root beer served by none other than Tuffy himself.

We wanted the town to have the adventurous feel of the “wild west” without looking too dangerous or run down. So I checked out reference for some old ghost towns like Bodie and others. I think the outside of Tuffy's turned out looking pretty cool, plus I still have the inside to show you. Also, if you look to the right you'll see a path to another Sifaka World background we created!

If you're thirsty, why not head over to SifakaWorld.com a pay Tuffy a visit? I hear his root beer is fabulous!

Copyright © Sifaka Productions, LLC

Character Designs: Even More Desert Dwellers!

2010-05-25T17:00:00.022-04:00

I'm back again this week with even more Desert Dweller designs!

This time I have a few more traditional takes on the “based on a camel” theme that I mentioned in my original post. The first pass is a cute, chibi-fied version of a character who might live in the desert. The second is a more adult version of that same character. Last but not least, I was able to find my initial sketch of a camel's basic proportions that I worked from.

I have one more page of Desert Dwellers that I'll post next week, so stay tuned!

Copyright © Two Animators! LLP

MMMs: "S" is for Sharks

2010-05-24T17:00:00.015-04:00

Dum dum...
Dum dum...
Dum dum, dum dum, dum dum, dum dum,
Dum dum, dum dum, dum dum, dum dum,
Do do doooooo!

Just when you thought it was safe to surf the internet again -- comes the attack of today's Monday Morning Motivators! In case you didn't guess it from my fantastic rendition of the Jaws theme in text, today we drew sharks! ;)

Next week's theme is anything that starts with the letter "T," so anyone interested in making a suggestion can drop us a line here or on our Facebook page. Become a fan, suggest a theme, and if we dig it we’ll draw it.

For those that don’t know… MMMs is our weekly exercise where we pick a theme and spend the first hour of each week sketching. The sketches can be loose or tight, but the point is to work out the weekend stiffness and draw something new.

Now without further ado, we present... "S" is for Sharks!

Copyright © Two Animators! LLP

Fun Art Fridays: Dinosaur Dragon

2010-05-21T17:00:00.012-04:00

I play a drawing game with my boyfriend when we're at a restaurant. When we have a white place mat, he makes sure to scribble a line or shape on on it that I have to figure out how to turn into a drawing. That is how this adorable dinosaur/dragon character came to be:

I liked the drawing so much I later took it into Flash and cleaned it up with color.

I'm not sure why the fella is looking at a map or why he's looking at us over his shoulder, but the expression and pose is so cute to me!

Copyright © Sarah Gencarelli

Animation: Cat "No!"

2010-05-20T17:00:00.008-04:00

I often wonder what's going through my cat's head. As most cat's do, she insists on investigating even the slightest noise or movement. It'd probably be pretty comical to hear her inner monologue. This SweetIM animation reminds me of her.

Copyright © SweetIM Technologies Ltd.

Sifaka World: Food Emotes

2010-05-19T17:00:00.021-04:00

It's lunchtime over at 2A! with a buffet of Sifaka World foods!

Here are a few of the food items we recently designed for the online virtual world. While playing, you'll need to feed your avatars to ensure they remain happy and hunger-free while you explore Sifaka World's various landscapes. From fresh fruit smoothies to won-ton soup, we tried to create a wide sampling so there is a little something for everyone. ;)

Mmmm, now I'm hungry! Which food would you most like to eat?

Copyright © Sifaka Productions, LLC

Character Designs: More Desert Dwellers!

2010-05-18T17:00:00.023-04:00

Here are some more critter concepts I sketched up. I did these back in January, around the same time I was working on the first Desert Dweller design I posted. These guys were fun to draw... Again, I started with camels as a base and played around from there. I was also looking at various animals like turtles, lizards, and dinosaurs too. Anyway, hope you like them! ;)

Copyright © Two Animators! LLP

MMMs: "R" is for Raccoons

2010-05-17T17:00:00.020-04:00

I'm baaack! I know you were all heartbroken that I missed last week's post (Joe said sarcastically), but I think Thomas did a bang-up job of filling in for me. In any case, make sure you keep your valuables locked up tight, otherwise this week's mischief-making Monday Morning Motivators may just call snatchies! Today's theme was suggested by Arline Tancsak over on our Facebook page. Thanks again Arline!

Next week's theme is anything that starts with the letter "S," so anyone interested in making a suggestion can drop us a line here or on our Facebook page. Become a fan, suggest a theme, and if we dig it we’ll draw it.

For those that don’t know… MMMs is our weekly exercise where we pick a theme and spend the first hour of each week sketching. The sketches can be loose or tight, but the point is to work out the weekend stiffness and draw something new.

Now without further ado, we present... "R" is for Raccoons!

Copyright © Two Animators! LLP

Fun Art Fridays: Boxing Cassie Hack

2010-05-14T17:00:00.038-04:00

Here's another fun Hack/Slash image I drew towards the end of last year. Those of you who follow me on Deviant Art may have already seen this, but I thought it would be cool to post it here as well. This was a request from another DA member... he wanted to see Cassie wearing a pair of magical boxing gloves. A little quirky, but "what the heck" I thought... sounded like fun. ;)

I've also included a shot of the main steps in my process below. From left to right... First, I scribbled a few quick thumbnail sketches on a piece of paper. The one you see in the image is the direction I chose to go in. Second, I scanned and imported my thumbnail into Flash, and did a tighter sketch using the brush tool. Next, I made some minor tweaks to things in Flash – like shrinking her head to make it less cartoony – then went ahead and starting inking. Again, I ink in Flash with the brush tool. I tend to ink straight from my roughs, adding details and making changes as I go (as opposed to cleaning up the sketch first). Finally, I exported the inks from Flash and brought them into Photoshop to add the colors.

Hope you like it!

Illustration © Joe Costantini
Hack/Slash is Copyright © Tim Seeley.

Animation: Good Game!

2010-05-13T17:00:00.006-04:00

I was going to take this opportunity to give my scathing dissertation about the profession of referees and modern sports.... but I decided against it. Here's a fun SweetIM ref animation in it's place.

Copyright © SweetIM Technologies Ltd.

Logo Design: Funk Reel

2010-05-12T17:00:00.018-04:00

It's time to get funky with some logo design today!

As an animation studio we have to demonstrate our skills and styles through demo reels. Over on our Demo Reels page we have our reels posted for everyone to watch, and we wanted a more fun way to present them. We based our reels on a few different music styles, so we created this logo to demonstrate how one reel is particularly funky.

As with all designs, we worked starting from a sketch. The font and color were really important for this logo to evoke that crazy 70's style, so I blocked those out before we took things to the final stage. I'm really proud of how this logo turned out, it's colorful and fun.

Be sure to feel the funk by watching our Funk Reel here!

Copyright © Two Animators! LLP

2A! Interactive Reel

2010-05-11T16:30:00.000-04:00

Behold the 2A! Interactive Reel. ;)

LOL... I can't believe we haven't done a blog post about this yet. Anyway, this demo reel contains some of the design and animation work we've done for various clients. It includes work for games, websites, cd-roms, virtual worlds and more!

Some of our interactive credits include front-end design and animation for Sifaka World’s online virtual world, Mattel’s Pixel Chix, MyScene and Barbie online brands, design and animation of Mezco Toyz’ TikiMon Island website, and character animation for numerous online games such as SpongeBob SquareOff, Tag Team Titans, and El Tigre “Decision of Destiny" to name a few!

Copyright © Two Animators! LLP

MMMs: "Q" is for Quails

2010-05-10T17:00:00.013-04:00

It's Monday and you know what that means...it's time for another round of Monday Morning Motivators! The theme for today's sketches was chosen by Michelle Costantini over on our Facebook page. Thanks Michelle! :)

Next week's theme is anything that starts with the letter "R," so anyone interested in making a suggestion can drop us a line here or on our Facebook page. Become a fan, suggest a theme, and if we dig it we’ll draw it.

For those that don’t know… MMMs is our weekly exercise where we pick a theme and spend the first hour of each week sketching. The sketches can be loose or tight, but the point is to work out the weekend stiffness and draw something new.

Now without further ado, we present... "Q" is for Quails!

Copyright © Two Animators! LLP

Fun Art Fridays: GPK Flashback Concepts

2010-05-07T17:00:00.012-04:00

This week, I thought I'd share some more of my concepts used for the recently released Garbage Pail Kids Flashback series. These are more "Where Are They Now" concepts, which give us a look at what the Kids from the original 1980's series are up to now. I included images of the original cards and my corresponding WATN concepts, and I'll be back soon with another batch!

Card images are courtesy of geepeekay.com!

Copyright © The Topps Company Inc.

Animation: Good Morning Coffee!

2010-05-06T17:00:00.006-04:00

Some people live and die by their morning coffee. I myself prefer a bottle of Mountain Dew and a donut, but as they say, different strokes for different folks. If I were to picture what a cup of coffee would be like if it were to come to life, I think this animation is pretty dead on. This peppy little guy cracks me up!

Copyright © SweetIM Technologies Ltd.

Character Design: Auxilium Bad Guy #2

2010-05-05T17:00:00.002-04:00

In the last of the three Auxilium spots that 2A created, the client wanted to go with a surfing theme, and wanted a second villain. I was excited to hear this, as it meant I could take this fun style and create a new nasty bad guy for it. Can't you just see me snickering as I twist my evil mustache?

Since both the original villain and the Auxilium hero were starring in this spot as well, I wanted to use a different body type for the new baddie. I went with a very round and robust form, with a bushy mustache and an awkward wisp of hair that looks suspiciously like a toupee. Add a gaudy striped swimsuit and voila! A new villain is ready to thwart a do-gooder.

I was really pleased with how this fellow turned out, as I feel he has that classic "old-timey" feel to him. Thankfully he looks way more dangerous than he really is, and his surfing leaves a lot to be desired!

Copyright © Auxilium

MMMs: "P" is for Penguins

2010-05-03T17:30:00.002-04:00

It's time for some cute and fuzzy Monday Morning Motivators! We decided to sketch Penguins today, since they were the most suggested idea over on our Facebook page. Thanks again to everyone who made a suggestion!

Next week's theme is anything that starts with the letter "Q," so anyone interested in making a suggestion can drop us a line here or on our Facebook page. Become a fan, suggest a theme, and if we dig it we’ll draw it.

For those that don’t know… MMMs is our weekly exercise where we pick a theme and spend the first hour of each week sketching. The sketches can be loose or tight, but the point is to work out the weekend stiffness and draw something new.

Now without further ado, we present... "P" is for Penguins!

Copyright © Two Animators! LLP

Fun Art Fridays: John Locke Lost

2010-04-30T17:00:00.010-04:00

Here's another fun exercised I did for the Design-A-Character group over on Deviant Art. (I've been doing a lot of these challenges latley, huh? ;)

Anyway, the idea of this challenge was to focus on faces and try to design a character based off of a photo. So, I tried my hand a one of my favorite characters currently on TV… Lost’s John Locke. I know a lot of people complain that the series is too slow and complex, but I dig it. It’s all about the characters, and the more I know about them the more I like it. I'm definitely bummed that this is the last season… :(

Copyright © Joe Costantini

Animation: Birthday Surprise!

2010-04-29T17:00:00.008-04:00

This week's SweetIM animation is titled "Birthday Surprise!" In it, we get our final visit from an old friend of past weeks. I don't want to ruin it for you, but if someone gave me this as a birthday present, I'd have to end our friendship. ;)

Copyright © SweetIM Technologies Ltd.

Future Incite Interviews 2A!

2010-04-28T17:30:00.006-04:00

2A! sits down to talk animation with Future Incite!

Future Incite is a video and post production studio located in Freehold, NJ, and owned by the totally cool Sundiata Cowels. Aside from doing some pretty sweet production work, Sundiata also does some really great interviews with local artists, producers, and directors. Plus, he’s a super-nice guy who makes you feel completely comfortable during the interview process. Thanks again Sundiata! ;)

Joe and I agreed to do an interview with him back in February when he stopped by our booth at the Engage! Expo. The interview is now posted on his website and we’re very happy with how it turned out!

Check out his article and listen to the audio interview here!

Copyright © Two Animators! LLP

Character Design: Ostrich Jeweler

2010-04-27T17:00:00.009-04:00

Here’s another Sifaka World character design!

This time I present the Ostrich Jeweler. She can be found selling gems at the "Meerkat Mines Jewelry Store" located on the African continent of Sifaka World. Not much else to say other than I think she’s a pretty good looking Ostrich. ;)

Hope you like her!

Copyright © Sifaka Productions, LLC