Prickly Pachyderm Productions

"The Hit" Shots 1-3!!

2011-03-11T16:10:00.000-08:00

theHIT - Shots1-3 from leo parada on Vimeo.

The Hit-Teaser 1

2011-02-27T17:15:00.000-08:00

The Hit - Teaser 1 from leo parada on Vimeo.

Under New Management.

2011-02-25T11:25:00.001-08:00

I am Brandon Strathmann, Assistant Professor of Animation and Entertainment Art at Cal State Fullerton. I'm now the proud new manager of Prickly Pachyderm Productions. Stay tuned to see more great artwork and see how our new films develop!

WE’RE BACK!!!

2011-02-18T14:54:00.000-08:00

WE’RE BACK!!!

After a short hiatus the terrific artists at Prickly Pachyderm Productions are back with three tremendous titles. “The Hit”, “Tremendous Trouble” and [Sheep] are a hilarious trio of films that are well into production. Take a look at the following teasers for the animated shorts. There will be more art to follow.

“The Hit”

“Tremendous Trouble”

[Sheep]

Welcome to Prickly Pachyderm Productions!

2010-03-22T22:18:00.000-07:00

The birth of Prickly Pachyderm Productions a year ago also began with rainy weather in late January although today included the news of two twisters - one in Santa Barbara and one in our very own Fullerton. We had our pre-semester meeting to tabulate the talent of the group and begin assigning our new company "employees" to their films.

We have three films in the works:
"Firefly" will be created in traditional or pencil animation with some CG effects for the cloud of firefly's who come to the rescue of one of their own. This film has several veterans from last year's "Gwyllgi" film about the orphaned children who take on death himself including Crystal Cornejo, Kat Ruzics, Diana Ortiz, Bill Stewart, and Sarah Banning. They will guide the new talent to tackle a much lighter subject in "Firefly" whose concept was co-created with Amy Clark who is working full-time now at Dreamworks.

The second film will be an experiment in a simulated cut-out style of animation with heavy use of After Effects to capture the art and characters created by Sara Amijo. Her story revolves around the challenges of a lonely little boy who adopts a discarded robot that struggles with some serious issues. The working title is "Goovel" and we have assembled a great team of illustrators, animators, and post production artists to bring this story to life including Diana Ortiz and Karen Okstad helping flesh out the story details.

Our third film has been in heavy development even through intersession in the creation of the story premise and the assets. Headed by almost an entirely new crew, today's meeting covered lots of ground and resolved several key story issues. Several key members have been through previous animation classes and you can already see the creative chemistry happening as we dealt with the foundation of their scenes. This one will be coming in as our CG project under the working title "The Guardian".

Keep checking back to see our art, animation and photo journal as we launch these three projects! You can get to know some of the newest talent on the horizon as the projects come to life.

"FireFly" Opening Title

2010-03-22T22:14:00.000-07:00

Title design and animation by Leo Parada.

Home Sweet Home

2010-03-22T22:12:00.000-07:00

The toy store and the apartment where Dannie and his mother live.

"Firefly" Background

2010-03-22T22:11:00.000-07:00

Painting by Attila Szenczi-Molnar

"Goovel" Backgrounds

2010-03-22T22:08:00.000-07:00

The large shot of the street where Dannie lives, pencils by Sarah Amijo, art preparation by Melvin Young, and paint by Annie Ruygt.

2010-03-22T17:22:00.000-07:00

Animator Joonhee Cho works on the main character running through the fields after fireflys on a summer evening.

"Firefly" progress

2010-03-22T17:18:00.000-07:00

Background artist Attila Szenczi-Molnar has completed almost all of the new digital backgrounds for "Firefly".

Revising the story;

2010-03-22T17:15:00.000-07:00

Story revisions for both "Goovel" and "The Guardian" have kept storyboard artists Karen Okstad and Leigha Panelli hard at work revising the scenes.

2010-03-22T17:14:00.000-07:00

Animator Stephen Gunawan works on the final scenes with the robotic cat and child.

Setting the color palettes;

2010-03-22T17:11:00.000-07:00

Colorist and team illustrator Philip Vo works out the art direction on the film painting directly on the three dimensional monochromatic layouts.

Modeling for "The Guardian"

2010-03-22T17:09:00.000-07:00

Modeler and animator Ben Smith builds the interior environment and details for the inventor's shop scene.

3D Layout

2010-03-22T17:06:00.000-07:00

Lead Environmental Artist Alex Diaz and Production Manager Ken Hung refer to the "Guardian" village to plane their staging and the movement of the characters through the scene.

Jonathan Soto's Animation

2010-03-22T16:58:00.000-07:00

is is the scene where the mechanical cat breaks through a wall in chase of the soldier.

Goovel Updates

2010-03-22T16:57:00.000-07:00

Directors Sarah Amijo and Diana Ortiz review the latest watercolor background paintings with Production Manager Ara Zakarian.

New Background Paintings

2010-03-22T16:56:00.000-07:00

Studio Logo

2010-02-22T12:35:00.000-08:00

Creators and leadership of "Goovel"

2010-02-22T12:24:00.000-08:00

"Goovel's" primary team from left to right; Background painter and Assistant Production Manager Annie Ruygt, Production Manager Ara Zakarian, Animation Director Diana Otiz, and Creator/Director/Illustrator Sarah Amijo.

2010-02-22T12:20:00.000-08:00

From left to right; Alisa Ogura, Leigha Panelli, Leo Parada, and Ethan Lawrence

Getting the Characters Down

2010-02-22T12:17:00.002-08:00

This are character studies as the "Firefly" team of in-betweeners and clean up artists become familiar with the characters, drawing style, and for most trying to master drawing on a Wacom tablet.

Amber Brinigar's Character Studies

2010-02-22T12:17:00.001-08:00

Adrienne Jimenez First Drafts

2010-02-22T12:15:00.000-08:00

Firefly Team Members

2010-02-22T12:12:00.000-08:00

Director of Production William Stewart reviews work with Annie Rugyt and Kat Ruzics. Kat is a lead animator on "Firefly" and Annie is working on two films this semester.

Amos & Murphy Take Off

2010-02-22T12:09:00.000-08:00

This is a first of a series of animated scenes with the background paintings of Attila-Szenczi Molna with keys by either Sarah Banning or Kat Ruzics.

"Firefly" Murphy Test

2010-02-22T12:07:00.000-08:00

Getting Started

2010-02-01T20:00:00.000-08:00

Crew member David Hummel reviews the staging and action for the city in "The Guardian" have been explored using a simple forms in 3D. The story revolves around a shell-shocked soldier stumbling into a "Steampunk" era village that has been badly damaged. His assumption that the town has been totally abandoned is shattered with the appearance of a mechanical creature and a child that has somehow survived the destruction. Tune in for more adventures...

Second Film Crew

2010-02-01T19:58:00.000-08:00

Chris Emerson meets with "The Guardian" crew to get all the assignments handed out.

Orientation

2010-02-01T19:56:00.000-08:00

Directors Bill Stewart and Sarah Banning explain the foundation of their film "Firefly". The story revolves around an adventurous boy and his faithful canine companion as they attempt to capture their first firefly. The tables are turned and the boy and his dog learn a dramatic lesson in how freedom is a universal desire.

"Firefly" crew and new recruits

2010-02-01T19:54:00.000-08:00

2010-01-19T22:28:00.000-08:00

2009-10-11T14:42:00.000-07:00

Master animator and all around source of inspiration Eric Goldberg with the hosting officers of this year's Pencil Mileage Club. Sarah Banning, Crystal, and Eloisa are Prickly Pachyderm Productions alums from last year's films.

2009-10-11T14:40:00.001-07:00

Artist-Creator James Gurney on the art and creation of "Dinatopia"

Recruitment Begins for the New Season

2009-10-11T14:25:00.000-07:00

Selection of the new concepts for the Prickly Pachyderm Productions 2010 Season have begun with a number of great proposals by an animation team led by Sarah Banning entitled "FireFly", the story of life in an Inuit village by Diana Ortiz , a conflict between a community of rabbits and cats by Joseph "Joey" Saenze, a friendship between a young boy and a mis-behaving robot by illustrator Sarah Amijo, animator Meg Waldow's tale of friendship and calamity. the curious fate of missing socks by Kevin Lam, and more.

The applications for joining the PPP 2010 teams in the Art 487e Special Studies in Animation course are now available and we look forward to a creative and dynamic new body of work.

The final rendering of last year's "Buki" is in it's final stages with new audio and music tracks now being created. Keep an eye on the website!

We have been inspired by the recent visits by master animator Eric Goldberg and artist-creator of "Dinatopia" James Gurney to get back to our drawing tables and get to work. Our thanks for them coming out and giving such great presentations.

2009-09-07T20:21:00.000-07:00

This happy crew are the creators, artists, and animators of "Gwyllgi", the darkest of our three films as it follows the hunt for souls during a famine. Led by co-directors Amy Clark (the one hugging) and Sarah Banning (the one being hugged), the group is amazingly cheerful considering the somber mood of the traditionally animated film.

2009-09-07T20:16:00.000-07:00

Here is the team that worked on "Buki", the sad little sushi with a serious thirst. A little tension seems apparent in the group's affection for Director Howard Cheng as 2nd Director Kijeon Nam hides somewhere off camera. Ahh... good times....

2009-09-07T20:11:00.000-07:00

These are the artists and animators who worked on "Meteor" where a mild-mannered lizard faces off with an apocoplyptic chunk of rock hurtling toward his hometown. The film was created by Heather Crilly (not in photo) who is co-directing with Pedro Santana (center, front row) .

2009-09-07T19:52:00.000-07:00

"Buki" is in it's final stages, here is the image of the Sushi Bar counter where the central character makes his intitial entrance. We hope to launch a premiere of the film in the Spring semster of 2010.

2009-06-25T23:43:00.000-07:00

This is a recent render of a scene from "Buki", the story of a frustrated Sushi in search of a beloved elixir...

2009-04-28T00:00:00.000-07:00

Here is director Howard Cheng's lighting sample for the kitchen scene of "Buki". Watch for the new animation coming soon!

2009-04-10T23:22:00.000-07:00

Thanks to our animation/illustration area student organization the Pencil Mileage Club, several of our team members were able to tour the Dreamworks Animation Studio on April 10th. Since many of us got there early, we got coffee at their own Starbucks on the lot and were in line with Jeffrey Katzenberg and Ben Stiller. Thankfully, no one went uber-fan and accosted either one.

2009-04-10T23:21:00.001-07:00

Several team members from our films attended a Dreamworks presentation on layout using Maya.

2009-04-10T23:17:00.000-07:00

On Friday, April 10th, director Heather Crilly, Effects Artists Quoc and Vincent Nguyen and PMC officer Liston Morris met with a Dreamworks Effects Artist to discuss the technical challenges of some scenes in both "Buki" and "Meteor".

Newly textured "Buki" character

2009-04-04T17:17:00.000-07:00

This is the recently textured version of the central character "Buki", the sushi with a passion for soy sauce.

Animation from "Gwyllgi"

2009-03-28T21:26:00.000-07:00

2009-03-28T21:17:00.000-07:00

Big news for the "Unbound" film, a mythological dramatization of the devastating potato famine in Ireland: We have a title for the film! It will be Gwyllgi” (pronounced "goo-li-chi") which translates to the "Black dogs" of Welsh Folklore.

2009-03-28T21:10:00.000-07:00

First run at the entrance of the news van....

2009-03-28T21:07:00.000-07:00

This is Robbie Robertson's initial animation of the central character Bob as he is hearing about a meteor hurtling toward his little apartment....

2009-03-28T21:05:00.000-07:00

Heather at the controls...

2009-03-28T20:54:00.000-07:00

We had our second voice recording for both "Buki" and "Meteor" recently in the Theater Department's recording studio. Our audio engineer was Heather and our lead voice talent was Joe. The recording samples had us all laughing during the review especially with "Buki", the little sushi experiencing everything from being flung into space to nearly being cut into slivers by falling glass.

2009-03-18T23:45:00.000-07:00

It appears that the new co-director on "Meteor" has a gentle, nurturing touch with his team. Pedro encourages his minions with a kind word and praise yet Megumi still eyes him with a bit of suspicion....

2009-03-18T23:40:00.000-07:00

A poorly animated scene tends to set him off a bit... Hey, this could be a great reality show! It has all the right elements: no sleep, emotional stress, betrayal, people freaking out in close quarters - now we just need someone to eat some bugs...

2009-03-10T21:35:00.000-07:00

The facial rig is complete for the character "Buki" for the film of the same name. Let the animation begin!

2009-03-09T15:25:00.000-07:00

Here is the amazing recording studio where we did our first passes with our favorite theater voice talent Joe Calarco and friends. Production manager Amanda Thomas for "Meteor" is intently listening to the takes, or maybe just has Aerosmith on her I-pod, hard to tell....

2009-03-09T15:07:00.000-07:00

The creators of our 2D animated short "Unbound" are seen here from left to right with some extra faces from our other film "Meteor". Second from the left is creator and co-director Sarah Banning, fourth from the left is creator and co-director Amy Clark, production manager Bill Stewart to her right, and far right is post production manager for all three films (whew), Megumi Tsuji.

2009-03-09T14:52:00.000-07:00

Our third 3D animated film is "Buki", the little sushi with an aggressive craving for soy sauce. Show here (from left to right) are creator and co-directors Kijeon Nam, Howard Cheng (standing) effects artists Quoc Nguyen and Vincent Nguyen, and Production Manager "Crack that Whip" Stephanie Reyes.

2009-03-09T14:46:00.000-07:00

One of many "Meteor" production meetings with (from the right) creator and co-director Heather Crilly, Production Managers Diane Schulz and Amanda Thomas speaking with storyboard artist Rachell Farwell. "Meteor" is a 3D animated apocalyptic spoof in a reptilian world.

2009-03-09T14:45:00.001-07:00

Two background layouts for village in "Unbound by Brandon Franco.

2009-03-09T14:43:00.000-07:00

This is a size comparison chart for the main characters in "Unbound", see the following film for one in action....

2009-03-09T13:14:00.000-07:00

This is a color test for (Working title) "UnBound"; the story of Bean - a spirit who is tied to a ravenous shape-shifting beast that has descended upon a village during the black death. When the beast focuses its attention on a young girl, Bean is forced to decide between her loyalty to a longtime companion and the life of a child.
This is one of the three short animated films in production at Prickly Pachyderm Productions and will be done entirely in 2D animation. The team is led by creators and co-directors Amy Clark and Sarah Banning with Production Manager Bill Stewart.

2009-03-09T12:47:00.000-07:00

The news van for "Meteor" by creator Heather Crilly who is co-directing the film with Pedro Santana. Production managers Amanda Thomas and Diane Schulz, the van has now been modeled and is ready for it's paint job...

2009-03-09T12:41:00.000-07:00

To reduce some stress, we have begun weekly Nerf Wars just before noon. We thought it would be fun but underestimated the competitive nature of some of our team mates....

2009-03-09T12:40:00.000-07:00

Quoc, April and Vincent strike a pose....

2009-03-09T12:38:00.000-07:00

The ever-so-shy April manages to blast her way into the Prickly Pachyderm Productions history book as the 1st Nerf War Winner of the season! Huzzah!

Soda Can Effects Shot

2009-03-09T10:23:00.001-07:00

This is a tough one for Vincent and Quoc, our short film "Buki"'s effects team. They are trying to create the explosion from a shaken soda can as it opens and takes off. So far, we have pudding....

2009-02-23T23:00:00.000-08:00

Here is a view of the new textures by our artist Pornsin for the kitchen stage of "Buki".

2009-02-23T22:58:00.000-08:00

Sample #2 of Pornsin's textures.

2009-02-23T22:55:00.000-08:00

We are proud to introduce this X-Ray of "Buki", the little sushi with the Soy Sauce problem. Keep watching for more....

2009-02-20T23:09:00.000-08:00

These are the color keys by Brandon for "Unbound"

2009-02-20T23:04:00.001-08:00

2009-02-20T23:02:00.000-08:00

Third color key for "Unbound".

2009-02-20T23:00:00.000-08:00

The level of organization required to keep all of the artists on schedule is demanding and many of the Production Managers on the films are starting to understand how critical their jobs are to making it to the deadline.

2009-02-20T22:37:00.000-08:00

Anthony has signed on as a consultant on rigging and trying to help figure out rendering. He's not even in the class but has decided screen credit will be enough. Here he works with Amanda and Diane on "Meteor".

2009-02-20T22:34:00.000-08:00

The mood of the class is pretty intense, that's why they don't even notice me snapping photos of the artists and animators in action. Shhhhh.... Zelda is animating....

2009-02-20T22:33:00.000-08:00

Closer view of the center of action where our hero will attempt to overcome all odds and win his elusive prize....

"Buki" Stage 1

2009-02-20T22:29:00.000-08:00

This is the final model for the Sushi restaurant in the short film "Buki".

2009-02-07T23:55:00.001-08:00

We began last week's production meetings with the previous week's reviews. Here is Production Managers Amanda and Diane with CG artist Salim for one of three film's entitled "Meteor".

2009-02-07T23:53:00.000-08:00

C0-Directors Howard and Kijeon with Production Manager Stephanie give David his week's work assignments.

He is thrilled.

2009-02-07T23:51:00.000-08:00

Then there are those moments of sheer brilliance, when the "Big Idea" hits!

2009-02-07T23:49:00.000-08:00

The new simulated studio experience can cause a little friction even among friends...

2009-02-07T23:48:00.000-08:00

Some spontaneous dance moves break the tension sometimes...

2009-02-07T23:43:00.000-08:00

Both peer reviews and sharing of technical methods and production techniques are common.

2009-02-07T23:40:00.000-08:00

Kat threatens the paparazzi....

2009-02-07T23:36:00.000-08:00

Please note the tandem abilities of traditional skills and computer wizardry.

2009-02-07T23:34:00.000-08:00

The reviews begin, here's Director Amy with Rachel and Eloisa

2009-02-07T23:18:00.000-08:00

Last Thursday was a wet one but all teams got to work quickly and the mood of the class was properly intense!

2009-01-23T23:39:00.000-08:00

Some of the storyboards were so inspirational Amy and Howard are overcome with emotional exhaustion and decide to take a brief nap in the middle of the review.

2009-01-23T23:31:00.000-08:00

The agenda included overall goals and guidelines for the directors Heather Crilly (not in photo), Amy Clark/Sarah Banning, and Howard Cheng/KiJeon Nam and a few of their lead artists and animators. Migumi Tsuji assumed her role as head of post production for all three films that we will be producing this semester. We continured with the review and notes for the three films and a review of storyboards for the Clark/Banning film "Unbound".

2009-01-23T23:24:00.000-08:00

January 21st, 2009: The official launch of Prickly Pachyderm Productions and their first films of 2009 commenced in VA-184 in the middle of scattered AC ducting and plastic sheets over the animation tables. We looked like a group of underground refugees in an abandoned warehouse.

2009-01-06T14:06:00.000-08:00