On
the left is artist and costumer Digikoomi, who you've seen before on
these pages. On the right is animator Henry Hilaire, who you haven't
seen before - but you will be seeing his work on cable television in a
few months. Digikoomi's work, too. Digikoomi is one of the animators on
a series that Hilaire directs, Kappa Mikey. That series is scheduled to
make its debut on the Nicktoons nighttime cable network in February of
2006. The series aims to link the worlds of Japanese and American
animation in a single series, made in the U.S. Mikey is the star of the
show, an American who ends up in Japan, using his wild American style
to bail out a Japanese TV series. Kappa Mikey is a parody that operates
on several levels, and part of the parody comes from the art styles.
The Japanese characters in the series are designed to look and move
like anime characters and their designs have fine-lined outlines, while
Mikey moves like an American and is drawn with a thick, blocky outline.
There's
another name, familiar to readers of this site, which is part of Kappa
Mikey's production; actor Sean Schemmel is one of the character voices
in the series. As
with the Happy Tree Friends series we covered in February and several
other TV series, Kappa Mikey is produced in Shockwave Flash instead of
cel and paint animation or its digital equivalent. Hilaire mentioned
that Flash makes
animation simpler and quicker than conventional techniques. While early
Flash animation wasn't smooth, Kappa Mikey shows that the technique has
advanced to the point it's suitable for TV release. And, the very idea
of the series and its acceptance by a Viacom cable network, the same
company that made fortunes from Spongebob Square Pants, shows that
people are taking the Japanese animation style and its appeal very
seriously. In the same way, it's a big statement for a Nicktoons show
to be promoted at an anime convention such as Anime USA.
On
the left is artist and costumer Digikoomi, who you've seen before on
these pages. On the right is animator Henry Hilaire, who you haven't
seen before - but you will be seeing his work on cable television in a
few months. Digikoomi's work, too. Digikoomi is one of the animators on
a series that Hilaire directs, Kappa Mikey. That series is scheduled to
make its debut on the Nicktoons nighttime cable network in February of
2006. The series aims to link the worlds of Japanese and American
animation in a single series, made in the U.S. Mikey is the star of the
show, an American who ends up in Japan, using his wild American style
to bail out a Japanese TV series. Kappa Mikey is a parody that operates
on several levels, and part of the parody comes from the art styles.
The Japanese characters in the series are designed to look and move
like anime characters and their designs have fine-lined outlines, while
Mikey moves like an American and is drawn with a thick, blocky outline.
There's
another name, familiar to readers of this site, which is part of Kappa
Mikey's production; actor Sean Schemmel is one of the character voices
in the series. As
with the Happy Tree Friends series we covered in February and several
other TV series, Kappa Mikey is produced in Shockwave Flash instead of
cel and paint animation or its digital equivalent. Hilaire mentioned
that Flash makes
animation simpler and quicker than conventional techniques. While early
Flash animation wasn't smooth, Kappa Mikey shows that the technique has
advanced to the point it's suitable for TV release. And, the very idea
of the series and its acceptance by a Viacom cable network, the same
company that made fortunes from Spongebob Square Pants, shows that
people are taking the Japanese animation style and its appeal very
seriously. In the same way, it's a big statement for a Nicktoons show
to be promoted at an anime convention such as Anime USA. 
