Your Guide to the World of Furry Fandom
Another illustrator we came across at San Diego Comic Con. Ash Evans is an artist and designer who refers to her work as “The Art of Happiness”. Steeped in fantasy, her paintings feature not just animals in general but special creatures like Fortuna the Cat, the Mewnicorns, the Zodicats, and the Kit-teas. (Yes, there’s a feline theme going here!) All of these are available as prints and a variety of other products you can find at her wet site.
image c. 2018 by Ash Evans
So Animation Magazine lead us to discover Krocchi the Street Cat, a new animated character brought to us by Nurue in Japan. Here’s what they say: “Krocchi is a tough cat who’s seen a lot, a new type of hero for children who teaches them to have a strong heart that never gives up, no matter how bad things get. Through this series children will learn creativity, and how to invent games with natural materials like grass and plants. And by dancing with Krocchi, they can have fun exercising too.” Besides the animated series for preschoolers, Nurue has also created a line of Krocchi artwork and plush toys. Currently they’re seeking international distribution, and they’ve had some success in Asia.
image c. 2018 Nurue, Inc.
More new and interesting stuff coming out of China. (By the way, did you miss Duck Duck Goose back in April? So did we.) Animation World Network has an article about the latest animated feature from Light Chaser Animation (home of the critically-acclaimed Little Door Gods). The new film is called Cats & Peachtopia, and once again it was written and directed by company founder Gary Wang. It goes like this: “Cats & Peachtopia tells the story of father and son cats, Blanket and Cape, living a carefree life in a tower block in the southwestern Chinese megacity of Chongqing. Curious about the outside world and longing for his deceased mother, Cape sets off in search of the cat heaven Peachtopia. Blanket goes after his son and adventures ensue.” The article goes into more detail, as well as discussing the financial difficulties faced by an animation company that produces films primarily (though not exclusively) for the Chinese market. No word yet if Cats & Peachtopia will reach North America anytime soon (DVD or otherwise), but the film did show at this year’s Annecy animation festival.
image c. 2018 Light Chaser Animation
Previews made us aware of a new comic series from Image called Maneaters, written by Chelsea Cain. In an interview, here’s how she describes it: “Maneaters is a monster story about women who turn into ferocious killer wildcats when they get their periods. They are very scary and dangerous and extremely grumpy. Naturally their unprovoked attacks cause a great deal of societal consternation, and measures are taken to help the women control themselves.” Got that? With art by Kate Niemczyk and Rachelle Rosenberg, the first issue pounces on the shelves in September.
image c. 2018 Image Comics
There’s a lengthy article over at Animation World Network about a presentation at this year’s Annecy Festival by Pearl Studios from China. Formerly known as Oriental Dreamworks (they helped to finish the animation on Kung Fu Panda 3), the newly-christened Pearl Studios have struck out on their own with several animated feature films in production — and some of them of note to Furry Fans. First up is Abominable (formerly Everest), a co-production with Dreamworks that’s directed by Jill Culton. According to Pearl, “Abominable stars Everest, a 2,000-pound yeti who is curious and playful.” And who communicates without words, it seems. (Yes, it does sound like a more serious version of Warner Bros’ upcoming yeti film Smallfoot.) Also on board is director Stephen Chow (Kung Fu Hustle) who is hard at work on an animated feature about the legendary Monkey King — a subject that he’s visited before in live action fantasy films. And further back in the pipeline are films like Tiger Empress (“… the story of a young tigress who grows from the obedient daughter of a Tiger Mom into a transformational leader when a prophecy convinces her that she’s the only one who can save their kingdom”) and Illumikitty (“… an irreverent comedy about the ultimate cat-astrophe: A feline plot for world domination”). You heard it here first.
image c. 2018 by Mochi
One of the things that was almost impossible to miss at WonderCon this year was a huge display booth for Genesis II, a full color graphic novel by Allen Ling and Christian Boe. It’s a science fiction story about genetic experiments gone very, very strange, but that barely scratches the surface. The booth display featured three of the principle weird creations from the story in larger than life size, sculpted by none other than Stan Winston Studios. The graphic novel is available now as a hardcover book, and also as a download for purchase. The creators plan to release a softcover version later this year. Visit their web site to see what we’re talking about — and to order your copy.
image c. 2018 genesisiicomics.com
“My name is Arnel Baluyot, and I am a Portland-based illustrator specializing in art prints, inspired by pop culture.” A simple enough introduction from his web site, Ninjabot. One project in particular is of interest here though: Popcats Fighter, a new card game the artist is developing. (Official slogan: “Unleash The Furry!”) Here’s what he says: “PopCats Fighter is a strategic card fighting game where your inner PopCat can fight against your friend’s inner PopCat in a sweet 1v1 battle(or Tag Team 2v2 mode) by attacking them with some gnarly Move Cards until your opponent’s health goes down to zero! Unless of course they fight back with Action Cards that are designed to make the game fun, and fast! The better you do in the game, the more chances you will have to play some sweet Super Moves that will potentially make you the winner!” Got all that? Visit the web site to see more, and watch the Kickstarter campaign starting up in July.
image c. 2018 by Arnel Baluyot
And more kitty art, courtesy of artist Kevin Chan. According to his web site, HeyItsMeu.com, “Kevin Chan is a Los Angeles-based illustrator, designer and multidisciplinary maker.” In spite of the title he’s chosen, he doesn’t only do cats — you’ll find dogs, bears, sheep, and monkeys there too. Many of them available on pins, plushies, prints, and other items that he sells through his Etsy store.
image c. 2018 by Kevin Chan
Nellie Le is another artist with a watercolor style and a very straightforward cartoony look — which she puts forward to good effect. At her web site she shows off her latest paintings and prints, but as you can see at her Shopify store she also offers her art on a variety of buttons, bags, pillows, and other household goodies. And, as you can see, many of her items are selling out fast!
image c. 2018 by Nellie Le
