It’s no surprise that we love our backgrounds. Steve Becker has been doing and obscenely good job capturing the feel of a broken down train yard. But after scrubbing through our time line, we felt like our backgrounds were lacking a bit of that “Lived In” feel. So we got our boy Jeff McComsey to design us up a spiffy new Propaganda Poster with which to plaster the Atomic Robo: Last Stop environments.

Historical science reference fit right in line with the rest of the Atomic Robo universe. Featuring none other than Russian Space Program Icons, Sputnik, Yuri Gagarin (the first human in space) and Laika (the first animal in space). You’ll see these guys hangin’ around the short, and eventually for sale in our store when it’s up and running. But until then, enjoy this art!

As a side note. I have no idea what those words mean on the bottom of the poster. If any of our Russian speaking brothers and sisters are out there please let us know! And forgive our ignorance!

Above: Shot 04F (in progress) – Things are looking rough for Robo
Below: Shot 01C (in progress) – Robo gets a thrown around a bit

A funny thing happens when you begin to wrap up a project… All those shots that seemed impossible and the scope of what has yet be done, begins to melt away. And shit just starts getting done. Atomic Robo Last Stop is the studio’s 3rd independent animated film and what’s happening in the studio now is my favorite part. Everything is starting to fall in line, it’s like tetris.

One of the biggest issues with producing independent animation, for me at least, is the absence of a deadline. With the Commercial Work I Do, we’re dealing with hard deadline and client approved development stages. There is always strong forward momentum. But with the independents stuff, suddenly all of those forces disappear. And you’re left saying what the hell do we do next, which is my job as director. I’m incredibly fortunate to work with a team that is incredibly talented, takes direction well, but perhaps more importantly has great ideas. Many of which have been incorporated into the final film. We’re all looking forward to sharing it with the Atomic Robo community.

Hundreds of frames to organize. What a pain!

Above: Jenkins unwinds during the calm before the storm.

Above: Helsie is kicking up dust.

Hello again everybody! We’ve been so buried in production that I’ve forgotten to post production stills. Above are two production stills from the Atomic Robo: Last Stop animated short.

As I’ve stated in the past, and will surely repeat… Animation is hard. It is one of the most demanding, time intensive, grinding processes I have ever managed. But also one of the most rewarding. Every project is like a child. You nurture it very carefully  in the beginning, because it’s fragile. One wrong move, and the whole thing falls on its head. But, if you stick with it, grow and change according to what it needs, you end up with a fully formed film.

We’ve gotten to the point in Atomic Robo: Last Stop, where we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. We’ve crested the hill, and It’s all down hill from here. Sure, there are still unfinshed shots, and some scenes need some fine-tuning, but the majority of the work is there. This year will see it’s release. I’m hoping for the first half but who knows, but that is the nature of independent film. It moves at it’s own pace. We’re all really excited in the studio, and looking forward to unveiling something that we’re very proud of. Those of you waiting anxiously, bear with us as we clamp down on production and keep in mind those who do this, do it out of a love for the characters, and telling stories… nothing more. Stay tuned.

Now I don’t know about our readers. But I was a big time gaming mega-nerd since back when I was still building cushion forts till well  into college. And even over such a long spanning gaming career, some of my warmest, fuzziest gaming memories are associated with Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Staring Dracula’s estranged son Alucard (Dracula backwards, real creative Konami), and none of that sissy whip wielding stuff those Belmonts are always yapping about. One of the coolest and most disturbing bosses in the game was Legion. A floating, pulsing, oozing mass, of nude anguished bodies controlled by a hive mind residing in the center. Here is a comparison image between what I saw and the classic Castlevania Baddie.

Maybe my mind is just playing tricks on me. But maybe, Nikola Tesla had more sinister thoughts in mind when he created Robo. But then again… maybe I’m drunk.

Now we have some 3D (built from 2D assets of course) box cars and environmental effects going. Also a little bit of Depth of Field crunching that background. It’s starting to look like an actual train yard!

Now things are starting to take shape. We have some train car assets popped in. Next we need to vary the train car styles and color and also ad some more dimension to the otherwise flat props. And of course, we’ll need to pop Helsingard into the background as he chases Robo and rips up the virtual set.

Here is the second post in this series. Now Robo has more frames of animation. We’ve added a light source and started populating the scene with all sorts of fun props! More coming soon!

The chase scene from the film is proving to be one of the most complicated things we’re doing. The shot requires 2D animation 2.5D landscapes, 3D modeling and animation, and compositing. Above is the shot in its earliest incarnation. I’ll be updating more progress soon!