Cold Hard Five Year Anniversary
ColdHardFlash.com is officially 5 years old today!
In November of 2004, I was working at Warner Bros. Animation and me and a small crew of Flash-converts were still fighting an uphill battle. We were trying to convince the studio chiefs that Flash animated series were a good idea. The seminal Flash-animated series ¡Mucha Lucha! was already well underway, but I think my superiors thought the show’s budgets would magically be cut in half and rainbows would burst out at every schedule meeting. The truth was somewhere in the middle, and animating a TV series with this “web-toy” was still kind of a nutty concept. So I figured I would blog about the prevalence of Flash-animated series around the world, and somehow justify that this was a growing trend. The gorgeous and successful Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends had just premiered on Cartoon Network, which made things a bit easier, but I’d heard of dozens more out there. With a little research, I discovered 9 series that were either in production or planned and that was my first post, titled Flashing the Studios (2 of those series, Omega Dome and Katbot, never surfaced).
Regular posting over the next few weeks brought a trickle of regular viewers, but what I saw as more of a research project had helped my cause at WBA. Spreading this information around internally helped justify further Flash exploration, and soon handfuls of Flash-pilots were in production, including Coconut Fred and Johnny Test, which both made it to TV. To their credit, WBA executives like Marge Dean and Christopher Keenan were way ahead of me, and even if they didn’t use the software, they understood that a revolution was underway.
Now, 5 years later, dozens upon dozens of TV series are animated with the tool, and similar software packages like Toon Boom and Anime Studio help studios make dozens more. It’s undoubtedly a revolution in 2D animation, but the true exciting result is that so many more artists around the world can express themselves through the medium of animation. 
It’s allowed amatuer artists to make oceans of horrible misfires, but here on this site I’ve tried to highlight the creme of the crop, and it’s become one hell of a harvest. I used to struggle to find things to write about, but now I’m struggling to keep up.
Speaking of that, I’ve gotta go write my Lineboil posts, but I thank you all for joining me here on the site – for submitting your shorts, pointing me to great work, answering endless interview questions, and for making such amazing animation over these last few years. To the next five!
November 12th, 2009 at 9:49 am
Hey congrats. Thanks for the many years of great Flash info.
November 12th, 2009 at 9:50 am
Happy Birthday!
November 12th, 2009 at 9:53 am
Congratulations Aaron. I remember that old blue Photoshoppy looking theme. Indeed, to 5 more years
November 12th, 2009 at 10:00 am
5 MORE YEARS!! 5 MORE YEARS!!
November 12th, 2009 at 10:11 am
congrats aaron
the site’s been amazing
November 12th, 2009 at 10:15 am
Awesome! Congrats!
November 12th, 2009 at 10:53 am
Oh, heck…I’ll be bold. Here’s to 5×2 more years. Congrats…
November 12th, 2009 at 10:59 am
Thanks so much Aaron for CHF!!! It’s been one of my favourite sites for the last 3 years!!!
November 12th, 2009 at 11:55 am
Congrats Aaron! We too remember the ol Blue layout fondly (that’s when we were first showcased)! Keep up the awesome work you do bringing attention to rad stuff other sites wont touch!
November 12th, 2009 at 2:27 pm
Kudos for 5 years of Flash news.
Here’s for more years to come.
November 12th, 2009 at 2:51 pm
Thanks so much Aaron for CHF !!!!!!!!!!! and
“May the Flash be with you”
November 12th, 2009 at 3:23 pm
Great! Congratulations!
November 12th, 2009 at 5:05 pm
Happy Birthday! Be starting school soon :’D
November 12th, 2009 at 6:02 pm
congratulations!!!
November 12th, 2009 at 10:09 pm
Cheers to CHF and Aaron!
November 12th, 2009 at 10:58 pm
Congratulations! Happy fifth birthday!
November 13th, 2009 at 2:23 am
Happy Birthday!
November 13th, 2009 at 3:04 am
Congratulations, one of the best blogs out there
November 13th, 2009 at 3:45 am
Great!
Happy birthday.
Now I want mine drink
November 13th, 2009 at 5:25 am
Don’t they just grow up so fast… *sniff*
Happy 5th!
November 13th, 2009 at 5:51 am
I remember when I first found this site. I was looking for something about flash tips years ago and found this place. The most recent post was that amazing flash animation by the Iyasakado Studios where the little tank chases a kangaroo mouse all over the city. And then right after that, I found the post where you had posted some french animation including one about suicide from the now defunct INCORREKT french design studio. And then right after that I found that post where you showed off that “At a Glance” music video.
It shocked me, that flash animation could look this good.
I felt that same shock when you posted about Arthur de Pins.
And I felt it again when you posted that “Turnaround” Jimmy Swift music video.
And I’ve felt it so many times whenever I come here and you open my eyes to some amazing new thing.
This, and cartoon brew, are both sites I come to visit at least once a day, every day.
I love this site because over the last few years it has provided me with many things to watch and things that prove that Flash isnt just some piece of crap flash in the pan cartoon medium.
Your tireless effort of constantly updating this place AND finding new material is amazing and I am glad this place is still around.
Godspeed.
A big fan.
November 13th, 2009 at 8:04 am
Happy 5th Birthday CHF!
November 13th, 2009 at 8:14 am
wow congrats aaron!
keep it up!
November 13th, 2009 at 9:43 am
Happy Birthday CHF!
Awesome job, Aaron.
November 13th, 2009 at 10:07 am
Congratulations Aaron!! No easy task for sure!
November 13th, 2009 at 2:18 pm
CHF completes me!
November 13th, 2009 at 6:26 pm
Nice work Aaron- still the best.
November 14th, 2009 at 4:21 am
Awesome!! congratulations CHF!! been an avid (almost daily) reader for years and I’m loving the new Lineboil too! This daily dose of good animation on the site gives me a boost to raise the bar and push my own work please keep up the great work Aaron!
From Australia
November 15th, 2009 at 6:53 pm
Congratulations Aaron!
Your awesome work is always an inspiration and great help!
November 16th, 2009 at 12:53 pm
BEAUTIFUL! thanks again for the show of love to me and all those in the hustle.
November 18th, 2009 at 8:30 pm
Yer a cornerstone on the scene my man!
March 10th, 2010 at 3:22 pm
[...] A importância do Flash não pode ser descurada numa história geral da animação. Para as novas gerações ser-lhes-á difícil imaginar o cenário pré Flash de há apenas alguns anos, sem YouTube, torrents, redes sociais ou a omnipresença de animações web. Estas estão hoje em qualquer página que se aceda, diferindo apenas no grau de complexidade e obviedade. I used to struggle to find things to write about, but now I’m struggling to keep up. Cold Hard Flash [...]