In the run-up to the millennium, Aaron Augenblick was still in college and he was furiously creating independent animated shorts. It paid off in 2000 when his short ‘Midnight Carnival’ was chosen to play at the Slamdance Film Festival. Since then, Augenblick Studios has been producing a mixture of excellent work-for-hire projects, home-grown shorts and co-productions. They started with three networking tutorials for Cisco Systems in 1999, and followed those with two original ideas, ‘Ramblin’ Man’ in 2000 and ‘Drunky – In Through the Out Door’ in 2001, which both received critical praise and festival nods. Then Gettosake Entertainment hired Augenblick Studios to design and animate 7 trailers for their urban-themed comic properties, including ‘Venus Kincade’ which is currently set up at Fox 2000 with a live-action feature script in the works. The list continues – Patrick ‘Transfatty’ O’Brien and Augenblick studios teamed up on a series of shorts with perhaps the longest title in modern history – ‘The Man with the Smallest Penis in Existence and the Electron Microscope Technician Who Loved Him.’ And throughout this blossoming period, Aaron refined his look and continued to experiment with unique styles. And by ‘unique,’ I mean he blends Max Fleischer, David Lynch and Mad Magazine into a devilishly entertaining brew.

And let’s not forget that Aaron and the gang have also been on the vanguard of the Flash animation revolution. They were amongst the first, along with John K’s Spumco team and Renegade Animation, to make Flash look like it wasn’t made on a Fisher-Price ‘My First Animation’ toy. They shoved armfuls of drawings into the program, added timing, comic book shading, extremely progressive music by Bradford Reed and out popped shorts like ‘Plugs McGinness,’ an adults-only romp through Bumtown with a boozy, bong-hitting dog and his clueless, blind master.

This takes us up to 2002, about the time Augenblick went big-time. Since then, Augenblick Studios has been working on animated shows for Nickelodeon (‘Moomie’s Garage’), Comedy Central (‘Shorties Watchin’ Shorties’) and MTV2, who now host the demented, guilty-pleasure show that I can’t stop watching called ‘Wonder Showzen.’ The show is mostly live-action puppetry, but for my money, the Augenblick Studios’ animated segments are the reason it’s become an underground hit. The spot-on parodies of ‘Jonny Quest,’ ‘The Care Bears‘ and ‘Bratz‘ show an extreme attention to detail as everything from the timing to the color palette are faithful to the original period and piece. It’s work any studio would kill for, and Aaron is now capitalizing on the experience and extending his relationship with MTV Networks. MTV’s LOGO network aimed at gays and lesbians, which bows this summer, will be airing an interstitial animated promo produced by Augenblick Studios. So it’s safe to say the rent is being paid out in Brooklyn.

But don’t think for one second that Aaron has forgotten about what started it all. As I write this, he’s hard at work on more original projects than you can shake a stick at. Aaron has surrounded himself with talent like Kevin Lofton, Joy Kolitsky, Jeremy Jusay, Jared Deal and M. Wartella, which never hurts when you’re building an empire. So don’t be surprised when you read about an original animated TV show (or 3) emanating from a relatively small shop out of Brooklyn.

AARON SIMPSON: You’re a well-known connoisseur of classic animation from the likes of Ub Iwerks and Fleischer Studios. Your work on MTV2′s ‘Wonder Showzen’ nods to so many sources from animation history – was this a dream opportunity for you?
AARON AUGENBLICK: Absolutely. I have always loved classic cartoons and ripped them off endlessly in my personal and professional work through the years. In ‘Shorties’ we got a taste of experimenting with different styles and eras in several segments we did, but it was anchored by the overall style of the show. In ‘Wonder Showzen,’ we wanted to create authentic looking cartoons that could possibly fool the audience into thinking they were watching an old animation. The show has a good deal of actual archival footage, so I knew that if something looked modern and phony it would stick out like a sore thumb. So we dove headfirst into replicating the exact look and style of whatever era the cartoon called for.

SIMPSON: In your ‘Wonder Showzen’ research of various animation styles, did you come across any new sources of inspiration that inspire you?
AUGENBLICK: We had to do a fairly realistic ‘Jonny Quest’ style for the ‘DOGOBGYN’ segment – that it took me by surprise. I was a little nervous about trying to draw that heroically, as it was never a style I was ever really into. But once I started, I really got into it. Especially the super-realistic dog. That was fun. I had no idea I could draw like that.

SIMPSON: Do you use After Effects in your animation pipeline?
AUGENBLICK: Yeah. It really helps to do your final tweeking in after-effect. Anything to avoid the cold, vector look of Flash.

SIMPSON: Can you explain the animation process your team employs on the ‘Wonder Showzen’ shorts?
AUGENBLICK: We try to keep it very simple and personalized. We draw all of our artwork directly in Flash with Wacom tablets. We start the process by having our storyboard artist create an animatic with the dialogue track for the segment. After the animatic is complete, the background artist lays out all the backgrounds and props. Then, the key character poses are drawn by the character artist. Then, the animator takes all of the character and background elements and animates them. The animator has an animation assistant who does a lot of traditional inbetweening, clean-up, and animation. Lastly, we bring the entire project into After Effects where we fine tune the visuals, add effects, and lay in the final audio. We usually have two teams working concurrently.

SIMPSON: Do you have a favorite ‘Wonder Showzen’ animated segment?
AUGENBLICK: Well, the 1940s Fleischer influenced ‘Mr. Bible’ was an obvious favorite. Really jumping into that era and tearing it apart was a blast. I also find it really funny. Integrating the cartoon Ginger Bread Man into the historical footage was really difficult, and I was happy with the finished product.

SIMPSON: The first ‘Drunky’ short was simply amazing, and the awards it picked up were surely well deserved. What can you tell us about ‘Fish House Punch,’ the second installment in the series?
AUGENBLICK: ‘Fish House Punch’ follows Drunky’s rise to fame as a sideshow geek in a traveling carnival. Geeks were the drunks they kept in cages, biting the heads off of live chickens for free booze and shelter. It’s quite an epic; longer than our usual shorts with a full original score by Bradford Reed. I wrote the script about two years ago, but production has been impeded by all the recent freelance work. I swear it will be finished this year.

SIMPSON: Do you have more ‘Drunky’ shorts in mind after this one?
AUGENBLICK: I have a book of hundreds of ideas for ‘Drunky’ stories. Some are fully written scripts, and some are gags and ideas.

SIMPSON: Where does ‘Bitz and Pieces’ currently stand at Cartoon Network?
AUGENBLICK: ‘Bitz and Pieces’ has been in development hell for the past year. It’s been hard, but I’m still confident that we will get the concept to a point where we can go into production on the pilot very soon.

SIMPSON: What happened to ‘Shorties Watchin’ Shorties?’
AUGENBLICK: ‘Shorties’ has been officially cancelled. I admit the show was pretty bad, which I blame on the usual network bullshit. The creator of the show, Eric Brown is a brilliant, talented guy who got really screwed. We had a great time making it, and created some segments I’m very proud of. I spit on the grave of those two babies.

SIMPSON: You mentioned that your team didn’t use traditional model sheets on that show – is this because there were so few re-occurring characters?
AUGENBLICK: ‘Shorties’ had thousands of characters, so designing each one would have added too much time and money to our schedule. The characters and backgrounds were designed in the storyboards. However, ‘Wonder Showzen’ had their own in-house designer who usually sent us an overall design sketch for each segment. On personal projects, I spend a lot of time designing my characters.

That’s it for now – check back soon for the 2nd half of the Cold, Hard Flash interview with animation guru Aaron Augenblick.

Tonight, I’ll be joining a panel discussion at Cartoon Network
Studios in Burbank, California called ‘The Evolution of Flash.’ Joining me on the panel will be Flash animator Alx Meza; author, Producer and Director Clifford J. Parrott; Renegade Animation Executive Producer Ashley Postlewaite and JibJab co-founder Evan Spiridellis.

In thinking about tonight’s discussion, I figured it might be a good time to look at where Flash stands in the TV animation world. I’ve broken the list down into three categories – 1) Flash shows that are currently on the air and also in production, 2) Flash shows that are in pre-production or production and will be airing within the next year and 3) Flash shows that have completed their production runs and are currently on the air. This list is certainly incomplete, as I’m sure your emails will prove, so please send along anything I’ve missed or reported incorrectly. And let’s remind ourselves that this list is TV-centric, telling only half the story. Web-only projects like ‘College University,’ ‘Making Fiends’ or ‘Ninjai;’ or DVD/Internet shows like ‘Mr. Wong‘ or ‘Broken Saints‘ – these shows are almost more important, because they represent the new models of delivery.

And as we celebrate the rapid emergence of Flash animation production, let’s also remember that this amazing software is but a tool – and the real story here is the creativity, inspiration and vision that brings us armfuls of fun shows to work on and watch.

IN PRODUCTION AND CURRENTLY AIRING
01) Hi Hi Puffy Ami Yumi Show – Cartoon Network
02) Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends – Cartoon Network
03) Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law – Adult Swim
04) Atomic Betty – Cartoon Network
05) Bruno and the Banana Bunch – Nickelodeon
06) Being Ian – YTV
07) BB3B – BBC
08) Happy Tree Friends – MTV Int’l

IN PRODUCTION AND AIRING SOON
09) Coconut Fred’s Fruit Salad Island – Kids’WB!
10) Wubby Widget & Walden – Nick Jr.
11) Squidbillies – Adult Swim
12) Shuriken School – Nicktoons
13) Kappa Mikey – Nicktoons
14) Princess Natasha – Cartoon Network
15) The Wumblers – 4Kids TV
16) Captain Flamingo – YTV
17) George of the Jungle – Teletoon
18) Katbot – Disney
19) Omega Dome – Fox Sports Net
20) The Buzz On Maggie – Disney TV Animation

CURRENTLY AIRING
21) Mucha Lucha – Kids’WB! & Cartoon Network
22) Incredible Crash Dummies – 4Kids TV
23) Yakkity Yak – YTV

We all remember Napster – the free music download application that caused enough hub-bub a few years back to warrant an upcoming Paramount/MTV biopic about its founder, Shawn Fanning. The company was sued by the world, and they went away, and now they’re back. Not only are they back, but the new Napster (Napster 2.0) ran a live-action, super-expensive Superbowl ad with a “do the math” theme that wasn’t that super (see the bottom of this article for proof).

Napster has actually been back for a while now. The restructured company relaunched in 2003 with a series of Flash-animated, episodic stories that were reportedly viewed over a million times before making the leap to TV. You can still see these ads on the Napster site (as streaming video files), and the production company, Mekanism, has them posted on their site in the original SWF format (spots: jailbreak, EKG, the deal, hip hop, metal, reggae, blues, indie, reunion and napster 360). These fun little stories developed by VBP out of San Francisco have just enough edge to break through the clutter, and I love the designs and slick, simple production. It’s no wonder, as they were designed by Geoff McFetridge, the talented artist who created the title sequence for Sofia Coppolla’s ‘Virgin Suicides.’

While the recent Superbowl ad might not have been a standout, the postgame shows saw an animated version of the “do the math” campaign, also animated in Flash. I’m not sure if Mekanism animated this country music spot as well, but it seems likely. You can also see these spots on the Napster website in a streaming video format.

Earlier this week, I profiled Aaron Stewart, an animator and designer for Hornet Inc, an Annie-nominated spot house in New York City. In the final half of the interview we discuss his design style, animatics and his passion for Japanese toys.

AARON SIMPSON: Do you think the animation industry will start to quickly adopt new technology like Wacom’s Cintiq
AARON STEWART: There will always be new applications coming out that will change the way everyone works. We shouldn’t be dependent on the programs to create our work but our ideas and the different ways in creating them.

SIMPSON: You often design without outlines. Do you find this style easier or harder to work with?
STEWART: I think it’s all the same. Sometimes I have trouble keeping clean lines together in Flash. I usually create things in Illustrator and import them into Flash cleaning them up. But there are so many ways to do something and I am always learning.

SIMPSON: Are there other artists at Hornet Inc working in Flash?
STEWART: Yes, there is a directing duo – Archer$Beck (animators on Linklater’s ‘Waking Life‘) who use Flash as well.

SIMPSON: Flash is an excellent animation tool, but it’s also helpful in the various development stages. Before a project is ushered into production, do you use Flash to sell projects internally and to clients?
STEWART: When I am creating animatics for the clients and showing rough animation I use Flash.

SIMPSON: The MTV ’2-Way’ promo is packed with style and humor, but also a heavy dose of absurdity (self-clapping clap boards, land sharks and talking liver). Is this an accurate definition of your taste?
STEWART: Somewhat. Clients usually come to me with written ideas of what they want and then I create around their ideas. The most important thing for me during a project is to have fun and make myself laugh. I try to entertain myself and if the client likes it then great!

SIMPSON: What’s in your DVD player?
STEWART: Yesterday was Valentine’s Day so my wife and I watched ‘Dawn of the Dead.’

SIMPSON: You’ve animated sequences for independent films, which I assume you’re doing in addition to your work with Hornet, Inc. Are you currently involved in any personal projects or side work?
STEWART: I’m always creating personal work. It’s great working at Hornet because a lot of times I will bring my work to Michael (Feder), Executive Producer at Hornet for feedback and help on making it come alive even more.

SIMPSON: If given the latitude to develop a curriculum, what is the ideal class you’d like to teach?
STEWART: I taught Illustration at Parsons for three semesters. The class I taught was on how to use computers for your art work. It was a very broad class and it was really hard to teach them so much in such a short amount of time. I would love to teach a class on Character Design.

SIMPSON: You collect old Japanese toys. What do you think of the recent vinyl toy explosion?
STEWART: It’s great! So many amazing toys keep popping up. It’s quite overwhelming to see everything. I can’t wait to add some of my own creations to this over populated explosion!

SIMPSON: What Japanese toy would you most want to make the subject of an animated project?
STEWART: I would like to somehow combine them all together.

Check out Quicktime clips of Aaron’s work by clicking on the images below and then head on over to Aaron’s site to see more of his work.

If you haven’t been paying attention, you might have missed the latest 2D animated revolution. It’s the flat, ultra-rich blossoming-graphics explosion that’s skipped right out of a skateboard mag and onto every cable channel in the guide. Sure there’s plenty of 3D elements in these hipster commercials, promos and title sequences, but the appeal is all 2D, and it’s all Flash and After Effects. Aaron Stewart knows. He’s the man behind a whole heap of MTV and VH1 promos, and another dozen eye-catching 2D spots produced out of uber-hip Hornet Inc. Let’s catch up with this Wichita native who now calls New York home.

AARON SIMPSON: Did you pick up Flash while studying at Parsons School of Design?
AARON STEWART: I graduated in 1998 when Flash just started so I didn’t really pick it up until 2000. I did all my animation in Affter Effects and Director pre-Flash.

SIMPSON: Your professional career started in design and animation, but with a more interactive focus. Do you use the interactive components of Flash any longer?
STEWART: I graduated with a degree in Illustration but incorporated animation and design into my studies as much as possible. I used to work a lot on interactive websites but now I’ve just been doing animation and design. I hope to get back into it because I love creating projects viewers can participate in.

SIMPSON: What influences led to your design ethic?
STEWART: Every day I see something outside that influences me – even other people’s work. My favorites are old animated commercials. They have a simple, charming quality and get right to the point just like my work. I want people to instantly understand what they see and I want to try and show it in a creative way.

SIMPSON: While 3D animation is surely the new king, 2D work is abundant in TV animation, station IDs and promos. How much 2D work will be around in 10 years?
STEWART: I think, for the most part, it will remain the same. 2D expresses a different feeling and look than 3D does. Ten years from now, Flash may be gone and we will be using some other program, but the look and style that the artist is creating will be the same. The computer is just a tool for artists to use. We think of how we want our work to look and then decide the application.

SIMPSON: Do you have a favorite Flash animated TV show?
STEWART: I LOVE CARTOONS! ‘Fosters Home for Imaginary Friends‘ and ‘Hi Hi Puffy Ami Yumi‘ are my favorite cartoons. I didn’t realize they were created in Flash until I read about it and I was quite surprised. I was thrilled to hear they were created in Flash and think they were smart in doing it. Flash is a great, simple program to use and I hope more animation studios apply the program.

SIMPSON: Early in you career, you worked in TV on Nickelodeon’s ‘Kablam!’ Is there something about the short format you currently work in that’s more appealing?
STEWART: I worked as an After Effects animator on ‘Kablam’ for two years. I wish we used Flash because it would have saved us a lot of time. I loved working on an animated TV show but working on short :30 spots keeps everything fresh for me. I love creating characters and visually solving problems which is what the short spots allow me to do.

SIMPSON: Explain your animation process. Do you typically animate in Flash and then export into After Effects?
STEWART: I usually sketch my ideas out and create the main art in Illustrator and then export into Flash. Then, if needed, I bring it into After Effects for the final movie.

SIMPSON: Do you ever design straight into the computer?
STEWART: I love to just jump right into the computer to develop ideas but I think it’s important to sketch out ideas on paper first.

Check back soon for part 2 of my interview with Hornet Inc’s Aaron Stewart. And in the meantime, check out these clips below of Aaron’s work and then slide over to Aaron’s site to see more.