Monday, June 16, 2014

"King Star King" Animation Reel



TV-MA. Intended for audiences 18 and older.

Hey folks, this is the show I've been working on since November 2013. It has just been released on adultswim.com!  I was stoked when Ben Kalina and Titmouse contacted me and asked if I wanted to work on this show, I've always admired the studio's work!  Even more amazing were the facts that Mike Carlo was the animation director and my friend James Surgue was one of the great stars of the animation crew. I've been a fan of Mike since his amazing short "The President of the Universe" and a fan of James since his wonderfully cartoony short "Wright Meat". His skills have skyrocketed to wizard-like powers and he's been like a big brother to me on this production. Also, this show had the best notes an animator can ever hope for "Keep going!" and "Go crazier!" This has been a wonderful experience and I am staying on for another show! 

For all of  you over 18, I highly recommend watching episode 5: "Springtime in the Gigantiverse" and episode 6: "Kwa Kwa City"! I love the stories and characters in those, when the leica/animatic became available to the animators I watched them over and over. There's many original ideas and moments of contrasting values. The contrast between Rachel Butera's voice acting and JJ Villard's hilarious and inventive storyboard drawings in a climactic scene of episode 5 created an aesthetic that really spoke to me. I asked if I could animated that scene, and to my delight I got it! It's at the 1:05 mark of my reel.

KSK was created by the inimitable JJ Villard. The level of imagination, surrealism and utter craziness he brought to even the mildest moments of the show are completely beyond me. My favourite moment is in episode 6 is when KSK's head turns into a Rubik's Cube as he grasps a mind-bending reality: "YOU MEAN ALL THIS IS INSIDE PINCHY LAROUX'S HEAD?!?!?!?!" 

I got a wonderful note from JJ at the end of the production:

THANK YOU AMIRRRRRRRRRRRR !!!!! WE WRAPPPED KING STAR KING  EPISODE
6 ON FRIDAY !!!!!! AND I WANTED TO CRY I WAS SO HAPPY !!!!!!!!
YOUR ANIMATION MADE ME LAUGH ,,,, AND SCREAMMMMM IN WONDER
HOW THE F**K YOU GOT SUCH BEAUTIFULLLLLLLLLLLLLL CARTOON
SCENES DONE !!!!!!! SIMPLY SAID "YOU F****G KILLLLL
KILLLL KLLLLLED IT" I LOVED WATCHING YOUR WORK //// AND
SINCERELY HOPE WE GET TO WORK TOGETHER SOOOOOOOOON !!!!!!!
YEEEEEEEEEHAHAHAHAAHHAAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHA !!!!!!!!
YOU THE BEST !~~!~~~~~~~!!!!!!!!

BES
BES
BES
ALWAYS !
JJV



 I'll work with him again anyday! 

3 comments:

Dante Buford said...

Hey Amir! I'm Dante Buford! I animated on KSK, too! It was a real honor working on the show with you! I remember being in dailies and always being blown away by your work! A few times, I even asked Kayla to send me your fla files so I could look at your beautiful animations frame by frame!

I wish you all the best in your career, and I hope we can work together again sometime in the future!

Amir Avni said...

DANTE! Woah!! This is a real honor for me too!
Thanks so much for the feedback! I dig your work too, so this really means a lot! You really asked for my FLAs? Wow! I'm glad I could be an inspiration! Yes! We're going to work together again. I'm staying on for the next project :)

GiladK said...

Wow!