Sweet Jalapeños!

Hey Everyone,
Just wanted to let you all know that “Tickle Me Silly” just got an awesome write-up on the blog Cold Hard Flash. Big Thanks to Aaron.
Read all about it here:

http://coldhardflash.com/2008/06/tickle-me-silly-heads-to-festivals.html

Happy as a hog in mud.

I’ve got more good news! Not only has the film been accepted to the 2008 California International Animation Festival, but it has also been nominated for the Best 2D Animation award and the Best Children’s Animation award. This is very exciting!

See TICKLE ME SILLY at CalAniFest at the State Theatre in Modesto, CA on July 19, 2008

You can’t beat that with a stick.

I’m very excited to announce that Tickle Me Silly has been selected to be included in the third quarter KIDS FIRST! Film Festival 2008.

This is a big deal for me because the KIDS FIRST! Film Festival is The Coalition for Quality Children's Media. They are a national, nonprofit organization that evaluates, rates and endorses children's feature films, DVDs, videos, CDs and TV shows using community-based juries comprising child development professionals, teachers as well as parents and children from diverse geographic, socio-economic and ethnic backgrounds. Their support is a huge win for us.


The 8 Annual KIDS FIRST! Film Festival is on
July 15, 2008 to October 15, 2008

Riding Off Into The Sunset

It gives me great pleasure to announce, “IT’S A WRAP”. Yes the Tickle Me Silly film is finished, completed, done! Now it’s time for it to spread its wings and soar free over the earth.
I’ll soon be making DVD copies for all of you who so bravely lent me a hand and I have already started the process of submitting it to animation festivals. Let’s cross our fingers! I truly hope that when the film reaches everyone out there, they get to enjoy it.

Here is a small clip of the finished film.

A Cowgirl's Hoedown

After a 3-day music marathon, the music scores if finally done. Thanks to the very talented Yely Pillot. It sounds awesome!!!

A Little Taste...of the Old West

I'm excited to put up a rough cut for you all to see. Enjoy!

Most Wanted

I struck gold when Chris McCulloch, the creator of [adult swim]’s VENTURE BROS and the voices of many of his own characters, lent me his talents as the voices for El Pinto, the Mayor and Pancho the Warthog. Hilarious as always.
And I hit the jackpot when I met Mike Smith Rivera, a professional theater and film actor in NYC willing to do the voice of our hero, Raul Rattatan. He couldn't have been cast better.
Of course, I got the best out of these two fine actors thanks to my voice director, Nick DeMayo. Awesome job!

The Sheriff’s Posse

There are many stages in an animated production and there is no way in heck I could have done everything on my own. Believe me, I tried. So I would like to take this moment to give many thanks to the wonderful artists that gave me a hand:

Layouts: Warren O’Neil

Inking: Lauren Monardo 

Props: Alden Viguilla

Animation: Jean Tsen, Art Siriamonthep, Yuri Fain, Justin Roth, Justin Offner, Danny Hynes and Joseph Cappabianca.

More thanks to come.

The Blacksmiths Tools

Even though 90% of the film has been done directly on the computer using mostly Flash and some Photoshop, I couldn’t help my old habits and chose to “character layout” the entire film using good old fashion pencil and paper. I was very fortunate to acquire the help of Warren O’Neil, one of the best animators and designers on the east coast, to give me a hand during this stage.

The Good Old-Modern Wild West

I had a lot fun creating a world where the old west catches up to modern technology, but at the same time made sure I didn’t lose that special old town charm. I worked that out by carefully disguising the modern technology using elements from the Old West period.
I’d like to show off some of the backgrounds from the film here since I put so much effort and detail into them that I’m afraid they’ll go by too fast to be seen in detail during the film.

The Good, The Bad, and the Dim-witted

Let me introduce you to the small but memorable cast of my film.

First up is the Mayor, an easy to recognize, angry old goat with a top hat and a satchel that reads, "I'm the Mayor". Next in line is El Pinto (a horse of course), part time taxi driver and full time evildoer. Following him is Pancho the Warthog, loyal but too inept to realize that he should have graduated from deputy ten times over by now. And last but not least is our hero, Raul Rattatan. A small but feisty purple raccoon, he is an incompetent but lovable young rookie, overeager to skip ahead in the steep ladder of law enforcement ranks to earn his precious badges.

Stick’em Up Partner

While designing the film's title card, I hoped to capture the spirit of the old Spaghetti Western posters. Ironically, I spent hours trying to recreate the right distressed texture to make the digital image look weathered and old.

Hola Amigos

I'm proud to introduce you all to the making of my latest independent animated short, "TICKLE ME SILLY".  This short follows the hilarious adventures of the young raccoon crime fighter, Raul Rattatan, Junior Sheriff of the Petty Crime Unit, and his lovable sidekick, Deputy Pancho the warthog, in their quest to stop the notorious "El Pinto" and his tickling crime spree.

This short is a true labor of love that has been in the making for the past two years and includes the help of many talented volunteer artists. 

I can't wait for you all to see it.