New Workshops!

We've been up to our ears in work, writing, and animating new projects, but figured it's high-time we checked in to let you all know a little more about what we've been up to. First off! We've been doing some hardcore volunteering for a Los Angeles screenwriting organization we've been members of for years, OBS. They've introduced an August Is Animation Month and we've been helping to design workshops and panels (more about that below) to share with the 200 + members of the organization. For the next two weeks we'll be presenting a Flash Animation workshop. A DIY approach to animation. Here's the copy:

WRITING & CREATING ANIMATED SERIES’ FOR FLASH ANIMATION

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 12TH & AUGUST 19TH 2009 7-9pm

Web Cartoon Creators Shawnee & Shawnelle Gibbs (“Adopted By Aliens,” “Old Ladies Driving” & “Diva Smackdown”) are joined by Terence Anthony (“Orlando’s Joint”) and Ajamu Frasier (“Monkkey”) to teach you how to move your animated idea from page to stage.

Join this group of fresh, contemporary voices in animation for an affordable 2-day workshop, and empower yourself with the basics of Flash, one of the leading tools of 2D animation today.

Whether you’re an artist, writer or actor looking to expand, this workshop will give you the tools you need to get started telling your stories in unique and exciting ways!

When: Wednesday, August 12th & August 19th, 2009.

Where: General Life Insurance Building
1999 West Adams Blvd
Los Angeles, CA
(FREE Parking in the rear of the building on Hobart Avenue off Adams Blvd.)

Price: $15

Sponsored by: OBS
Contact: Jwilliams@obswriter.com

To kick off the month, we had the honor of moderating a panel on animation for OBS that included The legendary John Semper (Spider Man, Fraggle Rock, Static Shock), Kwesi Davis (Shrek The Third, KungFu Panda, Madagascar), Greg Eagles (The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, Teapot!), Tyree Dillihay (El Tigre, The Jammies), Jason Van Veen (The Boondocks), Dahveed Kolodny-Nagy (Teapot!), and David Wyatt (The Proud Family).




Shawnee & Jason Van Veen & Tyree Dillihay



Tyree & OBS Member Teri Jackson



Shawnelle & David Wyatt



And since we're on a roll with sharing, here's some memories from The Seattle Workshops we did this spring for The Langston Hughes Film Festival In-School outreach. We saw over 150 kids all over the city in two days! You can imagine how much fun it was! I think you can also imagine that we needed a little time to recuperate the following day. So awesome.

Funny Happy Birthday Cartoon from The Old Ladies

We've been in the Bat Cave churning out more animation--this time for O.L.D:




The old ladies, Erma and Ruthanne, brave the unknown--technology--to send birthday cheer to a friend in need in our latest installation of Old Ladies Driving....A birthday card of sorts!

Feel free to check them out! & pass around to those folks you know who have birthdays coming up and would enjoy a good laugh with old friends.




Enjoy!

For parents: This is one is rated PG13.

More Animated Fun From The Gibbs Sisters!

Here's a fun project we worked on recently for the Teen Sect:




Shawnelle and I have been secretly yearning to unleash our inner rock-stars on a project and finally(!) the opportunity presented itself.



The result is "Prom King." A mix of comedy, hip hop, soul and a whole lotta Gibbs.




We turned to several works of art for influence including: MTV's Wondershowzen, the PBS show from our youth, Cover to Cover with John Robbins, and Kelis and Teyana Taylor's hair.





We wanted to have a lot of fun with this project, so in addition to 80's-style vocals (think Vanity 6), we drew in some guest appearances from Napoleon Dynamite, Chris Brown, Rihanna and Lil Wayne himself. It's certainly a heck of a lot cheaper than calling their agents.





Feel free to watch "Prom King" and let us know what'cha think!



We have a lot more projects lined up for 2009. Including an ABA DVD and Music Video!

Stay tooned!
Nell & Nee

We're Big in Canada....

...ok, maybe not, but I thoroughly enjoy saying it.

Here's our interview with G4 Canada's Torrent TV, where we discuss our projects, magically transform into our alter egos, Erma and Ruthanne, and show how much we love creating new works of art--and rocking hats!




--Shawnee'

Postcards From Downtown LA

This weekend we had a fun photo-session with our friend, the lovely and talented, Jenn Johnson.


Pete's Cafe. All Photos: Jenn Johnson


Harlem Alley


Shawnelle


Shawnee in Harlem Alley


The best of times!
--Nell

A Toy Story: The Journey Begins

(No Tom Hanks and Tim Allen here. It's another Gibbs production, starring of course, Whitney Ward!)

It all started with an estimate. "An estimate?" You may ask. Yes, the story definitely begins with an estimate.

A very talented toy designer Shawnee and I stumbled upon Downtown, took the time out of her busy schedule (which includes designing toys for Disney and Nickelodeon) to give little old us an estimate of the costs to make prototype dolls for Whitney and Uncle Q. We were willing to part ways with about $250 per doll, but nothing could prepare us for the final estimated figure. Realizing we were in waaaaay over our heads and budget, we thanked the designer profusely for her time, but had to ultimately pass on the professional dolls.

Then I got an idea. Why not do it ourselves? How hard could toymaking really be?

Well. We shall soon find out.

I had some experience working with clay figures from my time as an educator teaching claymation at Zeum in San Francisco. And a trip to my local art-store, The Blue Rooster, opened my eyes further to the possibilities of where a clay mold could take us. After talking with one of the employees, I was empowered to start the process that would eventually end with a vinyl toy. But where to begin?



It took me weeks to even open the bag of products to get started (Post-production work in reality tv is very time consuming!) but a short work hiatus and a leisurely Saturday afternoon gave me the time I needed to do what I've needed to do for months now--PLAY! I took the clay out and was transported back to a time where art was not about expectations or being perfect, or self-conscious. I just started rolling clay! And all of a sudden remembered I needed to reference Whitney--it's been a long time since I just stared at her, lol. Taking a character from 2d to multidimensional was going to take a little thought.



For about an hour I watched my hands get muddy with color and the first step of my personal goal come to fruition--I could make Whitney in clay look like Whitney on paper! Of course I've always known it could happen, but sometimes it takes doing to convince yourself that you were, in fact, right!



So despite some bumpiness, bulkiness, smudges, and a bad hair-day, I BEAMED with pride when I put the final touches on Whitney--her ponytail and glasses. Mission accomplished! And as uncomfortable as I thought I was with Shawnee snapping pictures (Boy, did I look a mess!), I was happy to have the process documented (Thanks, Nace!)

How cool the final result will turn out is questionable, and there's several molds to go between here and actually making a vinyl toy, but if the first step is any indication it's going to be a whole lot of fun!



Let The Journey Begin!
--Nell

Watch out for "Little Miss Twins" on TV in Canada

An interview Shawnelle and I recorded for G4 networks', Torrent TV, is scheduled to air on July 7th!

Keep a look out for the interview where we discuss highly important matters of the world including the meaning of life and other such wonders... ok, so maybe we don't, but you won't know unless you watch. Others outside of Canada expect a full report and maybe even a few clips.

(Artwork: Children's Book Writer/Illustrator Roger Hargreaves' "Little Miss Twins")

--Nee

New Screenings and Updates!

Our short, Old Ladies Driving, will screen this Thursday as part of the Organization of Black Screenwriters' Short Film Showcase.

When: Thursday, May 15, 2008

Where: 1999 West Adams Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90018

Time: 7:00 - 9:00 PM

Tickets: $10

---------




Our second visit to Seattle was even more phenomenal than our first; largely due in part to the great staff at the Langston Hughes Film Festival and a gorgeous Seattle backdrop. Adopted By Aliens screened as part of the festival and we couldn't ask for better workshop participants: We worked with a class of adorable 3rd graders, visited a junior high/high school class at the Seattle Arts Academy and later, taught the basics of animation to a mix of the very young and the eternally young.


(Two young friends share their animation flipbooks with Shawnelle)


Each year the Langston Hughes Festival offers its filmmakers a chance to dialog as part of the Filmmakers Roundtable; which provides filmmakers a place to dine, share experiences and exchange information.




The host of this roundtable was Casuelieta's Island Soul, a restaurant that owns the recipe to the greatest biscuits I've ever eaten (insert exclamation point). The day was priceless as we listened to pioneering filmmakers like Charles Burnett and other visionaries from across the country and offered our own unique perspective to the discussion.

Thanks to Karen Toering, Zola Mumford and the incredible team at the Langston Hughes Film Festival for another great year; Andre' for the photos and our dear friend, Yayoi, for being fabulous as always!

--Nee'

The Aliens Return to Seattle!

We'll be bringing Adopted by Aliens back to Seattle for a Saturday Animation workshop, April 19, 2008. The workshop is being presented by the Langston Hughes African American Film Festival.

The workshop includes a screening of the series, Adopted by Aliens, an introduction to Flash Animation, and tools that empower artists to create their own cartoons!

WHEN: Saturday, April 19, 2008. 12:00pm

WHERE: Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center, 104 17th Ave S. Seattle WA, 98144 |map|

WHY: If you're a creative kid or adult that has ever wondered how to put your art in motion, this one's for you!

WHO: Recommended for ages 9 and up.

TICKETS: $7 General Admission

*If you'd like to be our special guest to the workshop, the first five people to send an email to mothership@adoptedbyaliens.com will attend for free!

FOR MORE INFORMATION: on The Langston Hughes African American Film Festival visit: http://www.langstonblackfilmfest.org or call 206.326.1088

Learn about OUR WORKSHOPS!

--Nell

In The Lab

The above image is early concept art from Hall of Records, an idea that came to us around Christmas of '06.

We started in on the concept and characters and moved away from it for a spell, but the idea recently started knocking on the door again--a little peeved about being left out in the cold.

So it's about time for its close up, which will most likely be our next animated offering; a stylized, musical, love story.

On the literary side, Shawnelle and I are re-writing a sensational, live-action comedy screenplay, which we secretly hype as the perfect vehicle for teen-throb, Chris Brown.

--Nee

We're mentioned in an article for UVC Magazine!

UVC's Black Women Who Rock In Comics issue.

The article, written by Sharvonique Renee Fortune is titled, "Black Women in Animation" and features a nice blurb about yours two-ly and Adopted by Aliens! Visit UVC Magazine for more info about the publication.






.MORE NEWS.

Tomorrow, Saturday, December 1, 2007, we'll be featured guests on the internet radio show, In The Can with Kip Brown for KLAS 89.7.com. The show focuses on the Indepndent arts & entertainment in Los Angeles and airs live at 3pm. If you're in the area, tune in!

--Nell

New Adopted By Aliens Trailer!

Set to the tune of Janelle Monae's intergalactic "Violet Stars, Happy Hunting."

Check it out on Youtube:


--Nee