Animators, Apes, and Palominos

We are extremely pleased to announce that the Palomino graphite pencil has been named the official pencil of Grace Animation Studios, the creator of the Avenging Apes of Africa. The Avenging Apes are helping lead the way in a new genre of “ed”utainment cartoons. “It is our desire not only to provide something fun, but something positive and something of value… not just some empty “toon”, says Christopher Turner, CEO of Grace Animation Studios and the creator of the Avenging Apes of Africa.

The initial 1 hour DVD tells the tale of the Avenging Apes who are raised by a wise old African bushman named Mogadishu. The Apes combine forces to foil the sinister efforts of master poacher Harry B. Richborne. See a brief trailer at the Avenging Apes video post here as well as this character development animation test.

John Celestri, VP of Animation for Grace Animation is a devoted Palomino Rider who tells me that the Palomino’s “mix of wax and graphite creates lines with a very sensuous feel as the pencil glides across the paper. The Palomino, in essence, becomes an extension of the artist’s finger as it molds the drawing.” John has developed an exciting instructional DVD, called “John the Animator Guy”. In this four part series, Mr. Celestri appears as an animated character who teaches kids and parents the basic principles of traditional 2-D animation. We look forward to seeing these down the line and are hopeful that we’ll have a chance to feature excerpts of these lessons here on Pencils.com as well. Here’s a first look at an animation key drawing using the Palomino.

Grace Animation has big plans for the Avenging Apes as they move towards television distribution and broaden their involvement in educational content tied to their growing cast of characters.

The coincidental timing of this endorsement of our Palomino pencils with our re-launch of the Pencils.com site couldn’t be more fortunate. Our updated Story of Pencils and on-line lesson activities continues to advocate the important role of renewable resources and well managed forests in the production of wood products. This lesson series, along with our expanded focus on art education and artistic development related to pencils, fits well with both the creative animation and the educational focus of Grace Animation Studios. We look forward to exploring further forms of collaboration together with Grace Animation.