[youtube]b28U5BNnSk4[/youtube] Duncan ‘Firebreather’ - part human, part dragon, all hero!Firebreather premiered on Cartoon Network last night, Nov. 24, the channel’s first original computer-generated imagery (CGI) movie, based on the comic book series by Phil Hester and Andy Kuhn.
The story is about Duncan, a troubled teenager—with scaly orange skin and a taste for coal. Turns out Duncan is half Kaiju, an ancient race of dragons exiled to live underground since a war with humans 16 years ago when Duncan was born.
Duncan’s fire-breathing father, King Belloc, wants to be reunited with his son, who he believes is destined to lead the next war against the humans.
Meanwhile, his mother, the human who saved mankind from the Kaiju during the last war, wants Duncan to be normal and do his homework. Tough choice!
Director of Firebreather Peter Chung has worked on 2D animation for almost 30 years, including the Aeon Flux series. He discussed the 3D movie in an interview yesterday with the Los Angeles Times.
“It just lent itself really well to 3D, especially for textures,” Chung said. “In 2D animation, the colors have to be flat. It’s difficult to show that drawing by hand, but the computer does it because it creates a 3D space.”
“To me, it’s a bigger step to go from a comic book, which is a printed medium, going to animation,” he continued. “The comic book artists, the comic book creators, are really happy with the film. It was a big relief.”
The story is about Duncan, a troubled teenager—with scaly orange skin and a taste for coal. Turns out Duncan is half Kaiju, an ancient race of dragons exiled to live underground since a war with humans 16 years ago when Duncan was born.
Duncan’s fire-breathing father, King Belloc, wants to be reunited with his son, who he believes is destined to lead the next war against the humans.
Meanwhile, his mother, the human who saved mankind from the Kaiju during the last war, wants Duncan to be normal and do his homework. Tough choice!
Director of Firebreather Peter Chung has worked on 2D animation for almost 30 years, including the Aeon Flux series. He discussed the 3D movie in an interview yesterday with the Los Angeles Times.
“It just lent itself really well to 3D, especially for textures,” Chung said. “In 2D animation, the colors have to be flat. It’s difficult to show that drawing by hand, but the computer does it because it creates a 3D space.”
“To me, it’s a bigger step to go from a comic book, which is a printed medium, going to animation,” he continued. “The comic book artists, the comic book creators, are really happy with the film. It was a big relief.”
