July FableFriday: Adam Gravett, Artist/Animator

Adam Gravett had an artistic goal in mind and just needed to figure out his path. “Ever since I was a little kid, I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do or how I was going to get there, but I was certain that I wanted to be in the field of art and animation,” says Adam. 

With a keen interest in aliens, animals, wizards, knights, and other creatures, Adam breathes a creative, humorous, and cartoony aesthetic into his character designs and animation at FableVision. Inspired by other artists and the wonderful work that he stumbles upon, Adam continues to improve his illustrations, discover new techniques, and grow his incredible portfolio. 

Keep reading to learn more about Adam’s creative process, hopes for future projects, and unparalleled hat collection. 

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What’s your “journey to FableVision” story?
It began back in 2016, when two ambassadors for Lesley University came to my high school art class and talked to us about the college. Lesley ended up being the college that I attended. During my junior year, I took a character design class taught by FableVision’s Bob Flynn, Director of Art and Animation. I had previously heard about the class and I knew immediately that I needed to take it. FableVision stayed on my radar for potential post-college work. Bob told me that he liked my work and wanted to keep in touch. 

A year later I ended up seeing him and taking a tour of the old FableVison studio space. I’m happy I did that because soon after that COVID-19 started, and I moved home to Albany, New York. Bob contacted me and I started doing some freelance animation work for FableVision. A year and a half later, I received an offer for a full-time position as an artist/animator, and moved back to Boston to start the next chapter of my life. 

How did you get into art and illustration?
Ever since I was little, I knew that I wanted to make cartoons. I loved watching SpongeBob SquarePants and I realized from a very young age that I wanted to make something like that. I never thought about doing anything else.

Where do you draw inspiration from for your art? What types of characters do you like to create and animate?
I’m inspired by other artists I find on Twitter and Instagram. There are so many talented people out there, which encourages me to keep drawing and making art. I always enjoy drawing fun little creatures – animals, aliens, and monsters are so much fun. 

Can you walk us through your creative process?
When it comes to drawing, it usually starts with me looking for reference images to help me get some ideas on where to start. Using those, along with the knowledge of what kind of feeling is supposed to be perceived when looking at the art, I’ll make a few versions of whatever it is I’m drawing. I’ll push certain elements to ensure the art is as dynamic as possible. 

When it comes to animating, I’ll start by looking at what I’m going to animate, and I act out the movements myself to get a feel for how the characters are supposed to move.

What would you like to work on in the future at the studio?
I’m a big fan of longer series of animated shorts, like the NoiseFilter series or The Paper Girls Show, a Global Tinker and FableVision collaboration. In a similar format, I’d love to design and animate alien characters based in space. I’m a big sci-fi fan, so getting to work on a project like that would be a dream come true. 

When you go to a museum or art show, which works do you look at first?
When it comes to museums and other art shows, I want to consume as much art as I can. I have a very simple solution –  I head towards the closest thing near me and try to circle through all of the works.

Tell us more about your hat collection.
I got my first hat back in high school. I saw it out of the corner of my eye while shopping in the mall with my mom, and just thought it looked neat. I started wearing it every day and I eventually bought more. Some of my hat highlights include my Squid Hat, Umbrella Hat, and my most recent addition, my Bidoof Hat.

Adam’s Favorites

Favorite cartoon: SpongeBob Squarepants is easily my favorite cartoon. It was the first cartoon I remember watching and it’s partially the reason why I am where I am today. 

Favorite movie: I don’t think I’ve ever watched a movie more times than I have with Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. I saw it four times in theaters and five more times after that.

Favorite game: Destiny – I’ve put too much time into that game, both playing it and learning about its deep DEEP lore.

Favorite hat: My hats are like my children – you can’t choose one over the other… except my gray flat clap with winter flaps (but don’t tell the others).

Favorite vacation destination: Saint Martin, a part of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean Sea. My parents have a timeshare there and it is absolutely beautiful and a great place to scuba dive.  

Favorite snack: Pretzels, both soft and hard. Top tier snack.

Favorite New York state attraction: The Saratoga Race Track.

A Backstage Tour of Our Rebrand

Kirra’s yellow chick that changed it all.

Everything changed with the chicken. It was the fall of 2021 and designer Jamie Griffin had just delivered her latest batch of possible new FableVision logo options. A Slack message popped up from FableVision President and Co-Founder Gary Goldberger —“Oh my god, did you see the chicken?” Just another morning at FableVision.

In January, we revealed FableVision’s 25th anniversary makeover by showing off our new logo. Today, we’ll take you behind the scenes of FableVision’s new look and share how a young artist named Kirra became the breakthrough surprise of our rebrand story. 

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When Peter. H Reynolds, Paul Reynolds, Gary Goldberger, and John Lechner founded FableVision in 1996, Peter designed the studio’s original logo. We’ve always had a soft spot for nostalgia, so he went for a “retro” or “diner-esque” vibe that featured his signature handwriting. The orange and yellow bursts came from the design software’s “star shape” tool and brought some energy and movement to the logo.

Our original logo, designed by Founder Peter H. Reynolds.

We love Peter’s original logo—it served us well for 25 years! As FableVision grew, evolved, and expanded its projects, we decided to honor our anniversary with a fresh look. We invited graphic designer Jamie Griffin, a friend of the studio, to help us explore a new look, while remaining true to who we are. 

“I generally approach branding projects by first gaining an understanding of what the client is all about,” says Jamie. “If the project is a brand redesign, I find out what is working and what it is about the current brand they want to change. From there, I have a good foundation to start exploring ideas and solutions for a logo identity that is unique and memorable, and creatively represents who they are.”

We wanted to address a few things in our rebrand. “Over the years we'd received a few lighthearted remarks around people having a hard time reading the cursive, mistaking the F for a T—which would read TableVision,” says Bob Flynn, FableVision’s Director of Art and Animation. Therefore, we focused on improving legibility and creating a logo that works well on both white and black.

Our new logo!

“I was tasked with the following goals,” says Jamie. “I needed to keep the ‘hand of the artist’ feel, make the logo more legible, modernize it a bit, keep it fun and playful, explore a burst-like element, develop an ‘FV’ mark, and add the word ‘studios.’”

As Jamie researched, sketched, and brainstormed, and we weighed in on her suggestions, we decided on a typographically playful option. This helped with legibility, while staying fun and creative. She incorporated the word “studios” and suggested a gray background, that our team later turned into a gray burst, to recall our original red, orange, and yellow starburst.

We love the gray burst and swirl icon for the “O.”

In one of our early sketches, Jamie explored replacing the “O” in FableVision with various doodles. “The next step was to explore ways to incorporate a hand-drawn element using the ‘O’ in FableVision and pushing the playfulness of the typography even further,” explains Jamie. She sent a few options for consideration. Among them was the gold swirl you see here. “Through this collaborative process, we created the swirl icon for the ‘O.’ It pays homage to FableVision’s use of watercolors throughout the years and the ‘hand of the artist’ aesthetic that FableVision loves so much.”

Jamie had also shared a chicken, a baby yellow chick, as another option to replace the “O.” We couldn’t stop talking about it and when we asked her the story behind it, we found out that her daughter Kirra, a 15-year-old high school sophomore, designed it. 

“I was always encouraged to draw from a very young age and I’ve always loved drawing,” says Kirra. “I like to try out all different styles of art. I started making art as soon as I could hold a pencil—I can’t really remember not drawing.”

It was amazing to work with Kirra and watch her make her mark. We’re lucky to collaborate with young people during various co-design sessions on our projects, but to have her as part of our logo redesign process was the icing on our rebrand cake. We asked Kirra if we could see more of her doodles. That opened the door for a dynamic, rotating “logo icon” as Kirra shared her creativity and spark with us, and helped lead FableVision to its future.

Some additional doodles that Kirra drew for us as we workshopped the dynamic logo.

“I designed the chick, the flower, and the planet, and the chick is my favorite,” says Kirra. “I enjoy doing art as a hobby and it is something I’m interested in as a career. Listening to music while I create art is my main inspiration.”

Kirra’s flower and planet incorporated into our dynamic logo.

Our 16 icons – stay tuned for more! Can you spot Kirra’s drawings?

And we were certainly inspired by Kirra. Using her many designs as a starting point, we developed 16 changing icons. Sometimes our logo features Kirra’s joyful, pink flower, and other times it incorporates a silly, neon alien. 

We have more logo icons in the making. Keep checking in with us for fun icons that depict holidays, seasons, or favorite animals that are designed by our staff and creative community. “The beauty of the dynamic logo is that it gives us flexibility and reflects the joy and humor that we bring to our projects, while keeping our audience excited for more,” says Gary Goldberger.

And voila – after many discussions, sketches, designs, and brainstorming sessions, we love our new rebrand and are thrilled to keep sharing it.

We’re only 25 years into our 200-year mission and we’ll continue expanding our studio, partnerships, and offerings. We cannot wait to keep breaking through educational challenges and inspiring young learners – stay tuned for new logo icons and new projects!

Surprise! Here’s a brand new 17th icon that we just designed.

November FableFriday: Esther Tzau, Junior Developer

While most people tend to be right- or left-brained, Esther Tzau’s got it all. Her computer science degree and coding experience speak volumes about her left-brain logic and STEM mind, ensuring that she’s an excellent junior developer at FableVision. Meanwhile, her art portfolio consists of original designs, animations, and her own children’s book, continuously improving her right-brain creativity and storytelling.

“My interdisciplinary education pushed me to find connections and lean into those in-between spaces, and showed me how we can use technology to educate and tell stories in engaging and affirming ways,” says Esther.

When Esther works on FableVision tech projects, she brings more to the table than her coding abilities. She can look at the work through a critical and creative lens, leveraging the experience from her personal storytelling projects.

Read more to learn about Esther’s path to FableVision, unique projects outside of the studio, and the one game that she always wins.

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What’s your “journey to FableVision” story?
I first heard about FableVision in high school, when my graphic design teacher encouraged me to apply for FableVision’s internship program (thanks, Ms.Ciccolo!). When we learned that the internship was only open to college students, I put the application in my back pocket as I prepared for my first semester of college. Afterwards, this small but mighty studio mysteriously began to pop up in different conversations and circles over the next few years.

In 2018, I worked for an after school coding program for elementary school students and co-taught a class with former FableVision production artist and animator Taryn Johnson. She was the coolest—she had the best purple hair and was the best person to work with—and I was intrigued by her experiences as an artist at FableVision. Pursuing a career in animation and games? In Boston? I had no idea that my city was home to a thriving animation and gaming community.

FableVision spring 2020 interns

In 2019, after interviewing for the marketing internship, I asked Brian Grossman, FableVision’s technical director at the time, if I could shadow him and the developer team at FableVision. To my surprise, he said yes! I joined the spring 2020 intern cohort as a technical intern and developed Shared with 3 Others: a thoughtfully written, cleverly designed, and visually stunning game, alongside my talented fellow interns. As we developed this game and met other FableVisionaries, I confirmed that the role of “educational game and web developer” existed and that it was a possible path for me. 

The following summer, I was thrilled to work alongside the FableVision team as a freelancer. After graduating from Tufts University in 2020, Jordan Bach, FableVision’s current technical director, invited me to return full-time as a junior developer at the studio. It’s funny, now I’m the one telling people to intern at FableVision!

You majored in computer science and American studies! How did your educational background prepare you for this role?
I knew I wanted to study computer science after my summer with Girls Who Code, where I felt empowered to program creative educational experiences. For my final project, our team developed a prototype for a web app that helps immigrant kids practice reading English. The goal of that project was similar to the Spanish language updates I implemented for Project Here Games, my first full-time project with FableVision. Project Here promotes nonviolent communication skills and healthy decision making through social emotional learning. 

I encountered American studies during my first semester at Tufts, when I took a class on Asian America. American studies critically examines race, colonialism, and diaspora. It was a sort of therapy for me, as it gave me the language and space to process silenced histories and lived experiences within such a compassionate and active community. As I learned more about our broken education system, I became especially interested in different pedagogies and how learning can happen in and outside of the traditional classroom.

At Tufts, I also spent a lot of time in the Film and Media Studies Department (FMS), the School of Museum of Fine Arts (SMFA), and our student magazine’s multimedia team (check out Tufts Observer). My projects in those spaces helped me merge computer science and American studies in unexpected ways. For example, I took a web programming class, experimented with the Unity game engine and Maya 3D modeling in my game design class, and applied what I learned to the Observer’s multimedia projects as we explored interactive journalism. 

Boston Asian American Film Festival volunteering (photo with Princess Punzalan from Yellow Rose)

How do you work with the other creative teams at the studio to ensure that your work resonates with the audience?
I work closely with producers, designers, and artists, and I’m inspired by how the studio prioritizes accessibility at every stage of the development process. Our UI/UX designers intentionally design accessible experiences for users with different abilities, artists create assets with guidelines (like color contrast) in mind, and producers inform me about what technical accessibility standards need to be implemented. Making sure that our games and interactives can be experienced by as many people as possible, regardless of their abilities, is very important to us.

I enjoy being at the end of the pipeline, pulling together the great ideas generated by clients and team members. Since I get to do final screenings and build the finished product, I’ve found opportunities to speak up if I notice that members of our audience have been overlooked unintentionally, or lost in the margins, and I bring any suggestions to the production team.

What’s a typical day like for a junior developer?
It’s common to work on multiple projects at a time, so I check the weekly schedule to see which project I’m on that day. Then I spend most of the day debugging code, developing online interactives based on design documents, and researching new tools. 

Throughout the week, I’ll check in with the producer(s) on a project, join a meeting with a client to gather feedback and share progress, and meet with fellow developers. During developer meetings and code reviews, the developers share challenges and helpful tools, bring questions, and discuss possible solutions. I’m truly blessed to learn and laugh with this development team. The developers are comedians and it always amazes me how their brains can store so much information.

You grew up in the Boston area! What do you like to do around here?
Eat, mostly. Whether I’m picnicking at Castle Island with friends, stuffing myself with a 10-course meal at a Chinese banquet with my church community, or hitting up all-you-can-eat restaurants with my family, you can probably find me eating somewhere with people I love. My favorite dessert spot is YoCha in Quincy!

We heard that you wrote and illustrated your own children’s book! Can you tell us more about that?
Coming soon to a library near you! At least, that’s the dream. This book is dedicated to my niece, my mom, and my Po Po (grandma in Cantonese).

Here’s a blurb: Mui Mui’s best friend and role model is her Po Po, but since she doesn’t have the language to ask, she knows nothing of her past. One day, during a visit with her grandmother, they bond, and she imagines all of the great things Po Po possibly could have done as a young woman. In a moment of magical realism, she learns the truth, and realizes how she inherited this gift of radical imagination from her Po Po. 

Stay tuned! I’ll let you know when it’s out.

Sneak peek of Esther’s book

What advice would you give to young people who are interested in pursuing a job as a developer? 
Computer science can feel isolating sometimes, so seek out community! It’s easy to get discouraged and frustrated, and experience imposter syndrome. Get comfortable with asking for help, whether from professors, teaching assistants, online forums, peers, or coworkers. Even if the person you ask is also stuck, it’s a lot more fun to problem solve (and/or commiserate) with another human being. 

Don’t let computer science turn you into a robot. Eat, sleep, rest, and take care of yourself. At school, it sometimes feels like everyone is pursuing a software development role at some Big Tech company, but if that’s not what you want, remember that programmers are needed in every field. Hold on tightly to your interests and don’t be afraid to make unconventional decisions.

Lastly, reach out to folks doing the kind of stuff that interests you. As you can tell from this FableFriday, people love to talk about themselves! You’ll learn so much from them and their connections. The worst that could happen is they say “no.” Once you get used to rejection, that's not so bad. :)

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Esther’s Favorites:

Favorite book: The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui. I love graphic novels and memoirs, and this one is really special.

Favorite artists: Shout out to my talented friends: @tanjoreenie, @camoot.journal,@maxinearts, and @mariafongtastic. Check out their work on Instagram!

Favorite movie: Hmm, I can’t choose just one, so Coco, Get Out, and Ip Man 4. The iconic Ip Man navigates the cultural appropriation of martial arts and racial violence in his fourth movie. I’m a big fan of the anti-villain Chairman Wan, who is fiercely protective of San Francisco’s Chinatown. Some of the acting is so bad, but that only serves to let our Asian actors and actresses shine, so I’m here for it.

Favorite game: The game that’s been a staple in my family and in all of my communities—Bananagrams! Try to beat me, I dare you.

Favorite museum: MOCA—The Museum of Chinese in America in New York City. Next time you’re in New York, go support this important collection of artifacts and oral histories! I promise you will learn so much.

Favorite place to travel: Portugal had a huge impact on me. Beyond the tasty seafood, majestic ocean and mountain views, lovely hospitable tour guides, and fond memories with my family, this was the first trip when I was hyper-aware of what it means to be a tourist in someone else’s home. I wore a critical historical lens everywhere I went.

March FableFriday: Monica Chen, Marketing Coordinator

A dedicated and quick-witted writer, Monica Chen’s skills in marketing are undeniable. The face behind much of FableVision’s social media content and client communications, Monica is constantly changing and adapting to the demands of her role. Clients are always in good hands with Monica—a professional, yet personal, experience is guaranteed when Monica is leading the charge.

Monica juggles countless tasks throughout her days as FableVision’s Marketing Coordinator, and balances her responsibilities skillfully. A master manager of schedules, spreadsheets, and creative communications projects big and small, there is no job that Monica cannot handle.

“A lot of my focus as a writer has been on the human experience,” Monica says. “I definitely think that translates into how I approach writing marketing content for the studio because I constantly try to consider how the people we design and develop media for, not just our clients but also the audiences who will be using the product, will read the content and internalize the messaging.”

Monica is a 2018 graduate of Ithaca College with a passion for writing, music, and Chipotle. An admirer of art in all forms and a passionate storyteller, Monica blends seamlessly into FableVision’s mission of making “stories that matter, stories that move.”

Tell us about your FableJourney! How did you hear about FableVision and what brought you here?
I heard about FableVision when I was introduced to Sarah Ditkoff, FableVision’s Communications Director, by an Ithaca College (IC) alum. After emailing back and forth with Sarah a couple of times, I came in for an informational interview at the studio. During that meeting, I told Sarah a bit about my life, what I studied at IC, my previous marketing experiences, and where I was in the job search process. She gave me some more information on FableVision Studios, as well as advice for me as someone looking to enter the marketing field fresh out of college. I remember leaving that meeting and texting my best friend in the elevator before I even left the building: “This place is everything I’ve ever wanted in a job. I want to work here so bad.” At the time, there were no open positions, but a few months later Sarah emailed me about the open Marketing Coordinator position, and I immediately jumped at the opportunity to apply.

How do you approach marketing and outreach for FableVision? From your vantage point, what’s unique about our place in the industry?
When I first started working here at FableVision, I really appreciated and continue to appreciate the time and care we put into how we talk to our audiences and how we talk about our projects. When we speak with clients and prospective clients, we’re not just marketing products, but really we’re marketing the talent and skills in the studio. We’re marketing the experience of working with us and the impact that the product—whether it be a game, an app, a website, an animation, or something else—can have on the people our client wants to reach. In our outreach, we focus on the learning outcomes and the positive messages of our projects to provide helpful resources and supplementary tools to help learning spaces engage students. And because of where we are in the edtech industry, we can focus on the larger goal of fostering creativity and lifelong learning in everything we write and post.

You recently graduated from Ithaca College. Tell us a little bit about your education there!
I majored in writing and minored in integrated marketing communications and the Honors Program. Although I chose not to pursue a specific concentration within the writing major, a large part of my focus was on fiction and poetry. I had some incredible mentors in the Writing Department and, with their support, I was able to complete a lot of projects I am quite proud of, including a number of short stories, a collection of poetry, and a short novel. In my minor courses, I studied a wide range of marketing-related topics, including strategic communication, public relations, advertising, copywriting and art direction, graphic design, and generalized marketing strategy.

Outside of my courses, I also had the opportunity to participate in many extracurricular activities, student organizations, research projects, and community service activities. One of my favorite projects was the Ithaca Pan Asian American Film Festival, which I helped plan during the last three years of my undergraduate career. As part of the festival planning process, I took the film festival class. In the course, we watched and discussed Asian American films, studied the historical and social context behind Asian American representation in media, helped organize and plan festival activities, and corresponded with festival participants, filmmakers, and sponsors. One of my main roles on the marketing committee was designing our marketing materials. My first year with the festival, I just started learning graphic design in my minor, so I had to teach myself how to use Photoshop (with the help of a lot of YouTube tutorials) in order to create the posters and brochures we needed. The following two years, I designed the majority of the posters, brochures, flyers, and other marketing materials. It was a great learning opportunity for me and the skills I gained from creating those deliverables helped me a lot in my marketing and advertising courses, as well as in my internships and eventually my marketing career after graduating.

As both a practicer and consumer of art, what is your favorite art museum that you’ve been to? What is one you’re dying to visit?
For practically my whole life, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston was my favorite art museum because when I was growing up, my dad would often take me there on weekends and during school vacation. It will always have a special place in my heart; however, the Van Gogh Museum is definitely another top contender. I was able to visit the museum two years ago when I took a trip to Amsterdam during my semester abroad in Ireland. Vincent Van Gogh has been my favorite artist for years and seeing his life chronicled through his art was incredibly moving. I cried while watching a documentary showcase at the museum—the way he captured the beauty in the world around him despite his intense internal struggles has always had a big impact on my view of life and of my own art and writing.

One of the museums that has been at the top of my list to visit is MORI Building DIGITAL ART MUSEUM: teamLab Borderless in Tokyo. Digital art is definitely something I have become more interested in as I have learned more about graphic design. Also, from what I’ve seen in pictures and videos, the museum has some really captivating and beautiful exhibits.

If you had unlimited time and resources to pick up one new skill or hobby, what would it be?
I would love to learn how to make videos, including filming and editing. As someone who has spent countless hours watching videos on YouTube, I am always in awe of the creativity of a lot people on the platform. While some of the YouTubers I watch have backgrounds in media production or film, the majority of them taught themselves filming and editing tricks over time as they continued to post content, or they got help from other YouTubers. I think video is an exciting avenue for storytelling, especially with the mix of visuals and audio. I am always impressed by those who experiment with language, music, transitions, animation, effects, and so on in their videos. Video is something I’d love to explore in both a personal and professional manner.

We’ve heard you’re really into seeing live music! If you had to pick any three bands or artists, what would be your dream concert lineup to go see?
This is an incredibly difficult question, so I’m going to start off by saying that my number one dream concert lineup would probably be 5 Seconds of Summer (5SOS), Panic! at the Disco, and Queen.

I’m going to follow that statement up, however, with a list of other dream concert lineups because I’ve always been terrible at picking favorites: 5SOS, All Time Low, and blink-182. All past and current members of Celtic Thunder. Mayday Parade, Taking Back Sunday, and My Chemical Romance. Paramore, Fall Out Boy, and Panic! at the Disco. All Time Low, Marianas Trench, and 5SOS. 5SOS, Little Mix, and Panic! at the Disco. Waterparks, ONE OK ROCK, and 5SOS. With Confidence, State Champs, and 5SOS. 2NE1, Epik High, and BIGBANG. EXO, GOT7, and BTS.

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More About Monica:

Favorite Panic! at the Disco song: “Nine in the Afternoon.”
Fiction or Nonfiction? Fiction.
Sunrise or sunset? Sunset.
Early bird or night owl? Night owl.
Book or Kindle? Book.
“Modern art,” yes or no? YES.
Favorite genre of music? Pop punk.
Best Boston sport? Hockey, of course (I grew up playing ice hockey)—go Bruins!
Chipotle order: White rice, black beans, chicken, mild and medium salsa, corn, cheese, guacamole, and lettuce. I also like to add the Chipotle and regular Tabasco sauces on top. I would eat this every day for every meal if I could.

June FableFriday: J Milligan and Cassandra Berger, Co-Founders of Lanky Co.

J Milligan and Cassandra “Cass” Berger are…well…lanky. The dynamic co-founders of Lanky Co. met at the award-winning digital toy company Toca Boca. That collaboration has flourished into the launch of Lanky Co., a development studio for high-quality, kid-focused projects to delight and entertain audiences wherever they may be. With a cadence of colorful projects up their sleeve and vast experience working with high profile clients, Lanky is ready to take on any project.

Recently, J, Cass, and FableVision’s Tone Thyne teamed up to produce the quirky earworm that is the new Don’t Mix Us Up music videos. The series addresses the common catastrophe of mixing up things that are easily mistaken for each other but should never be confused. The result is a viral sensation, out now on Aardman studios’ new YouTube channel for teens and adults, AardBoiled.   

“We’re always delighted to hear that our work stands out in the landscape of kids media, because it’s not intentional, it’s just our personalities. We never want to talk down to our audience, and humor is number one,” shares Cass. “Visually, we’re both drawn to similar things so that results in having a cohesive output. We’re not afraid to put something different out there, as long as it’s true to us.”

 We sat down with the duo to talk shop, their preference for Cabbage or Lettuce, and what makes Lanky Co. so…lanky in this month’s FableFriday.

Congrats on the recent launch of Lanky Co.! Tell us more about your mission and the motivation for launching your own studio.
J: We launched Lanky because we both always wanted to have our own studio, and when our last gig came to an end we thought it was time to go for it. I’m really glad we did. Our mission is to make great stuff, add to the culture in a positive way, and focus on projects we care about.  

Cass: We were both at a time in our careers where it felt right to go for it. We wanted to be creatives who have a sense of ownership for whatever work we do, big or small. Whoever gets to the office first texts the other a trophy emoji, that’s how excited we are to get to work.

Both Lanky’s live-action and animated projects have such a unique, creative style that stands out in the world of kids’ media! How do you describe Lanky’s personality? What unique perspective is your content adding to the landscape?
J: We like to challenge the audience a bit—we try to get them engaged and invested in a way that we can leave things out and have them fill in the blanks. We do this with visuals and writing and for any age audience. It’s fun to watch something where part of the story happens in your head.    

You previously worked together in animation and production at the game development studio Toca Boca. We’d love to learn more about the history of your collaborative, creative partnership!
J: Cassandra came on to the Toca TV team as the Director of Animation. We’d sit in this half-finished interior room called The Barn with the content team and laugh hysterically for an hour or two coming up with ideas for mini-shows for the Toca TV platform. This was my favorite part of my job, which also involved running a subscription business and building a technology platform. We basically do the same thing now all day long in a much smaller office but with cleaner bathrooms and free kombucha. 

Cass: Back at Toca TV the Product Manager once told me that she was jealous of my meetings because she could hear my laughter coming from all of them. That’s the beauty of working on comedies, laughing means it’s working! We’ve carried that through to Lanky, where we know we’re on the right track when we’re cracking each other up.

Cass, before Toca Boca you spent some time as Art Director and Designer on several broadcast properties and published books. How have those experiences in visual development and show production influenced your work as Creative Director at Lanky Co. today? 
Cass: I’ve been lucky enough to work on a bunch of broadcast shows as well as a lot of show development. At Lanky we’ve taken on a few projects that are pure development, which is my favorite part! Because I’ve worked on shows before, I’m able to avoid complications down the road while we develop a project, as well as poking an idea enough to see if it has legs.

J, you’ve had some amazing experiences working with new technology as Creative Director of the Content Innovation Lab at Sesame Workshop! What technologies or content areas are you most excited about right now?
J: We’re doing a lot of bite-sized content for social media right now, and I love the challenge of packing a lot of story and information into a tiny thing. It’s like writing a sonnet or haiku, only with sound effects and speech bubbles and getting the timing exactly right. There is also a lot of interest in audio and speech recognition right now through podcasting and smart speakers which I find kind of cool and funny because it harkens back to radio theater, which gets the tech out of the way and puts the movie in your head, so to speak. 

Lanky may be young, but you’ve had a lot of collaborative experiences under your belt already, including the partnership with FableVision Studios to create the Don’t Mix Us Up videos. What was it like working with Tone Thyne on this wacky series of shorts?
Cass: Tone is one of my favorite people. He got me my first job out of college and has been a sort of mentor ever since. I was so excited to be able to work with him on an original project because I knew with him involved, it would be great.

J: Genius just wafts from Tone’s mind like that yeasty smell at Subway. Seriously, Tone is the best. When we gave him the note, “can you make the lyrics stupider?” he sharpened his pencil and molded the clever bits for a general audience and voila! Music video history was made.

You’ve also teamed up with Aardman animation studio to distribute the Don’t Mix Us Up series on their new YouTube channel AardBoiled. How is AardBoiled the perfect home for Don’t Mix Us Up?
J: We have always admired, no, worshipped Aardman’s comedy, craft, action sequences, attention to detail, and high, high bar for quality. It’s like everybody else was doing things one way and Aardman came along and thought, we’re just going to painstakingly make brilliant comedy for people of all ages and see what happens. We hope that Don’t Mix Us Up appeals to Aardman fans. We’re really happy to be working with them and to have the series on their channel.

We had so much fun working with you on Don’t Mix Us Up! Now that the series has launched, what’s next on Lanky’s horizon?
J: We have irons in fires all over the place. We’re creating new ideas for original shows and books as well as working with partners on edutainment, digital design, content marketing, and other kinds of storytelling. We love working on different kinds of projects, collaborating with folks, and are always looking for new challenges.

Finally, the Lanky mascot has an interesting (and creative!) presence on Instagram. Who is the mastermind behind-the-scenes?
Cass: When we had downtime early on we talked about creating some kind of Instagram comic, something that we could do just ourselves to get a presence out the world. We both come up with ideas and I draw them. The idea is to make quick bites that we can post to get a laugh. You can tell that we’re busy when there hasn’t been a post in a while but there are definitely Lanky fans out there eagerly waiting for the next piece in the series.

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More about J and Cass:

Favorite Muppet:
J: Cookie Monster                     
Cass: Grover

Junk food of choice:
J: Shrimp Chips              
Cass: Fritos

Animated short that inspires you: 
J: Virgin Atlantic Safety Video
Cass: The Little Boy and the Beast

New technology you’re excited about: 
J: Cordless Vacuum Cleaners—total game-changer           
Cass: Virtual Reality drawing/digital painting

Kids’ show that makes you nostalgic: 
J: Magic Garden   
Cass: Pinky and the Brain

The best viral YouTube video:     
J: This should be viral.  Please everybody watch this!  
Cass: Don’t Mix Us Up: Cabbage & Lettuce (If I say it, will it make it viral?)   

Cabbage or Lettuce? 
J: Lettuce 100%   
Cass: Cabbage 100%

Favorite way to unwind?            
J: Chopping wood in my orange safety chaps
Cass: Watching The Real Housewives