"The art-form of 2D animation has achieved a great deal over the past 100 years or so.
However, if the truth is known, it's only just now getting started!"

Please help us carry the 2D magic forward ~ on INDIEGOGO!

Voice-over: Tony Ross

Traditional 2D animation stands at a crossroads - now, more than ever! With the rapid arrival of AI technology, it could be swept away in the blink of an eye. A great tradition could be taken down once and for all. However, if AI could but embrace the accumulated knowledge of 2D animation - ethically and respectfully - and 2D animation could readily embrace the infinite capabilities that AI could offer, this could be a most amazing marriage made in heaven. AI could take traditional 2D animation to realms of expression as yet not even imaginable - as long as the proverbial baby is not thrown away with the bathwater. That is the one great challenge for traditional 2D animation right now.

Veteran master animator, Tony White, is currently developing a timely app that will give everyone access to the complete past, present and future knowledge of traditional 2D animated movement - something that even his own books alone can not do as well. Imagine over 100 years of discovery, discovered by the animated elders of the past - combined with Tony's (and others') lifetime of award-winning experience -  all combined and reachable at the tip of our fingertips, on our smart phones. Tony's vision is that this can ultimately be a digital "university" "museum" and "screening platform" for the animators of today and tomorrow. But he needs your help to do it - through our INDIEGOGO campaign, or else by sponsoring one, or all, of the app courses.

Tony White, with his friend, original boss and mentor - the late, great Richard Williams - the inspiration behind Tony's lifetime of 2D animation practice, learning & teaching.

A Beta version of the "DRAWtastic!" is already FREE to download from the Apple Store - and soon Android users will be able to also download it for free on Google Play.

App users will not only ultimately be able to purchase many courses and other great events, interviews, screenings, demos and chat on the app - but they will also be able to screen for free the GOLDEN PENCIL award-winning films each year from the DRAWTASTIC Animation Festival too!  However, all this will take time and money to do, so we hope you can support Tony's work us by donating to the first stage of all this via our INDIEGOGO campaign.

COURSES & ITEMS ALREADY AVAILABLE:
The following courses are created and will be immediately available once the app is available for download and distribution via the online Apple and Google stores...

• HAVING FUN WITH FLIPBOOKS  $49.95

(READY TO GO)  A unique FREE SELF-LEARNING course for all the family: Teaching how to make things move with simple and fun flipbooks. (Lifetime access)

• SHORT SHORTS  $29.95

(READY TO GO)   A short course of 6 classes on how to successfully animate short animation for social media, such as Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, etc. (Lifetime access)

• DRAWTASTIC ANIMATION FESTIVAL (FREE)

(2023 WINNER SCREENINGS READY TO GO)  Watch the annual Golden Pencil Award-winning films, as we screen the best of the best from our respected festival, currently in it's 10th celebration. (Renewed after each new festival event.)

• HISTORY OF ANIMATION  (FREE)

(READY TO GO)  Tony White takes students on a journey through his personal favorites from the history of animation - primarily mainstream Hollywood animation.(Lifetime access)

• ANIMATOR'S SKETCHCLUB  (FREE)
  

(READY TO GO)  Our free monthly drawing challenge for animators. The most successful contributor over a year can win a Golden Pencil Award at our annual festival!

• 2D EQUIPMENT  (FREE)

(FREE) All the equipment you will need to become a traditional 2D animator.

COURSES AT THE EDITING STAGE:
Currently there are over 100 hours of course video recordings that need to be edited and re-packaged as the next generation of courses that will appear on the app in the near future...

• WRITING WITH PICTURES

(VIDEO EDITING TO BE COMPLETED - OTHERWISE, READY TO GO)  Award-inning artist, Che Yuan, magically takes us through the process of  creating Graphic Novels, Manga and Comic Books in this self-publishing age.(Lifetime access)

• DRAWING FOR ANIMATION

(VIDEO EDITING TO BE COMPLETED - OTHERWISE, READY TO GO)  Tony White's respected course on observational gesture drawing - taking your animation capability to the next level.(Lifetime access)

• DRAWING 101

(VIDEO EDITING TO BE COMPLETED - OTHERWISE, READY TO GO)  Artist, Madeline Owen, teaches first-time students to draw and also leads them through the principles of art theory and practice.(Lifetime access)

• MASTERCLASSES IN ANIMATION & PRODUCTION / MODULE 01

(VIDEO EDITING TO BE COMPLETED - OTHERWISE, READY TO GO)  Tony White takes students through many of the core principles of movement, using traditional hand-drawn 2D animation techniques in this first of 4 modules.(Lifetime access)

• MASTERCLASSES IN ANIMATION & PRODUCTION / MODULE 02

(VIDEO EDITING TO BE COMPLETED - OTHERWISE, READY TO GO)  Tony White takes students through further core principles of movement, using digital rigged 2D animation techniques in this second of 4 modules.(Lifetime access)

• MASTERCLASSES IN ANIMATION & PRODUCTION / MODULE 03

(VIDEO EDITING TO BE COMPLETED - OTHERWISE, READY TO GO)  Tony White takes students extensively through the various processes of personal film Pre-production techniques, in this third of 4 modules.(Lifetime access)

• MASTERCLASSES IN ANIMATION & PRODUCTION / MODULE 04

(VIDEO EDITING TO BE COMPLETED - OTHERWISE, READY TO GO)  Tony White takes mentors through the animation and Production process of personal film production, in this fourth of 4 modules.(Lifetime access)

COURSES & EVENTS IN PREPARATIONS:
Finally, these are courses and/or events currently being designed or implemented - which will ultimately be recorded for inclusion onto the app as time goes by. There will be many more to come of course. However, these are those that are in active creation right now...

• WALKING THE WALK

(CURRENTLY BEING RECORDED)  Tony White takes students through 10 essential walk & run actions that every professional animator should know. (Lifetime access)

• TEACHING THE TEACHERS

(CURRENTLY UNDER DEVELOPMENT)  With the rapidly-changing world of new technologies, AI and apps, course instructors hardly have enough time to keep up with  the software, let alone sharpen their animated movement skills! This course therefore covers all the basic principles of movement that every teacher should know - in addition to their technology/software skills. Such knowledge will mean that their students will not only know how to make things move with the software they are using - but also, how to make things move really well - enhancing the industry employment potential in the process! (Lifetime access)

• ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD

(CURRENTLY UNDER DEVELOPMENT)  Tony White's advanced history of animation course, where he unfolds the inspirations behind his "Endangered Species" film - on the rise, fall and hopeful rise again of traditional hand-drawn animation - explaining how many of the great moments in animation's rich history were achieved. (Lifetime access)

• LIVE EVENTS, BOOK READINGS, DEMOS AND Q&As

(READY TO GO ONCE THE APP IS FULLY UP AND RUNNING)  Tony will read a passage from his acclaimed "ANIMATION MASTERCLASSES from Pencils to Pixels" book, then demonstrate the animation principles being talked about - real time, online event - including live Q&Q's. (Lifetime access)

• SOCIAL MEDIA AND CHAT CAPABILITIES

(READY TO GO ONCE THE APP IS FULLY UP AND RUNNING)  Offering app members the opportunity to chat with each other, post their work for feedback and ask questions from other app members. (Continual access)

• BACK TO THE FUTURE!

(READY TO GO ONCE THE APP IS FULLY UP AND RUNNING)  A community meeting place, where animators using the principles of the past - but embracing the technologies of the future - can chat and share their work for the benefit of all.

• GUEST INTERVIEWS

(TO BE RECORDED ONCE THE APP IS FULLY UP AND RUNNING)  Interviews with veterans and celebrities in the 2D animation world, talking to them about their life, work and the reasons they became 2D animators in the first place. (Lifetime access)

• PRIVATE MENTORING

(AVAILABLE ONCE THE APP IS FULLY UP AND RUNNING)  Book time with a veteran animation master. One-on-one mentoring, booked hourly.

Tony, owes everything he knows to his 3-times Oscar winning friend, mentor and hero, the late, great Richard Williams.

Please help this amazing app in support of traditional 2D animation to happen...

With the digital media world changing so fast in this day and age - and with the last generation of traditional hand-drawn animators departing this earth - the time is running out to preserve the knowledge, techniques and memories of the masters that have gone before us. The "DRAWtastic!" app gives us an opportunity to collate all these things and go beyond them into the future. It just needs the support of like-minded individuals, who do not want to see the knowledge of this great tradition die. So, please sponsor, donate and spread the word of what we're seeking to do, so that we have the ultimate archive of resources for the 2D animation practitioners, students and fans, now and way into the future.

Tony White / The creator:

Tony's 2023 Showreel.

If "a picture is worth a thousand words", as they say it is, then how much more can be expressed through a 2D-animated picture!

I have included my current showreel here, to underline the tremendous creativity, range and potential that traditional 2D animation has - and will always have. The works included are but the tip of an iceberg, in terms of the full range and diversity of the work that has, and can still be, accomplished with traditional & digital 2D animation! 

This in fact is what the DRAWtastic! app is all about. If we can encompass all the knowledge I have accumulated in my lifetime - then add the knowledge that so many of my 2D contemporaries have accumulated too - what a wonderful resource this app will be for the 2D animators of today and of tomorrow!

Please do support it - whether your contribution be small or large!

Tony's interview on PBS television: https://youtube.com/watch?v=HmDAvK81cYY&feature=share

TONY's ANIMATED MEMOIRS & GRAPHIC NOVEL PROJECTS:

Tony has struggled all his life to translate his great knowledge and experience of traditional animation into original, groundbreaking and yet uniquely entertaining movie projects. However, so far, the funding and distribution world has always denied him that opportunity. So, the dream here is that all income from this "DRAWtastic!" app can ultimately be invested into one or two of Tony's favorite projects. Tony has always had a "stone soup budget" mentality anyway - therefore, perhaps this dream is not so far out of his reach. Here are two of his "legacy" projects that he wants to complete before he returns to that "Great Lightbox in the Sky"...

"THE OLD MAN MAD ABOUT ANIMATION": An animated documentary. Tony has had a remarkable life, in and out of animation. Consequently, he plans to produce an "animated memoirs" feature, using a groundbreaking 2D animation approaches to share his story with the world.

The original trailer for Tony's "animated memoirs" project ~ "The Old Man Mad About Animation".

Help Tony take this app beyond it's Beta stage by supporting him on INDIEGOGO!