Colors
For the colors, warm colors were chosen to represent the dogs' surroundings and, in contrast, cool colors to represent the cats'.
To start the film, the colors were to portray a pretty town but not a vibrant one. Only as hope comes alive and tensions run high (The Boston Tea Party & The Riot) are the more vibrant colors introduced.
Color influences came from some classic Disney films and a desire to use natural lighting (direct & indirect) as opposed to "staged" lighting.
The story of the movie is left somewhat unconcluded so at the finale, rather than going full-blown with color, there is a hint at what would be to come (as the story's narration suggests).
Backgrounds
Initally, the backgrounds were going to be influenced by the stylings of Dutch artist Anton Pieck. Studies were made to see what the style would look like with a Colonial theme.
A composite was made with the paint study and the character over a parchment texture. We were happy with the result of how the drawn character married into the drawn environment.
It was a nice style but it involved a unique application that was a labor to produce and proved to be improbable so we explored other, more traditional styles.
We later settled for a pen and ink application on vellum paper in the rough drawing style of the late Ken Anderson. It allowed us to stay loose and if there were any mistakes or changes to be made, they could still be done on paper.
Lighting
The top two illustrations are visual development for the color and lighting treatment on the houses. The desired effect was trying to capture the drama of the shadows cast from the trees by the sun set low on the horizon.
The middle illustration is a clean-up layout by James Lopez.
The bottom illustration is a Production Background painted by James Lopez.
Water Effects
(upper left) Clean-Up Layout by James Lopez
(upper right) Production Background by Barry Atkinson.
(lower left) Water Studies by James Lopez.
(lower right) Production Still.
Storyboards
The first image represents a page from the director's workbook for Scene 17. Storyboard drawings are by Jennifer Klein.
The second image is the Layout for Scene 17, done by James Lopez.
About Picnic Productions
Picnic Productions is dedicated to bringng films of superior quality to audiences of all ages. Working in multiple mediums from animation to documentaries, we craft each film to deliver wonderful stories with messages that can be remembered and applied to viewers' lives. Our films have been graced with awards (Kids First! "Best of Fest," LeFemme Film Fest "Best Animated Film," Rincon Film Festival "Director's Choice Award") and professional recognition (nominated for 3 "Best Short Film" Annie Awards), and have played in film festivals around the world (Toronto, Boston, New Zealand, Austin) as well as national broadcast television (PBS and The Documentary Channel).
JENNIFER CARDON KLEIN (Producer, Director, Screenplay) started in the industry as an animator at Warner Bros. and went on to animate at Dreamworks and Disney on such features as The Iron Giant, El Dorado, and The Emperor's New Groove. She has also worked as a story artist at Disney and Universal. Jennifer co-produced Picnic's first film The Chestnut Tree, and also served as a producer on Candyman: The David Klein Story.
BERT KLEIN (Producer & Director) has been an animator on such movies as Hercules, Fantasia 2000 (Rhapsody In Blue), and Treasure Planet. At Warner Bros. he was a supervising animator on Looney Tunes: Back in Action, the director of animation on Fat Albert: the Movie, and lead animator on The Simpsons Movie. Bert animated on Disney's The Princess and the Frog and Winnie the Pooh, served as co-producer of The Chestnut Tree and Pups of Liberty, and brought his father's trials to life as producer of Candyman: The David Klein Story.
Additional Talent
DON HAHN (Creative Consultant) produced The Lion King and the classic Beauty and the Beast, the first animated film to be nominated for a Best Picture Oscar®. Hahn also served as associate producer of Who Framed Roger Rabbit?. His other credits include The Hunchback of Notre Dame, the Disney nature films Earth, Oceans, and African Cats, and the Oscar®-nominated animated short The Little Matchgirl. He recently directed the documentaries Waking Sleeping Beauty and Hand Held. He is currently executive producer of Tim Burton's Frankenweenie and the upcoming Maleficent scheduled for release in 2014.
MARK HENN (Supervising Animator) is a veteran supervising animator of Disney films. Over almost 30 years he has brought to life Ariel the Mermaid, Belle, Princess Jasmine, Young Simba from The Lion King, Mulan, and Disney's newest princess, Tiana. He lends his extraordinary talent to The Pups of Liberty as supervising animator and key character developer.
JAMES LOPEZ (Production Designer) was supervising animator on Disney's Hercules, The Emperor's New Groove, and Home on the Range, and animated on Dreamworks' Flushed Away and The Bee Movie. He has served as production designer and art director for The Pups of Liberty. Most recently he animated on Disney's The Princess and the Frog.
HYUN-MIN LEE (Assistant Director) is an animator from Seoul, South Korea. She came to the United States in 2000, has a degree in painting from Wesleyan University and a Master's degree in animation from the California Institute of the Arts. She trained with animators Eric Goldberg and Bert Klein at Disney and animated on Disney's The Princess and the Frog. Hyun-min directed Picnic's first film, The Chestnut Tree, which was nominated for two Annie Awards in 2008.
PHILIP PROCTOR (Voice Talent) is an actor and comedian whose extensive career includes voice work for films such as The Lion King and The Iron Giant and his years with the comedy troupe Firesign Theatre. He also played Howard on Rugrats (with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and three Daytime Emmys), Seahorse Bob in Finding Nemo, Charlie in Monsters, Inc., the drunken French monkey in Eddie Murphy's Dr. Doolittle series, and a chef in Spirited Away.
JAMES LOPEZ (Production Designer) was supervising animator on Disney's Hercules, The Emperor's New Groove, and Home on the Range, and animated on Dreamworks' Flushed Away and The Bee Movie. He has served as production designer and art director for The Pups of Liberty. Most recently he animated on Disney's The Princess and the Frog.
STEVEN MORRELL (Composer) holds Bachelor's and Master's degrees in music, the latter from the Eastman School in Rochester, NY. He says about The Pups of Liberty: "I jumped at the chance to work on this project because I simply love animation. It gives the composer the greatest opportunity to help shape and develop characters; to really bring the film to life."
ERIC GOLDBERG (Animator, Voice Talent) is a treasure of the animation community with his unique style that he has applied to such characters as the Genie in Aladdin, and which made Fantasia 2000's Rhapsody in Blue so memorable. He has recently finished up supervising on Disney's The Princess and the Frog.
BARRY ATKINSON (Background Supervisor) has been key background artist and art director for such studios as Walt Disney, Dreamworks, and Don Bluth, among many others. The Lion King, An American Tail, Prince of Egypt, and Fantasia 2000 all came to life with Barry's background images gracing the screen.
FRANS VISCHER (Animator) is best known as the supervising animator of Darla Dimple in Warner Brothers' Cats Don't Dance. This soccer fanatic was also a lead animator on Dreamworks' El Dorado, and animated on Disney's The Princess and the Frog.
TONY DEROSA (Animator) was a Disney supervising animator for such characters as Nala in The Lion King and Zeus in Hercules. He has currently finished work supervising on The Princess and the Frog.
PAUL WILLSON (Voice Talent) is a veteran character actor who has appeared on Cheers, Office Space, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and countless other television series and films.