Another year, another amazing Fanime! (Except for that blackout that affected pre-reg and at-con registration).  Thanks to all who joined our panel!  We now switch gears back to production mode.

In the meantime, it's my utmost pleasure to feature our friend Jessica (aka "the Shark") and her amazing Cherry cosplay.  The outfit was designed and created by her, and her time and effort to bring Cherry to life couldn't make us prouder.  Sample photos below!  Click here to see the FULL GALLERY!

As episode 2 and 3's production continues, I would like to cordially invite everyone to joining us at Fanime Con.  KOLOSSOL is hosting a panel on the 3rd day of the con.  The official title is "Indie Animation: Cherry Weapon."

Save the time and date:

Sunday, May 27th, 12PM-1PM

Location: Panel Room 1

For details on Fanime.com, click here!

If you've had the opportunity to join us back during PMX 2011, I invite you to join us again!  We've got some new content coming your way.  You can't miss it!

About Fanime

Proudly sporting its well-known tagline "By fans, for fans," Fanime is the largest fan-run anime convention on the West Coast (or world? I'm not familiar with other fan-run cons).  If you swing by the San Jose Convention Center on Memorial Day weekend, you'll find yourself neck-deep in the festivities, surrounded by cosplayers and badge-wielding anime fans.  With over 20,000 attendees last year, the con continues to grow. 

Full Panel Listing

Check out the panel's promotional video!  (It might look familiar, in more ways than one).

What's up?  After a long wait (especially since they were promised in the first episode), I've come around to finally releasing tutorials!  I'm starting a new line of videos called Focus Reels, a section dedicated to tutorials, how-tos, previews, and other extras to the series.

To start things off, I'm going to cover basics in Photoshop CS5, gearing it towards new users that are interested in using it for animation, video production, or web use.  Other programs I plan to cover in the future are:

-Illustrator, Premiere, After Effects

I'm hoping to release new tutorials on a weekly basis while at the same time clocking in more time into getting actual Cherry Weapon episodes out.  The methods in the tutorials reflect similar methods used in episode production.  Speaking of which, episode 2 is still in production, so I hope this may serve to help with the wait.

Check it out below!  If you have any questions or feedback, feel free to click here and let us know.

Edit: I moved the video above this text, so now check it out ABOVE^^^!

What's up?  A new gallery has been posted up to show the progress a major 3D set for the upcoming episodes.  CLICK HERE for the full gallery.

Animating during the holidays sure is tough (might have something to do with the cold weather and the desire to curl up and sleep).  Episode 2's release will still be a while from now, but the tutorials promised from Episode 1 are also in production and will be released in the near future!  It will start from the basics and will dip into the animation fundamentals later on.  Lots of patience is being asked from anyone eager to see the release, but as always, I intend to make it well worth the wait~.

Harford University of Greenswoode is a prestigious private university that serves as the main location of the Cherry Weapon series.  The gallery shows the main campus quad, where we'll get to witness student life unfold.  The huge main building is the University Atrium, where the college's foot traffic is at its highest, and in front of it stands the college's largest monument.  The overall design is supposed to realistically represent a typical college campus but at the same time bring an outlandish quality to it.

If you haven't had the opportunity to check out Pacific Media Expo, a cool intimate con located in the west LA area, make this year THE year to do so!

We at KOLOSSOL will be hosting a special panel about independent animation, where we'll discuss the inner workings of CW and its production stages, as well as inspirations and other neat stuff about it.  It's officially titled "Independent Animation: Project Cherry Weapon."  

Save the date and time!:

Sunday, November 13th 2011, 4pm-5pm @ PMX

Room: Live Programming 2

For those hearing about it for the first time, Pacific Media Expo (wiki link) is a multi-genre convention that brings together con attendees interested in anime, manga, J-rock and pop, both Japanese and Korean Dramas, Asian cinema, gothic lolita, and other various pop cultural interests pertaining to the East Asian/Pacific Rim.  Falls right smack on Veteran's Day weekend.

Interested in attending?  Register for a weekend badge and check out the con, and pay us a visit on Sunday afternoon!  We should be on the second floor.

More info will be available in PMX's convention guide.  Click here for the online schedule.  Click here for a map!

Update!  It's been about a month since the release of the first episode, so how's the progress of the second one?

Overall, moving very slowly.  And it'll probably take a while to dish out the 3rd and 4th as well.  All the animation sprites (characters and objects) and 3D sets (the backgrounds of each scene) still require building and final touches, but once a large amount has been created, the episodes should be dished out at a quicker, more solid pace.  I would liken this to creating costumes and backdrops for a broadway show.  I mean, once they're created, all the show needs is the actors to don the costumes, stand in front of the sets, and act out their parts, which can be done over and over.  That's the overall goal of Cherry Weapon's release strategy.  Until then, there's lots to do and I appreciate the patience to those eagerly waiting.  The support is felt, and it will not go in vain.  =)

In the meantime, check out a few of 3D render samples below which will appear in scenes in Episode 2.  See the full Gallery posted in the Gallery Section.

The word "Official" makes things sound cooler.  Well, sometimes.  As episode 2 enters production, I thought I'd post something for you guys to check out in the meantime.  Hope you like.  Click the image to see the full size.