Call for Support: AFROGAMES an animated series from Burkina Faso

The pitch for an animated series developed in Burkina Faso, AFROGAMES is being launched as an Indiegogo project that aims to raise $18,000 dollars to develop the series. The first episode of the animation was developed with the aid of the Danish Centre for Culture and Development. The animation is described as:

An original animated series made in Burkina Faso, that shares tales of African society through the eyes of five children and their passion for African games.

Five children of different backgrounds team up through diverse games from African soil  and use them to solve problems. 

Please click on AFROGAMES to support this project. 

Tribute to Allan Mwaniki

It is with great sadness that I write this post to announce the death of the Kenyan artist and animator Allan Mwaniki. Allan was an talented individual whose work in animation as a independent filmmaker and teacher inspired many within the animation community in Kenya. He was known for his work on the UNESCO Africa Animated Project, with his and Thomas Mbalu's animation Samak (2006).



He went on to work on the famous Tinga Tinga animation series and later became an animation teacher going on to inspire and teach others. He also made other work in collaboration with others, such as Children of War (2013)



and his more humorous Jino Pevu Uhunye

 

His contributions also extended to aiding and assisting with research on animation in Kenya, through interviews with key players and disseminating animation to rural communities, Allan's efforts in this field were always positive and his good nature brought joy to many. These are some of the photos he sent me whilst doing fieldwork in a rural Maasai community with colleague and animator Kwame Nyongo.

Allan Mwaniki (left) and Kwame Nyongo (right)

I only hope that his memory lives on through the many people he inspired in his travels. You can read more about the man on the Facebook tribute page Allan Mwaniki

Animated Collage

The South African artist Jil Jarvis, finalist of the Golden Baobab Children's Illustrator award, not only makes beautiful collage for print but her animations also have a similar fun aesthetic. 












JILJARVIS from JilJarvis on Vimeo.

Illustration and Animation from Ghana

Gyimah Gariba's work featured in a recent post on OkayAfrica's article on 10 African Illustrators to know. This short video profiles Gariba's work and process. You can read all about his work on his blog at http://ggariba.blogspot.co.uk/ or see his most recent work at http://ggariba.tumblr.com/ 

KIRO'O Games - Cameroon and Games

The studio Kiro'o has been in operation since 2013, although the project Aurion has been in development since 2003. The studio consists of a team of 20 young Cameroonian artists, programmers, designers. The founders are Madiba Guillaume Olivier, based in Cameroon, Yakan Dominque Brand, based in Belgium, and Wouafo Nono Hugues, in France. 


Sponsored by the Ministry of Arts and Culture in Cameroon, the games studio Kiro'o has been developing a game that aims to present an 'African Fantasy' game Aurion an action role-player game that follows the Prince of Zama who is trying to regain his kingdom that has been usurped by his brother-in-law.

Zimbabwe Animated!

As posted on Facebook today by Carl Joshua Ncube: 

Zimbabwe Animated has embarked on an extremely ambitious project of doing 5 music videos for Zimbabwean artists as a process of teaching animation to young new talent in Zimbabwe. This project is assisted in part by the Culture Fund of Zimbabwe with their partners the European Union. Please follow the progress of the animation projects as the PRODUCER DIRECTORS Carl Joshua Tinodavanhu Ncube, Rufaro Rutherford Dhliwayo and Henry Oliver Hakulandaba) of the 5 projects will post everything used or done to make the projects a success. The recipients of the animated videos are Tehn Diamond, Hope Masike, Farhaan Kazz Khan, Chikwata.263 and Ammara Brown follow the progress of the projects on www.zimbabweanimated.org

Looking forward to seeing the results... 

In the meantime you can watch some examples of Zims animations here.

The NEST in Kenya

Visual arts, film, music, photography, fashion... these are some of the aspects that the artists at The NEST in Nairobi, Kenya are exploring.

What is the NEST?

The NEST is a multidisciplinary collaborative of ten Kenyans, working collectively since 2012 with the aim of exploring our troubling modern identities, re-imagining our pasts and inhabiting mythical African futures.

Included in their portfolio of work one can find
'Stories of Our Lives', 'The Old Order of Things' and recently 'To Catch a Dream'

Okoye's The Legacy of the Rubies

The Nigerian animator Ebele Okoye has just released the trailer for her twenty-five minute 2D animation - The Legacy of the Rubies. The synopsis as described on Okoye's website describes the story of...

Mfalme is a young forest boy whose life suddenly turns upside down as he is kidnapped and brought to a strange kingdom with the claim that he is the blood son of the dying king Obankos

You can see all of Okoye's contributions to African Animation at http://ebeleokoye.com/ or http://www.shrinkfish.eu/

Online Africa Political Cartoons

A fantastic resource on African Cartoons - this website collects a range of African political cartoons presented as in an Encyclopedia on the subject. 

Tejumola Olaniyan's  http://africacartoons.com/ also includes blog posts, maps, links to other resources, and an index of cartoonists. 

Animation Festivals in Morocco

As I currently work away on a chapter for a book on Arab animation, my research into Moroccan animation has come up with some exciting examples... for those interested in getting a flavour of animation from Morocco, and a wider international lineup of artists have a look at the festivals FICAM in Meknes and Casanim in Casablanca.

Ghana's Children's Animated Series Anokye

The animated series Anokye: The Truth of Destiny presents the story of ' the adventures of the young magician Anokye and his best friend Prince Osei as they battle to free the people from the evil King and save the sacred forest' it is currently in production in Ghana. Producer Akua Ofosuhene has launched a kickstarter project that details the series can can be found here Anokye

Kenyan Digital Creatives Rock!

Whilst not only featuring animation, this short trailer features a bunch of Kenyan artists that are straddling different forms of art and engaging with a range of digital technologies... including Kaggia, Just a Band, Bob Muchiri and others...

Check out Stocktown's  trailer for Afripedia on Kenya

Afripedia Kenya trailer from Stocktown on Vimeo.

Motion Capture Suite in Kigali, Rwanda

Africa Digital Media Academy in Kigali announced the arrival of its Motion Capture Suite (the first of its kind) on September 22nd. The academy that employs Kenyan animator Alfred Muchilwa as their lead animation instructor. This is the third country on the continent following Nigeria and South Africa to secure these facilities, with a view to contribute to the growth of the creative industries in this sector.
Read More

Animation Training in Dakar

BBC World News - 'Embracing Animation in Africa' ran a story on a new initiative based in Dakar that uses EU funding to train 10 African artists in animation. The artists come from various countries including Senegal, Mali, Madagascar, Congo and Comor...Their work includes 2D and 3D animation and upon completion they will return back to their countries with seed funding to make their own films. You can watch the video at

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-29009063?SThisFB

Politicised Creativity PAWA254

Kenya's Creative Hub for political and social action through the arts and digital media is mobilising Kenyan youth through different workshops. Amongst their very comprehensive lineup, they included some animation workshops by Allan Mwaniki on 9th August 2014 - title Pencil to Pixels - this is one of a series in collaboration with the Association of Animation Artistes Kenya.

Check out PAWA254!

Mike Scott's animated interjections on music video....

South African animator Mike Scott recently announced the release of this music video for his brother's band... in his words... it's pretty Kiff!

Interview with Jean Michel Kibushi

Winners for BUSTED 2014 - Well Done All!

Well Done to all those involved in the A3 BUSTED Animation Competition - the entries were great!
Here are some pictures of the winners receiving their prize...
Congratulations

First place -  Rabii Kinyogoli 

Second place -  AMP 

Third place -  Addmaya

Honourable Mention, Kiss and Tell by Domestic Disturbance. 

Honourable Mention, Police Busted, By Alex Kirui.

and lots more great animations!

A3 Kenya Launch their Animation Competition - 'BUSTED'

The Kenyan Association of Animation Artists (A3) Organisation is launching a great 30 Second Competition under the theme BUSTED. The prizes are great incentive to get on board 100,000 Kenyan Shillings (1200 USD) for the first prize. Anyone can apply and upload their work online... the deadline is coming up soon 25th of May and I am excited to see the entries. For more information you can contact the Association of Animation Artists Kenya on their Facebook page

'Outcasts of Jupiter' by the Coker Cooperative

Coker Coop are launching their kickstarter project the super slick and sexy 'Outcasts of Jupiter' a comic book... check out Kenneth Coker's digital sculpts as well.