This is an adaptation of a 10-page comic book I wrote and drew a few years ago. It stars Nort & Chip - the two main characters from the kids chapter book series My Best Friend Is a Secret Agent written by Richard Clark. I was the illustrator on those books (400 hand-drawn illustrations in all) and decided to do the comic book both as a creative challenge and to create a giveaway item for customers buying our books at in-store signings.
This is my most ambitious short film so far. I really wanted to adapt the comic into this format for some time. I wanted to see if I could produce something that stood up to comparisons with studio-produced animations, and for it to be genuinely entertaining.
This took about two and a half weeks to make, including images, animation, editing, sound design and music.
Below are a number of images from this short film with direct comparisons to the original comic book illustrations. The comic was itself my best guide for staying on track with the key elements of the story. The comic became my set of storyboards.
SPOILERS BELOW. WATCH THE VIDEO FIRST BEFORE SCROLLING DOWN.
Below is test video I made using Seedance 2.0 for the first time back in March of this year, based on the original hand drawn version above. This test gave me the confidence that an adaptation of my comic story was doable.
And finally, below are the turnaround character sheets I used to keep the characters consistent.
The original concept image for Nort's lab, consisting of old restored computers, video game parts, models, microscopes, gizmos, books, toys, Periodic Table, skateboard and of course his Dad's old military locker with his deep sea diving equipment inside.
