Farewell to MAKE Originals' "BraveHurts" journey—a playful exploration of knighthood's secrets. Cheers to the talented artists who brought this series to life, their resilience thicker than armor. Here's to BraveHurts—a series that tickled our funny bones and broke a couple, leaving an indelible mark on our creative journey.
There are various winks and nods to Monty Python throughout, intentionally or not. From "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" came the iconic black knight, stopping travelers in their path once more in our short "Gatekeeper." The repeating gag of Clink's visor falling down all the time was a nod to Terry Jones' character—a fellow loose-visor wearer. Even the end cards read like the "Life of Brian" poster in their layout and typography. None of these nods were necessarily intentional when we made them; however, the pervasive zeitgeist of Monty Python seeped into the subconscious of all the designers and animators. After all, we do tend to like the same movies!
As a studio, directing the series style to be uniform took trial and error. Some of the animators didn't have experience with approaching the more snappy, stylized animation that suited Bravehurts, and it took a little bit to establish, define, and refine. After a few tortured shots, everyone seemed to get the style and feel, and were able to knock out the later episodes much quicker than the earlier ones.
In our direction, we aimed to capture the spirit of the 2D Sunday morning paper comic strip. This meant striving for locked framings, graphic layouts, clean blocking, and strong lines. It serves as the backbone of the project, supported by the artists who took multiple attempts at the animation to get it just right.
"This project provided an opportunity for everyone to gain experience. With recent growth in our team, many found themselves in new positions. From learning to rig and building characters to new artists handling environments and rendering shots in their second week, to seasoned artists guiding juniors or running entire segments—everyone embraced growth into new roles. It marks the first project, start to finish, planned for Make Originals, without being an adaptation of a previously-developed IP. This allowed us to test our new goals and set the stage for future Make Originals. I'm excited to see the development of future projects and where we can go from here!" - Aaron Dabelow
BraveHurts has transformed beyond a mere series; it's become a vibrant gallery of moments that not only entertained but also paved the way for our next animation adventure. These animated snapshots have added joy to our creative journey, shaping our perspective on storytelling and art. Cheers to the laughter, lessons, and the animated magic that 'BraveHurts' infused into our creative endeavors! Huzzah! 🌟
