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Toonwerks
Toonwerks is the combined work of Casey McDonald (Xiphon), Mark Schneider (th1rt3en), Joseph Blanchette (Legendary Frog) and Chris Boe to produce animated movies for viewing entertainment!

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Toonwerks's News

Posted by Toonwerks - May 29th, 2013


New Wonders! You should check it out! It's about Lin'zee! (She also has a Twitter)

Wonders of the Universe: Stardate

This isn't a full episode, but its a bit above short status... so it's kind of a mini episode.

We also did a podcast talking with Mac and Miranda, the voice of Captain McKracken and Lin'zee respectively. We talk about thier role in Wonders, working on the video game Dust: An Elysian Tail, and more!

Episode 77: Stardate

Enjoy the episode!


Posted by Toonwerks - October 28th, 2012


So we decided to release the new Wonders of the Universe episode, because... you know... we like to give you guys entertainment! We're pretty proud of this one, so please check it out!

Wonders of the Universe - Episode 4: A Cyberspace Odyssey

I have the YouTube version below if you want to check it out there as well. Giving it a "like" wouldn't hurt either ;)

So what's next for Toonwerks? Well, our next big project is non-Wonders related. Our current plan is to make a followup to our movie "Minecraft Documentary: The Journey of Greenfeet!" Although it's a sequel of sorts, it'll be a very different type of movie than the first. We MIGHT have a Wonders short in between all that though.

Thank you all for the support, and enjoy the episode!


Posted by Toonwerks - September 4th, 2012


Hello everyone!

We just wanted to give an update on "Wonders of the Universe" Episode 4. And that news is... is that it's right on track! It should be released sometime in September and will be over 14 minutes long. We're all pretty excited about this one. Make sure you glance downward and see a brand new screenshot from the episode.

A couple weeks ago, we all recorded a podcast with some updates of our various projects. (Found here) Aside from the update on Wonders 4, we talked about the unfortonate cancelation of the short "Meet Lin'zee." It had it's merits, but overall we thought it wasn't reaching the same standards as the main show.

But the good news is, we're planning another short starring our favorite 7 foot tall blue girl! We're in the process of selecting an animator that will help us with these smaller projects. It's still really early, but we have a solid script, and the voice actors are ready to go!

Casey has been progressing on a standalone cartoon called "Captain Atomic" as well. It's more of a solo endeavor, but it'll still be under the Toonwerks name. The cartoon is a sort of homage to 1930 serials, and will have the brave Captain Atomic battling evil... for JUSTICE.

And last but not least, we've been planning out the next Minecraft cartoon. We're all getting involved this time, and it's looking to be a pretty cool project! Anyone want to guess what it'll be about?

Well that's all for now. Look forward to the next Wonders episode in the coming weeks!

- The Toonwerks Team

Wonders Episode 4 update!


Posted by Toonwerks - March 27th, 2012


Update time! We just wanted to give an update on why Episode 3 of Wonders was taking so long to get released. Long story short, the new animator for this episode got super busy with work... so his free time was growing smaller and smaller. Anyone who animates know it's very time consuming! But the good news is that Casey is helping animate it along side him. We still hope to have it released sooner rather than later!

We recorded a short podcast about it, as well as other topics, which you can find here:

Toonwerks Update Mini Podcast

We've also been updating our Facebook page with news and new screens of 2 upcoming Wonders movies! (Episode 3 and a new short starring Lin'zee) Check it out, leave a comment, and please give us a "like!"

Toonwerks on Facebook

So, we're sorry with the delay for those who we're looking forward to the new episode. We think it'll be worth the wait though! Enjoy the new screenshot below to make up for it.

Wonders Episode 3 update


Posted by Toonwerks - January 28th, 2012


New Short

Earlier this week, we released our first movie of 2012: the second Wonders of the Universe short "Attack of the Foodmatron." It once again stars Rodney as he argues with one of the ships various computers. Like the first, this was mostly the voice actor "Omahdon" ab-libbing. As well as Casey giving input this time around. We hope you enjoy it!

Since we probably won't have a podcast for a little while, I thought I would lay out our current and plans for the new year!

Wonders Episode 3

After Episode 2 wrapped up, Mark was ready for a break. So instead of jumping right into a new short, we focused on script writing for a bit. We really got into the swing of synergizing with the process. Working with the real time, multi-person editing Google Docs REALLY helped. The challenge with this one is we still had one major character to introduce, but we also wanted a fun adventure to happen to cap off the Maiden Voyage story arc.

Luckily, it was just one new character: A eccentric robot named "Rut.2" (voiced by Chris "Kirbopher" Niosi). It's a more character driven episode for the most part... but the climax should be pretty exciting!

Wonders of the Universe Episode 3 is currently titled "Shanghai Moon" and is being animated by Christopher Boe. We're hoping for a release in the coming months.

Wonders Episode 4

I know it's a bit weird to be talking about the next one when the one we're working on is still pretty early in development... but since Chris is animated the current Episode, Mark wanted to get started on the next one as soon as he could.

Episode 4 is still in script-writing stages... but don't be surprised if its released fairly close to Episode 3.

Joey's Wonders Short

Some preliminary work has been done on Joey's (That's me!) short. I was about to get started on a storyboard when.. BAM! Another project presented itself and I spent some time on that. What is it? Not saying. This is probably the last you'll herd of it before it's released.

The longer-than-usual short, titled "Meet Lin'zee", stars my favorite character in Wonders, Lin'zee Starshine. Not going to say much about it, but it'll give some background to her and her species.

On a personal note, its a bit intimidating animating a full cartoon after so long of being inactive. The Hobbit was what... over 4 years ago? In a way I'm glad I stepped away form big animations... but that also means I'm terribly out of practice.

But, I still have some art to do, voices to get rerecorded, and backgrounds to wait on. I'll be sure to give updates when I start!

Website

In the age of YouTube, having a website for a up and coming animated series is a bit less important than it was in the past. But we still have plans to release one down the line... and have some ideas to make it a bit more interesting.

The site will be Wonders centric... but it'll of course have places for all our movies. Expect things like character bios, artwork, fanart (If we ever get any!) and quite possibly comics. We'll also have our Toonwerks related podcast there as well as blogs/news posts.

Non-Wonders Stuff

It's no secret that everyone on the Toonwerks team is in love with the Wonders' universe (no pun intended), but that doesn't mean we don't have other things on the table. The success of the Minecraft Documentary spurred talk of a follow up for example. We have some directions we could go in with that in the future.

Casey has a solo project that will probably be released under the Tookwerks label. It's a cartoon based off old action serials like Buck Rodgers. It's called Captain Atomic and the Commandos of Action! It's not a big movie, but Casey loves that kinda stuff so he wanted to try something with it. Like me, this is also the first full movie he's animated in years! It might become something ongoing if it does well.

More solo projects aside, we also collectively want to work on a project that's non-Wonders related. This will probably be a one off cartoon based on one of several ideas when we first formed the animation team. I have no idea what it would be, or when it'll become a thing... but it's something to look forward to!

Onward!

2011 was a big year for us, and 2012 looks to be even bigger! We hope you've enjoyed what we've done with Wonders of the Universe. We even came across a blog reviewing it! Once again, we hope you enjoyed the short, and stay tuned for more info about Episode 3!

New Wonders Short, Episode 3 update, and lots of news!


Posted by Toonwerks - December 18th, 2011


Greeting Symbiotic Sea-Slugs of Garbangalon-Terra 5!

We wanted to post a small update on our current productions. As of now episode 3 of Wonders of the Universe is ready for production. We got our last major voices in the other week and finished up a basic animatic yesterday. Chris Boe will be animating this episode with some guidance from Mark to try and keep the style consistent with the first two episodes.

Aside from this, the four of us (Casey, Joseph) all have individual Wonders-based or Wonders-inspired shorts in the pipeline. We're branching out! Expect at least one of them in the near future.

Be sure to follow us on the twitters (@TheToonwerks) and on the facebooks.

Happy Festivus everyone!

-The Toonwerks crew


Posted by Toonwerks - October 15th, 2011


Greetings Newgrounds!

We managed to hit our mid-October release date and bring to you our newest episode of Wonders of the Universe! This one definitely presented some unique hurdles and stands as our longest episode so far at 8 minutes. Introducing 3 new characters, a couple minor characters, continue the story of the inter-galactic cruise liner and her working crew as they prepare (and celebrate) for their maiden voyage,

Enjoy the episode!
http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/
581652

Check out the Podcast where we all talk about the creation of the cartoon!
http://podcast.legendaryfrog.com/epi53 _Wonders2_10_13_11.mp3

- The Toonwerks Crew

Wonders of the Universe is Mostly Harmless


Posted by Toonwerks - September 28th, 2011


Greetings HUMANS!

We wanted to bring you guys another update on episode 2 of Wonders of the Universe. We're ahead of schedule with production and aiming for a mid-October release. You'll be happy to know that this episode is much longer than the first; it'll probably clock in around 8-9 minutes (excluding credits and any extra scenes we may throw in). We're currently working on the climax scene of the episode.

On top of that, Casey has started writing the first draft of episode 3! After it's done, we'll all look it over and Mark will convert the script into screenplay format. After several rewrites, a stork brings a brand new baby episode, ready to be nurtured to life. Chris Boe will likely be animating the next episode with Mark directing (or at least doing initial storyboards/animatics). There will likely be a shift in visual styles but everything else will still be there. Mark will then be free to work on another Wonders' short or possibly other Toonwerks projects.

And for those of you that remember our first toon, Legends of the Black Book (Part I), we're sad to say that due to circumstances beyond our control, Part II is delayed. We're having contract negotiation issues with Charles L. Frog. He's just not been the same after getting out of rehab for drug abuse...

...Okay so that's not completely true. As we were developing the first episode of Wonders, we were working on Legends Part II, getting so far as an animatic and the first bits of animation finished. But Mark needed a break from Fantasy and forests and wanted to do Science Fiction and space. Joseph and Casey were also interested in making an episodic series rather than a story-arc narrative. And finally, after how well the pilot episode did, we were excited to develop and expand the characters and universe.

We won't say that Legends is gone for good, but we've shelved it for now since we have better ideas for Wonders. We'd like to say sorry to everyone out that was looking forward to Part II.

In other Toonwerks news, Joseph and Chris Boe have been working on a separate project: a Minecraft-based cartoon entitled "The Journey of Greenfeet: A Minecraft Tale". Parodies wont be too common from us, but dammit we need to do at least one!

Keep a watch out for us over the next few weeks!

-Toonwerks

Toonwerks on YouTube
Toonwerks on Facebook
Toonwerks on Twitter (@TheToonwerks)

Wonders update and the fate of Legends


Posted by Toonwerks - August 23rd, 2011


Hello all!

Things have been busy since the release of the "Wonders of the Universe" pilot episode. We immediately began scripting out Episode 2 and, after some revisions, finished a first draft of the script. The talented voice actors recorded their lines, animator Mark whipped up an animatic, Casey began work on the new backgrounds, and Joseph started working on character models again. We're hoping the episode will be out sometime this fall!

We were all happy the way the pilot came out and how it was received, but realized it fell a bit short of a actual episode. We're pretty confident the follow-up will improve on it in every way!

Toonwerks actually has a second, more independent, project going on at the same time. While we're not ready to announce it, it's being animated by our brand new 4th member, Christopher Boe! Chris has been a long time friend of Joseph's and offered to help out when needed. He'll be doing work on Wonder's related shorts in the future.

We also set up a Twitter account and a Facebook page. We often post updates, screenshots, and new artwork for people to enjoy. It's still young, but trust us... we love showing off our progress!

Toonwerks Twitter
Toonwerk's Facebook Page

Enjoy some of the new artwork we have posted there, and we look forward to bringing Episode 2 to you all!

- The Toonwerks Crew

Wonder's Episode 2 Progress and Facebook Page


Posted by Toonwerks - June 22nd, 2011


Our pilot episode to our new sci-fi, comedy series, Wonders of the Universe, was released over the weekend. We want to thank everyone who enjoyed it and helped us get a Daily 1st, Weekly 2nd, and Review Crew Pick! Based on how well the pilot has done, we've decided to focus our primary efforts onto developing this series. We still have more characters to introduce, so you won't grow tired of Quintin, Nova, and the STFU-9000.

The Toonwerks crew (Legendary Frog, Xiphon, and th1rt3en) sat down and recorded a podcast a few days ago where we talk about the pilot and the series in general. It's a sort of half behind-the-scenes, half-preview discussion with some insight into what we want to do with the series. Check it out:

The LegendaryFrog Cast Episode 47: Wonders of the Universe

We're currently in pre-production on the second episode, this time ensure we actually have a plot with a standard story structure. We also have a short skit that one of our voice actors, Omahdon, wrote and voiced on his own when sending test lines. We loved it so much we decided to animate it! We think it's funnier than the pilot episode and will be releasing the short very soon. So keep a look out!

Thanks again everyone! Leave us some comments about what you want to see from us in the future!

-Toonwerks

Welcome aboard the Wonders of the Universe!