Our newest birthday card, Robo Years, comes from the brains and hands of Nate Theis and Ken Turner. After Nate whipped up a robotic animatic, Ken went to work putting his own spin on it. We talked with Ken to find out a little more about the man behind the robot.
Where did you go to school?
-I went to Sheridan College for Animation and graduated in 2007.
How long did this card take to animate?
-The Robo Years Card took about 1 – 2 days to animate.
Where did your inspiration come from?
-Well the design wasn’t that far off the rough story reel design, but I wanted to change it a bit. I gave him a round head, a mouth, more antennas, different hands (one is scissors, and the other has fingers), and redesigned the circuit board on his chest. I think I had just watched the film Forbidden Planet and really liked that dome head design. There is also a certain amount of charm to that robot that I wanted to bring to this eCard robot.
Favorite robot in the media? (The terminator counts)
-If it’s robots in pop culture, I’d say the UFO robots from 80’s film “Batteries Not Included.”
You can check out more of Ken’s awesome art and more videos here: http://kenturner.blogspot.com.
The JibJab Blog 