The Indie Animation Boom and Crowdfunded Animation

On August 21, Vivienne Medrano happily promoted the newest episode of Helluva Boss, calling it the “most ambitious” episode they had done so far, thanking the Spindlehorse Toons team, and adding, in part, “Indie animation has POWER! Enjoy our hardwork!” Another indie animated series, EddsWorld, praised the episode, which garnered 800,000 views in a few hours, as a “serious accomplishment in indie animation.” Medrano is one of the most prominent in the indie animation space, heading the mature animate series, Helluva Boss, a spinoff from her hugely popular Hazbin Hotel, another mature animation. The latter is on route to become a series on A24. Medrano has produced other animations, like “Bad Luck Jack” as an animated adaption of her webcomic, ZooPhobia. She is not alone. She is only one of the many animators, creators, and others in the indie animation space, which has blossomed in recent years.

In this article I’ll discuss that boom and the themes of such indie animated series, using those listed in the Creator nation index and on a Twitter list titled “Indie animation,” which are often released on YouTube. However, in some cases, indie animation have been posted on Vimeo and even on Newgrounds. Medrano herself has expressed interest in posting uncensored Helluva Boss episodes to Newgrounds but noted that YouTube “viewership is important for the show and it’s where it thrives,” which is likely what many creators of indie animations believe.

In April 2021, John Evershed, the head of High Concentrate and Mondo Media, released a paper on adult animation. In the report he mentioned Hazbin Hotel as an example of a series which originated on YouTube and got “picked up as a long-form TV series,” noting that this pilot was made completely by freelance animators and “largely financed by Medrano’s Patreon followers.” He said this is a rare exception, however, saying there are limited opportunities to make money “with scripted content on social video,” and not much space for animation which is expensive. He later said that animation is popular with those aged 18 to 34, which streaming platforms have tried to use to bring in more subscribers.

But what about independent animation? It is animation which can be defined as those animated series and feature films outside the animation industry in Hollywood. Some say that with today’s technology, the animation process is “more affordable for artists” and means that viewers don’t need to rely on television networks for series. However, others note that, realistically, indie animators have few resources, financially, beyond what they earn, leading them to move toward crowdfunding. All in all, indie animated series provide an alternative to the usual animation model of pitching a show to a major studio, something that Infinity Train creator Owen Dennis explained in detail. When it comes to pitching, for many years, animated pilots have been pitched to major networks and rejected for one reason or another. [1] Even those shows those pilots have been accepted, it can take a while for these companies to accept the series. For instance, it took 15 years before Disney accepted Phineas and Ferb and it aired on Disney platforms. Indie animations, on the other hand, have the ability to have freedoms that shows on network television and mainstream platforms don’t, with artists able to go “all out on their storytelling abilities,” as argued by some.

Many indie animated series showcase diversity. This is in part because some Black animators are behind the series themselves. For instance, a 16-year-old self-taught Black male animator, Wisdom Nunn, produced Bob’s World. Nunn even appeared with Rad Sechrist, the creator of Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts, in a session on Instagram. [2] Other than Nunn, Cartoon Connect and Brandon Wright, two Black male animators, led various animated series, which premiered on YouTube, like Bob’s World.

Cartoon Connect, also known as Brandon Reed, helms three series centering on Black families and characters: Little Ron Ron, Gotta Be Mo, and Lumen. All three series have their episodes posted on his YouTube channel, in specifically delineated playlists, and compromise a total of 76 episodes. As for Lumen, it is based on a webcomic of the same name and focuses on a Black woman named Lyric in an abusive relationship and with magical powers. At the same time, Cartoon Connect created a fan animation series of characters from The Proud Family, titled Loyalty High. Like Cartoon Connect, Wright heads three animated series: Guardian Instance, Silver Lin, and Diver, which have diverse characters at the center of their stories and comprise, collectively, a total of 11 episodes. A show that Cartoon Connect later promoted, The Quickening, has a pilot with Black characters at the center, and the upcoming series, Ascendants, centers people of color in its story as well.

For some indie animated series, LGBTQ characters are integral to their stories. [3] For example, Helluva Boss has four LGBTQ characters, as does the animated pilot it split off from, Hazbin Hotel. Other series in development, like S.A.L.E.M.: The Secret Archive of Legends, Enchantments, and Monsters (often known as S.A.L.E.M.), Rain: The Animated Series, Dirt: The Series, and The Descendants are full of LGBTQ characters. Specifically, S.A.L.E.M. has a non-binary protagonist, Rain, adapted from a webcomic of the same name has a trans girl protagonist, Dirt: The Series has a lesbian protagonist, and The Descendants will have LGBTQ characters as it is about acceptance and love. An indie, adult murder mystery in production about lawyers, Wild Card, has a bisexual protagonist and a non-binary character. Sheepish has a non-binary sheep as protagonist and Romancing Roslyn Cherry is about two “furries falling in love.” Both series are still in development. Then there’s Howdy Cloudboy, which is being produced by an animation studio, Faeduck Studios, which bills itself as creating engaging and fun “adult animated content that highlights and praises the Black LGBTQ+ community.”

These are only some of the series featuring LGBTQ characters that are currently in development. For instance, in the October 2020 episode of Ollie & Scoops, a female teacher goes on a date with her crush, another woman, My Pride: The Series has a lesbian protagonist, and a sapphic couple appears in the original EddsWorld series: Kim and Katya, with Kim as bisexual, and Katya as a lesbian. Indigo, an animated series said to be a sci-fi and comedy with lots of LGBTQ characters, and a non-binary protagonist, stands out above the lot, although its future is in question as the show’s account was suspended and will later be deleted. [4] The creator of Ollie & Scoops, Nico Colaleo, created a short-lived web series titled Too Loud which aired on which DreamWorks TV’s YouTube channel from 2017 to 2019, including a transgender female protagonist who is still in the closet. If Indigo, Howdy Cloudboy, Wild Card, S.A.L.E.M., and many others mentioned above, premiere independently, on a platform such as YouTube, they will be part of the “boom in indie animated series/projects” started originally on the Indigo Twitter account, and it is great to see.

For independent animations, due to their wide range of plots and characters, they are spread across the genres. However, fantasy is a common genre. For instance, Satina and Far-Fetched, are horror or black comedies. Both are produced by those who previously worked on Helluva Boss or Hazbin Hotel. Likely, series in development like Mayhem, Dark Harvest, and Aisle 99, will have similar themes.

These are not the only fantasies out there, however. For example, to note a few series, Lumi and the Great Big Galaxy, Phantom Hollow, and Deranged are sci-fi fantasies, while Ghost Friends, Monstrocity, and Ronzilla are monster fantasies. There are magical and enchanted fantasies, sometimes involving adventure. Some examples include True Tail, Nori and Zin, CriTORA, Gods’ School, The Figments, Magic Time Wizards, and Kooky The Keukegen. Another common genre is superhero fantasies. Examples of this are plentiful, but some show this the most, such as Quack Man, Good Guys for Hire, and Fighting All Odds.

Others which don’t fit into the genres previously mentioned include a fantasy-action about cartoons coming alive (Loki IRL), two fantasy series set in a dreamland (DREAMophrenia and Dreamcatchers), a comedy-adventure (Pigbog’s Kingdom), a space adventure (Orbit Buzz), and a school drama created by deaf folks (The Road of Friendship) to name a few. Of these series, only DREAMophrenia and Gods’ School are currently airing, while the others either have a pilot or have an episode, or episodes, in development.

There are adventure fantasies like Nautiboys, The West Patch, Tales of Alethrion, and Port by the Sea. While Tales of Alethrion has interconnecting anthologies, Port by the Sea is created and produced by Georden Whitman, the creator of Nomad of Nowhere. Apart from these is a detective fantasy (Blossom Detective Holmes), which tells a story of two detectives determined to solve a murder. It is not the only independent anime, as The Kamanai is an independent anime in development. Then there’s a Western fantasy created by animators Tara Billinger and Zach Bellissimo, titled Long Gone Gulch. Creators of the latter, currently only a pilot, said in a video posted in June that they want to keep going with the project, announcing the launching of Patreon while they pitch to major networks. There’s a number of series, such as The Heroes of Tomorrow, Zoolaplex, Subway Surfers, and Mugshot & Pollen are all either dramas, sometimes mixed with a slice-of-life, in the case of the latter two. Of these series, only Blossom Detective Holmes, Tales of Alethrion, and Subway Surfers have more than one episode, while the others only have either a pilot or are in development for a first episode.

While there are many other series, either inconsistently airing, or in development, often with a rash of voice talent, complex, developed, and diverse stories, and characters, they are of varying quality. [5] Each of these series is unique, like a pilot with vibes of a mature version of Glitch Techs (Alpha Betas), a number of shows in development, such as one focusing on wolves (Wolves of Cecila), another in telling the story of a young girl moving to Japan to be a manga artist (Demonic Crepes), and a show centered around three girls which have vibes of The Owl House and Infinity Train (Stars Align). There are many other series currently airing, such as animal-focused fantasies and many other fantasies, all of which may have complex stories and characters. [6] It is unlikely that this kind of creativity, which is not constrained by budgets, shown in these series in development, would be allowed on more mainstream platforms. In the end, indie animations, no matter form they come in, offer an alternative to the existing animations produced and released by the major studios, even if getting to the release of such animations can be daunting for creators.

Notes

[1] Examples of pilots for shows that were rejected include: Constant Payne, The Modifyers, Diggs Tailwagger, Lehold, Carmen Got Expelled, Jo Minkus, Monsters Abroad, Thom Cat, Werebeast, Magic Children Doing Things, Dungeon Crawlers, IRL Squad, Camp W, and Trick Moon. Pilots of Adventure Bodies (2012), Vileville (2013), Audience! (2014), C Students (2014) (as it was discontinued in 2015 and he discontinued the channel in 2018), Showside (2015), Urbance (2016), Obituary (2016) (after this, all other stories continued in webcomic form), Becky Prim (2016), Film Quest (2016), Rock and Riot (2016) (student film based on webcomic of same name), Bamboo Garden (2017), Salt Kidz (2018), Cliffside (2018) (announced in 2020 it will not be continued), Starship Goldfish (2018) (very slim chance), Bird Town News (2018), SpaceWorld (2019), and Wings of Fire (2020) (cancelled for unstated reasons) will likely not be turned into animated series. Belle & Tina are Time Travelers had a pilot in 2016, but it may be coming back as hinted in a video clip in April 2020. The same may be the case with Impotents as the pilot premiered in 2016, but the official website lists six episodes, although none are online. On the other hand, the company producing the series last posted tweets in 2016 and the Kickstarter ended the same year. Song of the Sky, the pilot of which premiered in 2018, may be turning into an animated series, according to posts on Patreon.

[2] It is likely that Sechrist’s “How to School,” for those interested in animation, drawing, and the like, will undoubtedly help animators either pitch their own shows, or move into the indie animation space.

[3] In Helluva Boss, Blitzo is pansexual, Moxxie is bisexual, Stolas is gay or bisexual, and Sallie May is a trans woman, while in Hazbin Hotel, Alastor is asexual, Angel Dust is gay, Charlie Magne is bisexual, and Vaggie is a lesbian. In S.A.L.E.M., Salem is a non-binary and pansexual character, Oliver is gay, and Petra is asexual. In Rain, Rain Flaherty is a trans girl, Fara Bryer is bisexual, Maria Stongwell is lesbian, Rudy Strongwell is gay, Emily Caston is pansexual, Vincent Valverde is a trans man, and Jessica Li is a trans woman. In Dirt: The Series, Claire and Ally are a lesbian couple. In September 2020, Medrano supported two male characters in the animated ZooPhobia short, “Bad Luck Jack,” being shipped together. Other examples include Gadzooks and the Cryptoid Kids (a series by two gay men with LGBTQ themes), Astur’s Rebellion (said to have various LGBTQ characters), C Students (a lesbian, Nicole, who has a crush on the new female student, Penny, jerks off to a woman’s body, and a male student, Drew, is gay), Finding Alyx! (it will feature a non-binary artist), Rock and Riot (a girl, Penny, tries to get another girl, Carla, to like her), Roads to Rome (a supporting character, Mira, has two annoying dads), Cirque Du Monstro (has an asexual main character), Succubus Cop (has an asexual cop), Starmakers (has a bisexual character), Cabiria Intermezzo (one character has a crush on the protagonist), and Long Way From Del’Arte (has bi and gay characters). There may be LGBTQ characters in the following upcoming series: The Journey for Our Lives, Warlocks of Wrath High, and Tallyho!.

[4] The Indigo pilot was proposed in December 2019 by an animator named Moon. Reportedly, the show’s account was suspended (and soon to be deleted) in preparation for a possible pitching of a short from the series to Cartoon Cartoons, a program restarted in April 2021 by Cartoon Network. According to a now-deleted tweet, the main account for the series was being suspended for reasons of personal safety and due to the animation pitching process. Before the account was suspended, the show was going to be open crowdfunding, with promotion of various series in stages of development.

[5] Other series with a pilot, and are in development, include: Bunker City, Bussin, Painquin, and Project Tideaway. Others which are still in development, and without a pilot, include: Crescent Fire, Stellapie, Squabs, Bloop and Friends, Harri’s World, Monkey Wrench, Band of Mythix, The Alyssian, Second Light, Don’t Touch the Props!, Espionage Actors, Dark Pages, Stick-Ers, Crash in the System, Here We Are, Quest Infinite, Harvey Beaks (fan reboot), Foreign Contact, Transformers Alliance (fan animation), Arbor Square, The Crystal Eden, and Aleph Stars. Sunset Paradise, on the other hand, is another example of an indie animated series which ended, is with the finale in July 2021.

[6] Animal-focused fantasies include Tales of Dawn, Therapy Dog, Bloody Bunny, Fairy Foxes, Apples & Dogs, The Marvelous Adventures of Danny DeComp, and All the Lone Ones. Other fantasies include Maine Events, Project Infinity, Namo, Renegades, The Macron Show,  Ghosts on the Haunt, and Dyes of the Soul.