Our Story

ToonShark is an emerging cartoon company based in Vancouver, BC that's main focus is to bring entertaining cartoons and other related media to the world! We feel that laughter is the best medicine, and that's why we specialize in comedy.

We are currently working on a 3d animated project, entitled "Toy Cops." It is a 3d animated video documentary that takes a deeper look at the drug problems, gangs, police corruption and prostitution within the toy community. It's setting is similar to the TV show, "Cops" and shows real time footage, as if it were taped on-scene by a third-party. It's style and tone will be similar to "Robot Chicken." This video will not be recommended to children, as the content will be deemed 'adult.'

You can find more information and updates about this project on our website at http://www.toycopsfilm.com 

Although ToonShark is web based right now, our long-term goals include jumping over to television stations (first locally, then around the world.) We eventually want to come out with a regular cartoon series or two. Hey - if you're going to go, might as well go big, right?

The Impact

We are hoping that this project will make people laugh, and give people something to share with their friends, follow, etc. We don't want to stop here - we do want to eventually get into the business of bringing our viewers a few regular cartoon series.

This project is going to happen either way. We just need funding to make it happen soon. If we do fall short of our campaign goals, this will just slow down our process. Time is money, so we would love it if you could help out by contributing anything you can!

What We Need & What You Get

The project "Toy Cops" is a completely 3D-generated cartoon. The production process for 3D films such as Toy Story, Monsters Inc, etc is quite a long, expensive process. Luckily for us, our animation will not be a feature length film and will only run about 5-10 minutes. The work in this project will still be substantial, however.

For the production process, there is a need to hire animators, story-boarders, sound engineers and voice actors. Animators, modelers and video compositors, specifically; don't come cheap. The average hourly rate for animators, 3D artists and digital compositors are about $20 per hour and up.

We currently have three animators, one modeler and one story-board / concept artist working on the project. A project like this would take a team like this approximately 2 weeks to 1 month (depending on computer hardware) at five 8 hour days per week. The predicted wages for this project will range from about $8,000 up to $16,000.

We are then planning to get the word out there by promoting the project by use of Facebook advertisements, promotional materials, etc. This shouldn't cost much more than $200.

Although new computer equipment for rendering is not a strict requirement, it would decrease the production time by significant margins. The computer hardware would be kept for future ToonShark projects. New computer equipment for rendering would cost from $1,500 - $2,000.

We do plan on airing the project on local TV stations, which will incur additional costs. These costs can range from $1,500 - $2,500 and up.

The estimated cost for this project will be around $11,200 - $20,700. Any excess funds that are not used by this particular project will go towards future ToonShark projects, studio rent and computer hardware & software (which can be seen on our website - http://www.toonshark.ca/index.php/projects)

We will be releasing a detailed financial list (in PDF format) of where our money is going as one of the updates of this project.

Legal

We understand that because of the similarities between the characters of this film and those of the Lego brand, there may be some concern about copyright infringement.

We have been in contact, and are continuing to follow up with local legal council agencies to ensure that everything in this film clearly follows and is protected under Canada’s ‘Fair Deal’ clause to the Canadian Copyright Law.

Other Ways You Can Help

Aren't in a position to help us out by donating money? That's fine! You can also help by becoming a fan of our Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/ToonShark/1693844...) , telling your friends about us, subscribing to our YouTube channel or following us on Twitter (http://twitter.com/#!/toonshark). We need to get the word out there about us!

Also, if anyone would like to help out by offering support or donating your time and skills (or anything else you may be able to offer us). If you are interested, fire off an email to the Art Director at nick@toonshark.ca.

Nick Romick - Creative Director / Modeler

Jamie Mathieson - Story Board / Concept Artist

Jay Zhou - 3d Modeler / Texture Artist

Steven Avalos - 3d Animator

Mario Lopez - 3d Animator

Haiying Wang - 3d Animator

Tyrell Powell - Visual Effects / Editing