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American Animator Henry Thurlow Establishes Japan-Based Animation Studio

Henry Thurlow, an American animator working in Japan, announced on his blog on Thursday that he is partnering with Arthell and Darnell Isom to establish a Japan-based animation studio called D'Art Shtajio.

Thurlow stated that one of the studio's missions is to act as a bridge between the Japanese animation industry and outside markets. In particular, the studio will assist foreigners seeking to produce anime-style videos from Japanese studios.

D'Art Shtajio's first anime project will be "Indigo Ignited," and five-minute short pilot film based on an independently published comic of the same name by Americans David Pinter and Samuel Dalton. D'Art Shtajio will be the main production studio, though the project was initially tied to Bang Bang Animation, where Thurlow previously worked. Bang Bang Animation is no longer involved with the project.

Thurlow is directing the anime, Arthell Isom is painting the backgrounds as art director, Yoshiharu Ashino (D.Gray-man Hallow, Azuki-chan) is serving as the storyboard artist, Asuka Tsubuki (Gugure! Kokkuri-san) is the animation director, ReJean DuBois is designing the characters, and David Butler is directing the musical score.

A trailer for "Indigo Ignited" is slated for January, and the complete pilot film is slated for early 2017.

Thurlow has worked at Japanese animation studios Nakamura Productions, Pierrot, and Bang Bang Animation. His credits include Sweetness & Lightning, Nurse Witch Komugi R, ClassicaLoid, Naruto Shippūden, and Tokyo Ghoul.

Arthell Isom (A Letter to Momo, Blood-C, Gintama) also lives in Japan and works as a background artist. His brother, Darnell Isom, is a lead designer at California's Legacy Effects and has worked on Hollywood films such as Avatar, Pacific Rim and TMNT.

Thanks to zayd gh for the news tip.