When a Hollywood studio optioned his Miss Spider children's book series, author/illustrator David Kirk had an epiphany: He would create his next series using the tools of digital animation. Kirk now delivers a set of line drawings and color oil paintings to Engineering Animation, a high-end visualization shop based in Ames, Iowa. He then works with its team of artists to build the wire-frame models and render the final image. This scene from Kirk's forthcoming book Nova and Elix offers a glimpse of the luminous results.
One fringe benefit of his new method is that Nova, Elix, and their riveted world are ready to animate when Hollywood calls. Meanwhile, Kirk - a former toymaker - is reeling: "It's like the world of my childhood toys has come to life."
