Thanks all for the replies. I am still in NY and writing from a tiny laptop, which I am not used to. we've had only positive responses and filled theater seats, many media interviews, Q&As etc; I never expected this.

It took our producers almost two years to find distribution; very disheartening and needs lots of persistence. New Yorker Films had financial troubles in 2009 but recovered in 2010 and took us on as their first film. We were so lucky because they seem to be the only ones who understand that independent films must be distributed in an entirely unique way. On top of that they are themsleves a unique and HONEST bunch.

The characters we keep looking consistently the same because I draw all the frames myself (around 60,000 is my guess) and my wife paints backgrounds and character colors herself too. We do this in TVPaint, which has a new story boarding system, where each storyboard panel can be expanded into an animatic and those in turn into fully animated scenes.

All of these can be instsntly played back together as if it were an NLE. This got me int a new habit of working on several scenes at the same time, best compared to what happens when you draw a single drawing; you never start in one corner (unless you are a small child) to work your
way across the paper until all spaces are covered. An artist will sketch out a composition, by drawing here and there, in opposite corners etc. until the picture comes together.

This is how I animate a sequence in TVPaint; I work a little in one clip, then might skip a few to start on another, return to a clip in the middle etc, until the sequence seems to work. Inbetween I often render clips to an AVI to transfer them to Vegas, where I have expanded possibilities (easier to makes dissolves, for instance) andjust keep on going in this ashion until the film is done.

Sandra is always a few steps behind me with the coloring. It took us 2/12 years to comlete 83 minutes and if you do the math you might come to the conclusion that this is physically impossible, and you'd be right. The thing is, we work anywhere between 12 and 16 hours every day of the year, including weekends and holidays; we take no vacations. This is not drudgery; it is pure joy! The best part of my life is the drawing process so I don't feel that I am working.

I use no tricks of technology to draw inbetweens or to design motions -- it's all the result of drawing everyday of my professional life for over 50 years (in 1958 I made my first film for money; a TV spot). The older an animator gets the better they become, it's that simple and I'm old. I hate my older films because I can see how much better I could draw them today. We are now 20 minutes into our next feature and when I look at Tulip I cringe because I see where I would draw her better if I'd be working on her today.