15 Heartwarming Comics And Some Videos That We Made Of This Firefighter And His Unusual Pet Dragon

Me and Andy Bashforth are two artists in the animation and VFX industry who met at university in 2011. We have a vision to set up our own animation studio based in the UK, and are excited to launch our first project 'Tim and Bash'.

Over the last 8 years Andy worked as a lecturer in animation and VFX at Teesside University, and I've been blessed to work on some big feature films including Sonic 2, Space Jam 2, Disenchanted, Paddington and the BAFTA award-winning Klaus.

Tim and Bash is our passion project - to fulfil our dream of both bringing a completely original story to life, as well as the childhood fantasy of owning a pet dragon! Former volunteer firefighter Tim Northcott was the inspiration for the design of the comic, and he plays Tim in our live-action series too! We really wanted someone who looked like they could tackle a blaze, and Tim has very much been there, done that, and worn the fire suit. That experience has been a great guide for us in creating a believable character. Our stories are brought to life by our incredible sound team at audiocreatures.com. Their ability to produce exceptional work on a rapid production schedule is outstanding.

For our stories we look for something relatable, simple, and that can surprise our audience. We are combining fantasy elements with the modern day, so we want to excite people's imaginations with our stories. Once we have brainstormed and refined the story ideas, they get storyboarded and edited. We pick the ones which are the strongest, and move them into production.

I (Daniel) draw the comics using photoshop, and me and Andy co-direct the live-action episodes. Andy oversees all of the VFX, and is responsible for creating believable fur, lighting, special FX such as fire, and the final grading. I provide the movement and acting of Bash using Maya.

The biggest challenges we face are the time it takes to produce. Each 1-minute episode takes about 6-8 weeks to complete after filming has been done. This also has a financial aspect as we left our jobs, and spent 2 years working on these episodes as a business. We are now looking for opportunities to grow it into a TV series.

The most rewarding moments of Tim and Bash are when we receive comments telling us that they were having a really tough day, but that our comic brought them a smile. This makes it feel like we are doing something purposeful. I hope these videos and comics have put a smile on your face!