Freddy and Friends : On Tour! - Behind the Scenes
Hey FNaF Enthusiasts,
Today is the first anniversary of our YouTube Series Freddy & Friends: On Tour. The series has seen millions of views since its launch, thanks to the amazing FNaF community. You all loved the first episode, so we decided to drop new content in regular increments to add a little joy of anticipation.
Many of you are creators yourselves, so we thought we'd share how we approached this series and what went into composing the theme, animation, audio FX, and music. Our hope is to inspire all creative spirits who dream of a career as an artist, animator, or game developer. So sit back, relax, grab some exotic butters, and enjoy this backstage pass to Freddy & Friends: On Tour!
Style Test with Characters and Background by Sabine Belofsky
Fabricating the Animation
On Developing the Look
Sabine Belofsky, one of our incredible concept artists, dreamt up the character designs and backgrounds for Freddy & Friends: On Tour. She created the iconic looks for each character and the scenes for the gang’s wacky hijinks.
The first step in production was to decide the essence of the cartoon and determine what kind of look we wanted. Sabine drew up an array of designs for the gang. You can see some of the original colorized sketches here, each one with a completely unique tone and emotional quality.
Initial Character Design Concept Art by Sabine Belofsky
Reliving the Legendary Illustrations of Hanna Barbera
Our favorite style (and what felt most true to the vibe we wanted) was reminiscent of Hanna-Barbera’s cartoons, the acclaimed studio behind countless classics like The Yogi Bear Show, The Jetsons, The Flintstones, and Scooby-Doo. Once we chose the style, Sabine drew up the profiles for each character to create the basis of our animation.
Character Turnarounds Concept Art by Sabine Belofsky
From then on, this unique style inspired the rest of the look and feel of the series. The choice to follow in the footsteps of a legendary illustrator was such an inspiration for our creative team that we wanted to push as far as we could, from the backgrounds all the way to the smallest, secret details.
Backgrounds by Sabine Belofsky
Enter the 2D Animation Pipeline
Vision: Bringing The Characters to Life
Once Sabine completed the initial design, the project was passed on to our incredible 2D Animator, Rachael Kleban! In order to mimic the style of classic cartoons, she had to create each frame one by one using Sabine’s original source art. This is where the magic happened. First, she created a rough sketch so we could decide on movement and characterization. We then used the sketches to determine what felt complete and what could be more exaggerated.
Initial sketch and colors by Sabine Belofsky
Rough animation of Foxy unmasked by Rachael Kleban
Rough animation of the gang running by Rachael Kleban
Once we finalized the feel, Rachael moved on to the best part, the second pass, in which each character was finalized, cleaned up, and colored in. This is where the animation really came to life.
Cleaned-up and colored-in running animation by Rachael Kleban
Performance animation test by Rachael Kleban
The last step for Rachael was to bring these characters to life in the context of their world through compositing: setting the characters in their backgrounds to create complete scenes.
Once the composites were done she added final touches with a mix of effects to play up the old-fashioned cel-animated look.
Evoke Magic: The Theme Song Forever and Ever
Raising the Bar with Music
No cartoon would be a true ode to FNaF or Hanna Barbera's classic style without a theme song. Music is a powerful medium, so this song was the final key to a great series. We knew we had to pull out all the stops.
Allen Simpson, the main composer for Five Nights at Freddy's: Security Breach, not only made the backing soundtrack and the SFX for the cartoon, but he created the music for the end song, as well! Once that was finalized, our Studio Director Kai Morrison-White added lyrics and recorded it in his own soulful voice. Together these two made "Forever and Ever" exactly the catchy tune we hoped for.
A Shell in the Pit snuck in some secret, eerie sound effects, and finally, our QA Lead Rina Lam added a mix of finishing visuals for that sweet, old-timey feel.
Foxy making some tunes.
& Voila, Pizza!
And there you have it! From initial concept to final renditions, these were the talents and efforts that went into Freddy & Friends: On Tour. It was quite an adventure, and we’re glad you’re still along for the ride. Forever, and ever, and ever…
Love,
Steel Wool Studios
P.S. Now that you have the behind-the-scenes scoop, you should watch all the episodes again! And remember to look out for those Easter eggs…
Playlist: Freddy & Friends: On Tour Episodes