G7 Blog

There is nothing more beautiful or satisfying than having special dogs as your friends. And what dog isn’t special in their own right? Our studio just lost one of our precious shepherds. Her name was Filchi, a long haired German Shepherd. She entertained us; spun around in circles like a true cartoon; made us laugh; stole our food when we weren’t looking (she demonstrated a special liking for egg rolls) and just basically kept everyone, especially our Producer, Tom Tataranowicz, company in his office all day long. She had a big time protective streak and specialized in guarding Tom's shoes.

Her companion was Loki, a mellow 100 pound Long Hair Belgian Shepherd. He lives to steal food and specialized in his "morning rounds" of scouting food from out of everyone's waste baskets. He had to go on a special diet, mainly no more pizza, because hanging out with our artists and staff, he was getting a little on the hefty side of things. So our Production Assistant, Leila Tilghman, and Deb would regularly walk the hounds to get relief so to speak. Anyway, we’re happy to say that Loki is now starting to have a waist again!

And then, there’s our newest addition to the G-7 pack... her name is Snitchi. See the similarity between the names Snitchi and Filchi? They both love to swipe food. What can you expect? After all, they can’t hop in the car and go buy their own, can they? So, not only is G-7 filled with creative artists from top to bottom, but so are our great furry mascots. You'd be amazed at how creative they can be when it comes to snitching food. Truthfully, these dogs are the Studio's true "Spiritual Leaders." They are always there for us when we need a hug or a lick.

Need stress relief? Get a dog or two. Need great animation... call Gang of 7 Animation. If we like you, we’ll even let you hang with our infamous “fuzzballs”. And keep your eyes open for the "Biker Mice from Mars" series where you will see these same hounds drawn and barking away. They can act too! And they don't even have to pay dues to SAG.

Also, keep your eyes peeled because our newly designed web site is just about ready to be put on the internet. You're going to love it!

Snitchi....pretending she doesn't know she's cute
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Loki and Snitchi taking a rest after a hard day of stealing food!
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Snitchi hanging out with Production Manager Deb!
Filchi our Princess!
Producer Tom T. sharing special time with our beloved Filchi!
Loki hugging our floor!
Filchi guarding "Dad" Tom T.'s desk!
Leila and Deb walking Filchi and Loki....or are Leila and Deb being walked?

Boy, did “Gang of 7” have fun down at the “Comicon” in San Diego on the gloriously long weekend of July 20th. Our Producer, Tom Tataranowicz sat on a panel for the fan favorite Filmation cartoon series, “He-Man and the Masters of the Universe,” "She-Ra - Princess of Power" and “Dungeons and Dragons,” with an emphasis on “He-Man”. That annoying "He-Man" lyric is something... by the way, Tom “T.” has been known to sing it when he thinks no one is looking. Good thing we don’t have a shower at our Studio.

The Panel consisted of our G7 Associate, Lou Scheimer,as well as Brooks Wachtel, Mark Evanier, Larry DiTillio, Erica Scheimer, and Michael Reaves. This panel was also promoting the DVD’s coming out for all of the aforementioned series. Our Director, Rich Arons, was also there signing away with Lou and Tom T.

When Tom Tataranowicz worked at Filmation, he and Writer, Bob Forward, tried to come up with an episode that included the death of a main character. They figured that, based on the history of the Emmys, someone dying in a significant, meaningful death in a children's program was a sure way for them to win an Emmy. So Tom and Bob concocted a She-Ra script called "The Silaxian Wars" in which they were utilizing every Stock or Same As bit of animation that they could. Unfortunately, Filmation's Psychologist "killed" (who's the real murderer in this picture?) the Episode stating the obvious... too much action for the younger audience: "There's a difference between giving a child an ice cream cone and giving them the keys to Baskin Robins." What do "Shrinks" know anyway? We don’t see them chasing down any Emmy's!!

Oh well, they tried.

During film clips which were run during the Panel, Tom T. was busy absently doodling characters like “Orko” on his name plate. See, even Directors and Producers can draw! No sooner was the Panel complete with their words of wisdom than the fans of these fun shows came, and with good humor, pilfered anything drawn by these guys that wasn’t nailed to the table. Glad they enjoyed it as much as we did. Who knows when we'll see that great artwork on Ebay!

When Rich and Tom T. got home they got in big trouble from the wife and girlfriend wondering why they didn’t try and make some big bucks off of their many talents!

Then there were the riveting adventures of our illustrious Art Director, Dennis Venizelos. When asked if he did anything interesting, he responded in his even, droll humor, “No, did lots of walking back and forth.”

And last but not least, our Business Development Partner and AACC President, Dave Armstrong was busy at the “Comicon” too. He hosted two panels. The first was on Carmine Infantino (no not a character on the “Sopranos”). Carmine’s panel talked about the Golden and Silver Ages of Comics. Among many other noteworthy achievments, Carmine re-envisoned the Flash, gave Batman a "new look" and redesigned Batgirl. Ultimately, he was the Publisher of DC Comics and brought many key artists in as editors. A real talent.

Dave also headed a wonderful panel in memory of Alex Toth, who was a real innovator in both Comics and the World of Animation. For years, Alex was a Character designer at Hanna-Barbera. Alex also mentored more well known artists than you can shake a crayon at. Dave also put together an exhibit of Alex's artwork across the street at the Omni Hotel for all to enjoy. Sadly, we lost Alex in May and he will be sorely missed. Thank you, Dave Armstrong for caring.

One of our "G7" Associates, Bernie Wrightson, was also there drawing away. Bernie is always a pleasure to see work and we are proud to have him as part of our group. Actually, it was a real delight to have all of our G7 partners and Associates there. Fun was had by all!

Wait until next year when, if all goes right, there may be a Panel on the new "Biker Mice From Mars" series.

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Director Rich Arons, Associate Lou Scheimer,Producer/Director Tom Tataranowicz taking a quick "love" break from their panel!

Dave Armstrong moderating tribute to Alex Toth!

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Bernie Wrightson workin' it in Artist's Alley.

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Tom Tataranowicz autographing dvds for fans!

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Lou Scheimer, Tom Tataranowicz and Dennis Venizelos posing for the paparazzi.

Once upon a time there was an animation studio... oh, the heck with that fairy tale stuff. We'll leave that jive for our cartoons.

Actually, let me tell you how this company started. In 1999, Tom Tataranowicz, our Producer and Director set out and opened his own studio, "Tom T Animation Inc" in order to work with Sun Woo on their "Milo's Bug Quest" series. This was the beginning of a fantastic Animation Company... a diamond in the rough.

A true blue Union man, Tom Tataranowicz had always pledged that if he ever opened his own shop, he would only open a Union Shop. With time that is exactly what he did. Other than working on "Milo's Bug Quest," he worked with other studios developing projects like "Secret of Panda Mountain" and many others which were and continue to be in production and development.

In the year 2000 this company produced Thirteen episodes of "Baldo", a Prime Time series done for Univision. The first truly bilingual series ever done, and with all the Pre-Production being done in house, the studio was hopping, busy, noisy, and fun. Then we were working with Director Rich Arons, Storyboard Artist Mark Zoeller, Background Designer and now Art Director, Dennis Venizelos and Designer Chris Aquirre, amongst others. With "Baldo" pre-production completed and then in Post Production, Chris, Dennis and Tom T. decided to pull a few top notch talents together, themselves included, to form an Association. Then, in early 2002, this select group of highly regarded and seasoned animation professionals, with much deliberation, came up with the name "Gang of Seven Animation."

Our studio subsequently worked on projects like "Disney's Happy Animal Friends," the "Son of the Mask" Feature, "Legend of the Dragon" series, the "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves," Direct To DVD Feature, Opening Titles for "Never Say Macbeth," animated sequences for "Flock of Dodos" and numerous other projects. We are currently in the midst of Post Production on 26 Episodes of "Biker Mice From Mars"

At this time, as you can see by our web site, that we now are a formidable group of talent bursting at the seams. Boy, are we having fun producing Features, Television Series, Commercials with lots of new projects in constant development!

Now, we can proudly say that the rough stone of an idea that was G-7 Animation is now in the advanced stages of becoming a brilliant diamond. So, please check our Web Site and get to know which hard working artists are part of our fantastic group!
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"Baldo" Crew having some fun!