Issue 45

The team behind award-winning animation studio Rocky Dolly reveals how their comics go beyond entertaining toddlers. 

“Comics are not always nonsense. Comics can provide knowledge as well,” says Poe Sriwatanathamma, managing director of Rocky Dolly Studio. Having collected various prizes, including the latest Thailand Selected Project at Asian Animation Summit 2015, the animator knows a bit about where the Thai graphic industry is currently located.

“I just want to see more creative workforce in Thai animation industry,” he says, adding that Thailand has good production techniques, but that it is lacking in terms of story or character development.

After taking an internship at American studios The Little Airplane Production and The Studio NYC, Poe Sriwatanathamma and Chaiyalap Chanyam, Rocky Dolly Studio’s director, were inspired to create their own creative design house in 2013, the name came from their first project.

Rocky Dolly, or Lomlook in Thai, is a short 2D animation series for kids. It scooped the first prize at the Digimedia Contest in 2013. The story focuses on friendship, family and community, as well as clearly targeting the pre-school audience with its feel-good mood and tone.

“We don’t just produce cartoons, we do characterisation. We create value for the characters,” says Chanyam. “Our target audience is pre-school children aged between four and six years. We found that there is less competition in this group, and also the simple design with informative and useful content is what we are good at.”

To create Lomlook, the pair deviated from traditional Thai animation production techniques. “Oversea animators would reference child psychology. This contrasts with Thailand, where we focus mostly on the imagination and passion of animators,” he says, adding that domestic animators are less concerned with how the story would affect the children in his view.

“How we find ideas and inspiration is by watching a variety of cartoons to study techniques, studying child psychological research, and child development and behaviour to create a story for the pre-school age,” he says. The studio has also employed a child psychologist as a consultant through the creative process.

Sriwatanathamma believes that while much attention is being placed on research and development in order to create an innovative approach, you should never lose sight of the fundamentals of storytelling.

“What is important is how to create a compelling story,” he says. “Spectacular designs and special effects won’t bring anything more profound. If you understand the message from the story, you will understand the value.”

For more information, visit www.rockydolly.co.th
Words by Natthinee Ratanaprasidhi