Well, while I would agree that sex, gay characters, and violence are possible - and independence from any "big bozos" in content and expression is clearly the advantage of filmmaking beyond Hollywood -, I also have the feeling that one shouldn't write themselves into a corner early on. It is good to have the option to do all these things, but I wouldn't want to do an R-rated movie just because it is R-rated. Sure, it would scream "It's not Disney" and definitely avoid brand complications other movies ran into (ask people who did "Balto"; half of them will claim it's Disney). There is also the temptation to create a brand like Ralph Bakshi; clearly no one would confuse those movies with Disney. But it is a niche, and it will create an expectation for everything you do later on.
It would not even be new: Ronal the Barbarian and Sausage Party both venture far into adult territory, for example. There are CGI animations for Starship Troopers and Resident Evil which have a great deal of violence and are not made for a kid audience. Thus, there are no novelty points to be gained by steering the boat into those waters.
The first steps will be greatly influenced by what's technically possible anyway. A lot of good attempts (in everything) fail because the author tries to be epic about the endeavour. I'd like to start with self-contained stories that serve as proof of concept and stepping stones towards any larger project. We will see whether any of those will offer the opportunity for adult themes. It just needs to be supported by the story. Time will tell whether there is a place for an animated furry equivalent of Psycho, The Evil Dead, or Gangreen I: Black Venus.
As for the idea of traditional animation: I love traditional animation. But I just don't have the needed skillset. My admiration is with people who can draw a good scene by hand, and I regret that this form of art is practically lost nowadays. It's just not what I can do. Know your limits.
I doubt that it would be cheaper than CGI, either. You'd need a lot of stylization for that, and simplifying too much is just not my vision. It's definitely necessary to employ all tricks in the books of CGI to make it faster, cheaper, and easier - that is one of the challenges. Those tricks just don't exist for traditional animation (unless you are rotoscoping CGI again). I'd say that the price point for traditional animation would be way up these days; inflation is something that doesn't only happen to CGI.
Your idea of "taking" the style of traditional animation and filling it with new context is very interesting though. I wish someone would be up to the challenge. Sadly, animation is even more challenging than comics, and we know what those take out of the artist already.
Lastly, about selling only to furries: Yes, you are right, and I should elaborate. It is certainly a disadvantage to limit one's audience on purpose, and I do aim to market outside of the fandom as well. But the first steps will be humble and small, and the best waters to test the acceptance will indeed be the fandom as such.
Put it this way: If these first steps are not garnering any interest and support even within the fandom, although being made by furries for furries with furry characters, how would the chances be that they'd succeed outside, where furry is just one genre among many, and where you cannot count on the initial benevolence towards the idea? I believe in my stuff, but the world is a crazy place, and merciless. And belief is not going to float the boat on its own.
If the non-furry world is interested, they are welcome to join. And there will be a point where the project will outgrow those baby clothes and will need to be shown to the world, and be sold to the world (provided that it survives so long). I am fairly sure that there is a vast potential audience waiting to be discovered. I'd just like to let the thing grow organically and keep an exit strategy at hand. Just, like, for the case I'm really just an idiot with delusions of grandeur. You never know.
Well, while I would agree that sex, gay characters, and violence are possible - and independence from any "big bozos" in content and expression is clearly the advantage of filmmaking beyond Hollywood -, I also have the feeling that one shouldn't write themselves into a corner early on. It is good to have the option to do all these things, but I wouldn't want to do an R-rated movie just because it is R-rated. Sure, it would scream "It's not Disney" and definitely avoid brand complications other movies ran into (ask people who did "Balto"; half of them will claim it's Disney). There is also the temptation to create a brand like Ralph Bakshi; clearly no one would confuse those movies with Disney. But it is a niche, and it will create an expectation for everything you do later on.
It would not even be new: Ronal the Barbarian and Sausage Party both venture far into adult territory, for example. There are CGI animations for Starship Troopers and Resident Evil which have a great deal of violence and are not made for a kid audience. Thus, there are no novelty points to be gained by steering the boat into those waters.
The first steps will be greatly influenced by what's technically possible anyway. A lot of good attempts (in everything) fail because the author tries to be epic about the endeavour. I'd like to start with self-contained stories that serve as proof of concept and stepping stones towards any larger project. We will see whether any of those will offer the opportunity for adult themes. It just needs to be supported by the story. Time will tell whether there is a place for an animated furry equivalent of Psycho, The Evil Dead, or Gangreen I: Black Venus.
As for the idea of traditional animation: I love traditional animation. But I just don't have the needed skillset. My admiration is with people who can draw a good scene by hand, and I regret that this form of art is practically lost nowadays. It's just not what I can do. Know your limits.
I doubt that it would be cheaper than CGI, either. You'd need a lot of stylization for that, and simplifying too much is just not my vision. It's definitely necessary to employ all tricks in the books of CGI to make it faster, cheaper, and easier - that is one of the challenges. Those tricks just don't exist for traditional animation (unless you are rotoscoping CGI again). I'd say that the price point for traditional animation would be way up these days; inflation is something that doesn't only happen to CGI.
Your idea of "taking" the style of traditional animation and filling it with new context is very interesting though. I wish someone would be up to the challenge. Sadly, animation is even more challenging than comics, and we know what those take out of the artist already.
Lastly, about selling only to furries: Yes, you are right, and I should elaborate. It is certainly a disadvantage to limit one's audience on purpose, and I do aim to market outside of the fandom as well. But the first steps will be humble and small, and the best waters to test the acceptance will indeed be the fandom as such.
Put it this way: If these first steps are not garnering any interest and support even within the fandom, although being made by furries for furries with furry characters, how would the chances be that they'd succeed outside, where furry is just one genre among many, and where you cannot count on the initial benevolence towards the idea? I believe in my stuff, but the world is a crazy place, and merciless. And belief is not going to float the boat on its own.
If the non-furry world is interested, they are welcome to join. And there will be a point where the project will outgrow those baby clothes and will need to be shown to the world, and be sold to the world (provided that it survives so long). I am fairly sure that there is a vast potential audience waiting to be discovered. I'd just like to let the thing grow organically and keep an exit strategy at hand. Just, like, for the case I'm really just an idiot with delusions of grandeur. You never know.