"What if a monk was so taken with the wonders of the created order that he could never focus on the duties of his religious order?”
Baby Birds
Artwork by Michael Spooner
Bugs-Up Close and Personal
The Uninvited Guest
Illuminating St. Peter
Out the Window
The Baby Coos
Stained Glass Saints
The Weight of History
Brother Thomas Maquette
Latest News
Check out the latest developments to the film
Luis Contreras
22nd September 2012 by brotherthomas
I first met Luis in 1994 when he moved to Chicago to begin teaching at Columbia College in the animation department. We were both charged with developing core classes and it was immediately apparent that we shared the same love for story and animation. When Phil Vischer was looking for a story artist for his VeggieTales project I knew exactly the artist for the job.
Luis’ sense of character and his flair for dramatic expression comes through in the image he created for the Guest Artist Gallery. Luis’ Brother Thomas is both older and younger than the Thomas who’s been showing up in my storyboards. A red-haired young man, completely in the moment, breathing in the freshness of the new day.
Click here to see more images in our Guest Artist Gallery
Promo Teaser w/Phil Vischer
11th September 2012 by brotherthomas
After weeks of creating animatics and shooting interview footage we finally cut together a teaser that gives a great taste of the film we’re trying to make.
Special thanks to my old boss and friend Phil Vischer for setting up the teaser and for providing the commentary throughout. I initially pitched the bare-bones concept of Brother Thomas to Phil over ten years ago while working on VeggieTales. I can’t tell you how satisfying it is to have Phil’s full support for the Brother Thomas project.
The animation in the teaser is still at the storyboard stage and at this point the drawings are only sketches. But something happens when you cut them together with a good sound mix. It almost feels like a movie!
Dennis Jones
4th August 2012 by brotherthomas
I had the pleasure of getting to know Dennis this past year when he sat in on my puppet making class at HU. I was supposed to teach him how to make a foam puppet. In the end I think Dennis schooled us on three-dimensional character design instead. Either way he created a killer Viking puppet named Mangus, which helped to push all of our puppet making techniques to the next level and almost forced us to buy a larger oven.
Dennis’ distinct illustration style gives Brother Thomas a completely new look. Not only has his haircut improved, but it looks as though he may have lost a few pounds while hanging out in Dennis’ studio. I love the mischief that’s going on between he and the dragonfly. They certainly look like they’re up to something.
Click here to see more images in our Guest Artist Gallery
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