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Based out of the heart of Texas, Chris Moujaes works on his own animated creations such as the rockin’ web comic “Coz/Effect” and his epic comic series “Battlegate.”
“It was while getting my B.S. in Radio-TV-Film from the University of Texas at Austin that I had the idea of opening my own studio. With $300 and a good connection with a cool landlord, I was able to open our first studio on the second floor of an old bank,” says Moujaes.
Not long after making all the right investments, patiently planning the business side of his career, Chris Moujaes finally managed to develop his own studio near the Austin, Texas area.
“Moujaes, Inc. (www.Moujaes.com) is a complete studio enterprise, providing the best in brand communications, creative services and original entertainment content and products. We create brands, entertainment and experiences for people around the world. Our product is unbound creativity delivered to our clients through our brand communications agency, an original entertainment studio, and through our online media properties. We’re artists, designers and professionals who understand how the spirit of great storytelling coupled with inspired design can create amazing brands, products and entertainment for eyeballs everywhere.
It was there that I started what was then known as BoxerStudios.com - a place to showcase our studio's animation and comics. Within 2 years, I merged the site with my friend and animator, Aaron Romo (Disney, Warner Bros. Fox, et al.) to create www.SquirrelWorks.com -- the central hub of all our original work,” Moujaes added.
According to Moujaes, the site “Squirrel Works” now receives over 3 million visitors a year and is continuously growing strong. The success of his studio and the website are a literal examples of what happens when one brings well animated characters and a good storyline to the table. “Our studio is committed to producing work that is character-driven and well-designed. If you study any of our work, you'll see that character comes first -- driving the story development heavily,” says Moujaes.
Of course, the artists of Moujaes, Inc., like many professional artists and animators, started practicing their drawing skills during their childhood days, and in a very familiar place, the classroom!
“As most artists, I started out drawing as a kid, seriously considering my career in the 3rd grade (if you can believe that). There was just something about Saturday Morning cartoons back in the 80's that just made me love the art form. But of course, just like many fellow animator, my biggest influence came from new (at the time) and classic Disney work. I grew up in Beaumont, Texas -- known more for oil than the arts, but a great place to live nonetheless.
"I spent my childhood and teenage years drawing, even drawing in college classes when I should've been taking notes. It was in college that I started my studio as you'll discover a little later in this interview. I've been working in the field for about 10 years now, with broad experience in branding, advertising, character design and entertainment property development,” says Moujaes.
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from the comic "Battlegate"; all titles & images © The Chris Moujaes Company, Inc. 2007 |