Here’s my latest short film. Hope you enjoy!

It’s official, Image Comics will publish the 200-page full color graphic novel, The Saga of Rex, this coming October 15. I see that the book is already available for pre-order on amazon.com and featured in Diamond’s Book Distributors’s catalog on page 86.

A big thank you to Flight’s editor in chief, Kazu Kibuishi, and the rest of my Flight comrades who encouraged me all the way to the finish line.

Just thought I’d let everyone know about my upcoming animated project which will premiere in Vancouver on June 25th, 2010. I’ve wanted to do a project such as this for many years, ever since I discovered the abstract work of Oscar Fischinger, Norman Mclaren, Kandinsky and Yves Tanguy. I got started in 2006, and now, four years later, I’m finally going to be able to share this work with an audience.

Using cutting edge technology, I will be performing the animation with the musicians, creating a dialogue between music and images that should be quite exciting. I would like to point out that the seven musicians involved in the project are all fantastic and are worth the price of admission all by themselves. So if you’re in Vancouver on June 25th, you might want to check it out! Tickets can be purchased here.

You can read about how the project came about here.

Seattle, WA, March 2010 – Michel Gagne and Fuelcell Games are pleased to bring their independent video game, Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet, to Xbox Live® Arcade.

Michel Gagne and Joe Olson, CEO of Fuelcell Games, met in 2007 in Seattle’s Fremont district where they discussed the possibility of bringing feature quality 2d animation to the gaming world in a classic side-scrolling adventure. Shortly after, a production team was assembled and Fuelcell Games was born. Their mission: bring the vision of Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet to life.

“This is one of the most thrilling projects of my career”, said Gagne. “I love working on ITSP with Joe and his team. It amazes me to see how they’re able to expand on my concepts and animations and create such a memorable interactive experience. Simply put, this game is going to rock!”

The Fuelcell team has been busy building a studio infrastructure and quietly working with Gagne on ITSP while exploring partnerships to develop the game. After months of negotiation with several entities, it was decided that Microsoft and Xbox LIVE Arcade was the best possible home for the project.

“The team here at Fuelcell is incredibly excited to be starting production in full force on Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet”, said Olson. “We’ve assembled an extremely talented, dedicated, and passionate group of people around this unique project. The combined forces of our team of game industry veterans, Michel’s unique artistic style and vision, and Microsoft’s expertise in the downloadable game space is sure to make for a lasting impression on 2D gaming.”

“Microsoft is thrilled to have Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet heading to Xbox LIVE Arcade”, said Saxs Persson, Senior Director of Xbox LIVE Arcade. “We look forward to helping Michel and Fuelcell realize their creative vision, and continuing to support independent developers looking to drive innovation on our service.”

For more information on Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet visit www.insanelytwistedshadowplanet.com or the official blog at http://michelgagne.blogspot.com.

From February 12th to February 21st, the Creative Artworx Design Group in Barbados will be hosting Paint Me Barbados – The Ultimate Artist Experience, where several international artists will be giving workshops and lecturing about their respective fields of expertise. It should be a great time for all who attend. I was asked to be a part of the event, and I’m pleased as punch! My presentation will be on February 13th from 3:00 to 6:00pm.

WORKSHOP DETAILS

I will give an overview of my art career and discuss creating animation and special effects for movies; designing characters for animated films and television projects; visualizing videogame projects; creating comics and graphic novels.

I will share my philosophy about creativity and give insight on how to be successful as an independent artist. The presentation will include several video clips and images showing my process and approach to various assignments ranging from mainstream Hollywood movies to personal fine arts.

Click here for more details.

Hey folks, I will be a guest at the Bellingham Comicon (Washington State) on October 24th. To make the event extra special, I have printed fifteen copies (POD) of The Saga of Rex which compiles all the material that have been published in Flight so far. The book is 160 pages! First come, first served. And if you have copies of Flight you’d like me to sign, don’t hesitate to bring them along.

Hey folks, Michel Gagne here. My team and I are happy to release a new HD trailer of our upcoming game Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet. I know some of you have been waiting forever – and we still don’t have a release date, but hey, doing a game of that scale independently is no picnic! You can read more on the project at www.InsanelyTwistedShadowPlanet.com.

I’d like to invite those who live in or around the Dallas area, to come and check out the Industry Giants symposium on June 5th and 6th. On June 6th at 3:30pm, I will give a presentation on the making of our work-in-progress video game, Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet. I promise to show lots of gameplay footage.

I will also be signing books and comics on June 5th in the artist alley section. For more info, check out the official website.

Hello folks, Michel Gagne here. I just wanted to let everyone know about my new blog about the on-going making of one of my big animated project.

Many months ago, a decision was reached by concensus by my partners at Fuelcell and I, that we would keep quiet about our videogame, Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet, until we get closer to our release date. Although, I was itching to release new footage and images, I held myself back and agreed to keep everything under wrap.

I’m happy to announce that we’ve decided to break our vow of silence and start sharing some of our work on-line to get people excited. As production progresses, I will share our triumphs and hardships, I will update with insights, videos and images at least a couple of times a month (hopefully more as time permits). I hope you’ll enjoy the ride. Read the blog at www.InsanelyTwistedShadowPlanet.com.

I was recently interviewed by Conch on his radio show “Words and Pictures”. I enjoyed meeting Conch, and learned to really respect radio personalities. They make it sound so effortless yet in reality it is an art in itself.

I’ve been hesitant about posting a link to the archived interview because I thought I made such a fool of myself. My friend Joe and my beloved wife Nancy convinced me otherwise. The beauty of editing has saved me from sounding like a total dork, I think. So here goes.

I’m excited about this year’s 2D or not 2D Animation Festival coming November 14 and 15 at the Seattle’s Pacific Science Center. The event is shaping up impressively with hours of newly animated films in 2D, 3D, Claymation and Cut-Out styles, from around the world. Several industry speakers will be showing their work and teaching some of their amazing techniques.

I was delighted to be asked to participate in the event. My talk is scheduled for Saturday (Nov 15) at 5:00pm. I’ll discuss the challenges involved in making our independent game, Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet; I’ll share details on my ambitious abstract animation project that will premiere in Vancouver in 2010; I’ll talk about my comic work including ZED and Flight’s The Saga of Rex and everything else I can squeeze into the allocated time. Check it out if you can!

My hometown of Bellingham, WA is having its second annual comic convention this Saturday, September 27th from 10am to 5pm. I’m inviting everyone who visits this blog and lives in the Pacific Northwest to come and check it out.

Last year, the convention took everyone by surprise by exceeding attendance expectations with people from Vancouver, Seattle and Portland, showing in numbers for the event.

I will have a table on the show floor and will be available to sign and chat. Although I will have all my books and comics on hand, I do not have any copies of Flight available. If you already own copies of Flight, bring them in and I’ll be happy to sign them and do a little doodle of Rex.

Bellcon 2008 will be located at: Whatcom Community College, 237 W. Kellogg Rd, Bellingham, WA 98226. Tickets for the full day are $7.00 for adults, $5.00 for kids under 12 and students with ID. Parking is free. There will be live music throughout the day and hourly drawings for cool stuff. Directions are available here.

Last July, I announced that Diamond had decided to no longer distribute my series ZED to comics retailers due to pre-orders falling below the 1500 copies minimum. This left me with no outlet to get ZED into stores. Since then, I’ve managed to strike a new distribution deal in order to make my cute sci-fi series available to retailers once again.

I’m happy to report that Haven Distributors, previously known as Cold Cut Distribution, a company that specializes in making independent comics available to comics store retailers, have added ZED, as well as all my other books, to their catalog.

I’m inviting retailers to take a look at the broad spectrum of indie titles Haven Distributors are offering. Diamond is fine for mainstream comics but can be ruthless for independents. We need alternative distribution for the indie scene and Haven can hopefully help fill that gap.

For the past four years, I’ve been doing illustrations for the ecologically friendly trading card game called, Xeko.

Trying to capture the awesomeness of nature’s most exquisite creatures has been a tough challenge, to say the least. Xeko has forced me to come out of my comfort zone and stretch my illustration abilities.

I’m delighted to be able to present some of this work in a new art book called, Wildlife from the Hotspots.

Click here for more info.

I finally wrapped up the ninth issue of my cute (and somewhat disturbing) sci-fi series, ZED. The books are back from our printer and available at our GAGNE International website. Check out an 8-page preview here.

On a sadder note, we’ve been informed by our distributor, Diamond Comics, that they will no longer carry ZED. This means that you won’t find ZED in comic stores anymore. If you’re a fan or a potential reader who wants your ZED fix, your options at this point are to order the book directly through our website; to catch me signing at a convention; or to encourage your local store to place an order with us.

Will this blow from our distributor discourage me from doing ZED? No way! I thrive on adversity. If there are only a few readers out there who enjoy ZED, that’s good enough for me.

Click here to find out more about ZED.