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Well, it's been a while since we first talked about the French Shah Nameh animation project, undertaken by Cyrus Productions. I was checking their site and noticed that there is now a pilot up. It looks quite amazing. I contacted them to ask about the status of the project, but unfortunately - like last time - there was no response from them. Maybe it's because I don't speak French!

In any case, here is the video pilot (click here if the popup doesn't work), and some nice new stills.

I certainly hope the project isn't dead.

Watch the Shâh Nâmeh Pilot

I just discovered this. It's an Iranian game in development called Garshasp. Here's an exceprt from the developer blog:

Garshasp is an upcoming 3D action adventure game based on Persian Mythology. The story revolves around the hero Garshasp, whose stories can be found in ancient mythological texts.

There are some highly talented people working in the video game industry in Iran, mostly in independent studios and with very little funding. Their talent clearly comes through in these concept art and early models, all taken from the developer blog.

Mehdi Shiri is a 20-year-old illustrator, character designer, and a background artist from Hamedan, Iran.
He is one of the many talented emerging artists in Iran who are all part of a great generation that is reviving the art scene there. His blog features some of his great work, so definitely check it out.

Today I accidentally came across yet another Persian-inspired animation project. The Fire of Love is a 2D animation series based on Rumi's poems. The project (apparently initiated by the London Academy of Iranian Studies) has a small website with a section that looks like a preliminary proposal/pitch for the series, as well as a nice little test movie. The animation looks disney-esque, and I do like the character models.
This is definitely a project I will be closely following with great interest.

I recently found out about a fantastic project called the Shah Nameh (thanks to reader Sepehr) and I was very impressed by the undertaking.

Originally, the Shah Nameh or the "Book of Kings" is a 10th century epic poem written by Iranian poet Ferdosi, narrating stories of ancient Persian heroes and myths.

Project Shah Nameh, as its press release states "consists of a succession of four feature length films based on the original text by Ferdosi."

The man behind this project is Mehrdad Mojir-Shirazi, and Iranian raised in France who is self-admittedly getting in touch with his own heritage and aims to "revive a part of the Persian legacy along with its culture, lifestyle, and mysteries."

From the teaser it is apparent that the project is a mix of 3D animation with more traditional illustration techniques.

I'm digging the environment and background art. The character concept sketches also look wonderful, and I feel that a lot of their charm is lost in the 3D modelling.

Regardless, with a Persian director in charge, I feel a great deal of satisfaction in that we are finally in charge of telling our stories ourselves, allowing us to maintain historical and cultural accuracy. From the director's statement, it is apparent that his goal is to remain "faithful to the historical merits of the narrative and the Persian cultural identity (notably in terms of clothing and architecture)".

I can't wait to hear more about this and hopefully see the whole thing come out. Meanwhile, I have included some of the concept art here. To see the rest, check out the project's website.

You haven't lived until you've seen Ramin Rahimi's flash doodles. Many of us in the Persian webosphere have seen his cute 7-sin animation at one point or the other, usually through other websites that link to it. What most of us probably haven't seen is his other delicious doodles like the beautifully retro 7-sin 2 trailer, stylishly grotesque sensitivity, and the amazingly cinematic demo clips (one and two) for "the horrible story of a painter's death".

Seriously, check them out.

It's a huge shame that none of the image galleries on his website work. I would love to see more of his art.