Have you ever dreamed of animating an epic, sci-fi fantasy adventure? We're looking for talented animators or animation teams to create an original animated short film based on The Last Lumenian, a thrilling sci-fi book series filled with magic and adventure.
Step into a universe where friends become family, the unexpected turns into adventure, and courage is forged in the face of impossible odds. The Last Lumenian is an award winning sci-fi fantasy adventure that follows Lilla, a determined princess turned rebel, as she navigates a war-torn galaxy, learning to trust those by her side and embrace the strength that comes from working together. With magic, epic battles, and daring escapes, she and her team must stand against a rising darkness before it’s too late. Fans have been captivated by this cinematic story, and now we are bringing it to life as an action-packed animated short film. We need your help to make it happen. Join us in bringing this world to life!
Groundbreaking writer, S.G. Blaise, has partnered with the Tongal community in a recent concept project where creators elaborated upon three potential storylines to be developed into this short film. We are envisioning high-fidelity drawn 2D animation, but are open to other forms of animation especially if you have a dynamic and novel visual style that catches the eye. Your animation should not delve too far into comedy styles, such as Bob's Burgers or Family Guy, nor the uncanny valley seen in old videogames. Be sure to check out the Background section for a background on the locations and characters of The Last Lumenian as well as animation styles that resonate with Lilac Grove below. Your animation will be adapted from a detailed story outline provided by S.G. Blaise and should be up to five minutes. While we can't yet share what the eventual concept will be, the aim is to limit the scope to 3 locations and 5 characters.
Because the story will be defined by S.G. Blaise, and inspired by the Tongal community, you will not need to pitch a creative take. Instead your pitches should clearly depict how you envision adapting the world of The Last Lumenian visually into an entertaining animated short. You'll also want to showcase your abilities, work process, and how you'll be able to work collaboratively with S.G. Blaise in adapting this Tongal community inspired story into a great screenplay you can animate from. You will also be responsible for casting and recording up to 5 characters for your animation, so it would also be a good idea to outline your recording solution and to come with a good voice director in your pitch. To generate excitement for the film throughout the production you will also create a few promotional assets. Please consult the deliverables, and timeline, below. This project is an incredible opportunity for a talented animation team to showcase their style and creativity, while inspiring viewers to embark on their own adventure of the seven galaxies.
DELIVERABLES: There are 5 total video assets and 1 static asset art preview deck.
EXPECTED TIMELINE: HERE
INSPIRATION ANIMATION STYLES: HERE
EXPOSURE: We expect content will be used on the platforms below, but if casting talent, be sure they review our required Talent Release before they're cast, as it is NOT limited to these platforms. You should also review our Music providers in the Project Requirements, as well as the platform best practices.
TARGET AUDIENCE: Lovers of entertaining and complex sci-fi and fantasy adventures.
TONE/FEEL: Intriguing, Magical, Adventurous, Action-Packed
By participating in this project, creators acknowledge that the Sponsor is under no obligation to greenlight a submission. Though most projects do move forward, we'll notify you in the event the Sponsor decides not to fund any submissions via the Project Forum. Regardless of the result, all submissions will be reviewed and evaluated by the Sponsor and project team.
STORY SUMMARY
The Last Lumenian Book 1 Overview:
Lilla is a rebel fighting for the refugees's freedom from oppression. The king, her father, lost touch with reality ever since Lilla's mother died. Now everyone else is paying the price.
The arrival of Callum, a powerful Teryn general, complicates Lilla's life. His presence leads to conflicted feelings and friction with Arrov, a handsome pilot and fellow rebel.
Her life is not what she imagined it to be. Not by far. Meddling gods, love interests and sudden magical abilities have no room in Lilla's world, but that has become her new reality. No matter how hard she pushes them away, it's too late. They all seek to control her anyway.
Now the Era War between two ruling archgods forces Lilla to act: accept who she really is, magic and all; find true love; fulfill her destiny by defeating the Archgod of Chaos and Destruction before He finds her. The Last Lumenian.
KEY CHARACTER BIOGRAPHIES
Prince Arrov, Son Of Queen Amra
Quote: “There shouldn’t be asteroids here.”
Description: Prince Arrov, standing at an impressive 7 feet tall, has midnight blue hair and eyes, blue skin, and wields a distinctive three-tiered a’ice crossbow. Born in Galaxy Five of A’ice (Galaxy Date: 35,874), he is the seventh son of Queen Amra and a skilled pilot. Despite a happy childhood, competing with six older brothers led to many dangerous adventures, fueling his lifelong craving for excitement. At the age of 24, his quest for adventure led him to join the Uhnan rebels, where he crossed paths with Lilla.
Prince Amhalf, Oldest son of Queen Amra, brother of Arrov
Quote: “What the A’ice Giant’s ass is this?!”
Description: Prince Amhalf, age 36–who is four inches taller (7’4”) than his youngest brother Arrov–is the oldest of the seven sons of Queen Amra of A’ice. He has midnight blue hair and eyes, blue skin, and used to wield a distinctive three-tiered a’ice crossbow, nowadays he prefers halberds, the heavier the better. He is the heir to the throne and often the burden of that responsibility leads him to make risky decisions that end up complicating his and his siblings’ lives. Luckily, he has a good heart that would stop him from crossing lines. He might be overly arrogant, overbearing, overconfident, and overly boastful but he is a kind person deep down. Very, very, deep down.
Ma’hana Lilla Of Serrain
Quote: “Buckets of Fishguts!”
Description: Lilla is a 19-year-old rebel in disguise, standing at 5’5” with long dark violet hair and matching dark violet eyes. Born in Uhna (Galaxy Date: 35,879), she follows a promise made to her mother, Eilish, and joins the rebellion, driven by her unwavering belief in protecting those who cannot protect themselves. Choosing the side of light in the Era War, Lilla rises to become the right hand and general to the Archgoddess of Eternal Light and Order.
Lumenian Eilish
Quote: “Everything will be fine.”
Description: She was a 500-year-old (Galaxy Date 35,398) Lumenian and mother of Lilla with long dark violet hair and matching dark violet eye. She left the Lume World without the permission of the Archgoddess of the Eternal Light and Order. She ended up on Uhna, but never married the king, Lilla’s father.
Healer Amator (Hero of Hallow Healer)
Quote: “Hear me beg for your help.”
Description: Healer Amator is a tall (6’2”), lanky man in his late twenties. He was a father and husband. He was an adequate healer to his village, Mator. (His name means Healer of the Village Mator as healers lose their given names at a very young age when they begin the apprenticeship to a healer. The reason behind it is to showcase how vital the healers are to the community. No one is allowed to call him his given name, and he has already forgotten it to his chagrin.) He has dark brown hair and matching eyes. His usual outfit is a loose white shirt and pants, tied with rolled fabric that holds many of his potions and dried herbs.
LOCATION/SETTING SUMMARIES
The Seven Galaxies
It consists of seven galaxies, named Galaxy One all the way to Galaxy Seven. There are many secrets hidden in the Seven Galaxies. Each galaxy is vast with numerous solar systems populated by all kinds of monarchies, coalitions, etc. Uhna, A’ice and the Cave are all located in Galaxy Five. Village Mator is located in Galaxy One, the birth place of the archgod.
A’ice
Part of the Pax Septum Coalition, it is a world where winter rules most of the time. It has snow-covered mountains, tundras, pine forests and quaint villages with log houses. Its inhabitants are tall and lanky. They have light-blue skin tone and dark blue or black hair with matching eyes.
The Cave
It is an interconnected, semi-dark cavern with various sizes of caves. There are many twisting tunnels full of stalactite and stalagmite and other rock formations. There is a bottomless lake in the middle of it, where a humongous A’ice Cave Carpa lives (long, black body with sharp scales, head is a mix of alligator and shark with two tentacles; the head is at least six feet long.) The color scheme is mostly dark grey, dark brown with snow thrown in. There can be shafts of light visible. It is really cold inside. Many things are already frozen like trapped animals, hunters, and their weaponry that’s left behind.
Village Mator
It is where Healer Amator lives and spends most of his time. The village is in an early stage of development. They have log houses with straw roofs. They keep their grazing animals in corrals between houses. They do their farming outside. They also have root vegetables, herb gardens and even the beginning of an orchard. The village is settled on a plain. In the not too far distance there are hills, mountains, forests, and rivers. It is an ideal location for a community to grow and progress with everything they need close by.
Uhna
Two suns’ light shine down on an oceanic world, peppered with islands in varying sizes. Its weather is tropical but still has mild to moderate winter that can last for 7 months. The ocean is called Fyoon Ocean. The island, where the famous Crystal Palace and home to Lilla can be found is called Fye Island. On it, there is the Piercing Mountains into which the palace is carved into. The mountain got its name from its unforgiving and sharp peaks. On Fye Island, there is also a village Lilla likes to visit. The refugee camp where Lilla spends her time, is located in Olde Capital City. The islands are mostly tropical with palm trees and sandy beaches.
In order to be considered, include the below materials in your submission. For examples of effective pitches, check out this gallery. All Pitches remain private, even after a Pitch is selected, and Tongal strives to have Pitch selections made by the end of the Evaluation period, but additional time may be required by the Sponsor, depending on any number of factors.
The most compelling pitch will be greenlit by the Sponsor, and the responsible creator will then receive an email from Tongal producers detailing next steps. All submitters will also receive an automated email notification that a selection has been announced. To ensure you’re receiving project updates, review your email settings to check that you haven’t unsubscribed.
Creators who’ve been selected will receive funding upon completing the Winner Affidavit and the IP Assignment. Payment of the pitch funds is subject to a payment schedule determined by Tongal, typically included with the project timeline.
PRE-PRODUCTION REQUIREMENTS: Prior to the commencement of actual production, creators MUST receive final approval from the Sponsor on the elements below. There may be multiple rounds of feedback until an element is approved.
If you begin production before you have received final approval, you may need to reshoot or reanimate at your own expense.
For convenience, we've provided some helpful templates that you can consider using for pre-production materials, and they can all be accessed here.
BUILDING YOUR TEAM: Looking for help? Post crew and production opportunities connected to Tongal projects on Backlot. Backlot includes search tools to help you find collaborators and crew by role, skill set, location, and more, for productions of any size and type. Tongal also supports inclusivity in all productions, and strongly encourages you to hire diverse talent for your team. To find additional options for staff & crew in your area, check out these resources and partners.
REVISION REQUIREMENTS & RESOURCES: Once Content has been submitted and the initial Production Phase completed, greenlit creators will enter into Revisions. Creators will perform reasonable edits on their videos according to the Sponsor's feedback. Check out our Filmmaker Resource Portal to access helpful post-production resources like Text-Safe Guides for different platforms, Project File Organization Tutorial, Export Presets, and Captioning services.
MUSIC: If you use music from a library for your content, you MUST use one of Tongal's music providers: Jingle Punks and Universal Production Music. Music from these providers is available to registered Tongal members at no charge solely for their incorporation into submissions to this project, and will not require a Music Release Form. To learn more, click on any of the providers' names above.
If you choose to use original music, you must fill out and submit our Music Release Form. Please ensure your composer reviews and signs this form BEFORE beginning their work.
STOCK FOOTAGE: Tongal has partnered with the stock footage library STORYBLOCKS, which can be used to source video clips, photography, and After Effects templates for your video submission to this project. Video or photo content from Storyblocks is available at no charge, solely for incorporation into submissions on this project, and will not require a separate Release Form. If identifiable people or intellectual property appears in a video clip or photo, you may only utilize assets that are clearly marked “Model released: Yes” or “Property release: Yes” on the clip description pages. You may not use any audio.
If you intend to use Storyblocks, inform your Tongal producer, and an account will be created for you to access the library. Once assets are approved for delivery, you must provide a complete list of all Storyblocks content that you used via our template HERE.
ASSET DELIVERY REQUIREMENTS & RESOURCES: You must also provide all project files, editing sequences and a 1080p .mov master file, using a ProRes, Animation, or Uncompressed Codec in order to submit final payment. You are responsible for any costs associated with the hard drive and shipping. Tongal also reserves the right to request all raw files associated with the project.
To ensure a smoother delivery, please review the Export Presets, Specifications, and Project File Organization Tutorial in our Filmmaker Resource Portal.