CATDOLL:COCOMIX 2D Studio: Make it easy to be a cartoonist in China!

CATDOLL:COCOMIX 2D Studio: Make it easy to be a cartoonist in China!

Dear, do you know there is a profession called cartoonist? If you ask a cartoonist or a newcomer who wants to enter the cartoon industry: Do you have a career plan as a cartoonist? Most people will just look at you blankly. Cartoonists are hardly considered a regular profession. To quote a sentence from "Dream Eaters", "Drawing cartoons is a gamble."

Yes, this is the dilemma of Chinese cartoonists. These creators who have dreams in their hearts know very little about the professional status of "cartoonists", which has caused many obstacles for Chinese people on the road of comic creation.

However, what troubles domestic comics creators is not just the lack of professionalization of the profession of "cartoonist". Due to the nature of the work, cartoonists basically "create alone". In the absence of a perfect system, there is no clear entry guide on how to become a cartoonist. The lack of important links in the career development path has delayed the evolution of cartoonists, and there is no real and visible guarantee for the operating standards and income after the comics are formed... The imperfection and opacity of the comic creation industry form a helpless contrast with the enthusiasm of comic creators, but what makes comic creators more entangled is the game between their own works and commercialization. As an artistic creation, comics undoubtedly require a strong personal style and ability, but in today's commercialization and industrialization of animation content, comic creation must join hands with business, and comic creators form teams to improve efficiency, which is also a major trend in domestic comic creation.

I believe that many comics creators are aware of the above-mentioned practical problems, but there are limits to what individuals can solve. For Chinese comics creation, someone needs to step forward and build a bridge for cartoonists to connect to the future... The establishment of the COCOMIX two-dimensional studio platform is to build this bridge specifically for cartoonists.


Group photo of the signing team of COCOMIX Extreme Comics Planning Competition

What is COCOMIX

COCOMIX is a website specially built for studios and animation creators, a two-dimensional studio platform. Using the Internet, which is now used by most people, COCOMIX effectively shortens the distance between individual comic creators, allowing comic creators in different places to fight for the same dream in an online studio. In order to serve the needs of creators in the creative process, COCOMIX two-dimensional studio platform provides a free studio creation function. Creators can set up studios online on the platform and wait for partners with common aspirations to come!

This platform serving comics creators is named "COCOMIX": CO stands for cooperation, and COMIX is a combination of comics and mix, which represents the flourishing comic creation. It implies transcending geographical restrictions, integrating different styles, and working together to create a flourishing animation dimension. As the name implies, we hope that through the COCOMIX two-dimensional studio platform, everyone can freely form their own studio through the Internet, and different studios can also form a circle of creators, where everyone can exchange and collide with sparks of inspiration, learn from each other, and even cross-border cooperation... There are endless possibilities in the future!


COCOMIX Second Dimension Studio Platform Website

What problems can COCOMIX solve for authors?

Its main mission is to provide a place for two-dimensional studios to communicate with each other, learn and grow, and to provide incubation, support, resource docking and other services for animation IP. In response to the many problems faced by domestic individual cartoonists when creating, COCOMIX two-dimensional studio platform is like a competition between masters, responding to each move:

What if you are good at drawing but can’t come up with a story? Or what if you can only write but can’t draw?

COCOMIX 2D Studio Platform provides a place for creators to get to know each other and helps creators create their own online studios for free. Every creator can initiate original projects, publish recruitment needs, or join a studio team with common aspirations through the platform. Being able to draw but not being able to tell stories is a gap that most illustrators and cartoonists cannot cross before. Drawing ability is a necessary condition for illustrators, but storytelling ability is a necessary condition for cartoonists. Instead of spending energy on improving skills that you are not good at, why not find a suitable creative partner? COCOMIX platform is a dating platform for creative partners. Find or be found. COCOMIX is working hard to create such a fate and lower the threshold for animation creation. In fact, among the winners of the first "Extreme Comics 8 Hours" comic creation hosted by COCOMIX 2D Studio Platform, there are teams formed through the platform. COCOMIX 2D Studio Platform's ability to pull the "red line" is extraordinary! Individual creators will find like-minded people in the communication area within the platform.

I have good works but don't know where to submit them. If my submission is not accepted, how should I improve it?

——The official website of COCOMIX 2D Studio Platform, "www.cocomix.cn", provides not only a platform for comics to be exposed, but also a place where creators can communicate with each other, learn and grow. Through COCOMIX 2D Online Creation Studio, creators can participate in the creation competitions regularly held by the official COCOMIX 2D Studio Platform, such as "Extreme Comics 8 Hours" and "Extreme Comics OL", and get the opportunity to receive comments and guidance from judges and industry experts. In addition, COCOMIX 2D Studio Platform also held the "COCOMIX#Dimensional Saying#Sharing Session", which held three sessions from March 19 to April 9, 2016. Industry insiders and guests shared their comic creation experiences with the creators in attendance with sharp language and unique perspectives.

Do you just want to focus on drawing comics and make your works go further?

——COCOMIX two-dimensional studio platform spares no expense in incubating outstanding works in the competition, allowing animation and business to be more closely connected and providing more opportunities for comic studios. From April 16 to 24, 2016, the first "Extreme Comics 8 Hours" comic creation competition hosted by the COCOMIX 2D Studio platform went through layers of selection, and finally three comic studios: Noah's Ark Studio (later renamed "Black Field Studio"), Gugao Salted Fish Studio, and Hongzhang Studio won the top three places in the competition respectively [1][2]. The winners of these competitions received a maximum incubation fund of 100,000 yuan and a cash prize of 20,000 yuan; on June 5 of the same year, the first "Extreme Comics OL" comic project online competition hosted by the COCOMIX 2D Studio platform came to a successful conclusion. The four comic projects "Hell Express", "Gun Fighting King", "I Kidnapped the Miss?!" and "Xiao Kong in the Bottom Road" won the maximum incubation bonus of 100,000 yuan and a cash prize of 10,000 yuan provided by the platform... The subsequent incubation, support, resource docking and other services of these award-winning works will also be tracked and supported by the COCOMIX 2D Studio platform.


No. 1 in Extreme Comics 8 Hours Noah's Ark Studio (now renamed Black Field Studio)

In addition to the competitions mentioned above, creators can also participate in COCOMIX's online comics planning competition by submitting their works. The platform will select excellent works for incubation on a weekly/monthly basis and provide special incubation funds to support the development of authors. Excellent works incubated by the platform will be directly negotiated with investment companies for project financing by the platform, and will be used as a fulcrum for various IP expansions such as animation and gamification. The prospects of the works are definitely worth looking forward to!

Will COCOMIX be the next “You Yao Qi”?

YouYaoQi is indeed a successful case of UGC comic creation. It pioneered a comic creation model in China that is different from magazine submissions. As a comic creation platform, COCOMIX will inevitably be asked this question: What is the difference between you and YouYaoQi?

In fact, although both COCOMIX and YouYaoQi are comic creation platforms, their development path will be completely different: YouYaoQi is a bit like the comic version of Qidian Chinese Network in some ways, accommodating a large number of works and handing them over to fans, letting the market make the choice. COCOMIX does not intend to be a large and comprehensive comic reading platform. COCOMIX will focus its greatest efforts on serving comic creators. How to better help comic creators on the road of comic creation, reduce their burden, and let them fly lighter on the journey of comic creation is the focus of COCOMIX's work - in this regard, COCOMIX adheres to the concept of "people (comic creators) first".

COCOMIX=Extreme Comic Planning Competition?

The COCOMIX two-dimensional studio platform website and its series of activities have attracted the attention and praise of the domestic comic creation community since their launch, and have also received strong support from senior people in various sectors of the industry.

Well-known cartoonist Yu Yanshu said: "(The Extreme Comics Competition) can get some cooperation that people could not get before, which makes it easier to create better stories."

Xiao Fan, the editor-in-chief of Manman APP, also believes that: "(Extreme Comics Competition) can stimulate their (creators') potential."

Zhu Qing, the art director of "The Return of the Great Sage", said that COCOMIX's studio model will be of great help to the animation industry, "because it is difficult to integrate resources now. If someone does this, then the integration of resources will be just around the corner."

Mr. He Gu, a well-known Hong Kong writer and screenwriter, said: "This (COCOMIX) is the hope for the future of the Chinese comics industry."

Chuangfeng Capital said that they will set up a special IP incubation fund to support the COCOMIX platform to incubate works and organize various channel resources to create a new industrial ecology...

But COCOMIX is definitely not just a platform for holding competitions. According to real active users of the platform, after they released their own plans, they continued to receive signing invitations from various comic platforms such as Kuaikan Comics and Komiku, even if they did not participate in the competition. This is where excellent creators gather, and naturally it is also a stage for excellent plans to shine.

The original intention of the COCOMIX founding team

Jonny Huang Yuezhong, founder and CEO of COCOMIX platform, is a serial entrepreneur born in the 1980s and is currently the chairman of Sheepet Shuchong Doll, a Chinese original high-end doll brand. As a "comic fan", Jonny, who has been paying attention to the development of Chinese comics, said that domestic comic creation has now entered a critical period. The market has invisibly suppressed the creators' performance. It is time to improve the environment of China's animation industry. It just so happens that the two-dimensional industry is favored by the capital market at this point, presenting a thriving and flourishing situation. He hopes to establish a new model of collaborative creation of animation content studios through the COCOMIX platform.


Jonny Huang Yuezhong, founder of COCOMIX 2D Studio

Talking about the founding of COCOMIX, he said: "Our current team first got together at the end of 2014, and everyone wanted to do something for the animation industry. Initially, we wanted to start an animation content business through the Internet, but we soon discovered that China's animation industry is really imperfect, and there are many industries in the industry chain that are broken or unconnected. If we want China's animation industry to develop rapidly, there must be a platform to integrate content and commercialization. Before launching a content, Japanese animation companies start with planning, test the market through planning, analyze the market and connect with the commercialization part in advance, such as communication channels, derivative companies, sales channels, etc."

"After a period of exploration, we established Mengying Animation in 2015 and developed the COCOMIX two-dimensional studio platform in a very short time. In April 2016, we launched the internal beta version of the cocomix.cn website. At the same time, we successfully held the first season of the Extreme Comics 8-hour live comic planning competition in Guangzhou. We use Internet thinking to continuously iterate and evolve in the process of user use." "In early 2016, Mengying Animation participated in the Dashang Roadshow and won the second place. It received an angel round investment of 5 million from Chuangfeng Capital. At present, the A round has been invested by several interested investment institutions. Chinese animation still has great development potential. We hope that more young people will create Chinese comics. The platform will fully support Chinese original animation. The vision of the COCOMIX two-dimensional studio platform is to make it easy for Chinese cartoonists. Our friends are full of confidence in the future. Please look forward to our performance!"

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