Sheridan animation graduates win Emmy Award for children's program

Three Sheridan animation alumni have received the Daytime Creative Arts Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Animated Program for Niko and the Sword of Light.  The 43^rd Annual Daytime Creative Arts Emmy Awards honouring the craft behind American daytime television programming were held on April 29 in Los Angeles.

Jim Bryson, Bobby Chiu and Adam Jeffcoat were recognized for their roles as creators and executive producers of the 22-minute pilot episode of Niko and the Sword of Light produced by Amazon Studios and Titmouse Animation Studio. The award-winning pilot is based on an animated comic by StudioNX Animation and Imaginism Studios and tells the story of ten-year-old Niko who embarks on an epic quest with his magic sword to bring light back to his land.

Jeffcoat and Bryson, both 2001 graduates, are directors and founders of StudioNX which has locations in Toronto and London, England. StudioNX is a 2D animation studio specializing in character animation, story development, concept and design. Chiu founded Imaginism Studios in 2005 with former Sheridan animation classmate, Kei Acedera. Chiu is also the creative director of the Toronto-based studio which focuses on pre-production character and concept design for film, TV, gaming and publishing. He holds diplomas in classical animation (2002) and computer animation (post-graduate, 2004), as well as a certificate in art fundamentals (1999).

Bryson was particularly excited to receive the award so early in the development of the series, said “We are still working on season 1, so it was a real shock to win an Emmy Award before the first season is even complete. We hope this success bodes well for the future of the series.”

Jeffcoat and Bryson are also gratified to see such top-tier recognition for StudioNX, which they founded in 2003. “We have a passion for strong design and visual storytelling and remain committed to maintaining our unique 2d style through our independent studio. That is why it's so important to create personal projects such as Niko, as well as paying client work, as it’s the personal work that tends to get you noticed,” said Jeffcoat, who runs the London studio.

“Adam and I started StudioNX soon after graduating from Sheridan because we wanted to make our own animated shorts and films,” added Bryson, who moved to London in 2006 with Jeffcoat to work on original animation projects, as well as those with high-profile companies like Nickelodeon, Disney and the CBBC (the BBC’s children’s programming arm), among others. Since then, StudioNX’s roster of clients has grown to include companies from around the world.

Jeffcoat and Bryson still devote time and talent to creating original content such as video games and comics, but they remain focused on the Niko series, providing production support as well as all the character designs.  Check out Bryson’s sketches here.

To watch the Niko and the Sword of Light trailer, click here.

Learn more about Sheridan’s Bachelor of Animation and Bachelor of Game Design programs.

Pictured top right: Adam Jeffcoat