Bullseye Art
Encyclopedia
Bullseye Art was a New York City based art collective that pioneered art and animation on the web. Founded in 1995 by Josh Kimberg, Nick Cogan and Ryan Edwards, the company gained fame for its creation of unique and offbeat interactive cartoon
s made using Macromedia Flash.
Bullseye Art became well known for its humour with such cartoons as Porkchops, which portrayed a talking donkey in surrealistic
situations, and Miss Muffy and the Muff Mob, about a band of rapping muffin-headed girls. A dragon named Hooptie-Goo often appeared as a mascot during the opening or closing credits. Other multi-episode cartoons included Internet – The Animated Series, Rat Chicken, Space Dog, Makin' Moves and The Rhino and Nutmeg Show.
The company was commissioned to do several high profile cartoon segments, the most notable of which was the opening titles for the Rosie O'Donnell Show, for which they were nominated for two Emmy Awards. The animated opening was the first work of Flash Animation to appear on television. They also created the music videos First Tube and You Enjoy Myself
for the rock band Phish
.
Bullseye Art maintained a free entertainment portal featuring many of the first community features that are now standard on the internet. Revenue was driven by licensing their cartoons to third party sites (Atom Films
, Shockwave.com, HBO's Volume.com, Razorfish) and from commercial animation (Icebox.com
, Kenny the Shark
). Bullseye Art shut its doors in 2003 and the founders started a production company named Raw Power. During this period (2003–2004), the majority of the cartoons were unavailable.
In 2005, Josh Kimberg launched the cartoons under the new name Magic Butter. While initially a pay site, MagicButter.com now freely displays all of the old content along with new cartoons, T-shirts for sale, and free downloads such as MP3s, desktop wallpapers, and icons.
Cartoon
A cartoon is a form of two-dimensional illustrated visual art. While the specific definition has changed over time, modern usage refers to a typically non-realistic or semi-realistic drawing or painting intended for satire, caricature, or humor, or to the artistic style of such works...
s made using Macromedia Flash.
Bullseye Art became well known for its humour with such cartoons as Porkchops, which portrayed a talking donkey in surrealistic
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
situations, and Miss Muffy and the Muff Mob, about a band of rapping muffin-headed girls. A dragon named Hooptie-Goo often appeared as a mascot during the opening or closing credits. Other multi-episode cartoons included Internet – The Animated Series, Rat Chicken, Space Dog, Makin' Moves and The Rhino and Nutmeg Show.
The company was commissioned to do several high profile cartoon segments, the most notable of which was the opening titles for the Rosie O'Donnell Show, for which they were nominated for two Emmy Awards. The animated opening was the first work of Flash Animation to appear on television. They also created the music videos First Tube and You Enjoy Myself
You Enjoy Myself
You Enjoy Myself, commonly abbreviated to "YEM" is a Phish song written by Trey Anastasio. It is the band's most frequently played song, having been featured —as of August 2011— at about 36% of their 1,496 shows. The song is also one of the oldest in Phish's catalog, having been first performed...
for the rock band Phish
Phish
Phish is an American rock band noted for its musical improvisation, extended jams, and exploration of music across genres. Formed at the University of Vermont in 1983 , the band's four members – Trey Anastasio , Mike Gordon , Jon Fishman , and Page McConnell Phish is an American rock band...
.
Bullseye Art maintained a free entertainment portal featuring many of the first community features that are now standard on the internet. Revenue was driven by licensing their cartoons to third party sites (Atom Films
Atom Films
Atom.com is a broadband entertainment network offering original short subject films, animations, and series by independent creators...
, Shockwave.com, HBO's Volume.com, Razorfish) and from commercial animation (Icebox.com
Icebox.com
icebox.com is a web television animation company founded in 1999 by Jonathan Collier, Howard Gordon, Rob LaZebnik, Scott Rupp and Tal Vigderson. The founders stated that the company was created to capitalize on the inherent "freedom of the medium" which they felt stifled creativity of writers due...
, Kenny the Shark
Kenny the Shark
Kenny the Shark is an animated television series produced by Discovery Kids. The show first aired on NBC's Discovery Kids on NBC from November 1, 2003 until February 18, 2006 with two seasons and 26 episodes having been shown. The series continued to run on Discovery Kids until the network changed...
). Bullseye Art shut its doors in 2003 and the founders started a production company named Raw Power. During this period (2003–2004), the majority of the cartoons were unavailable.
In 2005, Josh Kimberg launched the cartoons under the new name Magic Butter. While initially a pay site, MagicButter.com now freely displays all of the old content along with new cartoons, T-shirts for sale, and free downloads such as MP3s, desktop wallpapers, and icons.