8/09/09 (LOS ANGELES) By Andy Grossberg

First of all, this is just a small part of the coverage we’re going to unspool about these guys in the coming weeks and months. They have just too much cool stuff going on and they have too many cool people working for them. So, completists keep checking back occasionally as we go along because specific show or person details won’t show up until the relevant reviews or interviews are done–and the overall profile might wait until a print issue of the mag hits.

Last week TRIPWIRE visited Titmouse, the animation studio behind everything from one of those “van tributes” and the psychedelic Total commercial to the online GI Joe Resolute cartoons with Hasbro to Cartoon Network’s death metal extravaganza Metalocalypse. But they’re also doing SO much more!

The company has expanded to add a games division stealing away Aaron Habibipour from the Guitar Hero games to work on their upcoming adventure Seven Haunted Seas. Additionally they’re doing the Black Panther cartoon series for BET, recently completed DJ and the Fro for MTV and just cut a 4-picture deal with Jeff Katz of Snakes on a Plane fame (OK, maybe that’s not fame per se but still).

Walking through the building you find it crammed to the gills with working animators:

They all had a Cintiq and many had headphones. They work directly in FLASH for the most part. Long gone are the days of hand drawn cels yet hand-drawing still goes on.

TRIPWIRE was informed that no animators were harmed in the making of this tour.

Even when posing for a picture instead of working the animators exude creativity.

TRIPWIRE also got to duck into the editing suite (ABOVE) to see Freddy Cristy and Metalocalypse director Jon Schnepp in motion, hard at work on an episode that will air in December 2009.

BELOW are Production Manager Ben Kalina and Sales and Marketing VP Sam Schoemann.

Ben was the one who suggested we talk to Titmouse over Indian food and great conversation at the 2009 San Diego Comic Con. He was not kidding about the explosion of creativity at this company. Meanwhile Sam was the man that guided the office tour before we sat down to talk turkey about the new directions (and there are many) that the company is taking.

It was an exhaustive tour over an exhausting several hours. TRIPWIRE spoke with a bunch of people there and did a lengthy interview (more later!) with VP and Creative Producer Keith Fay, newly minted Creative Director Aaron Habibipour and of course Sam who made all of it happen for us. We even got a few minutes with (co-)founder Shannon Prynoski!

The place is just hopping with creative energy and enthusiasm much of which TRIPWIRE will be sharing with you in the coming weeks ahead.