Steve Rolston

Last Kids on Earth: Happy Apocalypse to You

steverolston — Thu, 15 Apr 2021 08:24:59 +0000

Netflix has released the interactive Last Kids on Earth episode we made at Atomic Cartoons! Go play it! You’ll be able to control which choices the kids make on their adventure. Here’s a trailer:

This was a complex behemoth to produce. With all the different paths to this branching narrative, it was the equivalent of creating 3 episodes of content. With a lot of brainpower spent making sure all the different sections hooked up properly and made sense. Thanks to everyone on the team who helped pull it off! It was all hands on deck, including all 3 lines of storyboard artists and all 4 lines of animators. Scripts by Jennifer Muro, Haley Mancini and our benevolent showrunner Scott Peterson. Musical score by Marcelo Trevino. And just so much more talented crew.

Director Showreel

steverolston — Fri, 26 Feb 2021 08:40:14 +0000

I cut together a showreel of some of my directorial work at Atomic Cartoons. Featuring scenes from The Last Kids on Earth, Minecraft Mini Series and the Atomic Holiday Card. Enjoy!

Atomic Holiday Card

steverolston — Fri, 18 Dec 2020 14:44:43 +0000

This year the studio I work at decided to create an animated short to act as our holiday card. And I got the opportunity to write, storyboard and direct it. The whole team did an amazing job drawing, building, animating, composing and putting the magical touches on this piece. I hope you enjoy it. Best wishes from Atomic Cartoons!

Last Kids on Earth: Book 3 Trailer

steverolston — Sat, 03 Oct 2020 15:16:54 +0000

Netflix has released a trailer for the new season of Last Kids on Earth. These 10 new episodes are packed with more post-apocalyptic adventures for Jack, June, Quint, Dirk and all their monster friends.

You can also check out an article on Collider.com. The new episodes will be available on Netflix on October 16th.

Last Kids on Earth wins Emmy & Leo Awards

steverolston — Wed, 29 Jul 2020 22:20:03 +0000

That’s right, the Last Kids on Earth special from 2019 (aka Book One) has won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Class Animated Program! We also won Leo Awards for Best Animated Program, Best Musical Score, Best Direction and Best Art Direction. There wasn’t a category for Best Storyboard Direction but I feel pretty honoured nonetheless. The team did a great job and truly earned these awards.

Last Kids on Earth: Book Two on Netflix

steverolston — Fri, 01 May 2020 16:07:38 +0000

The Last Kids on Earth series on Netflix started with a 67-minute special last year and now there are 10 new 22-minute episodes available for your viewing pleasure! Based on Book 2 of the illustrated book series by Max Brallier & Doug Holgate, these new episodes delve even deeper into the post-apocalypse and all the monsters Jack, Quint, June and Dirk encounter.

This season is also where I took over as series director, in addition to having been storyboard director. It’s been awesome working with each department to create this beast of a shot. Go check it out!

Last Kids on Earth Trailer

steverolston — Sun, 08 Sep 2019 08:05:55 +0000

Netflix has released a trailer for the LAST KIDS ON EARTH special that will be premiering on Sept 17th. I was storyboard director on this special and I’m now directing the series that will follow. It’s based on the popular series of kids books by Max Brailier and Doug Holgate. It’s a fun show and I think kids are going to dig it. Take a look at all the hard work from our crew at Atomic Cartoons!

Enamel Pins and Stickers!

steverolston — Sat, 03 Aug 2019 13:44:58 +0000

I just made some nice backing cards for my Japanese Payphone enamel pins and have updated my Etsy Shop with both the pins and some vinyl stickers. Head over there if you’re interested in owning any of those or my little comic book about Japanese Vending Machines.

A Little Book About Japanese Vending Machines

steverolston — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 21:24:25 +0000

Back in the spring, my girlfriend Sabina and I took a trip to Japan. We had a great time and it was interesting to see firsthand the differences between North American and Japanese culture, both big and small. One of the small differences that most caught my attention was their affinity for vending machines.

So when I got home I drew a cute little illustrated book/comic/zine about the vending machines I saw during our trip to Japan. I printed a small run just in time for the Vancouver Comic Arts Festival. I’ve since re-printed it and you can order a copy from my Etsy Shop.

Join me and Sabina (drawn as a dog and a cat) as we explore the various drinks and mysteries to be found in Japanese vending machines.

If you don’t want the paper & staples version, you can order a digital PDF of the book via Gumroad.

Last Kids on Earth the Animated Series

steverolston — Sun, 14 Oct 2018 20:46:32 +0000

In case anyone’s curious what I’m up to these days… Since April 2018 I’ve been working as Storyboard Director at Atomic Cartoons on an upcoming Netflix show called LAST KIDS ON EARTH. It’s based on the best-selling series of kids books by writer Max Brallier and illustrator Doug Holgate. There’s plenty of info on the books on Max’s website.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid meets The Walking Dead in this series, in which a band of suburban middle schoolers play video games, gorge themselves on candy, and battle zombies in the aftermath of the monster apocalypse.

It’s been a pleasure meeting and working with Max on the show. I’ve known Doug online for a few years and have always loved his art, so it’s been great to work on something he started. And I’ve got a hell of a storyboard team working with me, so expect this to be a really fun, action-packed show when it hits Netflix.