Studio Smokescreen Debuts First Animated Short

Black-owned independent animation company Studio Smokescreen has premiered its first animated short, Tent Sale.

The project was produced with a team of young animation talent from underrepresented and marginalized communities, fulfilling Studio Smokescreen’s purpose as a “bridge studio” to discover, support, train and prepare talent for careers with larger companies and studios.

The company was founded by Kris Wemberly, an animation director, executive producer and storyboard artist, and his brother Chase Wimberly, who leads the business side of the company. Kris most recently brought his skills to Walt Disney Television Animation’s upcoming Firebuds and Disney’s Elena of Avalor.

Kris has held roles at Nickelodeon Animation, Universal Pictures and Cartoon Network, while Chase has worked for various digital media companies as chief strategy officer and head of corporate development.

Studio Smokescreen functions as an animation production partner, a creative development and production studio, and as a training ground for new artistic talent. It is currently in development on projects with multiple partners.

“As we work on exciting animation projects we develop ourselves and animate for studio, network and streaming partners, we ultimately want to bring greater diversity to the animation industry as a whole,” Kris said.