Oct 3, 2022

Stellar Creative Labs Opens New CG Studio in Toronto

Stellar Creative Labs has opened a new studio in Toronto. The studio says its first production will be an adult CG animated series for a well-known streaming service, but details are being kept under wraps for now.

The new studio is being set up as a hybrid in-person/work-from-home facility, with line producer Tracy Grant at the helm. She and her team have already begun staffing. In a release, Grant explains, "Our goal is to establish small teams in multiple departments and attract the best and brightest talent in Toronto and Ontario to this new series and to Stellar Creative Culture."

Studio founder Hasmi Ferguson explains the motivation for opening a studio in Toronto: "Applications from experienced and talented Ontario artists who want to produce the high quality adult work that Stellar has a reputation for producing We are inundated with them. I spent my formative years in animation in Toronto, starting with Nelvana, and I look forward to working again with past colleagues and new artists from Ontario." [Stella was founded in Vancouver five years ago by Ferguson and Bart Van Brande. Within a few years of its founding, the company had produced Disney's Marvel series "What If-...?" and Disney Channel's "Baymax Dreams," and Disney Junior's "Fancy Nancy," among other impressive productions. The studio is currently finishing production on the final episode of DreamWorks Animation's "Kung Fu Panda": the film was released on Netflix in July.

Stellar's Vancouver studio is currently working on "Marvel Zombies" for Disney+, among others.