This week I am talking to Greg, from GPAnimations, author of The Perfect Pillow, another cool storybook made with Kwik. Greg is also the designer of a Kwik badge, which we would love to see spread all around (to use it, just download it below):
Alex) Tell a little bit about you and your company
GP Animations was started 6 years ago as a showcase of my work to build up a portfolio after college. I’ve worked in animation instruction, graphic design, internet advertising, Flash development, and most recently, mobile app development. My true passion has always been drawing cartoons in Flash, which because of their AIR for Android/iOS functionality, I kind of fell into mobile app development. However, because not all apps can be created in Flash, I’ve had to teach myself Objective-C and Java. For someone that loves frontend graphics and animation, backend coding might be something new to learn, but it’s not really exciting. When I found Corona and Kwik software, it felt like someone read my mind about wanting an easier way to create apps.
What is The Perfect Pillow about?
My app is an interactive children’s eBook called “The Perfect Pillow”. It’s about a young turtle who cannot fall asleep because his pillow it too lumpy. His mother takes him to a store where he tries to finds the perfect pillow so he can go to bed. I wrote, illustrated and coded the book myself and once I found Kwik, I implemented my sister-in-law’s voice-over talent into the Read to Me feature.
How Kwik helped you to build it? Any favorite features?
I originally created the book in Xcode with Cocos2D, which was good, but it was way too technical. It took way too many lines of code to do simple tasks and I hated keeping track of memory allocation. When I discovered Kwik and saw how easy it was to implement Read to Me and interactivity, I knew I had to remake the book. Kwik made the process ridiculously easy to the point where you were just waiting for a catch, but there wasn’t one. Plus, the Lua language that Kwik exports is like a basic version of ActionScript so it’s really easy to fine tune on the backend if you choose to do so.
What is your overall experience with us (product and services)?
Kwiksher is awesome at technical support and the product is amazing. I thoroughly enjoy using the Kwik plugin and it has made eBook creation 100x easier for me. I love that if you have a question, you can visit the forums or just e-mail directly and have a timely, personable response. The small company size makes for great product support so you never get an obligatory automated response.
What is next for you and your company?
Next, I would love to produce another children’s eBook in Kwik again. The development process is very easy thanks to the software, I just need time to write and illustrate the story. I also plan on speaking to other frontend graphics professionals to show them just how easy it is to create a mobile application using Kwik and Corona. My mobile app blog (www.GPAnimations.Wordpress.com) will keep you up-to-date on all my progress, but if you want to watch some cartoons I’ve created, you can also check out my website (www.GPAnimations.com).
Thanks again for sharing your experiences! Another author will be promoted later this week. Have an app made with Kwik or a nice tutorial? Let me know and you will be here as well!