by Austin the Artist
Kingdom Virtuous
Kingdom Virtuous is my deepest and most serious story of all that I’m working on, tackling many difficult themes and ideas. There’s a healthy dose of action, adventure, and spectacle which provides levity, but this isn’t the primary focus like it is in Artist X Artist. I will share more details on Kingdom Virtuous soon.
Fall 2026 | 2.75hr | All Ages | Fantasy
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The Novel Cinema
Cinema Novels are a method of storytelling that combine elements from traditional novels, comics, animation, and film.
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About Cinema Novels
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Most projects on this page are works-in-progress of cinema novels (learn more about cinema novels here). Over the years I’ve worked off-and-on on many manuscripts and illustrations, and I've compiled and organized the partially completed works into various novels which I am finishing this year. It’s quite the endeavor, but I eventually intend to get help working with other artists.
I welcome you to check back periodically to see updated work.
A Thousand Pictures
We've all heard the saying: a picture is worth a thousand words, but the opposite is also true: a word is worth a thousand pictures. What does love look like? Courage? Strength? Follow Caleb, a 6th grade student who's challenged to view things differently.
Avalable Now | Short Story (15min) | All AGes | Imaginative
Artist X Artist
Artist X Artist is an unconventional superhero story combining influences from Marvel & DC animated cartoons of the past decades, influences from Avatar: The Last Air Bender, Kingdom Hearts, Monster Hunter, Shadow of the Colossus, and more. In the world of AXA exist characters called combat artists who have a myriad of abilities. Of all my novels, this story took the most time and effort to write.
End of 2026 | Long Series (8+ hrs) | All AGes | Action
The Cartoon Express
The Cartoon Express is a cartoon-epic that features four different cartoons in one narrative. Each cartoon explores different art styles. For example, one is reminiscent of early 2000s era 3D platformer games like Sly Cooper, another featured cartoon is reminiscent of a Pixar movie, and another is inspired by old school cartoons from the 1930s and later decades.
Summer 2026 | 7.5hr | All Ages | Multiple Genres
The Zany Adventures of Soda Pop
Soda Pop is an episodic cartoon adventure, and an amalgamation of cartoon influences and styles spanning many decades from old school Disney animation to Hanna-Barbera era cartoons. The premises began as a comical, kid-friendly bar stand-in in the world of The Cartoon Express. For example, the animated movie Rango features a bar with cactus juice as the equivalent of alcoholic beverages, and analogously, The Cartoon Express features “candy bars”, (bar as in like a café or lounge) with “heavy soda” as an alcoholic equivalent, and pops (lollipops) as a stand-in for cigarettes. I eventually developed this concept enough and spun off The Zany Adventures of Soda Pop as its own story. A portion of The Cartoon Express still features its own Soda Pop story, however.
Spring 2026 | Episodic | All Ages | Action Cartoon & Satire
Whimsy Wacky World of Wool
Whimsy Wacky World of Wool is just as silly as the title suggests. I was working on a handful of other ideas at the time of writing this manuscript, and everything I was working on was understated, toned down, grounded, realistic, etc. I pushed myself to be totally off the wall and not overthink the logic of the next story I was working on, which led to this. The art style of this is inspired by things like Little Big Planet, Yoshi Wooly World, the Dreamworks Trolls movies and other things alike.
Featured In The Cartoon Express
Alice in Wonderland
Alice in Wonderland was originally intended to be a straightforward and conventional illustrated kid’s book. The purpose was to allow me to only focus on illustration and give myself a break from all the plot brainstorming of my other works. Now it’s evolved to another cinema novel. I want to address the race-swap, considering the political environment. I didn’t set out to change the race, but during the character design iterations, I ended up really liking this one, and of all the IPs, Alice in Wonderland’s story is essentially unaffected such a change.
Spring 2026 | 1.5hr | All Ages | Imaginative
Space Rush Master Race 3000!
Space Rush Master Race 3000! Is another instance of me allowing myself to be off the wall and have fun with titles and concept/premise. This story combines elements from Ratchet & Clank space adventure with retro space cartoon influences, with some wild west themes mixed in.
Featured In The Cartoon Express
