If you’ve ever wondered what 11 years of indie animation looks like, this is it. Long read, real story.
We Got Roasted. Turned Down Investors. Still Making Our Dream Animation Series.
Our story began in 2014, inspired by our deep love for Adventure Time. We were captivated by its world-building, characters, and art style. We quit our boring studio jobs where we were making soulless outsourced animations. Instead, we decided to do something crazy: make our own show.
That’s how The Legend of Lucky Pie was born.
We dropped Episode 1 online — and yeah, we got roasted. People called us a ripoff.
But we knew we had more to say. So, with zero money and only two animators, we spent a full year on Episode 2. And guess what?
People started to get it. They saw the heart. The world. The originality.
We went on to make five full episodes, a total of 75 minutes of original animation, with no funding, no sponsors, just a little help from some amazing fans here on Patreon. (Shoutout to the legends who stuck with us — your names are forever in the credits ❤️)
After finishing Episode 5, we got attention from big studios in China, even investment offers.
But here’s the twist — the more money they offered, the more they wanted to change it. New script. New characters. New designs. Less risk.
So we made a difficult choice: we turned down the money and committed to walking the hard path of independent animation, to create a series that’s truly ours, one that no studio could reshape: Cosmic Travelers.
For the past 11 years, we’ve survived not by taking freelance jobs or outsourcing, but by pouring everything into our original stories. Our producer took on external work to support the director and animator’s basic living needs. It hasn’t been easy — but it’s been real.
Now, Cosmic Travelers has been selected as one of the featured 12 animations by GLITCHX 2024, a huge milestone for us. We’re currently producing Season 1 (8 episodes) and, once again, walking the path alone.
That’s why we’re here.
We hope to use platforms like Kickstarter and Patreon to gather support from those who believe in independent animation. Even if we can’t raise enough to cover all production costs, we’ll keep going — we’re used to low budgets, bad equipment, sleepless nights, and a small team. Just like we did with Lucky Pie, we’ll make it work.
If $5 is the price of a coffee for you, and if you believe in helping creators bring original stories to life, we invite you to join us here on Patreon.
We’ll share this journey with full honesty, not just the wins, but the failures, the stress, the sleepless nights, and the moments we nearly gave up.
And if Cosmic Travelers one day becomes a global hit, the kind of show people remember, share, and celebrate. You’ll know you were part of it from the very beginning.
If you support us for more than 12 months, we’ve got a special gift planned — something far more valuable than the dollars you gave.
Believe in Studio Starseed. And let’s show the world what indie animation is truly capable of.
Patreon link: https://www.patreon.com/c/StudioStarseed
