Iconic animation studio teams with Augmented Reality studio Mardles to release stickers for kids featuring the popular characters that “come alive” when using a smartphone or tablet.
BRISTOL, UK – Mardles, the creator of stickers for kids that “come alive” when using a smartphone or tablet, teamed up with Oscar-winning Aardman to launch a range of stickers based on their hit character Shaun the Sheep. Now available, there are two Shaun the Sheep Mardles collections, “Shaun to be Wild” and “Mayhem in the Meadow.” They are the first licensed character sets from the innovative British startup.
Each set features 12 stickers in six different designs (two of each) and let fans take Shaun for a ride on a skateboard or stunt bike, out for a pizza, play the trumpet and even take his own selfie. Every animation is accompanied by genuine Shaun the Sheep sounds.
The release of the stickers also marks the return to TV of the globally-popular character. This September, Shaun, Bitzer, The Farmer and the rest of the flock are back for another 20 episodes of more outrageous behavior, sheepish shenanigans and panic in the pasture on CBBC.
Mardles stickers are reusable and can be placed on any flat surface. When viewed through a free Mardles app for iOS, Android and Amazon, they come alive in 3D with sound effects. Mardles’ clever take on augmented reality technology means characters can be controlled on a device’s screen and even moved away from the sticker. This means kids can have adventures around the house or garden and even make them walk across a hand or arm. They can also snap and share screenshots of the fun they are having.
Co-founder, Sharon, originally came up with the idea for Mardles after seeing augmented reality in a furniture catalog. Essex-based Sharon decided she wanted to find a way to use the technology to create something fun for her son and his friends.
She commented, “I can hardly believe how far we have come in less than a year. From selling more than 350,000 packets of Mardles in the UK, US, Canada and Europe to now partnering with an iconic brand like Aardman and a worldwide hit such as Shaun. It is simply mind-blowing. Like our previous ranges, as a mum myself these are designed to make parents as comfortable as possible. So there are no in-app purchases or registration details needed. Once the app is downloaded you no longer need Wi-Fi or costly data. We’ve had so much amazing feedback from children and parents who love the Mardles ranges and we can’t wait for them to have so much more fun with our Shaun the Sheep creations.”
The Shaun the Sheep Mardles is on sale on TV shopping channel QVC. They will also be available from ShaunStickers.com (worldwide shipping) and via Amazon.
Rob Goodchild, Head of Licensing at Aardman, added, “It’s great to be working with an innovative British company, giving our fans another way to play with Shaun the Sheep. The sticker packs look really good and we’ve had a lot of fun working with the Mardles team to bring the product to market.”
The partnership is particularly special for co-founder James Murden who explained, “Aardman have allowed us to be really creative with Shaun and we've had a huge amount of fun dreaming up the animations. The whole process has taken around six months. But as someone who is Bristol-born and raised, it’s a dream come true to work with the most famous company to come out of my home town. I was brought up on their creations.”
“When you're working with a character as well-known as Shaun, it is vital that every detail is correct,” Murden added. “A lot of time was spent ensuring that each mannerism was something Shaun would actually do and something Aardman would sign off. We wanted to make sure all the actions were perfect. Now we are all over the moon with the finished product we have created.”
To create the Shaun the Sheep collection, Bristol-based Aardman first shared a 3D model of Shaun with Mardles’ own design and production team. They then animated the model and initial concepts went back to Aardman for amendments and approvals. Once sound effects were added, voiced by the same team behind Shaun, the product faced its toughest challenge, Mardles’ own child testers who gave the range a big thumbs-up. Each sticker is created, designed and produced by Mardles and the startup is beating the Brexit gloom with growing global export sales. They are currently working on new innovative products including a coloring book that comes to life using augmented and virtual reality.
Source: Aardman
