ZOOLOOK | Adobe Success Story New ways to tell tales

Nicholas Da Silva brings stories to life and inspires other artists using Adobe® software

“Some day, I want to be able to view full-length, pay-per-view movies online, and Adobe products are helping to make that possible.” – Nicholas Da Silva, founder, ZOOLOOK

When ZOOLOOK Founder Nicholas Da Silva surveys the community of artists around the world, he sees a giant pool of amazing talent. His strong desire to give artists an accessible venue where they could be more widely recognized and rewarded led him to launch The Greatest Story Never Told (TGSNT), the biggest animated storytelling competition ever for artists using Macromedia® Flash® from Adobe. For this annual event, independent storytellers from around the world are invited to use Adobe Creative Suite 2, Flash software, and other Adobe software such as Adobe Premiere® and After Effects® to produce original stories for the web, DVD, television, film, and wireless devices.

“With Adobe software and the Internet, artists have the technology to create whatever we can imagine,” explains Da Silva. “We no longer have to wait for Hollywood to come knocking on our doors to have our stories seen by the masses. Someday, I want to be able to view full-length, pay-per-view movies online, and Adobe products are helping to make that possible.”

Flash pioneer

TGSNT is the latest in a series of endeavors related to Flash for Da Silva, who has a long history of using Flash and other Adobe technologies to bring stories to a variety of mediums and devices. In 2001, he became the creator, designer, producer, and webmaster behind FlashTV, an award-winning global community site created using Macromedia Dreamweaver® software from Adobe and flush with movies, comics, games, and music created by independent storytellers from around the world. FlashTV is also a featured podcast on Apple iTunes. The FlashTV site introduces visitors to Da Silva’s vision for the future: “Kill your television. You don’t need it any more. You’ve got FlashTV.”

From paper to Sony PlayStation Portable and Apple iPod

Originally from Brazil, Da Silva puts a multicultural spin on everything he creates. He starts his artwork using a sketchbook and pencils, calling upon his roots as a traditional artist. Then he moves between Adobe Illustrator® CS2 and Photoshop® CS2 software to refine his designs. “A friend introduced me to Adobe Illustrator many years ago, and I realized that artwork that took me three weeks to produce traditionally could be created in a few hours,” says Da Silva. “Since then, I’ve never looked back.”