Andrey Anufrienko, an amateur cartoonist from “Karandashi”, says: “It was all simple with the Turks: we drew fezzes and pointy-toed boots and that was it. But we argued a lot about the Cossacks. For instance, that they didn’t wear this particular kind of belt at the time.”

Andrey’s friend and fellow artist Mikhail Chekalov shares his passion for cartoon-making. They’ve already tried different cartoon techniques. For Mikhail, it’s important to look up to the industry pros.

“I like the drawing technique – it’s a classical animation technique, which was used by Disney,” he says.

Andrey and Mikhail pay for their own storyboards and studio equipment. After their Cossack cartoon received thousands of comments on Youtube, the “Karandashi” turned into local celebrities. Now they make animated commercials to support their art projects.

With an average of 60 to 70 amateur cartoons per year, Russian artists do not get as much attention worldwide as they would no doubt like to, apart from in Japan, where they are very warmly welcomed. Maria Tereshenko, one of the organizers of the Moscow Big Cartoon festival, says because of cross-cultural differences, one cartoon can get totally different reviews in the West and in the East.

“For instance, in Japan, Russian cartoons are very popular. But in Western Europe it’s not like that. We are somewhat like a third-world country for them when it comes to visual representation. I mean we have an archaic, classical approach at times, and they prefer something more modern, something abstract,” Maria Tereshenko claims.

After brushing up their skills on short stories, The Pencils are hoping to come up with a big feature- something that will gain them even more recognition, and maybe see their cartoons become as popular as Walt Disney’s.