THE WALKING DEAD “Opening Titles”

“We are arriving at that unique moment in time where the term “fan-made” becomes moot. This is extraordinary.”

Damon Lindelof, Executive Producer, WATCHMEN, LOST

“Kudos to Daniel Kanemoto for his terrific fan version of THE WALKING DEAD opening titles — they rock big time!”

Gale Anne Hurd, Producer, THE TERMINATOR, ALIENS, THE ABYSS, THE WALKING DEAD

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“MAKING OF” AVAILABLE ON WWW.ARTOFTHETITLE.COM

My favorite “exclusive” from the 2009 Comic-Con convention was a beautiful painting by legendary artist Drew Struzan, featuring a horde of zombies from THE WALKING DEAD. Frank Darabont adapted the apocalyptic Image Comics book created by Robert Kirkman, and man, it looked really, really great.

As I was admiring Struzan’s work of art, I wondered what the opening titles to this terrifying new television show might look like… so I animated a spec title sequence using artwork ripped from the pages of the comic, originally illustrated by Charlie Adlard and Tony Moore.

Just so there’s no confusion, I’m not affiliated with the production in any way — I’m simply a huge fan of both Frank Darabont and Robert Kirkman, and this is my attempt at creating a cinematic introduction to one of the all time great “continuing stories of survival horror.”

THE WALKING DEAD premiered on October 31st, 2009 on AMC and is currently the highest rated basic cable series of all time.

Directed & Animated by Daniel M. Kanemoto
“The Walking Dead” Artwork by Charlie Adlard & Tony Moore
“Fresh Blood” Written & Performed by eels
Music Editing by Jeff Yorkes
27 Comments
  1. such a amazing intro, being a amateur artist and animator its inspiring to see all these things on your website. great job on the opening title sequence, a good idea to use the art from the novel..think it eases fans of the novel into a new walking dead experience..fantastic job

  2. Hey there,

    These credits are amazing. I was wondering what editing/effects program you used to make it. How did you create the “3D-like” effect of it all?

    Any help or answers would be much appreciated.

    Cheers.

    • Hi Lyndon —

      Art of the Title Sequence (www.artofthetitle.com) is planning to feature this title sequence in the next few weeks, so keep checking that site for an in depth look at the creation of these credits.

      In the meantime, I used Photoshop, AfterEffects, and a lot of caffeine to make these a reality.

      Thanks for watching,

      Dan K.

  3. this has to be the official opening title! i don’t care about how good can be the one they’ll make for the serial, cause this is the highest level ever reached since this very moment!

  4. GREAT opening credits. It shows appreciation for the source material in a very cool manner. Keep up the good work.

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