We're Off!

As fires rage nearby here in LA, we're packing for tomorrow's trip to Japan. Once I'm back, perhaps I'll talk about my Tetsujin 28 obsession. Earlier today we dropped the dog off at the kennel. I miss him already. Oh god, I'm one of those people! I know he's going to have fun, but I still feel a little guilty abandoning him. I wish he could understand that we'll be back soon. He's definitely in for a different lifestyle this week.



In the meantime, here's an interview I just did. Thanks to Charles for the thoughtful questions.

The Hot Girl

I didn't really think there'd be this many upsides to having a show officially cancelled by a network, but I'm feeling happier than I've been in a long time. Since we've only got post-production, my schedule finally eases up. I haven't had a break like this in a long, long time. Now I can relax and do all sorts of fun things like finish Final Fantasy XII since I need something to quell my occasional World of Warcraft tremors. (I've been off WoW since November, but occasionally go into a store and look at the Lich King expansion box lustfully.) I'm also taking a vacation to Japan, a dream of mine since I first saw Akira back in the late 80's.

The other upside is it's like being the hot girl who just got out a bad relationship; your phone starts ringing from everyone else who's been wanting to date you. It's nice to hear from other networks how much they enjoy the show, especially when you don't really hear it from your own. Chowder has opened up a lot of awesome possibilities for me, and creatively I'm feeling more inspired than ever. There are some new ideas I'm working on that will hopefully find a good home somewhere in the next year.

We're still finishing up lots of good episodes. I think you'll see that we hit a really good groove third season. My biggest worry before we were cancelled was what would happen to the crew, but luckily, a large chunk of them got hired over at Disney on a new project. It's funny how many old CN faces I see over there now.

I'll have to talk more about my Japan excitement soon.

My New Favorite Video

The Ballad of G.I. Joe from Olivia Wilde

Picanahey

A while back we were working on a one-hour Chowder special. I was a little worried we wouldn't be able to pull off a movie on a tight tv schedule, and I was right. So we shelved it. Maybe with a little more time it could have gotten it there.

The basic story is about Chowder finding an enchanted map that leads to Pie Land, and more importantly to Gravy Jones' lost treasure: the ultimate gravy recipe. Panini and Endive have the other half of the map, and of course only true love can unite the two halves of the map to show the location of the treasure. There was even a big kiss between the two kids in the action-packed finale.

This character was the leader of a group of beach bum rats, the Pie Rats (we love bad puns on this show). He was based off Matthew McConaughey. We were even hoping to get him to to do the voice. Picanahey wants the gravy recipe for himself since he's heard it has amazing tanning properties - his goal in life is to have the best tan in the world. Picanha is a type of Brazilian bbq.

Chowder Expressions

Here are a few expressions I drew.

Mung Model Note

Early on we noticed that Mung's eye blink was just his pupil blinking without any eyelid. If he was half-lidded and then blinked, the lid color would flash away for a few frames. So I made this note for the animators. You can still see his original blink in the opening of the show.

Model Note

This was a note for the animators. In the earlier episodes, his feet move and bend a lot more. We still show leg when we need to stretch him or do extreme poses, but this is for a basic walk.