Teapot Robot

This Is My Burrito...

Chowder Storyboarding

All the storyboard artsits are hard at work here on Chowder. I've had some people ask about our board process. Most animated shows have scripts that are roughly 18 pages long for an 11 minute episode. Our storyboard artsits don't recieve a script but instead get a two-page outline. It reads like a summation of the cartoon. There's no dialogue and all the events are laid out, as well as what the characters are feeling and want.

This gives the storyboard artsits tons of freedom to craft the episode. It gives them a lot more responsibilty as well. They have to be writer, director, actor, and editor all in one. But what you gain from doing it this way is a cartoon written by people who tend to think visually. It's how we worked on both Spongebob and Billy & Mandy, and I really like the system. You get comedy that isn't all based on snappy dialogue, but more on funny behavior and sight gags. The hard part is finding storyboard artsitis who can write. They're in very small supply.

The board artists are on a six week schedule. They have three weeks to rough out the board, then they pitch it to me. We spend a day working together to smooth out the kinks, beef up the jokes, and cut extraneous bits. After that they get three more weeks to clean it all up. Then they pitch it to the crew, acting out all the parts as they show the drawings. Done! Then it's on to the next board. We do 26 of these per season.

Well I'm off to write more outlines! I'll be back soon with another update.

Self Portrait

Figuring that I'll need a picture for press at some point in the future, I took this photo of myself. My head is quite ripe.

Beep Beep

Lolli Fighter

Tailor Made

Another Fred Promo

I can spell my name real good.

Chowder Update

I've spent the last few weeks in pre-produciton, assembling the show bible. It's strange trying to condense everything I know about the characters and the world into an easily digestible format. And it's even weirder trying to reverse-engineer the way I draw so others can duplicate it. Thank goodness I had the pilot art to start with. Mouthcharts, incidentals, and various poses were all ready for me to use. I just wanted to tweak the main models a bit. After drawing three boards, I gained a better understanding of how to construct them consistently and what their proportions should be.

Here are a couple of sketches of Chowder. These were drawn directly in the computer. I'm still getting used to the Cintiq. The key to making him look right, I learned, was keeping him fat. Lots of cheek and chin around his features.


Now I'm working on outlines. More to come later!

Mental Powerz!

Another Warcraft Comic

Here's another World of Warcraft comic, this time starring Harl Jr, my Orc hunter. He's contemplating whether or not it was worth spending 20 gold on a pair of Windrunner Leggings. Orcs have feelings too.

Another Page of Scribbles

Here's another page of my boarding thumbnails. Usually, I'll fit more than 4 per page, but the doodles clearly won this fight. If you couldn't tell, my mind was wandering a bit. I got on a Bubble Bobble kick. What's not to love about Bubble Bobble? And yes, I like cross-hatching. I tend to do it while I'm thinking or on the phone.

Done!

I just finished my last Bill & Mandy storyboard. It's been a very enjoyable run, but now it's time to start Chowder.

When I'm writing a board, I work it all out as thumbnail scribbles. Often lots of random doodles appear on the page. Here's a small clump I saved.

Shhhhh....

Sorry, I'm not allowed to make an official announcement about what I'm currently working on. Please ignore any previous posts that mentioned anything. Thank you.

-The Management

Another Fred Commerical

I think this one may be my favorite.

Some Old SpongeBob Doodles

Fred Billboard

Here's a photo of the Fred Fredburger billboard that's part of Cartoon Network's new ad camapign. You can download this and the other billboards as desktops from Cartoon Network's website. Thanks to Phil for the photo.
P.S. Look at the price of gas here!

Leech Vodka

The Worm Who Would Fly

Propeller Helmet