Channel Frederator Interview

There's an interview with me up on the Channel Frederator Blog. As usual, I sound like a massive douche and ramble on way too long. But I would like to give a big thanks to Jeaux Janovsky for curating such a nice series of interviews there and including me in the mix.

Some Actual Chowder Footage

So who wants to see some clips from the Chowder pilot? Who wants to see me making a fool of myself?

Cartoon Network shot a promo for this month's upfronts. Upfronts are basically a big show and tell where the network presents their programming to advertisers so they'll keep buying advertising space. Without the advertising we can't make the programs. So it's important to get everyone excited. Yes, I look silly. Is that any different than normal? I dunno.

See the Chowder Promo. Click on "New Shows" then on "Chowder." The "Sizzle Reel" is the promo. The other links are two clips from the pilot.

Enjoy.

Ten hut!

Here's a really awesome drawing done by Warren Leonhardt. We've never met, but I 'm sure he's a fine, fine fellow. He's certainly a very talented artist. Check out his blog. You'll be happy.

Running Through Stained Glass

A Chowder Juice Break

Duplicating a Style

Chowder Update: We're just about ready to ship our first batch of black and white art to the overseas studio. So far the production has been chugging along very smoothly. The stories and storyboards are turning out great. The actors have been doing a fantastic job at the record sessions.

One interesting part of the process is working with the designers. I have to make all these people understand the way I draw so they can try to replicate it. It's a strange thing to deconstruct your art style. I never even really thought of myself as having a style. But now I can see that I have definite likes, dislikes, and drawing quirks. I guess I put more thought into what I drew than I realized.

It's always been hard for me to draw the same thing consistently. That's why I knew I could never be a true animatior. My fast, loose lines kind of go where they please. It makes for an interesting, lively doodle, but boy is it difficult to draw consistently. I don't usually construct the pose first. I draw a character from the eyes outward, feeling the expression as I go. More often then not this results in a character who doesn't fit on the paper or in the storyboard panel. Hooray for copiers and computers!

Here's a screenshot from the pilot. From L to R: Shnitzel, Mung Daal, and Chowder.


It's weird to look at. The models have firmed up slightly since I made this (almost two years ago). I'm sure a few seasons in I'll look at the episodes we're doing now and feel the same way. It's interesting how most shows evolve the character models. It's like actors changing their looks over of the run of a sitcom. But when you draw the characters over and over and over, you start to feel a natural proportion evolve. That can only come with time. I haven't drawn them enough yet.

The Worst Popsicle

Yesterday I stopped at Whole Foods on my way home from work. Since I've been feeling a little under the weather, I thought I might get something nice and cold for my throat. So I grabbed a box of Mango popsicles. "Mmmm," I smiled. "These will be nice to have later."

I was wrong. Terribly wrong. When I took a bite that night, I tasted the worst popsicle I've ever had. Yes it has mango. It also has CHILE!!! Hot chile!

Look carefully at the box.



In tiny letters is the word "chile"!!!! Tiny fricking letters!



And there's a chile barely visible in the corner next to the pictures of the ingredients.



Yes, I should have looked more carefully at the box before I grabbed it. But really, there needs to be a warning: "Hey dumb white people, this doesn't taste good. Please don't eat it." A dessert like this is totally unnecessary. It's cruel, is what it is. Your mouth thinks you're getting something cold and pleasant, and you get fricking fire instead. Not cool.

I like hot foods. I even like hot sweets like ginger candy. I don't want hot ice cream. Ever. Sorry Mexico. I really like most all of your food. But you lost me on this one.

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.