Screwed in the Teeth

It goes without saying that my job has become a bit more stressful. And one of the wonderful side effects of stress is clenching your teeth at night. I've become so good at it that I cracked one of my molars. But after going through the trouble of getting it crowned, the pain still returned. So I had to choose between a root canal or completely replacing it. Since the crack could eventually cause the tooth to break, I opted to pull the sucker. This was a few months ago.

Now that my mouth has healed, it's time for phase 2! Today they drilled a large hole in my jaw and inserted a monster screw right into it. I'm still numb, so I can't comment on the pain. Tonight should be fun, fun, fun. The oddest thing about it was the torque of the drill on my jaw. This was no delicate dentist drill, the kind ordinarily used for little fillings. It was a Black and Decker with flames painted on the side. The dentist had to wear a hard hat. I had stepped into an episode of "This Old Mouth."

So phase 3 will be in another month or so, after the bone grows around the screw. That's when I get my new, fake tooth.

Handolf the Wizard

Watch Out for the Finger!!

It's Been That Kind Of Day

This is how it felt like my morning started. The rest of the day wasn't so bad, but I had a metaphorical turd wiped across my lip, so that was all I could smell. A good night's sleep will make me feel better. It always does.

Birdy

This is an attempt to add some color to my drawings. Maybe someday I'll try a full fledged painting. Until then, you just get this pseudo-coloring.

ComiCon Highlights

Well the Con came and went and I had a blast. I met tons of really nice fans and got to show off a little bit of Chowder as well. Here are a few photographic highlights:

Mr. Maxwell Atoms and myself, expressing our true feelings for each other. He had a great farewell panel this year and deserved all the fan loving he got.


A highly rendered Milennium Falcon, complete with highly rendered Jedi. I couldn't beleive the amount of Star Wars merchanise they had this year. It constituted at least 50% of the floor!


A 5+ foot Gigantor sculpture! Last year I bought a 2 foot tall Gigantor from these people. I still love it.


An incredible family that all got dressed up as classic monsters, posing in front of the Ark of the Covenant! This is how you do the con right!


The BEST Zena I've ever seen, along with a real Mach 5! It was a 2 for 1 photo!

ComiCon 2008 - The Call of the Nerd!

Well that time is upon us again, when the great horn is blown and all the sweaty nerds crawl out from their parents basements to descend upon San Diego. I'll be there of course, wandering around through various fart clouds and feral armpit odors.

I'l also be doing a signing at the Cartoon Network booth to promote Chowder. Come on by and say hello. We're giving out some really cool messenger bags with all the current CN characters doodled on them. There will also be a Chowder preview screened between the Billy & Mandy and Foster's panels.

Preview: Friday, July 17th, 12:30 at the CN panel room

Signing: Saturday, July 28th, 10:30-11:30 at the CN booth

Gorgonzola

Sometimes someone hates you for no good reason. It's just that your very existence wrongs them. Gorgonzola hates Chowder. He's an apprentice candle holder. Maybe that's why he's so surly. He got the cruddy job while Chowder has a dream job.

Rocks Are Magical

We saw this big rock formation when we were up in Sequoia National Park last month. I'm not sure why, but it reminds me of something.

King for a Month

Good news! That Warcraft comic I posted a little while back - It won comic of the month on the Warcraft site! I am Nerd King for the month of June! (I'll take little bits of joy where I can get them.)

Chowder and Kimchi

Every boy needs a pet stink-cloud.

Nature

I spend a weekend in beautiful Sequoia National Park, and this is what I come up with. What's wrong with me?

See If This Works For You...

Animation Magazine Interview

Here's a brief phone interview I did for this month's Animation Magazine. I hate doing interveiws and they wouldn't let me use the tomato picture of myself. They said people wouldn't be able to tell if it was supposed to be a character in the show or what. That's even better - I want everyone to think it's a show about a tomato-headed guy! I'd watch that show! This picture was taken on the Small World ride at Disney Land. It's very scary there.

I'm a Big Nerd

Here's another World of Warcraft comic I did. If you get it, you're a big nerd too. All I know is I'll never be able to afford an epic flying mount. It's so sad to be virtually poor. It's even sadder to be sad about it.

Here Comes the Post-Production

We get our first batch of color footage back this Friday. I can't wait to see it all start to come together. After looking at static pictures for so long, it'll be nice to see real animation with sound and music.

Speaking of music, we've got a great sound for Chowder. It's a late 60's kind of funky groove. Take a listen to The Meters and you'll have an idea what to expect. The music is being handled by two very talented gentlemen, Zac Pike and Dan Boer. I met them through one of the storyboard artists on the show, and their music fit perfectly with what I had in mind. They did music on the pilot as well, so if you watched the promo reel from an earlier post, you heard what it sounds like.

Gazpacho

One of Chowder's few friends and confidants, Gazpacho sells all sorts of bizarre fruits and vegetables at the farmer's market. His mother controls his life and he bases all his decisions on her. It's a bit sad.

He dreams of breaking free, but will he ever muster the willpower to do so?

Gazpacho is voiced by the very funny Dana Snyder, also know as Master Shake on Aqua Teen Hunger Force.

Think Pink!

These are two unrelated images from two different episodes. One is coated in sass. The other is coated in gum. I've seen the dancer moving in pencil test - It's a sight to behold. He'd make Bob Fosse proud.

Flibber-Flabber

Eventually we've all got to go on a diet. But as my great aunt Bob used to say, "If you aren't living large, you aren't living." Bob was attacked by giant clams.

The Cinnamini Monster

He's every friend that you felt sorry for, so you hang out with him, only to be sorry that you decided to hang out with him. You know what friend I'm talking about.

Reuben

This portly fellow considers himself an entrepreneur. Whatever needs done, he's your man. Not that you'd want him to be your man. For one particular episode, he happens to run a ramshackle chef certification school under the freeway. Note the tire track pattern in his clothes. Paul Reubens kindly came in and voiced him. How ironic that he's named "Reuben," don't you think?

Mung Exercising

Be sure to get off the computer and move your butt every once in a while. It's all about the glutes.

Panini

A love-struck apprentice to Ms. Endive, she believes that Chowder is her boyfriend. Unfortunately for her, he's still in the "girls are icky" phase.

When Will Chowder Air?

All I know is sometime in Novemeber. So feel free to take a little nap until then.

Brushing is Important

Not the most exciting shot ever. Here's another scene from the Mahjongg Night board. But you get a glimpse of Chowder's bathroom and his burlap-sack pajamas.

The Thrice Cream Man

He's a dream come true for Chowder. Or is he a nightmare?

We originally called him the Twice Cream Man, but someone owns that name. We didn't find that out until we had already recorded half the episode! So we had to go back and re-record every mention. That's an issue we've run into a lot. We make up stupid food names only to be told they're already tradmarked. We were even told we couldn't use the name "Kimchi." That's like saying we can't use the word "Ketchup." Screw that. We're using it.

I'm all for protecting copyright infringement, but it's getting kind of out of hand. Soon every word will be trademarked. I should get a jump on it and trademark the word "and." I'll be a gazillionaire from royalties.

The Lamp Lighter

Here's another scene from Mahjongg Night. This little guy is in charge of turning on the lamps in the city. What a fun job. Kudos to the crew for making this stuff look so amazing. Here's a quick run down of whose work you're seeing as I post this stuff:

Art Director - Dan Krall!
Background Design - Bill Flores & Rebecca Ramos
Background Paint - Joe Bingelli & Anna Chambers
Character Design - Phil Rynda & Serapio Calm
Prop Design - Mark Bachand & Tara Whitaker
Model Cleanup - Frank Homisky & Laura Dalesandro
Color Stylists - Roger Webb & Brain Smith

Ms. Endive!

She's the thorn in Mung Daal's side. A meticulous mountain of a woman who insists on perfection in everything she does. Her cooking style is the complete opposite of Mung's. He cooks from the gut. Make food with love and it'll taste good. Endive doesn't understand love. If one wants proper food, one must cook properly. She's basically Martha Stewart taken to the millionth degree. With Oompa-loompa colors.

Mahjongg Ladies

A while back I put up a panel of the mahjongg ladies from my Chowder board. Well here they are in their multitude of colors.

The story is inspired from my own childhood. Each Tuesday night my mom plays mahjongg with her friends. They rotate who hosts it. When it was my mom's turn, she would set out all sorts of goodies that I wasn't allowed to snack on. I'd lay in my bed at night and hear the clack-clack of the tiles as the women yelled expletives at each other for taking their nickels away. Apparently her friends' favorite part of coming over was my mom's egg salad. I wasn't into the egg salad so much. I wanted the chocolate.

My mom believes there's a direct correlation between each character here and the actual ladies she plays mahjongg with. That's not true. Her friends are weirder looking. (If you read this, mom, that's a joke.)

King of the Sky

This Chowder character is the King of the Sky. When I was working on the second board, I wanted to have the wind blow. I thought it might be fun to turn the weather into a character, like when you see a big face in the clouds. But I wanted him to be weirder and more of a real character. And since I love Katamari Damacy, I was inspired by the king in that game.

Here's the the Katamari version. The purple tights are a direct lift.

And yes, there is a full fledged Katamari-inspired episode in season one.

Kiwi

This is a Chowder character named Kiwi. He occasionally pops up and makes a random comment. He started as a doodle I made back when I was working on the pilot. I never found a place for him in that board, but I was able to squeeze him in my second board. He's shown up in a few boards now. His arms wiggle. Oh, and when you see him, he'll be stop-motion.

Bus Driver

This is a character from a Chowder board I did called "Shnitzel Makes a Deposit." As is often the case, I over-board my episdoes and so I had to make trims. He's gone. I always gotta kill my babies. Poor little dead babies.

I like this guy, though. He'll have to show up some other time.

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.