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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.