Joe Murray's Journal

The fire is really close to my house now. It’s engulfing the whole mountain range. So far no evacuations for me, but neighbors are not so lucky. When we were driving home last night, it looked like a volcano had erupted.

Will keep posted.

” We’re a little like a washing machine on the spin cycle, so thrown to the edges by all our activity that we’ve lost touch with our center.”                                -Colin Stone

I get so crazed by the business side of being an artist, at times I lose track of my main product, my main bliss: the  art itself. 

Living in a show biz town, you are always aware of the mantra ” work it,  work it”. I see actor friends pushing the shows, rushing to auditions. Filmmaker friends keeping up the facebooks, the blogs, the  distribution, book signings, screenings, etc etc etc. 

How much time do the actors actually get to act? The artists get to draw?

Then the busyness of being a parent is something I deal with as well. My kids are obviously so very important to me, and this time of their lives is so temporary. I want to be there for them.

But if I don’t make films, episodes, draw and write, I’m like a ship stuck in dry dock. I need it. It feeds me. I love it. 

It’s the other stuff that drives me crazy.

The kids first day of school is coming up on Monday. Where did the summer  go? Into the smoke that surrounds my house from the fire in the mountains nearby. A weird orange glow covers everything, with ash drifting down like snow.

Very weird.

Ode to the Friet!

I’ve got my time zones back now. My suitcase unpacked. My girls have recieved their vinyl pencil cases that look like an oversized pencil, with all of the landmarks of Belgium on them. And what do I start thinking about? The Belgian culinary treasure;  Frites!

Belgian? You say? I thought they were French?

Ahhh yes, but the French do enjoy them. There is a “frittery” on every corner, every tourist stop, every place where the French gather. But did you know they originated in Belgium? Although eaten by the Belgians since the 1700′s, they were introduced to the English and American soldiers during their time in Belgium in the first World War. Since the official language of the Belgian Army was French at the time, the Americans called them “french fries”. 

And, oh do the Belgians love them. Mostly with a big heaping pot of mussels! And with all different types of sauces, curry ketchup ( which I’m still trying to clean out of my shirt) and mayonnaise. Houses are usually equipped with a deep fat fryer to whip up a batch of the coronary cuisine the instant a friend pops by for an ale. There is even a Friet-museum in Antwerp Belgium.

And I though it was the chocolates that added to my waistline after this trip. My arteries will always remember my trip to Belgium!

Friday is the last day to pick up my E-Book Crafting a Cartoon. (As per my agreement with Random House) . It did very well, and I thank everyone who bought one.

The hard copy edition will be out in the summer of 2010, and includes expanded chapters on budgeting and scheduling, as well as alternative methods of distributing your animated series. Plus it’s chock full of great interviews with the likes of Steve Hillenburg, Craig McCracken, Tom Kenny, Everett Peck, Tom Warburton, and many more!

But if you or anyone you know needs this info now, best buy the ebook, unless you can wait a year.

Trip to Belgium and France Photo Album

There is nothing like a trip abroad  to revitalize the creative juices, and shake the American cob webs out of your head. It’s good to be home, but I had a really great time.

Although we didn’t make it to Amsterdam, my girlfriend and I made a car trip down the Normandy Coast, first staying in a funky little hotel in the little town of Wissant France, where you could see the white cliffs of England across the English Channel. We meandered through Dieppe france and landed on Omaha Beach where I have to say, felt some American pride for the sacrifices made by both the Americans and all of the Allied forces. Sacrifices that we are all still benifiting from today. 

Belgium is a very beautiful country. Yes, they have mouthwatering chocolates, and the smell of Beer hops are always in the air. I was able to roam through Bruges, Antwerp, Ghent and Leuven, but I think the funniest notable tidbit I found, was that Brussels was famous for a little statue called “Manneken Pis” which is Dutch for “Little Man Urinating”. Apparently, in 1142, a little boy who peed on a fuse that was connected to enough dynamite to blow up Brussels, and successfully dousing it. ( No doubt after consuming a large amount of Belgian Beer). They also like to dress up the little boy for special occasions. The tourists flock and snap photos.

Getting my brains sucked out at the Brussels Cartoon Museum. Lot’s of Tin Tin stuff there. Actually I think this is the machine to get your brain to forget about train problems in Belguim.

Well, I didn’t make to Amsterdam. Our train got cancelled and we were stuck in Antwerp. We will try again on another day. Did take the opportunity to check out the museum of Fine Arts, and I fell in love with some local modern painters ( modern is still 1800′s) such as Rik Wauters, James Ensor and Constant Permeke. Actually, I already knew Ensors work from a piece in LA. Rembrandt will have to wait.

Will try for Normandy tomorrow.

African Proverb:

Stormy Seas make for a skilled Sailor.

Belgium- On my way to Amsterdam today. Spent some time in Brig’s and Brussels this week. A really cool cartoon and comic museum in Brussels. I’ll upload photos as soon as I can. They love their cartoons here. ( aside from Smurfs, which, well, I tried to avoid.)

Going to check out some Rembrandt and Van Gogh museums today, then off to the Normandy coast.

Miss my daughters, but otherwise an extremely relaxing trip!

“You’re only given a little spark of madness. You mustn’t lose it” - Robin Williams

My daughter took this pic of me this weekend, fatigued, but happy. An obvious look of frazzled relief after finishing the Random house edition of the book.

After compiling all of the info, interviews, and over 170 images and art, it’s wild to step back and look at my overall opinion of television series animation.

Its a crazy, wild, shoot from the hip, E-ticket ride, that will leave you half insane, but looking for more.

It was a relief that I was not the only one to come away from my two experiences with a show to feel that. That opinion is shared by just about everyone I talked to, as well as scattered throughout the history I compiled for this book.  Some of us may do more, some of us may step back and watch the up and coming geniuses brew up the next wave,

I’ve compared TV animation before to a very rough canvas. You can complain about it’s lack of smoothness. Or tackle it as a challenge, and try to use the courseness to your advantage. To create a unique approach.

Anyway. I’ll still have some editing work after my editor gets a hold of it, but for now I’m able to breath and pick up some other projects again.

In honor of my graduating high school class’ 30th reunion tonight , ( Leland High School , San Jose California, class of ’79) I’m posting the illustration I ran on the cover of a small book of cartoons I published with my high school cartoons in it. The book was called “Classless Clown”. Get it? Thats why the Rolls Royce is there, not because I planned to be driving that car. ( Not that I didn’t have lofty ambitions.)

Check out the Jack Davis rip off shoes. But what the heck. I was 17 with my head full of… well.. we don’t need to discuss that. It was the 70′s after all.

Cheers to all my old  class mates.  Maybe I’ll make it to our 50th.

Just finished the interview with Craig McCracken for my book ( which thankfully is now done, and will be going to the publisher tomorrow). 

Craig is amazing, and one of these  answers fits in to what we have been discussing in these last few posts.

Here it is:

Q- You were involved in the development of new creators and new shows at Cartoon Network. How do you see these new creators? Any trends? Consistent mistakes they are making in your opinion? Is it interesting to watch a wave of new talent that cut their teeth on watching our shows from the 90’s as opposed to our influences, which were the old shows of the 50’s and 60’s ?

A-What I like about a lot of the new up and coming creators is that the stuff they’re doing is so different from Cartoons that I’ve ever seen before. It is awesome and inspiring! Interestingly, when I was growing up, all the cartoons that I really loved were made before I was even born: HB, Jay Ward, and WB. There weren’t a lot of cartoons made by cartoonists for my generation. Today’s audiences have grown up with, and been exposed to such a wide range of animation. Whether it’s the Simpsons, South Park, Pixar movies, Anime, or shows on Nick, Disney, or Cartoon Network, this generation of animation fans has it better that any other generation in terms of sheer variety of content. Hopefully, the current trend of creator- driven cartoons continues into the future because I can’t wait to see what the newest generation of animators produce.

If Craig McCracken, after what he’s just been through, can remain optimistic about the future of animation and creator driven animation, it really says a lot.

I am so happy to have this book done.  I’m supposed to take the ebook down tomorrow, but it may have to wait until I get back from holiday.