Storyboard page from original Rocko Pilot

It goes way back. The art of storyboard driven animation. Cartoons and animated shorts written and drawn at the same time. Because, of course, the drawn picture is also telling you the story and gags. What’s the point in indulging in the delicious art form of animation? The art was not meant to merely illustrate the spoken or written word. This is not a radio play. It’s a perfect marriage. And often a short or cartoon can be told without any dialog at all. ( Roadrunner Cartoons. “Fatal Contraption” Season 3 Rocko’s Modern Life.)

To clarify: A storyboard driven show is written by the artists while storyboarding, adding the dialog to the panels which is later translated to a recording script. Usually starting with a basic story structure ( in the case of my shows, a 3 act outline). A script driven show is written like a live action sitcom by a team of writers, and then handed to a storyboard artist who “connects the dots” without much freedom to elaborate.

Television animation started to distance itself from it, claiming it too costly and perhaps “too funny” for TV. The brilliant John K. resurrected it with “Ren & Stimpy” in the 90′s, and since it was the way I did my indie films, I also used it as my storytelling method. I tweaked the process a bit to make sure it still fit within the budget and time constraints of volume TV, but I felt it was the only way to go. Of course I love script driven Simpsons and South Park. They will always have a place.

After my show, TV animation started thinking that storyboard driven shows were too risky and didn’t pull in the ratings like “Rugrats”.  I was aching for a show to prove them wrong.

Then came “Spongebob”. A storyboard driven show where Steve used the same model we did on Rocko to create the biggest cash cow Nickelodeon has ever seen.

And now Dan and Swampy has one of the biggest hits Disney TV has seen with “Phinas & Ferb” , also using the same Rocko model we used.

Case in point. There will always be room for script driven animated comedies. But a storyboard driven show, with the right crew, will find a flavor all it’s own, and keep the true source of cartoon animation alive. It’s the only thing I teach and I hope it continues to have a long life.

Obviously in the case of the environment, a bigger car or a bigger house leads to a larger eco footprint where you are using more than your share of resources. And a larger portion of food leads to obesity and disease.

But lets look at “Bigger is Better” in the creative commerce world.

Case in point: I was thrilled to have Random House want to publish my book “Creating Animated Cartoons with Character”. I had a previous publisher interested but , oh hey, Random House was a name I could throw around to add prestige to the project ( and I often did.).  But large companies are owned by large conglomerates. Departments that are not performing well in their eyes, get the ax. Such as what happened with the department of Random House that published creative books. They slashed it and discontinued all of the books sending them to “out of print” heaven. Not because they were not selling, but because they were not selling “well enough”.

Large companies have trouble lending support to “smaller niche’ projects. A creative lesson you should take into account. Learn from my mistakes. And remember it was “my’ mistake, not Random House. I was not a victim. I was a volunteer.

Someone at Cartoon Network thought it would add prestige to all of the Cartoon properties they owned if they signed an exclusive contract with the toy giant  “Mattel”.( without any input or say from the creators of those properties). Exclusive meant, even if they passed on a toy line, nobody else could carry it either. I’m not all that big on toys, but what we found out was, if Mattel could’nt guarantee that they could ship so many millions worth of toys out of the gate, a toy line wasn’t worth their time.

Hence, no Cartoon Network toys except for a few internal offerings and some happy meal toys.

I’m not saying that these examples are always the case. Just as an artist and business person, take the support you will get for your creative project as a point to ponder. Not just the bragging rights. Networks “LOVE” for you to start bragging about a show you have with them before you start negotiating. It puts you in a bad spot if you can’t make a deal.

The final info I’d like to pass on, is that I have purchased some of the last remaining copies of my book. If you would like to get one autographed, before you can only buy used ones on ebay, I have them in my store. Get one while you can.

Okay,,, well. I debated whether to share this but,,,, I’m still kinda ticked about this.

Nickelodeon censored my commentary on the third season DVD.

There is still a bulk of the great stuff there.

I guess it bothers me so much because their notes on the commentary gave me horrible flashbacks of  Standards and Practices at the big orange network. Letting some things go but honing in on strange obsessions.

Apparently,  they don’t like nipples, they don’t like beer or adult film stars or You Tube.

Shout Factory was completely behind me in this fight, and we offered to put a disclaimer before the bonus commentary… you know the one..

“The following commentary does not contain views shared by Nickelodeon. Viewer discretion is advised.”

I think the viewer discretion is to know that the whole commentary is not there when you buy it. But it’s still cool, and I get to thank the incredibly talented crew who helped make the show. That is why I didn’t nix the whole commentary completely.

So there you go.

For God’s Sake, Value The Time you Sell

I celebrated a birthday last week, and if there one thing I’ve learned in my years is that the chunks of your life that you sell to mega corporations should be placed at high value.

I see so many artists and writers selling it as if they were having a garage sale.

I see it with these amazing animation projects that I see others selling to networks or even “go-between” so called “producers” for pennies on the dollar. A few thousand dollars for what can earn a company or “producer” millions.

I also see it with some Internet animation websites. Buy out all rights to characters and properties for a couple of thousand dollars.

It makes me sick.

The reason why I see this at birthdays, is that when I look back at my life, the moments I cherish most are not the time spent working for conglomerates so they can put more money in the hands of the shareholders with little regard for art or integrity. Its the time with my kids, travel, projects of my own. So time I sell away from that comes at a high price.

I found the work on Rocko and Lazlo rewarding on it’s own merits and the opportunity to work with some very developed artists and writers. But I also made sure that the time traded for it was compensated at a fair price for what I felt it was worth. I was willing to take less for more ownership of the project, but if the media giants want all of the rights, then they should compensate the creators of those rights. Your time you are trading, and your creation you have yielded is worth a lot. Don’t accept a ” Standard” contract, don’t accept a first offer because you are afraid it will go away. And see what a company can potentially make from what you are selling.

This really goes for any creative project. Yes,there seems to be a going rate for certain creative offerings, and these companies are taking risks. But there needs to be more give and take.

Don’t sell yourself short. You and your work have high value. Stand up for it.

Syrian Cartoonist Ali Ferzat© Ali Ferzat

© Ali Ferzat

Lets talk about the power of cartoons.

Ali Ferzat, a renowned editorial cartoonist in Syria, recently took a stance against the regime of President Bashar Assad, breaking the line in the sand that state sanctioned media placed on such criticism. The result? Laughing it off as mere child’s play? No. Ferzat was soon visited by masked thugs of the regime and brutally beaten, while breaking both of his hands to stop his cartoons.

Thomas Nast was one of the first to realize the power of the political cartoon in the 1800′s when he took on Boss Tweed and Tammany Hall in New York. Boss Tweed was heard to say “Many don’t read the articles, but oh,, those damn cartoons”. It was said that Nast’ cartoons were the most powerful spotlights on the corruption which led to Tweed’s conviction.

Even in my small ( and nothing coming close to the dangers Ali faces) world of San Jose when I was Political Cartoonist for the San Jose Sun,  I was on a “dark list” for taking on corrupt councilman who were on the take by developers to “overlook’ zoning and urban sprawl laws. I was 17.

Same goes with animation, in films and TV cartoons. We can  call attention to news and ideas. Look at Persepolis, a graphic novel turned into a strong animated film by Marjane Satrapi. Calling attention to the Iranian revolution.

Yes, cartoons and animation can be funny. But also look at the power they yield. They do threaten regimes. Only by the power of the pen.

What do have to say with your work? Is it just just funny, or does it make us think about something? Does it shed light on issues most would rather bury in the sand? Picasso once said “ Art is a lie which makes us realize the truth.” Is there passion in your work? Taking it out of the hands of mere surface fluff of unicorns farting rainbows makes our work mean more to ourselves. And I by no means want to take lightly, or trounce on the horrible brutality that Ali Ferzat faced for stating his opinion.

The good news is that Ali Ferzat was not stopped. His hands healed and he is now back drawing even stronger cartoons to a world that is now watching more than ever due to the brutal attack.

Look at the change you help make with your art. Any art. Music, Writing, drawing. It’s powerful.

Thank you for your Input.

Robert Scull in the Rocko office that he and Doug Lawrence ( Mr. Lawrence) shared.

Martin Olson and Steve Hillenburg in the Rocko writing room 1993.

The Rocko Background department with ( left to right) Art Director Nick Jennings, Timothy Barnes and Adrianna Galvez. ( and a strange pinball machine).

I finally finished the half hour commentary for the 3rd season Rocko DVD.  I basically chose some of my favorite episodes and clips and talked about the teams and such. Thank you for all of the input. I tried to get to as many as I could. There of course was much more I thought about after finishing it that I could have included. ( The memory floodgates opened to some things that had been long locked.)

The one thing I remember was how much fun we had working as a crew. It was much more relaxed than the atmosphere at Cartoon Network on Lazlo. We were all close. We all went out to play pool after work and have parties on the weekends. Our Vineland studio space had no exec’s in it. I mention in the commentary that the office had an “all page” so that anyone could pick up the phone and page anyone. Of course it got exploited with random comedy routines and mock announcements. And my “nipple updates”. I remember timer Tom Yasumi would record the announcements and make audio tapes along with various crew members singing songs ( the one I remember was the “Brady Bunch ” theme.)

There were 4pm headstands in the hall,  the “mocha man” showing up to make his magical coffee concoctions. Doug Lawrence in his pajamas eating twinkies. I remember stepping over crew members kids coloring in the hallway. The sound of the pinball machine being played in the BG room. Phone calls from Gene Simmons of Kiss, and Howie Mandel. Visits from Weird Al Yankovic.

All of this and we always delivered the show on time, on schedule and on budget.

Most Rocko crew reminisce that it was a once in a lifetime experience. I would probably agree with that.

On top of the first reveal of the Rocko’s Modern Life Season 3 DVD cover , distributed by Shout Factory, I’m asking for some input.

I’m doing a short Bonus Feature Expose’ on Season 3, ( I regard it as the best season out of the four) and I’m  highlighting certain scenes, episodes etc. to talk about and tell stories.

My question to you is…is there a burning question about an episode or scene in Season 3 you would love to know about? I’ll take it into consideration when deciding what to include.

The episodes for season 3 are:

Bye Bye Birdy,     Belch of Destiny,      The Emperors New Joe,     Schnitheads     Sugar Frosted Frights,       Ed is Dead,    Fish-n-Chumps ,   Camera Shy,                Nothing to Sneeze at,       Old Fogey Froggy,   Manic Mechanic, Rocko’s Happy Vermin,   I see London, I see France,  The Fatlands,   Fortune Cookie,    Dear John.   Speaking Terms Tooth and Nail,    Wacky Delly,    The Big Question,    The Big Answer,   An Elk for Heffer,   Scrubbin Down Under,    Zanzibar ( The Recycle Show)    Fatal Contraption.

Would love to hear from you.

In a Life in Art, Uncertainty Needs a Comfortable Place to Sit.

I learned it young.

I aspired to be a newspaper comic strip artist while I was growing up, as the newspaper comic business was shrinking. Thinking I had missed the boat, a new boat appeared to harbor my weird characters and stories in animation. A medium that I loved so much more than comic drawing. As Joseph Campbell says, “Sometimes we have to let go of the life we planned in order to make way for the one that is waiting for us”.

Things are changing even more at a rapid pace than when I was first embarking in a life of art. Illustrators had once had comfortable careers painting for advertising were rapidly having trouble keeping that boat afloat..

A life in art asks for flexibility. Experimentation. Adapting to your canvas and making the journey part of your art. Commerce changes. Needs and what others value changes. Your style and what you have to say doesn’t have to change, but sometimes you can see opportunity on the horizon that you didn’t even predict. An opportunity to try a different form of expression that may also help to pay the bills. Often it’s better than you ever imagined.

We can’t waste precious time bemoaning what is no longer. What our careers used to look like. How much money we used to make, or how much notoriety we once had. Those are illusions anyway. Sometimes we even limit ourselves with what we think is right for us. Your art is happening right now, and moving like water where it wants to go. It has bigger plans for us than we know.

If you are going through uncertainty, paint about it. Write about it. Laugh at it. Whether you like it or not, it’s what happens in life. Use the canvas you have on hand.

Great Time in Rhode Island!

Thanks to Adam Paloian and all of the folks at RISD ( Rhode Island School of Design) for a great lecture turn-out, organization and energy. These events can often be made or broken by the crowd and what they bring, both good and bad. This one was outstanding. After Adam warmed up the crowd with a clapping rendition of the R-E-C-Y-C-L-E song, we got into a discussion on Rocko, Lazlo, Kaboing and the challenges that accompany a life in Art. A conversation with other artists is always invigorating. Ahhh, if we could only look into the nipples of the future to see what kind of surprises they have in store for us.

Found some new material on the nightmares of air travel, and some good sketches of some fellow passengers. ( which I may share later.)

A shot from Wild Life, a short film by Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby

Oscar nominated "Wild Life" by Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby.

Always a Fan of Wendy Tilby’s Work

Every year I always seem to zero in on an Oscar Nominated Animated Short that doesn’t win the Oscar. Last year it was Let’s Pollute!  by Geefwee Boedoe. This year it was a beautiful film by Canadian filmmakers Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis called “Wild Life”. ( You can download a copy from  I-tunes to see the full short). This film was entirely painted frame by frame in gouache and took 6 to 7 years to produce.

The two had collaborated on a another film in 1999 called When the Day Breaks, which also got an Oscar nomination, but lost out to the beautiful and amazing “Old Man and the Sea”. Wendy herself walked the red carpet in 1991 with the film “Strings”, which is when I fell in love with her work. In the festival circuit myself in the late eighties and early nineties, I was so enamored with so many Canadian animated films, But Wendy’s I always took notice of. Both in her independent shorts and commercial work.

Jumping on a plane to Rhode Island for a lecture. I’ll send photos.