Channel Frederator Blog

Todd Ramsay

Todd Ramsay’s series, Honkbarn, is a musical monsterfest. Maybe because he had a babysitter most of us would would sell our own mothers for. Sorry, Mom. Read on…

Channel Frederator: Where did you study animation?

Todd Ramsay: I took 4 years of Fine Arts at Okanagan University College followed by the Classical Animation program at the Vancouver Film School.

CF: Who or what has influenced your work the most?

TR: My biggest influence over the years would have to be Jim Henson. As a child I loved everything he did, I never missed an episode of Fraggle Rock or Sesame Street. I was so into the Muppet Show that my parents would leave me in front of the television and go to the bar for an hour. I guess that would also make Jim Henson my babysitter.

CF: What are your favorite films/filmmakers?

TR: Some of my favorite filmmakers would have to be Don Hertzfeldt, Quentin Tarantino, Martin Scorsese, Nick Park, and Bill Plympton to name a few. Marv Newland and Jon Izen are a couple of filmmakers who have really inspired my animation style. They have such distinct styles and aren’t afraid to colour outside the lines. I’m so used to working on shows that have such a clean line and so many rules. I like it when artists put the eraser away and keep things messy, it’s seems to add a kid like quality and is so much more expressive.

CF: What was the first animation you ever saw?

TR: I don’t remember much about watching cartoons when I was a toddler. I do however, remember watching He-Man and I remember it being the most awesome thing ever.

CF: Why little monsters as opposed to animals or people?

TR: There’s a lot more freedom and imagination when drawing monsters. Nobody really knows what a monster looks like other than the ones they imagine. When drawing people or animals there’s only so much you can do. All people have two eyes, a nose, and a mouth. If you add or subtract one of these things then those people become monsters and the possibilities are endless. Also, when creating the series Honkbarn I didn’t want to have any dialogue. I think monsters are funnier when they don’t communicate in the English language.

Thanks, Todd!

You can check out “Honkbarn: Episode #5″ in Channel Frederator episode #158 right here!

– Bailee DesRocher