I knew it! I knew I was on to something when I created a cartoon rhino.

I don’t want to say “I told you so”, but this British newspaper story, with photos, from the DAILY MAIL, about Rupert the Rhino will warm your heart. Domesticated Rhinos will be the next big thing… just you wait and see!

Q: What’s more fun than a herd of HORNSWIGGLES?

A: Owning your very own limited edition Hornswiggle maquette!

Jason Peltz has finished painting the first several Hornswiggle maquettes and they look incredible. These babies already have a home. But if you are interested in adopting one from a future litter, drop me a line.

My friend Jason Peltz is sculpting a Hornswiggle maquette! Jason has made numerous maquettes for various personal clients (see his website for some samples of his great work). His sculpt of Hornswiggle is turning out so good, I’m having him make a few. They’ll make great Christmas gifts. The final painted versions, mounted on a base, will be available November 1st. If you are interested in purchasing one of these beauities, drop me a line.

Rule #362: Plug your character whenever, wherever you can.

I was interviewed by ABC’s NIGHTLINE last night for a story on classic cartoon censorship. You can watch it here, on YOU TUBE. I was able to position my HORNSWIGGLE postcard directly over my shoulder (on the right). It’s not actually legible, but it’s there!

I actually started chanting “Hornswiggle, Hornswiggle, Hornswiggle…” several times - but they edited that part out.

I’ll be moderating the RANDOM CARTOONS panel at the San Diego Comic Con on Thursday July 20th, 2:30pm in Room 2. This will be the first true public exposure to our creations. It’s going to be a lot of fun - we’ll see clips from several cartoons, as well as behind the scenes photos, pre-production art and I’ll interview several creators in-person about the whole experience. I’ll be handing out free Hornswiggle and Birdsdorf buttons to everyone I meet at the panel. Spread the word - and see you there!

It’s a wrap!

HORNSWIGGLE had its final mix yesterday and I’m extremely proud of the film. It looks great, sounds great and was a lot of fun to put together. I hope you’ll enjoy watching it as much as we did making it.

I want to again thank Fred, Eric, Larry, Therese, Molly, Kevin, Melissa and the whole gang at Frederator. I want to thank Rich, Tom T., Tom S., Dennis and the whole gang at G7 Animation. I want to thank Earl Kress, Bill Vallely and Bill Burnett.

Let’s do it again!

Wednesday and Thursday are technically the last two days of production on HORNSWIGGLE. Bill Burnett (Chalk Zone, Dr. Froyd’s Funny Farm) is doing my music, giving us the jungle rhythms we require. We mix sound on Thursday. I will have probably watched the film over 60 times during this post production process. I’m still not tired of it. The film gets better and better with each step - sound effects, color correction, dialogue edit, et al.

Congratulations to our very own fearless leader, for his guest shot on G4’s ATTACK OF THE SHOW on Monday. I was very proud when he mentioned RANDOM CARTOONS (Is that the first public announcement of the series beyond our humble blogs?). You looked great Fred, got all the main points said, and showed some great clips.

Good folks there at G4.

I was on the same show, back on January 21st 2005 (when the program was known as THE SCREEN SAVERS). That happened to be the very same day Rich Arons and I first pitched you the short now known as HORNSWIGGLE. With HORNSWIGGLE three days away from completion, I felt some cosmic synchronicity about your appearence!

Good job!
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Congratulations to our very own fearless leader, for his guest shot on G4’s ATTACK OF THE SHOW on Monday. I was very proud when he mentioned RANDOM CARTOONS (Is that the first public announcement of the series beyond our humble blogs?). You looked great Fred, got all the main points said, and showed some great clips.

Good folks there at G4.

I was on the same show, back on January 21st 2005 (when the program was known as THE SCREEN SAVERS). That happened to be the very same day Rich Arons and I first pitched you the short now known as HORNSWIGGLE. With HORNSWIGGLE three days away from completion, I felt some cosmic synchronicity about your appearence!

Good job!

Wow! I spent four hours today with Rich, Larry and Molly editing our seven and a half minute rough cut to a six minute and fifty two second locked picture. We cut frames from almost every scene - and in doing so got to view most of the film on a frame by frame basis. What does it mean if even the inbetween drawings (like the image above) look hilarious? I think it’s a good sign. We added a few dissolves, wipes and and an iris out. I’m very very pleased with the final result. It’s a tight film and loaded with action (and hopefully lots of laughs). Tomorrow we spot sound effects and music. I can’t wait.

HORNSWIGGLE is going to look (and sound) better and better within the next two weeks. We lock picture on Wednesday, spot sound effects and music on Thursday, and prepare for the final mix. It’s been an incredible experience. I’m watching the rough cut over and over again and am amazed by it. I’m still not tired of watching it. It’s a good feeling.