Talk to the Snail

Okay. So I know this is 98% off the topic of cartoons, but I just wanted to share my grief over the lack of illustrations in modern “grown-up” literature these days. Such an added kick is artwork in the books of, say the 1800s, that it’s a colossal drag that we don’t see such drawings, paintings, and etchings in works by Johns Grisham, Updike, or Irving. Or Danielle Steele. Why is that? The cost? I can’t think of too many books that wouldn’t benefit by a handful of illustrations. One artist’s interpretation of another artist’s art. Heck, there are probably tens of thousands of talented illustrators out there who’d be eager to take a crack at a gig like that. Anyway, if you’re into this sort of thing, please see BibliOddyssey for a big dose of inspiration. Now, granted, most of the illustrations on this blog are not from works of fiction, [Read more…]

Well, by the photo above, you can see just how thick was the throng trying to get into tonight’s second studio screening of Random! Cartoon shorts (why we required a hat for admittance, I’m not sure). Held in the Nickelodeon gym, the screening was made up of Kyle Carrozza’s “MooBeard the Cow Pirate”, Aliki Theofilopoulos’s “Yaki & Yumi”, Hiroshi Chida’s “Boneheads”, and Raul Aguirre, Jr, and Bill Ho’s “Hero Heights”. The fine folks at Nick were kind enough to spring for mini-corn dogs, mac & cheese, a smattering of veggies, and tasty brownies with nuts. These studio screenings can be kind of tough, as the crowd often consists mainly of fellow animators and filmmakers, a hardened, cynical lot indeed. The turnout was splendid, with many of the voice actors and artists in attendance. And, best of all, the response to the four films was terrific, matched only by the shower of love given to the ruggedly handsome m.c. [Read more…]

If you’re going to be in the Palm Springs, California, area on Sunday, August 27, your primary responsibility will be to stop by the Palm Springs International Festival of Short Films & Film Market (the PSIFoSF&FM, for short). Why? Because our good friends at Nickelodeon have hijacked a solid 102 minutes of screening time to show a “program of shorts from the brilliant creators at Nickelodeon including favorite characters and sneak peaks into new and upcoming projects.” Included in said program are three Random! Cartoons: Diane Kredensor & Dana Galin’s “Call Me Bessie!”; Anne Walker’s “Mind the Kitty”; and Pen Ward’s “Adventure Time”. It’ll be the public debut “Bessie!” and “Kitty”. You’ll also see an extra-good episode of Random! creator Doug TenNapel’s side-project, CatScratch, an episode of something called SpongeBob SquarePants, and a few examples of Nick’s own shorts program. Oh, and there’ll also be an episode of Frederator’s My Life as a Teenage Robot thrown in there [Read more…]

Tommy Cannon has interviewed Big Nate and “Super John Doe Junior” creator Lincoln Peirce over on the APB: Editorial blog.

Tommy: What was your childhood like?

Lincoln: My childhood was, for the most part,
crushingly normal.

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A pair of backgrounds by Emmy award-winning Jim Hickey for Pat Ventura’s “The Dangerous Duck Brothers”.

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Good luck to stalwart Random! Cartoons production manager, Mr Jack Kinman. After toiling away for our modest production for about a year, JK’s moving up to the third floor to work on Nick’s Tak and the Power of Juju. Thanks for your hard work, Jack. We couldn’t have done it without you. Well, I guess we could have, but we just would’ve had a lot less Jelly Bellys on hand.

A pair of backgrounds from Pen Ward’s “The Bravest Warriors”. I’m not sure whose work this is, but I’ll find out later.

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It’s a Battle Royale. In this corner, Combating Conrad, Gary, director of Ivan, the Unbearable, Bronk & Bongo, and Ratzafratz! And, in the opposite corner, stands Jocular Jeff DeGrandis, handling slugging responsibilities on Moobeard, Thom Cat, and his very own The Finster Finster Show. Seriously, both men are so able and so reliable that those of us at Random! Cartoons can only thank our lucky stars that, combined, they’ve taken on a massive 2/13 of the directorial duties on this season’s shorts. Both CalArts grads, Jeff & Gary — or Jary, as we’ve been accustomed to labeling them — have been tremendous assets to our little production, and for that we are extremely grateful. Thanks, guys.