I'll be 56 in May. I try not to focus on that, but it does rear its (bald) head now and again--in particular when one is traveling along a well known path, and something unexpected happens, something that requires...attention. I thought at this age all the decisions had been made, all the difficulties of youth had been settled and all I had to do was ride it out until retirement--and then sail on off into the sunset with my wife and pets at my side. Isn't that what "old people" are supposed to do?
Instead-at (almost) 56--I've decided to start over again--well, almost. For the last few years I've been drawn more and more into the study of animation, picking up where I'd left off as an undergraduate art student back in 1981. It began with animation history( for a course I began teaching at Adelphi U.) then design and layout (to adapt into my comics work)--and now, the practice of the medium itself. Over this last weekend I received my idol Richard Williams' great The Animator's Survival Kit, along with Marcie Begleiter's book on storyboarding, From Word to Image--and I've been immersed in both books to the neglect of everything else ever since.
That's not all, prior to that I'd read (and written about) David Levy's From Pitch to Production, and I recently finished Joe Murray's Creating Animated Cartoons with Character-both of which were excellent introductions to the world of TV animation. As a result, I've spent the last month or so, working on a project I never thought I'd do--a pitch bible for a possible animated TV show.
Yup! And I've got to say--while it was one of the most challenging projects I've ever worked on, it was also a blast! What's the show, you ask? Well-here's a sneak peek:
Whaddya think? I don't want to reveal too much about the idea just yet, but obviously--it's a spin-off from "Plastic Babyheads" & "Jetpack Jr." and starring my most popular character; Bella! Just a word--it's very different from the worlds of my comics; a different scenario and a different Bella too. I'm pretty excited about the results, excited enough that I'm working on a storyboard for a proposed episode, and may even work up some sample animation. And while I don't have any connections in the industry, I've been trying to get it in the right hands.
"Bella Dilemma"' isn't the only pitch in the works. I have a bunch of different ideas, many spun off of different aspects of my comic strips--and I'm going to try and see them all to some sort of realization--even if it is only a two-page pitch. But TV isn't the only avenue--I'm hopeful that at the very least, I'll be able to make my own shorts and pick up where I left off 35 years ago. It's late in the game, I know, and I frequently ask myself, "what are you doing?"
The answer is simply, living life. Our culture places a premium on youth, it's built into the cultural DNA--but such a view shortchanges life post-40, which for many can be half of the experience--and in many ways, the better half. As generation succeeds generation, and one pop culture replaces another in the economic "mainstream", a tendency to dismiss those no longer tethered to consumerist cycles becomes a prevailing cultural attitude. It has nothing to do with vitality or experience, and everything to do with economics (and technology-as it is tied to the economy). What I'm trying to say is, we shouldn't be so dismissive of people who don't sit on pins and needles waiting for every next tune or music video, or who haven't kept up with who's on "Jimmy Kimmel". But we "older folks" sometimes allow that thinking into our own conception of self, and it can be self-defeating. It's no minor thing, to work past that little voice in your head that whispers every morning " you're too old, you don't have time, you're irrelevant, you're not a kid anymore. What do you expect to accomplish?" But working past it is what we have to do. What I have to do.
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Having said all that, I've gotten great information and inspiration from the suite of books on animation I've been reading, starting with the aforementioned David Levy's book, "Animation Development: From Pitch to Production".
Prior to Levy's book, I'd read-and thoroughly enjoyed The Noble Approach:Maurice Noble and the Zen of Animation Design ably adapted from Maurice Noble's lectures and notes by protege, Tod Polson.
Filled with terrific illustrations from
Maurice Noble's work for Chuck Jones
at Warner Brothers and elsewhere, it serves both as retrospective catalogue and a course in layout and design from one of the great masters. I continue to refer to it for inspiration in both my comic strip work and my designs for pitches like "Bella Dilemma".
Similarly, Joe Murray's book, Creating Animated Cartoons with Character: A Guide to Developing and Producing Your Own Series is chock full of terrific advice from an experienced animation producer, and includes insightful interviews a wide variety of pros such as Steve Hillenburg and Craig McCracken.
Murray lays out a clear path from imagination to pitch to production, and while success of the kind he's detailing may be elusive, he is both an encouraging mentor and engaging raconteur. This attractive book is also filled with Murray's illustrations, which is a big plus.
That's all for now! Thanks for reading!
I just finished David Levy's "Animation Development: From Pitch to Production". This book is helpful on many levels, not merely for the next potential Matt Groening, but for writers and cartoonists of all stripes, whether you're working on the next "Rick and Morty" or just slaving away on the next "Jetpack Jr." comic strip. The first few chapters alone, detailing the content necessary for any good "pitch bible", forced me to think, and re-think, character over and over again, as "Plastic Babyheads" gradually transitioned to "Jetpack Jr." this past year.
Character is the honey that keeps the flies coming back; whether to comic or cartoon, novel or TV series. Of course, that's no news to even the most inexperienced writer, but artists are most interested in pretty pictures--and so it was a lesson learned late for me. Nevertheless, I worked and worked at it--and put Levy's book aside until I felt I knew who my characters were. That didn't come easy. I didn't start with a defining concept(other than an Earth invaded by plastic babyheads), or the idea of pitting this character against that one. They developed more or less organically as the strip has evolved, and it's taken time to get to know them.
Picking up with Levy's book where I'd left off last Fall, I found the remaining chapters no less educational, and just as challenging. The life of the creative animator/story-teller described within its pages is fraught with ups and downs, loads of disappointments and rare success. Frankly, I finished it feeling defeated before I'd begun, so difficult is the world of television animation development Levy describes. If you have illusions about overnight success, this book will wake you up to reality pretty quick. It's loaded with a lot of insightful information that should help budding young animation developers pitch their ideas and navigate the rough waters of development, should they be so lucky. But it's clear, animation development is not for the faint-of-heart--and if you don't want it badly enough, this book will ward you off the attempt.
Levy might as well have been writing about the world of comic strip development; for while the details differ, the trials are the same. For every Phoebe and Her Unicorn there are hundreds
(thousands?) of strips that never get off the ground, and many more that get to one stage of development but not the next. And every step of the way is fraught with the same emotional highs and lows. It's not for the faint-hearted.
Obviously, the subtext of this post is that I've been thinking of the next step for "Jetpack Jr.", both as comic strip and as animation. In both cases, the chances are slim; realistically next-to-nil, and I know that(accepting it is another thing). At this point in my life, I still have dreams( yes--geezers still dream!) but very few illusions. I work on "Jetpack Jr." because I love it, I'm obsessed with it- it's great fun and, go figure, I have to know what happens to these people.
If I put together a pitch bible, or a submission package, it's not only because I have a hope for success(sure I do), but because it's a learning experience, a creative endeavor in itself. The process teaches me more about the strip, its world and its characters--and makes the strip better. Putting together a pitch, or working on sample animation--can only be a plus for me.(All of the work on character this past year wouldn't have happened if I'd not been challenged by David Levy's book.) Not only will I be creatively engaged in a medium I've always loved and admired, challenging myself to broaden the range of my abilities-- I'll bring my experience back to the classroom, to my students! And... if I'm very lucky, I might make something good, something I can be proud of.
via GIPHY
Jetpack Jr. may never make it to syndication, and it may never be an animated TV show. I mean, get real--right? But there's always the next step--and continually stretching oneself, as a story-teller and as an artist--will have a different payoff.
If I were to let the challenges posed by David Levy's fine book dissuade me from trying, then I never wanted it bad enough in the first place--and the only one who loses in that equation....is me.
