hi.. So I just finished recording… i guess Melissa allready blogged about that. umm.. right now i’m just trying to get everything organized. I’m going back into the boards and fixing things. My BG designer Colin Fleming and I have been discussing holograms.. so I am going back in and drawing Brain Dog hologram characters.
That’s about it. Going to edit the dialogue next thursday… then do the animatic on monday. Man, Floyd Bishop has a really nice production blog. It really covers everything and is nice to read.. mine is kinda … eh..

I am so excited to announce thatDanica McKellar, well known for playing “Winnie” on “The Wonder Years”, as well as appearing on many episodes of “The West Wing” will be bringing Katerina Metropoulos to life! She had a special sincerety and vulnerability to her voice, that is perfect for Kat.
Tess will be voiced by Frankie Ingrassia, who has a really nice “Peppermint Pattyish” charm to her sound, and a natural edge. It really meant a lot to me that she cared about the project and the character so much.
LaTonya Holmes will play the part of Gypcy..I knew she was the one as soon as I heard the first few words from the copy roll off her tongue..she brought a lot of bounce and spunk to the character, which is exactly what I need.
Last, but not least, the very talented Quinton Flynn will be bringing Kat’s date(s) to life..he makes me laugh every time I listen to his audition. As you can see if you check out his link, has been the voice of MANY great characters!
There were so many immensely talented actors who came by, and it was an honor to have them in. Thanks everyone!

Here’s a rendered revolve of Buck.

There are some slight tweaks since the stills we uploaded. We adjusted some of the shapes near the eyes and the overall shape of the nose. We also moved the ears more forward.

Let us know what you think…

-Floyd

So, having completed voice casting, after much painful deliberation (there were many great candidates) I decided on Wil Wheaton for the voice of Kyle. I’d call this an inspired casting choice; for one thing, Wil is a self-proclaimed geek, and for another, he runs his own hawesome weblog, in which he professes his geek-ness several times a week. But Wil’s entries are more than just that; he’s also an accomplished writer who has published a few books, and his blogs are thoughtful, funny, and real reflections of his feelings and life.

I just wanted to share this blog entry of Wil’s with y’all. It made me smile. The web is a wonderful thing, ain’t it? See, we as directors and creators go through the casting process with often rarely a thought to the multiple lines of actors and actresses trooping through, hoping to get parts on our shows based on the quickest of auditions - auditions where they have to drive across town for just a few minutes in front of a microphone, saying the same lines that everyone else says and hoping to stand out. They are just as excited to get a part as we are when we sell a show. It’s really nice to have a little insight into their lives once in a while. Thanks for sharing, Wil!

Shown on Heavy.com, and animated by Mondo Media (who also animates “Happy Tree Friends” as well as other mini shows like “Inspector Beaver” and “Trailer Court”), this “Shirley Q. Liquor” short is anything but subtle. Love it or hate it. We’re pretty sure you won’t be indifferent.

Melissa

Being this is our next to last day here, Jaime wants you all to know what the heck he’s been doing all these years. So here goes:
Jaime Diaz was in the animation business since Walt Disney was alive. When he saw Dumb-Hounded, directed by Tex Avery, in his native Argentina, Jaime wondered where Hollywood was–back then google was not available. So, he made a long trip north and by the strange circumstances of life he landed in front of…Tex Avery! Tex gave him a job on Cascade Films of California in Hollywood. Friz Freling gave him his chance to do his first piece of animation, and Bob McKimson put him in as a layout artist at WB for Daffy Duck and Speedy Gonzales. He went on to work at virtually every animation house in LA. He worked elbow to elbow with Don Bluth at Filmation and on the breaks they played frisbee. Jaime worked also with Chuck Jones, where he met Larry Huber, on a show called Curiosity Shop, with characters done by Mel Lazarus, Johnny Hart, and Sergio Aragones of Mad Magazine. Jaime has won numerous awards, including the only gold Clio for Latin America. He also won the Lapiz de Oro (golden pencil) for outstanding commercials, and the Leone D’Argento in Italy.
He was nominated for an Annie award for directing the ChalkZone pilot. He plans to get together with Bill Burnett to win many awards for Dr. Froyd’s Funny Farm.
He thinks almost every character in Hollywood passed through his animation desk at one time or another…and maybe it’s true! His great dream is to create an icon for the Hollywood that he owes so much to. Does that make sense? Yes!
Yay Jaime!!! (Bill’s Partner)

So here is where we are at with Buck. He’s modeled in a default pose so that we have room to put in all of his animation controls. He won’t appear this stiff in the short!

His front view.

His side view.

So… what do you think?

-Floyd

Comic Strip Week rocks on with today’s item, a 1936 RKO/Van Beuren cartoon based on Fontaine Fox’s “Toonerville Folks.” By the time this film was released, the eccentric Toonerville gang was a national institution, having already entertained readers for almost thirty years (and they would go on for another twenty!) Everybody knew all about the Toonerville Trolley, the Skipper, Powerful Katrinka and the Terrible Tempered Mr. Bang, so the animators didn’t waste a lot of time on introductions in “Trolley Ahoy, ” the second of three Toonerville cartoons.

Burt Gillett, a seasoned Disney guy, worked on all the Toonerville films, and didn’t try too hard to get the exact look of the original comic while directing this one. In the funny pages the action was scribbled down by Fox in a crazy, squiggly style, usually framed from a high vantage point, as if we were perched on a telephone pole. Here, the Van Bueren folks just try to keep everything racing forward, focusing on the vivid characterizations and LOTS of frenzied activity. And from our “why isn’t real life like an animated cartoon” department — wouldn’t it be nice to have a small, travel size cyclone to help keep you on your daily schedule?

A cartoon a day, Monday through Friday — ReFrederator will keep you on track!

Dave Kirwan

CONGRATULATIONS PEN, JERRY, ANDREW, ADAM, ANNE, KYLE AND ALIKI!!!
The Finster boys and I wanted to congratulate you all on a great job on all of your cartoons!
We enjoyed watching them on the Nickelodeon gym this evening!
Take care and I wish you all continued success and fun!
Take care.
Your Cartoon Pals……. Jeff and the Finster Boys

Okay. So earlier tonight we had the premiere (semi-) official screening of the first completed Random! Cartoons. There are seven at this point. The screening was held in the Nickelodeon gym on the big screen - certainly not the same as watching them on your TV at home. The mini-wing-ding was open only to the R!C crew, and about three dozen folks showed up to check out - many for the first time - the work of their fellow cartoonists.

So while it was an audience certainly with a different point-of-view than your average kid (the only audience besides the film’s creator we’re ultimately interested in), it sure is an experience to get the reactions of a group for the first time - what jokes you thought would kill that don’t, and hearing laughs you never expected, among other things.

I’ve seen these films umpteen times, and I still enjoy watching them. Even though we’ve got a long way to go (these seven films aren’t even a fifth of the cartoons for the season), congratulations to the filmmakers behind this first batch of shorts (Kyle, Andrew, Adam, Aliki, Anne, Jerry, and Pen). I hope you’re all as pleased with yourselves as you deserve to be.