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sour-badger · 4 years

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Art style challenge: reflection

So, during this very challenging months and 3-4 weeks of social distancing I was stuck. Drawing became boring and I was in state of stale purgatory and it was annoying me. However, my sate of monotony came to a halt whenever I watch “Cheer Up!”, a show/DnD campaign created by Wrapped Lamp that was set in the world of JoJo, but in a bleak setting. It's wonderful, and the characters are brilliant. (This a link of the first episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVF6ShkYqU0 )

As I was watching the show I decided to challenge myself, I have never drawn in Hirohiko Araki’s style before. I have never tried to draw like that because it is a simple but complex approach to illustration that is very hard to draw, let alone replicate, but I tried and I proud of the results. So because of this I set myself some rules:

1. The illustrations must be based on the player/character icons in “Cheer Up”

2. They must look like protagonists that could be in the anime but are not copies of existing Jojo characters. (Because that's cheating)

3. Each illustration must be done within 3 days. (A personal thing for me, I get bored of drawing the same illustration for more than 3 days, if you want try this you don't have to follow this rule)

With these rules, Photoshop and google images by my side I was ready. And this is how it went!

(I am putting each reference of every character in groups of eyes, face, hair and body because I had to to a lot of research for this style, I have put the main influencers down there were more but are not important)

My process

At the start of all my attempts I create a beginning sketch of original icons. I am going in blind so doing this shows me how they created it without tracing it, sort of like life drawing. I then made a rough line drawing to see what the design looks like without making it official. I sometimes draw a second outline to figure out the details and then I compose the final line work but I also have the original art, the many characters in Jojo Bizarre Adventure and real life examples at all times. Paint the hair, skin, clothes and then create the shading and then they are done.

The first sketch

rough line work

The final outline with the shading

I also chose to try not to use part 3 as reference material. I personally dislike the seasons animation and character design. I don't know what happened in that season but they look terrible. It took me 3 tries to finish Stardust Crusaders and the art work was the main reason.

The Characters

Isadora

Played by jay (Stabbyness)

Isadora was the first character I drew. I chose her because the next live “Cheer Up” episode was in 3 days and with that time I decided to give myself a fighting chance by drawing her first (I find women easier to draw than men).

With Isadora I had to also decide what Jojo season they would be in from the start, I wanted consistency because they are the protagonists. I decided to do a mix of part 4 but was mainly based in part 5. For me I liked the colour shading of part 4 but loved the structure and graphic style of part 5. This made shading and highlights easy and consistent.

Because I had never drew anything like Jojo I had to use multiple characters as a frame of reference, (I did not copy the originals, if I did then there would be no point of doing this challenge in the first place). I thought it would be good to show how many characters I referred to to help with this process.

Isadora was the easiest to draw out of the 4. She has a traditional female design, her only challenge was her eyes. As the first one this one was done in time and and looked good at the time. However now that I have got the hang of drawing in this style I want to redraw her again to show myself how much I have grown during this challenge.

Characters that i used for art style reference

Eyes: Trish Una, Narancia Ghirga and Yukako Yamagish

Face: Trish, Erina Pendelten, Yukako

Hair: the whole part 5 crew (I had know idea how draw Jojo hair at this point)

Body: Joylne Jostar, Yukako

Donna

Played by Will (bigmovingtarget)

Donna was the hardest overall draw. She is a wonderful character but she does not typical female build. She is a MMA fighter, a tattoo, wears a hoodie and jaw that could cut glass. This created some problems, Araki characters rarely wear hoodies and his female characters are not normally drawn with strong features, they don't ever have a massive tribal tattoo. Also Araki’s female cast have a very small range of hair styles so I had to look at the male cast for inspiration and information because donna is an unusual design!!

Her tattoo was very difficult and I was in a pickle for the whole first day. The original icon has only a few red marks on her face and the thumbnail of “Cheer Up!” (created by Six) depicts Donna with her back to the camera and looking with side of her face without the tattoo!

This was driving me crazy.

In the end I had to reference real life tribal tattoos and the famous tattoo from the movie “Dusk till Drawn”. I like the result.

Her hoodie was also an unusual problem because I couldn't find a single character in the cast sporting a hoodie at the time of drawing her. So I wanted to draw her with a hoodie that the cast would wear. So when I was looking at fashion editorials I found Billie Eilish wearing the perfect hoodie and had to try to replicate it. (Elle 2019 interview, just incase you want to find it. Its the red coat!!) I also referenced part 1 and part 2 for her body because the those characters where drawn to fight, they are not frail and fawn like in appearance and think that is perfect donna.

Characters that i used for art style reference

Eyes: Josuke Higashikata, Yukako, Lisa Lisa and Gyro Zeppeli

Face: Gyro, Jolyne and Lisa Lisa

Hair: Enrico, Yoshka Kira, Caesar Anthonio Zeppeli and Koichi Hirose

Body: Lisa Lisa, Gyro, Leone Abbacchio and Jolyne

Jack

Played by Christian

Jack was easy to draw because he looked like a Jojo character. Like Isadora, Jack has a typical male design for Jojo. This meant I had a pool of reference material for him and had finished him in 2 days, the only real problems where his hat, stubble and jewellery. Lucky most of Araki’s cast have jewellery and chains and Jotaro Kujo has hair as a hat! Jack was heavily based on Jotaro Kujo but I made sure that he wasn't a copy!

Stubble...stubble doesn't exist in Jojo.

Jojo’s Bizzarre Adventure has magnificent beards or clean shaven men, and sometimes they have facial hair. This was the main issue with this character because with stubble you don't have Jack. So I had to take the beard of Joseph JoStar and looking at real life stubble finally got his lovely 9 o'clock shadow that we have now.

Characters that i used for art style reference

Eyes: Joseph Jostar (part 2), Jonathan Jostar

Face: Leone, Jotaro Kujo and Burno Bucciarti

Hair: Jotaro and Robert E. O. Speedwagon

Body: a mix of the cast of part 5 with a little bit of Johnny Jostar (like Isadora)

This one was the start of really using real life as a reference. Although really started using them in Donna illustration, drawing men has always been a challenge for me so drawing from real life actually made it more like Araki’s style. I realised that Jojo art style is based in realistic body proportions. I honestly think that this looks better than the other 2 because of the life drawing I had to do.

Played by Arimnaes

This was the last Icon I had to draw. I left this one last because I needed the practice to give this guy any chance of working.

his face and body were not the issue because most of the main casts (in their respective seasons) have similar features but slightly different body heights and proportions. However, JJ’s hair was a difficult.

In my research I found a total of 2 characters that could have his ethnic style or texture for his hair. They were Enrico Pucci and Muhammad Avdol, and no one else. This ended in failure because their hairstyles are wacky and imaginative and JJ’s dreads just flat out don't exist in the Jojo universe. If they have his hairstyle then I must of missed it because I wasted a whole day solely on research!!! Anyway, after that that I looked at male braiding and box braiding to figure out the hair line. Although I had the hair problem with Enrico I personally loved his design, he was drawn with an attitude and I thought it worked for JJ.

Characters that i used for art style reference

Eyes: Enrico, Bruno, Joseph, Gyro and Giono Giovanna

Face: Enrico, Muhammed Avdol, Johnny and Bruno

Hair: Giono and Josuke,

Body: Enrico, Bruno and Caesar

Reflection

Although the process was difficult, I had fun drawing these characters and have gained new techniques in drawing that I struggled in the past. I can draw stylised shading, tattoos, clothes and male characters better than I could before. I also learnt that I can draw surprisingly quickly and had finished both Isadora and jack in 2 days. After this challenge i also gains a new appreciation for Araki and the show Cheer Up and the number of literal hours it must of taken them to create an immersive show.

However now I have to find something else to do whilst being stuck indoors!

#jojo bizarre adventure #art challenge #art style challenge #cheer up #surprise round #dnd #art pdp #fanart #blog reflection

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not-a-space-alien · 4 years

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Anniversary - or the Horsepersons realise they can get together outside of work

Hi everyone, I just realized today that I never posted my work from this past holiday exchange! Here was my entry, hope you enjoy!

Title: Anniversary

Rating: G

Word Count: 6k

Summary: The horsepersons are summoned for a second attempt at Armageddon, but soon an irritating pattern emerges.

A note about my illustrations: I trace stock photos for a lot of my basic shapes because I’m not good at that and really only enjoy the detail work and coloring, so I consider my “art” more like photo manipulation than original artwork, so just keep that in mind! This one is also partially based in TV canon and partially in book canon fyi

On DW

On AO3

“Who exactly summons them?”

“Not my department.”

************************

The department that did, in fact, summon the horsepersons was not Gabriel’s department, which was the Department of Earthly Affairs. Summoning the horsepersons, overseeing the signs of the end times, the rains of fish, and all that unpleasant business was a job that nobody really wanted. It was thought of as something Hell was supposed to do, but Heaven had to take responsibility for it, roll up their sleeves, and make sure it was done properly. It was shunted off onto whichever angels were unlucky enough to be assigned to the Department of Armageddon, which Gabriel had actually fought tooth and nail to leave.

The Department of Armageddon’s entire purpose was to prepare for the end times: to meticulously plan it out and ensure it went off smoothly. As these things tend to go, the least desirable job got pushed off onto whomever was lowest on the command chain, or at least the one too polite or too much of a pushover to refuse the job. And nobody really wanted to interact with the horsepersons. The DoA was filled with poor souls who had been toughing out a job they’d hated for six-thousand years. It would take a toll on anyone.

The reader can probably imagine that Aziraphale is less popular with the Department of Armageddon than any other angels, who unfortunately already find him quite annoying.

But this story is not about Aziraphale. It’s not even about Ambriel, the angel responsible for summoning the horsepersons.

No, this story is about the horsepersons, who lined up for Armageddon in the year of 1991 with great fervor and excitement, giddily straddling their motorcycles, finally able to run wild. The way that one had fizzled out was quite a disappointment to them all.

Adam had banished them for a bit, and that had been no fun, but it’s impossible to do away with Famine, War, and Pollution as long as humans exist. So they eventually reformed, springing from the minds of men and being unleashed back onto the world.

Somewhere in Europe, freshly spilled blood steamed and boiled, and War rose up, with blood smeared over her naked body like a newborn baby. In Asia, in a field covered by vultures feasting on the carcass of an emaciated cow, Famine sat up, looking around disoriented and missing his fancy suits. On the West Coast of the United States, Pollution washed ashore, having drifted for a while after being spawned from the Great Pacific garbage patch. They picked seaweed out of their hair and took a few moments to orient themselves. The last thing they remembered was staring down Adam Young. And as they realised what had happened, they thought the exact same thing their two companions were thinking at that exact moment:

Aw, man!

*********************************

In August 1992, the brave soul known simply as ‘the deliveryman’ had been contracted once again. The request was again from someone named Ambriel, by whom he had been contracted at this precise time last year, and for the exact same reason: To make four deliveries in various parts of the world to varyingly strange customers.

He didn’t really want to go, but it was his job, so there he was braving the quite literally riotous streets of a war-torn country scouring the chaos for a particular woman.

War had gone back to doing her reporter schtick, but it was starting to bore her. She was interviewing an American soldier as he prattled on and on, pretending to write it down*, thinking about what her next possible career could be. Probably somewhere in the American Military-Industrial complex, she thought.

*******

*She was currently drawing a sketch of him decapitated on the battlefield.

*******

This is how the deliveryman found her. He doubled over panting from the exertion of running up to her, but managed to wheeze out, “Package for you, Miss.”

War turned to him, an intensely puzzled look on her face. “What?”

“Package for you.”

War turned her back on the soldier. “You again? Aren’t you the same…. You have another package for me?”

He held it out. It was suspiciously sword-shaped.

“But... “ She took the package and unwrapped it. It was indeed a sword, long and shiny polished metal glittering in the harsh sun. “But this means Armageddon is near. Again?”

The deliveryman held out the signature pad hopefully.

She looked at him.

“I need you to sign for it, miss.”

“But we just did this.”

“This, ma’am?”

“Receiving our artifacts. Riding to Armageddon. The whole nine yards.”

“I do recall delivering this same sword to you last year. Afraid I don’t know anything about it, though. I’m just the deliveryman.”

“Are we doing it all again?”

“Afraid I don’t know, ma’am. I just need you to sign for it, please.”

War held the sword out in both her hands, seeing her reflection in its length. “That was one year ago today,” she realised. “A year was all they decided to wait? It took six-thousand to get ready the first time.”

Hope fading, the deliveryman stretched his arms out to full length to get the pen and pad as close to her as possible. “Just need a signature, miss.”

War relented and took the pen, ripping the paper under the force of her signature. The deliveryman looked a bit put off and shuffled away, unenthusiastic about his next delivery, which would require him to pick along an extremely dirty industrial oil field.

The soldier waited around to hopefully continue bragging about how brave he was, but War ignored him. She simply continued to stare at the sword. All she said was:

“Huh.”

***************************************

“Here we all are, gathered together at last.”

Famine was the one to made this proclamation. He said this to both War and Pollution, who were uncertainly standing around their motorcycles. This time they had been summoned directly to the barren field of Armageddon, which was, as it had been at this time last year, distressingly empty.

“Just saw you last year,” said Pollution. “Not quite ‘at last’ anymore, is it?.”

Famine gave them a dirty look. “Yes, well, it’s what we said last year. Seems only right to say it again.”

“They’re trying to make Armageddon happen again on the anniversary of it failing,” said War. “Is that what’s up?”

“It is significant, isn’t it?” said Pollution. “I was thinking about having some sort of celebration anyway. One year and all that. Seems like we should commemorate it somehow.”

“That’s stupid,” said Famine. Famine usually hated commemorating things because anniversaries and celebrations always seemed to involve good food and drink. Eat, drink, and be miserable was usually how it went for him.

“Anyway,” said War, “what are we waiting for? The Big Guy’s not here yet, but shouldn’t there be, I don’t know, some sort of preliminaries going on? Wasn’t there all sorts of wacky stuff going on last year, storm in the sky, showers of fish and all that?”

A figure could be seen spiraling downwards from the sky, wings spread wide. Pollution shielded their face with their hand and stared up past the sun. “Who’s’at?”

The figure revealed itself to be an angel, a jaunty figure with a halo struggling to keep up with his erratic motion, floating just behind his head as he ran full-speed towards them.

“And who might you be?” said Famine.

The angel huffed and puffed. “The name’s--the name is Ambriel.” He caught his breath and looked around at the gathering. “Where is Death?”

As if on cue, Death appeared with a small pop of expanding air. I HAVE NEVER HAD TO KILL THE SAME HUMAN TWICE, said Death. AND I DO NOT ENJOY THE EXPERIENCE. NEITHER DID HE. WHATEVER YOU ARE PAYING THE DELIVERYMAN, YOU NEED TO PAY HIM MORE.

“Pay?” said Ambriel. “Oh, that’s right.” He snapped his fingers, and the deliveryman’s bank account balance was suddenly a few digits larger, for all the good it would do a dead man.

“So your name’s Ambriel,” said War. “But who are you?”

“I’m the one responsible for making sure the horsepersons are present at Armageddon!” he crowed.

Famine craned his neck towards the empty, blue, peaceful, quiet, decidedly-not-Armageddon sky. Pollution kicked a rock through the soft grass. War scratched her head.

WE ARE HERE, said Death.

“But where’s Armageddon?” said War. “We don’t start it. That’s the antichrist.”

“Ah,” said Ambriel, sweating. “Yes, well, we’re still working on that. It was supposed to happen a year ago, you see…”

“Yes, you summoned us on the anniversary,” said Pollution. “Are we going to do it again?”

“Turn the seas to blood?” said War, shaking her fists.

“Unleash ourselves upon the planet until nothing’s left but bones and bare rock?” said Famine, a sparkle in his eye.

“Bury humanity in the consequences of its own actions?” said Pollution giddily.

Ambriel grimaced as the three of them crowded in on him, pumping their fists in excitement.

THE FINAL REAPING, said Death.

“Yes,” said Ambriel. “Um, yes, for sure, about that…”

The excitement on their faces began to fade.

“Well, you see, I’d thought everything would be ready to go by now. The timeline they gave me for re-setting the Armageddon fittings was one year! It should be well underway by now, but…”

War and Famine looked at each other disappointedly. “But what?” said Pollution.

“But they’re not done with the paperwork yet,” said Ambriel, crumpling. “There’s been delays and delays and delays. Our field agent won’t cooperate. Hell won’t cooperate. The other departments won’t cooperate. It’s a bloody mess!”

“That sounds like your problem,” said War. “What do you want us to do about it?”

Ambriel wrung his hands. “Well, I...I don’t know.”

War pouted. “All right, well, this was a bust, then.” She spun on her heel and marched across the field. “Call me when there’s some action for me, then, love.”

“Wait!” cried Ambriel. “Don’t leave!”

“I’ll be down by the river,” said Pollution. “It’s been looking a bit too clean for my taste. Too many local community day cleanups, if you ask me.”

Ambriel nervously stuttered as Pollution sauntered away in the opposite direction. Then he looked at Famine. “I suppose you’re going to leave me, too?”

Famine checked his very expensive watch. “Well, my flight back to America doesn’t leave until five o’clock, so I might hang around a bit and see if you can kick off Armageddon in the next two hours.”

*************************************

August 25, 1993

Pollution was the first one to show up this time, bearing a wine bottle and a little party hat affixed in their pale hair. They’d worn the crown this whole time, so their head was starting to get a little crowded on top.

War had kept her sword. It was slung casually over her shoulder as she picked her way across the empty field where Armageddon ostensibly was supposed to take place. Only Famine had returned his artifact to Ambriel, because he thought modern electronic balances were much more efficient and chic than traditional balancing scales anyway, and he stood waiting to meet her empty-handed.

“Back again,” said War. “I just got a letter in the mail this time, no deliveryman. You?”

“The same,” said Famine. “They’re lucky I got it. Our mail gets filtered pretty thoroughly before it lands on my desk. Pretty rude too, I had to drop everything to run on over...I thin heaven should start reimbursing me for the travel costs.”

Death popped into existence beside Pollution. Ambriel was holding onto his arm, looking frightened.

THERE, YOU SEE? said Death. NO NEED TO KILL ANYONE TO GET A MESSAGE TO ME. WE CAN SKIP THAT AND HEAD RIGHT ON OVER TO ARMAGEDDON TOGETHER.

“Right,” said Ambriel. “Sorry.” He straightened his tunic and marched out in front of the semicircle of horsepersons. “Welcome to Armageddon!” he loudly announced. “It begins now!”

“I don’t see any signs of the end times--” Pollution began.

“Yet!” Ambriel thundered. “They shall begin any moment!”

Pollution popped open the wine bottle. “Yay.”

Ambriel, his hands still raised dramatically, began to sweat.

“The paperwork still isn’t done, is it?” said War.

“The paperwork still isn’t done,” said Ambriel, shoulders sagging.

“Then why did you call us here?” said Famine. “Look, I’m a busy man. I run a corporate empire, you know!”

“I thought it would be done!” said Ambriel, wringing his hands. “We’re just… We’re waiting on our field agent, Aziraphale. He hasn’t turned in his forms yet, and he won’t answer my messages.”

“Should we go find this Aziraphale guy and teach him a lesson?” said War.

“A lesson about punctuality in filling out paperwork?” said Pollution. “Are you sure you’re the best one to teach him that lesson?”

“All right, all right,” said Famine. “Look, Ambriel, is there anything we can do to move things along? This is the third time in a row--”

“The second anniversary,” Pollution interrupted.

“--Right, thanks, White--the third time we’ve done our ride and gone to Armageddon. It’s starting to get a bit anticlimactic.”

“That’s his job, not ours,” said War. “Pfft. Black, what’s next? You want to tempt sinners to Hell? Reap souls after death? Who else’s job do you want to do?”

Famine grew red. “I’m just saying--”

“Well, whatever,” said War, slinging her sword back into the sheath strapped across her back. She hooked her arm around Famine’s head and gave him a noogie. “We can kill some time while Ambriel finishes preparing for Armageddon.”

HMMM, said Death. YES...SINCE IT SEEMS LIKE TIME IS THE ONLY THING WE’LL BE KILLING.

******************************

August 25, 1994

Famine kept his scales this time. Their home for the next year was the corner of his desk in his office on top of 666 Fifth Avenue, right next to his extremely slim computer.

Famine played with the chain, strangely delicate and cold, when an email popped up on his computer.

To the Black horseperson of the apocalypse:

Please meet us at the appropriate place at the appropriate time. The end is nigh. The four horsemen shall ride and the world shall end in fire and blood..

Famine started to type a response. But before he could, his computer dinged with a reply: all to the previous email, from [email protected]:

Can I bring a plus one this time?

A few days and a few thousand miles later, Famine trekked over the dry ground of Armageddon with his scales in hand. Pollution and War were already standing in the middle of the field, the exact same place Ambriel had appeared the last three years.

War had a demoness hanging off her arm.

“Ah, Black!” said War. “Just in time. I was just in the process of introducing my girlfriend, Ashtarte.”

“Call me Ash,” said Ashtarte. A smile, too broad and with too many teeth that were too sharp, spread Cheshire cat-like across her features. She wore a punk mesh top, red boots, and had a little pair of horns and forked tail, like she was trying to impersonate a Halloween costume of a demon.

“Uh, okay, Ash,” said Famine.

“The Black horseperson of the apocalypse!” said Ash. “A pleasure to make your acquaintance. Big fan of your work!”

“Big fan?” said Famine. He straightened his tie. “Thanks very much.”

“We met over cocktails in a little bar in Saudia Arabia,” said War. “Making fun of the same reporters.”

Ash held up her hand in a “V” pose.

“None of us have ever really, uh…” said Famine.

“Had a girlfriend?” said War. “You don’t know that.”

Famine fidgeted. “So you have had a girlfriend?”

“Er, well, no, not really,” said War. She hefted Ash onto her shoulder and flexed her bicep; the smaller woman fit snugly into her shoulder. “But you should try it sometime! Armageddon keeps getting delayed, so we might as well enjoy our time here, right?”

“But what’s the appeal?”

“I think he doesn’t understand it,” said Pollution, “because he can’t even imagine how to get a girlfriend.”

Death appeared stormily, his biker boots thumping against the ground a bit too hard. AND WHERE IS OUR SUMMONER?

“Not here yet,” said Pollution, fiddling with the wine bottle they held. “But why don’t we have some drinks first? Enjoy our time here, right?”

They summoned a card table from somewhere, and Pollution pulled up a seat and patted the one next to them in the hope of coaxing Death to sit down. Famine ambivalently sat down next to War, who had Ash on her lap.

WE’RE NOT HAVING A PARTY, said Death. WE’RE HERE FOR BUSINESS REASONS.

“Sit down, big guy,” said Famine. “Nothing wrong with loosening up a little.”

Death remained motionless for a few moments, tense with annoyance. Then, his biker leathers crinkling, he lowered himself into a seat. BUT I WON’T HAVE ANYTHING TO DRINK.

“Aw,” said Pollution, popping the cork off the bottle. “Do you not like it?”

Death’s helmet visor reflected Pollution’s face impassively back at them as they poured drinks.

“Have you never drunk alcohol before?” said War.

Death didn’t answer.

“You haven’t, have you?” said Famine. “Do you want to try some?”

Death lifted his helmet off his head, setting it on his lap. Then he removed one leather glove, revealing his bony hand. The white stalk snaked out and curled around a glass, bringing it to his skeletal grin. The wine dribbled through his jaw and onto his leather jacket.

Famine grimaced. Pollution thought his jacket looked better with stains on it, but didn’t say so. They passed the next half hour in jovial conversation, the wine warming their bodies and lifting their spirits. Ash withdrew a deck of cards from her pocket, which entertained them as they laughed and joked.

They were all quite drunk by the time Ambriel arrived. He sprinted over at top speed, careening into the table. “What are you all doing?”

“We’re having a drink!” said Ash, waving her glass in the air and sloshing wine.

“Wh—” Ambriel took a second to look very confused at the appearance of a fifth horseperson, then shook it off and decided it didn’t matter. “Whatever! Get up, put this stuff away! Armageddon is starting!”

“For real this time?” said Pollution.

A second angel could be seen descending from Heaven. “Yes, for real this time!” Ambriel exploded. “The archangel Michael is on his way! Now get ready!”

War rolled her eyes and folded up the table. Pollution disappointedly retrieved the half-empty wine bottle, sipping from it as they walked over to Ambriel.

Michael touched down, his impressive dusky wingspan battering them with dusty clouds. “Ambriel, I was told the armies of Hell are gathering here, yes?”

“Yes!” said Ambriel. “The antichrist is coming. He’s on his way now.”

“He’s…” Michael looked over the the horsepersons. Famine shrugged. War examined her nails. Pollution continued to sip from their bottle. Death very stormily crossed his arms.

“He’s supposed to already be here,” said Michael. “I don’t see any of the signs of Armageddon…”

“I gave the antichrist Adam Young a very stern lecture about his role, and demanded he come to Armageddon,” said Ambriel. “And he said he was coming.”

Pollution cocked their head. “He said he was coming?”

“Yes. His exact words were, ‘Okay, Boomer.’”

Pollution choked, wine shooting out their nose.

***************************

August 25, 1998

“Can we meet at your restaurant next time?”

Famine turned to Pollution, the only other figure with him at the yet again empty field of Armageddon. “What?”

“The next time this happens, can we meet at one of your restaurants?”

Famine sighed. The first few times this had happened, he’d argued that they didn’t know there was going to be a ‘next time,’ but by now, the anniversary of the Apocalypse usually heralded them gathering to stand around for a while and not much else. “I doubt Ambriel would go for that. We’re supposed to be in this spot.”

Pollution shifted from foot to foot. “But the Newtrition corp has expanded, right? It has branches around here now. It wouldn’t be that far.”

“You don’t want to eat at my restaurant,” said Famine, trying to hide his shock that Pollution was so familiar with his franchise. He hadn’t thought any of the other horsepersons had cared about his silly little business. Although it was nice that someone was paying attention. “Why not?” said Pollution. “It seems nice. It produces lots of waste paper. And styrofoam cartons. Love those things.”

“It doesn’t serve actual food,” said Famine. “Just a bunch of nonsense. It has no nutritional value.”

“Well,” said Pollution. “We don’t actually need to eat, do we? Back in the forties, I went a good decade without eating. Too busy with the mills in Pittsburgh to stop and eat.”

Famine opened his mouth to deliver a snappy retort, only to find he didn’t have one.

“‘Course that was before I took the crown from Pestilence, so I was just a minor horseperson then. Well, my point is, it’s not like we’ll be affected by malnutrition. As long as it tastes good, right?”

Famine lit a cigarette. “If you want to look at it that way, I suppose.”

The rumble of a motorcycle filled the air, and War pulled up with Ash perched on the back of her bike.

“We can’t meet at my restaurant,” said Famine. “That’s inappropriate.” He wasn’t sure why the idea made him so uncomfortable, and he turned to greet War. “Red.”

“Black,” said War, dismounting. She put her bike helmet on the saddle as Ash fell off behind her. “Hey, you don’t have to call me ‘Red,’ you know.”

Famine stopped. “What?”

“I have a name.”

Famine bristled. “Whatever. Where’s that stupid little twig of an angel this time?”

“Geez, who pissed in your cereal,” said Ash, dusting herself off.

“I’m just getting a little tired of this!” said Famine. “I have to fly over from America every year in August only to be told to go right back home!”

Pollution opened a bag of crisps, savoring the grease. They looked disappointedly into the bag. “Black.”

“What?”

“Don’t ruin my crisps!”

“I’m not ruining your—” Famine suddenly realised he was ruining the crisps, because he was so damn frustrated by how inefficient Heaven and Armageddon and this whole thing was. He was used to running things like a well-oiled machine, and this….

“Black, stop ruining the poor kid’s crisps,” said War.

“You’ve never appreciated my work,” Famine snapped.

Ambriel chose this moment to appear. “All right, everyone!” he said. “This time I’ve really—”

“Black, I was very much looking forward to my crisps!” Pollution said.

“You all only notice how hard I work when it affects you!” said Famine. “I’m the only one putting real effortinto building an empire—”

“You’re the only one?” said Pollution.

Scared, Ambriel hid behind his clipboard, unsure of how to wrangle them.

Famine suddenly realised that War was gleefully egging on the fight between him and Pollution with her horseperson powers. “Red!”

The tension in the air immediately dissipated, and War slunk back, looking chastised.

His head more clear now, Famine smoothed out his tie. The booted footsteps of Death reverberated in the air before he made his appearance. AND HOW MANY ANNIVERSARIES IS THIS NOW? I’VE LOST COUNT.

“You’re late,” said Ambriel snootily.

Death turned to him. Even though he had no face to speak of, and still had his helmet on, everyone could clearly imagine the expression he would make.

“Seven,” said Pollution through a mouthful of crisps.

A second angel descended from the sky, this one unhurried, dragging its proverbial feet.

AND DO I HAVE ANYTHING TO BE LATE FOR THIS TIME? said Death.

“As a matter of fact, yes,” said Ambriel. “Because I have with me the field agent who was responsible for delaying Armageddon last time. So now he’s going to kick it off.”

A chubby angel with oodles of curly hair touched down, looking around guiltily. “Er, hello...I’m Aziraphale.”

“Oh, you looked nicer in a dress,” said Pollution.

“All right,” said Ambriel. “Let’s go, then. Go on.”

Aziraphale shuffled his feet.

“Don’t we need the antichrist?” volunteered Famine.

“The antichrist is unavailable,” said Ambriel icily. “We’ll have to make do without him.”

“Unavailable?!” exclaimed War.

“He means Adam Young doesn’t want Armageddon to happen,” said Aziraphale, who then shut up right quick at an elbow jab from Ambriel.

“You can make it happen without the antichrist?” said Pollution, crunching through a mouthful of crisps. “Thought was the whole point of him. So how does it work?”

“Ahem,” said Ambriel. “That is none of your concern. Just worry about your own part. Now, let’s begin.”

Ambriel stepped forward to direct the horsepersons. War kept looking up at the sky, noticing Armageddon didn’t seem to be happening. Pollution licked their fingers, other hand firmly stuck in their crisps packet.

“And now Aziraphale will--Aziraphale?”

While Ambriel had had his back turned, Aziraphale had scuttled off, wings drawn wide and flapping erratically like a prey animal running from a fox. “Ahhh! Get back here!”

Ambriel went off chasing him. War stood where she was, sword poised, and watched him go. “Um…”

Pollution finished their packet of crisps and dropped it on the ground, wiping their hands on their shirt. “Is he coming back?”

They stayed there for about half an hour waiting for Ambriel, and decided he wasn’t coming back. Ash sweet-talked War into hitting the bars after that. They managed to convince everyone but Death to come along, too.

*************************

August 25, 2001

“Hey, why does it take an apocalypse for us to get together?” said War.

Pollution picked idly at the tablecloth on the little picnic table they had summoned. They were trying to decide if ketchup or mustard would make better stains on it. “Hmm?”

War straddled the bench, picking at the picnic basket. “I mean, I know not everyone likes to spend time with their coworkers outside of work, but there’s nothing stopping us from getting together outside of Armageddon, right?”

Pollution stopped. “Hmm?”

“She’s saying she wants to spend more time with you guys,” said Ash.

“We can do that?!” Pollution said.

“Well, yeah, I guess,” said War.

Pollution’s eyes sparkled.

“Come sit down and enjoy this little basket you put together,” said Ash. “It looks lovely.”

The weather was fabulous, once again with no signs of the inclement weather heralding Armageddon, and a delicious breeze tugged at them and whipping waves through the dry summer grass. Pollution fished out some plastic utensils and set them out on the table.

Ash took a sandwich from the basket. It definitely had worms of some sort in it, but being from Hell, she was used to such things.

“Where’s Famine, anyway?” said Pollution, setting a pile of napkins on the table and watching them immediately blow away in the wind.

“Oh, he’s coming!” said War. “And he said he was bringing a plus one this year.”

“A plus one?”

“Sounds like he’s got a girlfriend too. Or boyfriend. Or what-have-you.”

Pollution scratched their head. “Wonder who it could be.”

With a rustle of grass, Death stood beside them.

“Come sit down!” said War. “We’ve been waiting for you!”

Death looked at them contemplatively. I DIDN’T RECEIVE A SUMMONS THIS YEAR.

“Huh,” said Pollution, letting their sandwich wrapper fall to the ground. “I just realised, neither did I.”

“Yeah,” said War, waving her hand dismissively. “But after doing this annually for ten years, I think we get the point, right?”

Death stood like a silent sentinel. Death was rarely the type to display any emotion at all, but to War and Pollution, it looked like he was fighting to not indulge in some unconventional display of sentiment.

A smile spread across War’s face. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”

I JUST WANTED TO SEE IF I WAS NEEDED THIS YEAR, said Death.

“Well, Armageddon is probably delayed again,” said War. “So you’re not, really. You’re free to leave.”

Death stood still.

“Come sit down,” said Ash, patting the bench. “You’re always so serious.”

Death clomped over and swung his enormous legs over the wooden bench.

“Heard Famine’s got himself a new squeeze,” gossiped War.

OH, said Death. YES…

The grass in the field next to them dried up, swirling brittle pieces making a small tornado, and with a mournful nicker, a skeletal horse materialized. Its emaciated frame was oozing with dripping wounds and festering decay. Atop its back was a figure in a white robe with a long, beaked mask.

Famine pulled up on his motorcycle. “Fellas, good to see you again!”

“It’s been a very long time,” said the newcomer, although no, he wasn’t new at all…

“You brought Pestilence!” Pollution yelled. “He’s not a horseperson anymore! I replaced him!”

“Tsk tsk, you young punk,” said Pestilence, dismounting. “No respect at all.”

Pollution glared.

“He’s not here as a horseperson,” said Famine. “He’s my plus one.”

“That’s cheating!” said Pollution.

Pestilence winked, which was absolutely infuriating.

Pollution crossed their arms as Famine and Pestilence took their seats. “This looks delightful,” said Pestilence, taking a crisp from a bowl.

Pollution grumbled. Famine was a little disgruntled that they had set up a nice meal, but he muttered an echo of Pestilence’s praise.

“It’s just weird,” said Pollution. “It’s like you’re dating my dad.”

“I’m not your Dad,” said Pestilence. “We barely met before you kicked me out.”

“I think you just don’t like Pestilence,” said Famine.

Pollution bristled. “Maybe.”

Famine shrugged. Somewhere in the world, the minor horseperson of Awkward Interpersonal Issues felt their power surge.

“It’s because they’re afraid I’ll wrangle the job of horseperson #3 from them,” said Pestilence. “The anti-vax moms in the United States are making them nervous.”

Pollution’s cheeks went red.

“Well, you don’t have to worry about that,” said Pestilence. “I don’t want to be one of the Main Four anymore. It’s quite dull. The humans’ attitude towards smallpox ruined the fun for me. Some of my best work, all down the drain. Feff.” He sipped some cola. “But you seem to be doing a splendid job. I hear nowadays everyone’s mad about straws, of all things.”

Pollution perked up. The atmosphere at the table was much lighter after that.

“Isn’t Ambriel going to show up?” said War. “Usually right about now is when he comes down, babbling about how Armageddon is really going to happen this time, and how we need to get ready.”

Pestilence scratched his head. “Ambriel? He’s the one who had to come tell me they were swapping me out for Pollution. He still works in the Department of Armageddon? Poor sod always got the worst jobs pushed onto him.”

Ambriel did, in fact, show up eventually. He had none of his usual bravado. He dragged his sandaled feet through the dirt and flopped down to join them at the picnic table. The four of them shared a look, then looked back at Ambriel. “Hey, kid, what’s wrong?” said Famine.

“Useless,” said Ambriel. “It’s all useless. Nothing I do ever works. No matter how hard I try, Heaven can’t get its crap together to make Armageddon happen. Oh, pardon my language.”

“Hey, cheer up,” said Pollution. “The first time we tried, the four of us got beaten by little kids with sticks and rocks. That’s way more humiliating than anything you’ve had to go through.”

Famine glared at Pollution. Pollution unwrapped a lolly, enjoying the crinkling of the wrapper.

Ambriel thunked his head on the table, groaning. “No use, it’s no use!”

“Well, we’re all having a lovely time anyway!” said Ash. “August 25 is my favorite day of the year now!”

“It’s supposed to be Armageddon,” moaned Ambriel. “It’s not supposed to be a celebration.”

War stabbed a little cocktail weiner with her Bowie knife. “We’ve been known to celebrate in unconventional ways.”

***************************

Present day

“1845.”

“No, that was you?”

Pollution sucked on their choco-whippy milkshake, eyes bouncing from War to Pestilence.

“Yep,” said Pestilence, leaning back, looking very pleased with himself.

“I thought for sure that was Famine,” said War.

“I wish,” said Famine. “I had been working in Ireland for a few years at that point, but hadn’t had much success.”

“Phytophthora infestans,” said Pestilence. “One of my favorites.

“He refuses to lend it to me,” said Famine. “Greedy bastard.”

“Not your jurisdiction.”

They all shared a hearty laugh.

“Oh, Pollution,” said War, snapping her fingers. “I just remembered. That science project we were talking about the other day, the bacteria that humans were cultivating to break down plastic.”

Pollution’s face screwed up in displeasure.

“I was working on trying to divert some of the NHS’s funding into more bioweapon applications. Maybe if you do me a little favor in return, I can get their funding pulled?”

Pollution nodded happily, sucking through their straw.

“Hey, here he comes!” said War, throwing up her hand.

Death strode over, standing at the edge of the table.

“Sit down,” said Ash, patting the seat. “We’re having a lovely time.”

I HAVE… said Death. If it were possible, he seemed embarrassed.

“What?” said Pollution.

I HAVE ALSO BROUGHT A PLUS ONE.

“What, a boyfriend?” said Pestilence.

NOT LIKE THAT…. said Death. He reached into his jacket and withdrew a small bundle of fur, which blinked and mewled.

Ash had stars in her eyes, putting her hands on her head as though to keep her brain from exploding out. “Is that a kitten?”

I FOUND IT OUTSIDE.

“It’s so cute!” said Pollution.

I HAD NEVER NOTICED THEM BEFORE, said Death. THEY ARE...NICE.

“Well, nothing wrong with enjoying the pleasures of the world,” said Famine. “Since it seems like we’ll be here for a while.”

Death sat down, putting the cat on the table. The minimum wage employees scrambling to make the food didn’t have the time to notice or care.

“We were just discussing some of the other anniversaries we have besides August 25,” said War. “Turns out we have quite a lot of them! We should share.”

Death was silent.

“February 14,” said War. “The start of the first War in Mesopotamia. That was my favorite one. I find the date so deliciously funny with what they’ve done with it now.”

“September 27,” said Pollution. “When the first mass-produced automobile left the factory.”

“What about you?” siad Famine.

“Black’s right,” said Pollution. “You must have one.”

Death hummed for a minute. Then: NOVEMBER 16. THE DAY THE FIRST MAN DIED.

“And kicked all this off,” said Famine. “I’ll drink to that.”

They clinked their glasses against each other’s.

“Hey,” said Famine. “You guys have been calling me ‘Black,’ this whole time, and while I guess it’s technically what I am…. Well, I picked a name. A more human name. You could use it, if you like.”

“Would you like that?” said Pollution.

“I think so. It’s Sable.”

“Raven Sable,” said War. “That’s right. I like it.”

“What about you?” said Sable. “Don’t you have one?”

“Oh, yeah!” said War. “Wouldn’t that just be great! Call me Carmine.”

“It’s such a good name!” said Ash joyfully.

Carmine beamed. She’d never known this would feel good, but it did.

Pollution shyly tapped their fingers on the table. “Chalk, please.”

All eyes turned towards Death.

“Well?” said Chalk. “Only if you want to.”

AZRAEL.

“It’s perfect,” said Ash.

Sable snapped his fingers. “Guys, hold on a second, I just remembered something.”

“Hm?” said Chalk.

“August 25. Armageddon.”

“So?” said Carmine. “That never happens anyway.”

“Well, we were so excited to meet we forgot we were supposed to go to Armageddon first.”

Carmine choked on the pickle she had been eating. “Oh yeah,” said Ash, very slowly. “I guess that’s fine, though. But, oh dear… Did anyone tell Ambriel?”

Azrael grinned, moreso than a regular skeletal grin. I’M SURE HE’S DOING JUST FINE.

“I’ve got it! I’ve finally got it!”

Ambriel, almost tripping over his robes, waved his papers in the air as he sprinted towards Armageddon. “I finally have all the departments in accord, the stars have aligned, the paperwork is signed, the—”

Ambriel stopped and beheld the field of Armageddon, butterflies floating by and flowers bouncing merrily, very conspicuously empty and peaceful and not trodden by the harbingers of Armageddon.

“Oh, dear…”

#good omens #my writing #my good omens fanfic #gohe

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picturebookmakers · 4 years

Text

Axel Scheffler

In this post, Axel takes us on a journey through his art studio and career. As well as sharing wonderful development work from some of his much-loved picturebooks, he shows us unseen sketchbook pages, early illustration commissions, etchings he made as a student, and his recent work to educate children about the coronavirus.

Visit Axel Scheffler’s website

Axel: I’m not really sure how many books I’ve illustrated in the 30+ years that I’ve been working. Over 150. I mostly work for the UK market, but occasionally I do books with German publishers. Not picturebooks though, so nothing that collides with the co-edition market.

Each of the boxes you see here contains one of my books: the sketches, illustrations, dummies, alternate versions of covers, everything.

I organised these boxes with Liz, my assistant, to have all the main books there so we can find things for exhibitions. There’s still lots of drawings in these boxes which aren’t sorted yet. Liz is such a great help, but it’s very difficult for me to keep on top of everything. I think I would probably need two Lizes, or perhaps three.

So yes, I don’t really know where to begin... I’ve got endless sketchbooks and little drawings on paper. I’ve got some really old sketchbooks I could show you.

Shall we start with The Gruffalo?

My early sketches of the Gruffalo were thought by my editor to be too scary for small children. So I had to make him a bit rounder and more ‘cuddly’. Initially, I‘d also thought that all the animals would be wearing clothes, as they often do in picturebooks. But Julia had different ideas, and to be honest I was relieved. How would I have dressed the snake?

Here’s some spreads from the dummy...

I tried a lot of alternate covers for this book; I think there were twelve in total. There’s some where the Gruffalo doesn’t even feature on the cover.

My latest book with Julia is called ‘The Smeds and The Smoos’. It was quite nice to work on because it’s so different from the other books we’ve done together. The text is a bit like a mixture between Dr Seuss and Lewis Carol; it has this nonsense element. But it’s basically Romeo and Juliet in outer space.

It’s an alien story, so I didn’t have to draw any rabbits or squirrels for a change, and I could invent more. I had more freedom. But like always, I got bored with drawing the same characters over and over again. But that’s picturebooks.

There was quite a lot of development work in the case of this book. But when it’s a story about a fox or a squirrel, I don’t do this kind of stuff. Over the years, it’s become much quicker and easier working on my books. I do far less research than I used to. Now I generally just do a quick pencil sketch then go straight to artwork.

Sometimes I have to start again because things go wrong though. This was a finished piece that was abandoned. I think I suddenly thought that the rocket was far too big or something. I do that; I work on something for ages, and then I suddenly look at it from a distance and realise that something needs redoing.

Did you spot the little Gruffalo in this picture? Since ‘The Snail and the Whale’, I’ve hidden a Gruffalo in each of my books with Julia (not ‘The Ugly Five’ though).

For almost all of the books Julia and I have done together, our editor has been Alison Green. We’re an old established team. And I’ve always worked with the publisher Kate Wilson; I followed her from Macmillan to Scholastic, and then to Nosy Crow. Julia moved from Macmillan to Scholastic, and decided to stay there. So Julia and I have some of our joint titles with Macmillan and some with Scholastic. Julia does books with other illustrators for Macmillan, and I illustrate other books for Nosy Crow.

People often ask me which of the books I’ve done with Julia is my favourite. It’s quite hard to choose, but I enjoyed working on ‘The Smartest Giant in Town’. I liked the way I could do a crazy world with animals, giants, fairytale characters, everything mixed together without anyone caring or questioning it. I’ll show you a few things from the box...

For this book, the cover was changed at the last minute. The original design had the title written on a poster stuck on a brick wall, but the sales people said they wanted a landscape, so I did another one. Years later, they used the original design for a new paperback edition, so it wasn’t completely wasted in the end.

I mentioned my endless sketchbooks earlier. I’ll show you a few of them. This was mainly me playing around without thinking about what I was doing; it wasn’t a conscious thing.

I haven’t looked at these sketchbooks for ages. It was such a long time ago. I don’t work in sketchbooks like this anymore, and I no longer doodle. But for fun, I make illustrated envelopes for friends.

I often think about doing a book with just pictures, but I’m always too busy doing other things. Posthumously, perhaps there will be time to do this. I’d also love to experiment and be more spontaneous; it’s been my dream for decades to do something completely different. But when I receive a book project, I always feel under pressure to finish it, and I’m always late with everything, so I end up doing it the way I’ve always done it.

This is my drawing table, which is and always has been too small and too messy. I think I have to accept it will always be this way.

I use Saunders Waterford paper for my illustrations. It’s funny how we all have our special paper. My rough sketches are often quite small, so I have them blown up to the correct size. Then I trace the sketches on a lightbox onto my watercolour paper. After that, I draw the outlines in black ink with a dip pen. I colour everything with Ecoline inks using brushes, and then coloured pencils on top of it (I use Faber Polychromos and Prismacolour crayons). I might then need to redraw some of the black lines, or use some white gouache for highlights.

I studied History of Art in Hamburg, but left before graduating. I realised this wasn’t what I was good at; I’m not an academic.

Then I had to do my alternative service as conscientious objector. Sixteen months. There was still conscription then; that’s how old I am. I worked with mentally ill people in their homes. It was during this time that I had a friend studying ceramics at Bath Academy of Art in England. I went to visit her. I really didn’t know what else to do, so I thought maybe I could move to Bath and go to the art school. So this is what I did. The course was Visual Communications, so it was design, printmaking, photography, all that stuff. But I realised I only wanted to do illustration.

I’d gone to art college hoping to learn something. I don’t think that necessarily happened, but drawing intensively for three years was, I think, what I had needed to do. I don’t remember actually finishing any projects though.

Here’s some drawings from my student sketchbooks. I did lots of observational drawing back then, which I don’t anymore. I did it then because they told us to. I’m an obedient person!

While I was a student, I did an exchange in New York: Cooper Union Art College for three months. These drawings are of Jewish immigrants, meeting for coffee. It was 1984, so many of them were still alive; refugees from Germany or Austria. I heard them speaking German, so that’s how I knew.

Sketchbooks are such a good way of memorising things. Nobody really knows about these sketchbooks; I used to take them to interviews, but they’ve been hidden away for years.

After I graduated, I moved to London and took my portfolio around. My art teacher had suggested I should do this to get work, so that’s what I did. In those days, you had to ring them and ask to come around. I got two commissions straight away, and it’s been busy ever since, really. I’ve always had something to do.

Here’s some of my early commissions. Starting from 1985, I guess. Very pointy noses...

I did so much of this kind of work. It was a good way of earning money quickly. Occasionally, I still do editorial. I did some Brexit drawings for the remain campaign. Sadly, it didn’t help. Maybe I wrecked everything!

I’ll say a few words about the KIND book... 38 wonderful artists donated a picture to illustrate some of the many ways children can be kind. Such as sharing their toys or helping people from other countries to feel welcome.

One pound from each book sold goes to the Three Peas charity, which supports refugees from war-torn countries. It’s been a big success so far, and Three Peas has received a lot of money from sales in the UK and co-editions.

I’d quite like to do the UNKIND book next! I think illustrators would probably enjoy that, but I don’t imagine it would sell very well.

And now for something completely different! Some etchings I made when I was a student.

People often ask me which illustrators I’m inspired by. I don’t seek any direct influence on my work, but I’ve always said that Tomi Ungerer had the greatest influence on my approach to illustration. Although his style is quite different to mine, this humour and wackiness is something that has always appealed to me. And the details.

William Steig is someone I got into later, when I was already illustrating. And Edward Gorey of course. And Saul Steinberg. I think the Czech artist Jiří Šalamoun is wonderful. And I like Eva Lindström from Sweden a lot. She’s so great.

Okay, to finish with I’ll talk about the coronavirus work I’ve been doing...

I asked myself what I could do as a children’s illustrator to inform, as well as entertain, my readers here and abroad about the coronavirus. So I was glad when Nosy Crow asked me to illustrate a book on the subject. I think it’s extremely important for children and families to have access to reliable information in this unprecedented crisis.

You can download the free digital book in English here, and in over 60 other languages here.

I also wanted to do something light-hearted to cheer people up, and I thought, “What if I imagine some of our characters in corona situations?” Julia liked the idea and wrote rhymes for the new scenes. This was really more about entertainment than serious information.

Artwork and verse © Axel Scheffler and Julia Donaldson 2020. Based on characters from ‘The Gruffalo’s Child’ (2004), ‘Charlie Cook’s Favourite Book’ (2005), ‘The Smartest Giant in Town’ (2002), and ‘The Gruffalo’ (1999) — © Macmillan Children’s Books.

And here’s one more thing: my ‘letter from lockdown’. On The Children’s Bookshow website, you’ll find lockdown letters from lots of other wonderful authors and illustrators.

Illustrations © Axel Scheffler. Post edited by dPICTUS.

Buy this picturebook

The Gruffalo

Julia Donaldson & Axel Scheffler

Macmillan Children’s Books, UK, 1999

‘A mouse took a stroll through the deep dark wood. A fox saw the mouse and the mouse looked good.’

Walk further into the deep dark wood, and discover what happens when a quick-witted mouse comes face to face with an owl, a snake... and a hungry Gruffalo!

‘The Gruffalo’ has become a bestselling phenomenon across the world. This award-winning rhyming story of a mouse and a monster is now a modern classic, and will enchant children for years to come.

PUBLISHED IN THE FOLLOWING LANGUAGES & DIALECTS

Afrikaans

Albanian

Arabic

Australian

Azerbaijani

Basque

Belarusian

Bengali

Breton

Bulgaria

Catalan

Chinese (Simplified)

Chinese (Traditional)

Corsu

Croatian

Czech

Danish

Doric

Dundonian

Dutch

English

Esperanto

Estonian

Faroese

Farsi

Finnish

French

Frisian

Gaelic

Galician

Georgian

German

Glasgow Scots

Greek

Guernésiais

Hebrew

Hindi

Hungarian

Iceland

Indonesian

Irish

Italian

Jèrriais

Kazakh

Kölsch

Korean

Latin

Latvian

Lithuanian

Low German

Lowland Scots

Luxembourgish

Macedonian

Maltese

Manx Gaelic

Maori

Marathi

Mexican Spanish

Mongolian

Norwegian

Orcadian Scots

Polish

Portuguese

Portuguese (Brazil)

Romanian

Russian

Sami

Schwabisch

Serbian

Sesotho

Setswana

Shetland Scots

Slovakian

Slovenian

Spanish

Swedish

Swiss German

Tamil

Thai

Turkish

Ukrainian

US English

Vietnamese

Welsh

Xhosa

Zulu

Buy this picturebook

The Smeds and The Smoos

Julia Donaldson & Axel Scheffler

Alison Green Books, UK, 2019

The Smeds (who are red) never mix with the Smoos (who are blue). So when a young Smed and Smoo fall in love, their families disapprove.

But peace is restored and love conquers all in this happiest of love stories. There’s even a gorgeous purple baby to celebrate!

PUBLISHED IN THE FOLLOWING LANGUAGES

Afrikaans

Catalan

Croatian

Dutch

English

Finnish

French

German

Hebrew

Hungarian

Italian

Korean

Luxenbourghish

Polish

Russian

Slovenian

Spanish

Swedish

Turkish

Ukrainian

Buy this picturebook

Kind

Alison Green, Axel Scheffler & 38 illustrators

Alison Green Books, UK, 2019

Imagine a world where everyone is kind; how can we make that come true? With gorgeous pictures by a host of top illustrators, KIND is a timely, inspiring picturebook about the many ways children can be kind, from sharing their toys and games, to helping those from other countries feel welcome.

One pound from the sale of each printed copy will go to the Three Peas charity, which gives vital help to refugees from war-torn countries.

PUBLISHED IN THE FOLLOWING LANGUAGES

Bulgarian

Catalan

Chinese (Simplified)

Chinese (Traditional)

English

French

German

Greek

Hebrew

Italian

Korean

Netherlands

Portuguese (Brazil)

Romanian

Spanish

Swedish

Turkish

Vietnamese

#Germany / UK

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levucky · 4 years

Text

10 Questions Tag

thanks @musicofglassandwords for the tag!

1. Do you conciously take inspiration from authors or books you love, or from your genres? Or do you actively try to avoid it?

Honestly, yeah, I do. Considering my ventures into sports journalism, I’ve taken a lot of inspiration from Jon Bois and the SB Nation gang, most prominently the Tim Tebow CFL Chronicles. It has that exact level of surrealist realism that I aim for in my writing and that and 17776 kind of been the holy grail of inspiration for my recent writing. I kind of feel like I’m plagiarizing because Jon Bois is the only writer in the game doing surrealist sports writing, but hey, he’s a football guy and I’m a basketball guy, and he’s never written about a mascot that is out to kill the players it represents, and I don’t think he’s ever written Ersan Ilyasova as a monster hunter, either. But still. Holy grail of inspiration.

2. Do you write fanfiction, do roleplaying, or other kinds of fan activity? How do these things influence the way you create original work? Do you feel they’ve given you valuable “tools” in your “creative toolbox?”

Yes, I write fanfiction. And I’m proud of it. I’ve been writing fanfiction since I was eleven years old writing a Warrior Cats spin-off series. Nothing has helped me in the writing world more than writing fanfiction, because the world building and development is done, so you can just screw around and do basically whatever you want with it. Most of my fanfictions end up being somewhere in the realm of surrealism, realistic sci-fi/fantasy, or just straight up, old fashioned realistic fiction with some wacky variable pulled in, like, they’re all suddenly in art school *cough* itao. Fanfiction is so much fun to write, too, and it helps you learn things like plot structure, character arcs/development, and how to write an original story, especially while working in the world of something already established.

Even for nonfiction writing, fanfiction helps you figure out things like sentence structure and narrative while playing around in a completely inconsequential world. I think fanfiction might be the most valuable tool you can have as any kind of writer.

3. Do you use WorldAnvil (or something like it) for worldbuilding purposes, or do you prefer to use your own methods/systems for worldbuilding?

Nah. Most of my worldbuilding is adapted from the real world when I worldbuild anyway, because even when I delve into sci-fi/fantasy I like to keep it mostly realistic to the standards set on earth.

4. How do you choose your characters’ appearences? Do you use generators, choose face claims, make sketches, or something else?

I usually just look around on Pinterest for someone who vaguely matches the depiction I already have in my head. My characterizations can change on a whim, though, like if I see a tiktok of someone with a character’s very specific energy sometimes I can change their appearance just based on that.

5. What are your favorite tropes to read about or watch? Are they the same as the tropes you yourself most like to use in your writing?

I love whump and hurt/comfort. Even if I don’t mean to, my stories ALWAYS incorporate aspects of whump and hurt/comfort. There’s basically no escape. I love reading it, and I love writing it so I can read it later, and it’s such a habit to write it that it always just ends up being a plot point. I always have sort of a designated whumpee as well and they’re always the exact same archetype of character: that caring but silly romantic-comic relief character. Whether it’s Constantine in Forever and Ever, Amen or Andy in Sleep It Off, it’s always the exact same archetype. I’d like to switch it up but it’s always about liking what I’m writing, and I’m just not tired of this yet. Yes, most of my fics are this way as well and you can definitely pick out the archetype, but considering the vast majority of my fics are real person fanfiction, I’m not going to name names or anything.

6. Do you have a network of writer friends offline, such as a school club, writing workshop partners, etc.?

No, sadly. I have a couple writer friends and an English teacher I’m close with and I harass people for feedback but that’s really it. I’m hoping to find a community in college, though.

7. When looking for inspiration for a story, are you more likely to be drawn to visual or auditory elements? (Ex: would you browse through picture prompts, listen to music, seek out a written prompt, or something else?)

Music, always. Forever and Ever, Amen was inspired by a daydream I had while listening to Franz Ferdinand’s “Outsiders” one day on my way to school in my junior year of high school. You can listen to Caldwell and Constantine’s playlist here, if you want, because it was such an integral part of their story design.

8. Are the names of your characters and the places in your world important to you? How do you choose them?

My characters’ names usually just sort of pop up. When I was first making characters I always used sites like NameBerry to perfectly calculate a name: Polaris and Juneau and their whole little squad are total examples of this. When I introduced the Sideline Warriors, their names were all sort of randomly picked from wherever. Jacy just sort of came to me, Veridis and Voyager were Daft Punk songs, I’m an Aries, so screw it, there’s Aries. Most of the characters from Sleep It Off were either adapted in some way from real life, Kira being a slight misspelling of her inspiration’s name, Axel being named after the emo kid living in my head, Chuck being sort of a hint at my old crush, or they were adapted from songs, like Khalil (Khalil Gibran - STRFKR), Valencia (O, Valencia! - The Decemberists), and Andy (San Andreas - CVLTRALIGHT). Their names are always important, though, and I try not to reuse names as best as I can.

9. Do you utilize any personality types or tests to determine your characters’ personality, like Meyers-Briggs, enegrams, character archetypes, the four temperaments, alignment charts, the elements, Hogwarts houses, or even various types of astrology (Western Zodiac, Celtic tree, Chinese zodiac, etc.?)

I really don’t, but I definitely think about zodiac signs when choosing birthdays. Claudia is such a Taurus. Kira is a Virgo. Axel is an Aries. Andy’s a Capricorn because January 23rd came to me in a dream. Constantine is such a Leo, and Caldwell’s obviously a Pisces. You can kind of see this in each character’s personality so it’s always decided after their initial creation as a character. Make sense?

10. What is your favorite part of worldbuilding? (Ex: building cultures, mapmaking, history and timeline work, making conlangs, religion and mythology, plant and animal making, magic and technology systems…)

Most of my worldbuilding is meant to fit into the “real world,” so my favorite part of worldbuilding is probably odd quirks, like in Shitty Sixers Fanfiction, for example, Furkan Korkmaz freezing up whenever you make direct eye contact with him, or the fact that the team lives in Wells Fargo Center and lines up for Arby’s every morning, or the new NBA team called the Omaha Gophers featuring Jeremy Lin and Jimmer Fredette. It’s fun to give the story’s world its own little quirks and things specific to that universe, even if it’s fanfiction.

—

tagging @kindofwriter @klywrites @kiraawrites @fruzsiwrites @baconkat02 @h-faith-marr-writeblr @necros-writings @mercutioswriting ! use the same questions bc they’re lots of fun

#limassol answers #why did i answer this like an interview #im so desperate for attention

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aion-rsa · 4 years

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Garbage Pail Kids At 35: The Kids Are Alright

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Presented by:

This story appears in the Den of Geek x eBay special edition trading card magazine.

Garbage Pail Kids gave birth to my anti-authority streak. I was in fifth grade waiting for art class to start and showing off my prized Ashcan Andy to enraptured classmates when my teacher walked in the classroom, sighed, confiscated the card and proceeded to rip it up. “This junk has no place in an art room,” she stoically declared as Andy was transformed into sad confetti before my eyes. Years later, I came to realize that this demonstration was all about jealousy – these cards had instantly engaged students in art in a way that her years of teaching never could.

And let me be clear here: Garbage Pail Kids are most definitely art. Often grotesque and always eye-catching, the unfortunate children showcased on these cards fostered an interest in painting, illustration, and design for generations of kids since Topps first introduced them back in 1985 (their pun-heavy names also were a gateway for subversive humor). After 35 years, Garbage Pail Kids have become a cultural institution—not to mention schoolyard contraband for nearly four decades, an unexpected bonus that would make the creators of these cards—veterans of the counterculture themselves—beam with pride.

To trace the origins of Garbage Pail Kids, a brief history lesson is in order. Although they were best known for their baseball cards, the Topps Company also had huge success with bubblegum cards based on popular films and TV shows. Further expanding their creative pallet, Topps released numerous humor card lines, the most popular of which was Wacky Packages. Like Mad Magazine before them, these stickers showcased parodies of contemporary products with bitingly accurate focus.

In the early 1980s there was no bigger consumer frenzy than the Cabbage Patch Kids. These dolls from Xavier Roberts and Coleco featured an elaborate backstory and cloyingly adorable looks that became the stuff of toy legend (news reports featuring near riots as parents tried to get their hands on the damn things were commonplace in the early 1980s).

Naturally, then, Cabbage Patch Kids were an ideal target to get the Wacky Packages treatment. But the decision was wisely made by Topps execs that Garbage Pail Kids could be a card line of their own. Spearheading the project was underground comics legend Art Spiegelman (who would go on to win a Pulitzer Prize in 1992 for his groundbreaking holocaust graphic novel Maus), Raw comics anthology contributor Mark Newgarden, and artist John Pound.

Pound, a veteran of painting fantasy and science fiction book covers, was brought by Spiegelman to illustrate the original Wacky Packages “Garbage Pail Kid” card (featuring one of the dolls pushed into a trash can and touting orders to send the unfortunate soul to the Department of Sanitation). Though this Wacky Pack was shelved, Pound single-handedly painted all the characters featured in the first Garbage Pail Kids set. “They liked the idea sketches I sent in,” he says, “and asked me to do all 40 paintings in two months, which was faster than I was used to, but I got organized and made the deadline.”

Working with Spiegelman, Newgarden, and Topps creative favorite Jay Lynch to craft ideas, Pound’s early characters included the now iconic Adam Bomb, and remain some of the most beloved in the line (for the record, Pound names Adam Bomb, Up Chuck, Jolly Roger, and Mona Loser as some of his favorite creations).

Looking back over three decades later, Pound sees several reasons why Garbage Pail Kids have endured:

“The original concept had strengths: doing a parody of the famous Cabbage Patch Kids, and a name that was both clear and familiar sounding,” he says. “The concept’s rebellious attitude and shock value gave it initial attention. Also, in the ‘80s, Topps products were widely distributed, like in drug stores, variety stores, convenience stores.”

Although he freely admits that “I wasn’t expecting it, but Garbage Pail Kids became a huge hit,” Pound says aesthetic concerns were foremost on his mind when painting these garish figures. “On my end, despite the abundant gross humor and shock value, I simply wanted the art to feel good to look at. And I tried to put love into the paintings.”

The care with which these outlandish cards were created was appreciated by consumers. Fifteen different series of Garbage Pail Kids were produced between 1985 and 1988. There was spinoff GPK merchandise too, ranging from folders emblazoned with images of popular characters to the on-brand/subversively named Cheap Toys. The Garbage Pail Kids Movie was released in 1987 with The Facts of Life co-star Mackenzie Astin in the lead. On that topic, The Toys That Made Us and A Toy Store Near You creator Brian Volk-Weiss sums up the flick perfectly: “That movie is so bonkers even seeing it is not believing it. It reminds me in a weird way of a low budget Batman and Robin in that it was like a ton of people were involved with the green light and execution and seemingly had no oversight on any matter.”

But as far as Volk-Weiss is concerned, a new motion picture has plenty of potential. “I would love to see them do a ‘serious’ reboot that would be similar to the first Guardians of the Galaxy film in that they take the characters and the world seriously,” he states, “but the fun and humor and oddness stays intact too.” While there may be a future on screen for New Wave Dave and company, whatever it turns out to be must avoid the mistakes of the infamous 1987 cartoon series – which was produced for CBS but never aired due to the then-ongoing controversy surrounding the franchise (it eventually landed on DVD, and the less said about it the better.)

Despite a lull in any new products that lasted from the late 1980s until 2003, Garbage Pail Kids never really left the public consciousness. If anything, they were inspiring new talent. Enter Buff Monster. The Hawaii native and prolific street artist known for his upbeat, ice cream-inspired work was so inspired by Garbage Pail Kids that he created his own line of sticker art cards, The Melty Misfits. With names like Mind-Blowin’ Owen (featuring a cameo by a very Adam Bomb-esque character) and Bam Bam Sam, these intricately designed stickers—created on the type of antiquated machinery that Garbage Pail Kids were made on—come complete with a retro-styled wax pack and showcase Buff Monster’s own unique aesthetic as they pay homage to the Topps line.

Talking about why he personally connected with Garbage Pail Kids, Buff Monster makes a salient point on why these things were so memorable in the first place.

“If you look at most trading cards, they are less than what they’re about. Having a baseball card is a ‘less than’ experience than watching the game. If you’re watching a baseball game in person, that’s great, but watching a baseball game on TV is actually better because you’ve got commentary, and you’ve got playback, and all this sort of stuff,” he tells us.

“But Garbage Pail Kids stand out because the art was made for the cards, so the card was the thing. The card wasn’t some sub-version of something else. It was the point of making the art in the first place. And so that has always stuck with me. And that is really kind of what it comes down to for me.”

Buff Monster’s The Melty Misfits stickers are a burgeoning phenomenon for the 2020s, just as Garbage Pail Kids were for the 1980s. It’s understandable that he is partnering with eBay for a special pack of The Melty Misfits, some of which will come packaged with a random “Golden Ticket” card that will entitle the recipient to have Buff Monster create a character of their choice.

“This pack that we’re going to do is a nice little introduction to me and eBay working together,” he says. “This is a very easy thing for the completist to get. And that’s good.”

It’s clear when talking to Buff Monster that Garbage Pail Kids continue to inspire. And the cards themselves feel more vibrant than ever, way more relevant today than the doll that inspired them in the first place. Case in point? Recent political and horror-themed Garbage Pail Kids sets (which are really one and the same when you think about it) have brought old fans back into the fold.

Another example of booming Garbage Pail Kids interest is the 2017 documentary 30 Years of Garbage: The Garbage Pail Kids Story. The film’s writer and (with Jeff Zapata) co-director is Joe Simko, himself an accomplished artist and graphic designer who has worked on the card line and IDW’s spinoff Garbage Pail Kids comic, as well as his own series of The Sweet Rot graphic novels and his Cereal Killer trading cards. Simko vividly remembers when Garbage Pail Kids entered his life.

“I first discovered Garbage Pail Kids when I was 10 years old while riding the school bus. A couple of kids were sharing them,” Simko says. “It was the second series, and I just remember that artwork jumping out at me. Never had I seen such appetizing visuals on a trading card before. I knew instantly they were an attack on the highly successful Cabbage Patch Kids dolls, which dominated the kid’s market landscape at the time. Garbage Pail Kids were such a great middle-school kids protest to that cutesy Cabbage Patch world.”

Simko has been a part of Garbage Pail Kids lore since 2009, and during that time has given the Garbage Pail Kids treatment to everything from Stranger Things to Universal Monsters. “I think my favorite Garbage Pail Kids projects are the licensed product paintings I get to do,” he says. “For instance, the Garbage Pail Kids cereal for FYE was just so great to work on. Doing cereal box signings at the FYE pop-up shop during San Diego Comic-Con was an overwhelming experience. Greeting Garbage Pail Kids fans, when I too am a fan, is amazing.”

When I mention the brand’s longevity to Simko, he is quick to sum up their continued popularity. “Garbage Pail Kids have lasted this long due in part to the dedicated group of collectors who grew up on the series in the ’80s. Yes, there are younger kids buying them today, but the nostalgia it brings to those grown-up kids keeps the spirit and revenue of the Garbage Pail alive.”

Bringing things full circle, he also vindicated myself and everyone else who was ever frowned upon for appreciating the cards’ artistic merits.

“They are a true form of art. To pass judgement on them and reject these cards as ‘art’ because of the subject matter, is to have a narrow perspective of what art is,” Simko says. “Credit goes to the original creators of the Garbage Pail Kids cards during the 1980s, Art Spiegelman and Mark Newgarden. Art and Mark knew the ingredients to make GPK work. And of course the artists, John Pound, Tom Bunk, James Warhola, and Jay Lynch, were the ‘cooks.’ They made it taste and look perfectly gross. Without any of these creative minds, I believe Garbage Pail Kids would not be the success it became at the time.”

Despite being anchored to a fad from the 1980s, Garbage Pail Kids are ultimately timeless. Children of all ages will always take to the goofy grossness that is embedded in the line’s DNA. Nostalgia is a potent thing too, but as recent years have illustrated, Topps is always looking to evolve the IP, be it through virtual Garbage Pail Kids, high-end collectible figures, or just by continuing to bring in great artists to keep the bread and butter of the franchise—the card line—going strong. These Kids may be pushing 40, but in the heart of fans, they’ll never age.

Garbage Pail Kids eBay x Topps Exclusive

The 10-card set created by Joe Simko is the first exclusive from eBay and Topps. Each card is representative of buying and selling on eBay. The set will be available for $19.99 on eBay for one week starting on August 10.

The post Garbage Pail Kids At 35: The Kids Are Alright appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/30gkomP

#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

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deanky · 5 years

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Total - C. Martin Croker Q&A

Total TV: I know you were already an animator before you got involved with Space Ghost. But did you also know that you had this great talent for voices?

Clay Croker: I used to work out at the laser show way back when. Ten years ago. It's out at Stone Mountain Park, this giant granite mountain that sticks right up out of the ground, and they project laser shows up against the side of it. That was my first animation job. I created a character right when I started out there, they had this bear character and they wanted a sidekick for the bear. So I came up with a Possum character that they called CW, which stood for Civil War, argh. [mimes vomiting] I didn't come up with that part. But I also wound up doing the voice of that character too. So I was doing voices for laser show characters a decade ago. And I'd always done goofy voices on my answering machine and stuff, and I was always a fan of Zorak from the original Space Ghost.

Oh, really? So this was like a deep-seated desire?

Oh, yeah. They started rerunning Space Ghost in 1978, when I was in high school. And we'd all talk about it at the lunch table and stuff. And there would be friends of mine who'd be like, Brak's my favorite, he's the coolest, he's that Tiki cat kind of guy. And I was going, oh, man, Zorak blows 'em all away. You don't know what you're talking about. So I actually did like a Zorak answering machine message probably while I was still in high school.

God, it'd be great if you still had a copy of that.

I may. I may. I save everything. I have answering machines tapes going back to '80. So when Space Ghost was pitched to Design Effects, where I was working, I had to kind of horn my way in. 'Cause they were just gonna make it a designer job and not have any animators in on it. And I was like, wait a minute! What do you guys know about Space Ghost? You know about any of the villains? And they were like, well, maybe we should have him sit on this. So I wound up actually suggesting that Zorak be on the show, 'cause I was such a big Zorak fan. I was going like, we gotta have some villains on the show! Zorak would be perfect! And [Cartoon Network programming head] Mike Lazzo agreed. He said well, Zorak was always one of my favorites too.

But I was dismayed when I found out they weren't going to use the original voices. 'Cause I thought, Oh boy, we're gonna be working on shows with Gary Owens doing the voice of Space Ghost and Don Messick doing the voice of Zorak Then I find out no, no, no, we're just gonna go with local guys. And I was horrified. I was like, oh, man, here I thought I was giving Zorak a career boost. And there was a point in a meeting where they said, hmm, well we're gonna have so and so do Space Ghost, so that solves the Space Ghost dilemma. Who are we gonna have do Zorak's voice? There's this long silence, and I'm like, well, it's now or never. And I just said, Well I can do that voice. And they were like, do it. So I just spat out one of the old lines I remembered and they were like okay, you're Zorak, that solves that problem.

What about Moltar? Did you have any affinity for him?

No. Zorak I really wanted on the show. And then we started reviewing Space Ghost cartoons at Design Effects, and the first cartoon we looked at was "The Evidence of Moltor." They changed his name between first and second season, I think they probably just couldn't remember what he was called. Originally, they had Andy [Merrill], who does Brak's voice, come in and read for Moltar. He sort of did kind of what wound up being Brak, sort of the same crazy inflections. And they were like, I think that's a bit strong. And then right before the show went to final edit, they said we want you to come in and read for Moltar. Can you do like a Ted Cassidy kind of voice? And I went [switches to sonorous basso] well, sure, I think so. And they said, well, go on in there and do it. So I thought what the hey. But, you know, the rest is history.

Do you ever get confused going back and forth?

At rehearsal. That's the only time I get confused sometimes. LIke I'll have Zorak and Moltar arguing, and sometimes I'll wind up starting to do the other character's voice and inflection. I'll see the word and think, Oh, this is a Zorak line. And it'll wind up being the other way. Sometimes I have to go, "Wait a minute, wait a minute, okay. Start the clock again."

Do you ever get up in the morning and feel like it's a Moltar kind of day? Or a Zorak kind of day? Does the identification ever go that far?

Well, the cool thing about Zorak is the fact that I can pretty much say what I'm thinking if I say it with Zorak's voice. Like at conventions and stuff, when overbearing fans get in our face I'm like, [in dismissive Zorak voice] "Yeah, yeah, yeah."

People love to be insulted by Zorak.

Oh yeah. Well, it definitely makes it easier to deal with some of the fans. We get some pretty rabid fans for Space Ghost. To me it's like, you know, it's just Space Ghost. But we've had some people that are just absolutely, like, crazy for the show. And being able to deal with them as Zorak does make things easier, because you can be like, [in nasty Zorak voice ] "Yeah, well pipe down, sonny, I hear your mother calling you." And they're like [breaks into rabid-fan chortling].

Do people assault you with their version of Zorak's voice?

Usually not. I think, you know, they would be too self-conscious about it. But we always get the guys who come up like with buttons all over their shirts and stuff, and they'll be like, [switches into moronic stoner voice] "Let me be a character on the show, come on, I do good funny voices." OK, we'll get your card and we'll call you. But in answer to your question, the only time I really feel like [a character] . . . I actually feel more like my other alter ego, who's the cartoon series that I've got on the side burner, which is Mr. Angst.

Mr. Angst?

Yeah, and I very often feel like Mr. Angst, a lot of the time.

How does Mr. Angst speak?

Oh, I'm still working on that, but it's somewhere between like Lenny Bruce and someone that has screamed till they're hoarse.

That sounds a little bit like Brak.

Yeah.

At least the screaming end of the spectrum, not the Lenny Bruce end.

Actually the guy that does Bird Man's voice I'm thinking about using as a character. But I think I'm going to use him as Mr. Angst's pal Crude Dan. He was based on a real guy I knew called Crude Dan.

What's Mr. Angst look like?

Let's see, well he's sorta kinda like . . . I don't want to say Danny Kaye because that involves a lot more connotations, but a lot like Danny Kaye gone bad, sort of.

The vessel with the pestle has the pellet with the poison.

So he pretty much just looks like this. [starts to sketch] One of these days . . . I've got some pencil tests done of him already, but with all the animation realism shows that are being worked up now, like King of the Hill and all these more reality-based shows . . . I've been wanting to do that for like . . . I mean I've had this character on the back burner since like '91.

Wow. He looks like a bit of a hipster.

Yeah. Oh yeah. Well I mean he's about like 35 to 38, somewhere in there, and like really into barbecue and bowling and all kinds of stuff like that. Oh, and he's always got to have that un-PC butt hangin' out of his mouth. [sketches it in] So he would be like . .. oh, I forgot all the . . .

The angst lines.

Yeah. [sketches them in]

That's really cool. Mr. Angst. Can I keep that?

Certainly.

Maybe after this big push for the new Space Ghost Coast to Coast episodes you'll have some time.

Well, the thing that's cool is because there's been so much Space Ghost stuff going on I've been able to ramp up my production. I've been able to like get more desks and pencil test machines and all the other equipment that I need when I eventually start doing something other than Space Ghost. But I've also heard rumblings that there's already something besides Space Ghost waiting in the wings, so we shall see.

Beyond Cartoon Planet?

Yeah. Yeah.

I love Cartoon Planet.

Oh yeah, me too.

And Zorak's Horrorscopes.

Yeah, Pete Smith wrote all those, they were a blast. I think we've done like the entire zodiac.

Pete wrote a bunch of, like, wacky stuff, a lot of the songs the Cartoon Planet Band sings on the show. Are we still recording?

Yeah.

I just wanted to like get the process down from the start. We read through the script, we make notes, I come up with a thumbnail story board, I show that to [line producer] Jim Fortier and then I work up the actual first draft of the boards. Then we have a meeting and go through basically all the boards and say, well, we want to use this, we don't want to use that. Then I work up the final boards, they get approved and then they start being animated. So that's how the process gets rolling, as far as like where all the new art comes from.

And that's basically your domain, the new art?

I do all the new animation for the show. I run my own animation company, Big Deal Cartoons. I actually run it out of my house, I have a studio set up in the basement and have freelance animators, all of which have 95 jobs in this town, doing animation because there's been such an explosion of the art form in the last year or so I can just get them at night. Right now, we're mostly working on Space Ghost needs.

What exactly do you do here in the Flame Room, Clay?

Tear our hair out? [laughs] This is where we do digital ink and paint. And then composite those new cells into other scenes. Which in this case is all the scenes of Bird Man sitting at the desk, stuff that did not exist in the original Bird Man universe. We do new animation compositing, rotoscoping some of the existing animations from the '60s and take Bird Man and Space Ghost and other characters out of them. We cut 'em out of their original scenes, give ''em new backgrounds, put 'em into a set.

You actually cut them out digitally?

Frame by frame.

That sounds pretty time-consuming.

It is. The show's kind of like a waking hours thing. While I'm awake, I'm thinking about the show. Before, up to this point, we'd been on the air almost three years and put out 33 shows. About a dozen shows a year. This year, we're doing 26 new episodes so it's a big change. As is usual around here, I'm booked in more sessions than just one at once. Right now I'm doing the Fred Flintstone thing at the drive-in and the bowling alley, where I'm like running up and down the hall all day long monitoring what's going on in ink and paint and what's going on in the actual composite, which is in here. So all the cells are brought in, we bring them in under the camera over here and shoot them directly into the paint box room. They digitally ink and paint them, like you're seeing an example of right now. Sometimes we add special effects. Space Ghost blows up Zorak in another scene, we have to paint him to make him look likes he's charred and burned.

Do you use like a stock image of Zorak charred or do you actually create that for every episode? 'Cause Zorak gets zapped a lot.

They have pretty much a standard few scenes where he gets charred, and they just use that over and over. In fact, they just made a new one. But yeah, we try to keep it as standardized as possible. We try to keep all the colors standard.

What about Zorak's boinks? Are the boinks new animation?

Where he bounces?

Yeah.

No, actually that's something that they digitally did. The first time I saw that I went, wow, what was that? They said, "Oh, that's something we were just messing around with." And I was like, okay. I just wondered, you know, 'cause most of the time now if there's new artwork involved in the show, then [senior Flame artist] Butch [Seibert] and I--or whoever is working in here, like putting it together, but most of the time it's Butch--we like put together all the new scenes. But every once in a while they'll come up with something and just go, "Oh, well that's a Tom thing," and they'll have [online editor] Tom Roche come up with something in final edit.

You guys have all these great names: Croker! Roche!

Yeah. [laughs] So I'll see the show and like all of a sudden see something I had nothing to do with and go, "Wow, what was that?" Well, too late to change it now. Watching it on TV.

That must also be kind of fun in a way. You get a little surprise.

Yeah, well, it's like reaching into a bag and getting, like, eeyew, noodles!

#space ghost #sighs sadly #sgc2c #c martin croker #hy angst #still makes me sad....#but also really cool at the same time #but the sadness overcomes it once again

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clydesdonovan · 2 years

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Butters!

jeez these are all so long so again I’m gonna stick em under the cut fksjdkf

Why I like them: I feel like it’s hard to NOT like Butters tbh. He’s such an adorable little sweetheart. I know there’s always been times where he’s not a sweetheart lol but overall? He usually is. He has some killer one liners and his subplots are always either funny, or cute, or both. I’m happy he became a more central character as the seasons went on and now I can’t imagine the show without him being a +1 to the main four.

Why I don’t: he can be pretty terrible sometimes and I’m not a big fan of that :( he always had his moments and he was never an angel or anything. But I feel like, back in the day, his good qualities outweighed the bad, and the “bad” were honestly just normal schoolyard bully behavior. Current Butters is a whole other level and I just find him a little too mean and gross and unlikable at times.

Favorite episode (scene if movie): honestly Butters has so many good episodes… “marjorine”, “raisins”, “cartman sucks”, “the ungroundable”, professor chaos”, “super fun time”, “going native”, “the Simpsons already did it”, “a boy and a priest”. So many. My top two are definitely “marjorine” and “cartman sucks” though!

Favorite season/movie: I’d have to say season six I think!! It’s one of the first seasons that heavily focuses on him iirc, and we get to learn a lot about him as it progresses. It also has the birth of Professor Chaos and starts to develop Butters beyond a one-off, one dimensional character.

Favorite line: his entire speech at the end of “Cartman Sucks” for sure!!

Favorite outfit: I looove the pink sparkly vest he wore when he was tap dancing! iirc he wore it (or something similar) at the talent show too. I also honestly love his Professor Chaos costume, it’s adorable. Vamp Butters is also iconic!

OTP: bunny!!! I love them.

Brotp: honestly Butters and Cartman fksjdk their friendship is so wacky and troublesome but it’s really funny. Episodes that center around them usually are very good and entertaining and they’re just absolutely wild together

Head Canon: Butters is amazingggg at art. He can draw, he can paint, he can sculpt, he can create things out of paper cutouts (I’m not sure if there’s a term for that?). He’s always doodling here and there but he’s one of those people whose “doodles” are beautiful sketches with colors and shading and everything. Painting is his favorite art form though! He paints all the time.

Unpopular opinion: I wouldn’t call this unpopular I don’t think?? But I prefer the older, sweeter characterization of Butters. He’s become something of a fan favorite with his newer personality, and I do like that he takes less shit and he stands up for himself more often. But I miss when he was the most childlike of the kids, and he was friendly more than not, and he still held a naive wonder about the world. He was a really sweet kid and I just prefer him that way than now. Modern Butters can be too much sometimes :/

A wish: this isn’t gonna happen but I’m still holding out hope for a Victor Zsasaz thing with future Butters fkskdkf

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen: hmm I think he’s pretty safe from most bad things since he’s such an integral character. However I would like it if he didn’t keep down this path of becoming like… Cartman 2.0 that he’s kinda been on lately. One Cartman is more than enough

5 words to best describe them: sweet, creative, friendly, sensitive and radiant :^)

My nickname for them: I don’t have one I don’t think? but I mean Butters in itself is a nickname 👀

#asks #anonymous #ask game #thank u anon!! :^)#I’m horrendous at describing why I like characters tbh I am so sorry #but I’m love Butters 🥺

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recentanimenews · 5 years

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Let’s Pop Together to Celebrate 5 Years of Pop Team Epic!

Today is a very special day: The 5th anniversary of Pop Team Epic’s manga publication! That’s right, it’s been a pretty amazing 5 years of Pop Team Epic, culminating in 3 manga volumes, an amazing anime, and plenty of wacky merchandise to supply us ravenous Pop Team Epic fans with all of the Popuko and Pipimi that our hearts desire.

But how much do you actually know about the manga that started it all, or the man behind it, Bkub Okawa? Well, we think we can help you there, so as our gift to Pop Team Epic on its birthday, we’ve come bearing 5 amazing and lesser known facts that you probably didn’t know! And if you did, don’t worry; we’ll just put your name on the birthday card with ours!

1. Bkub is a famous LINE sticker artist!

Before Pop Team Epic became the title he was most known for, Bkub spent most of his time working on fan comics, or doujinshi, for Touhou Project and IDOLM@STER; many of his earliest dalliances in 4-koma style humor were developed in these books! But aside from those, he also created numerous sticker sets for Korean messaging application giant LINE. You can find various Pop Team Epic themed sets, but there are various other ones featuring parodies and original characters of Bkub’s that you can’t find anywhere else.

So if you’re ever looking for that perfect sticker to send to your group chat on LINE, see if any of Bkub’s sets will find the perfect way to say “I’m sorry I can’t come hang out, I just don’t want to exist at the moment” in a single sticker! And if you’re not using LINE, you can find lots of daily art from Bkub on his official twitter account, where he posts daily sketches of random things, from Pop Team Epic characters, to various anime and video game characters that are on his mind, such as the Golden Trio from Golden Kamuy!

2. Bkub Okawa has been a regular guest at New York Comic Con for years!

The mysterious gentleman behind Pop Team Epic, Bkub Okawa, has been coming to America for years! Originally getting his start by working on doujinshi comics, Bkub regularly attends various conventions to sell his books, doodle commissions, and meet with fans… including New York Comic Con! Bkub became famous online for his 4-koma parodies of Touhou and IDOLM@STER characters that set the stage for the type of manga he’s known for today, garnering a bit of an underground following for his works. Pop Team Epic hadn’t quite become the underground international success that birthed the anime we know and love today, so most people only knew of Bkub from his fan works! Fans report getting various types of doodles from him.

Ironically, the huge success of Pop Team Epic seems to have made it much harder for Bkub to make these types of casual appearances at conventions now, so you may need to craft a time machine, or ask for Shouta Aoi help, in order to get your very own Bkub doujinshi and commissioned sketch “before he was cool,” you know?

3. Hoshiiro Girldrop is an actual manga. Kind of!

Most fans of Pop Team Epic’s anime are familiar with the bait and switch that happened in the first episode, where viewers thought they were watching a show called Hoshiiro Girldrop, an anime about an idol and the romantic dramedy that surrounded main character Daichi, only to have the anime suddenly switch into Pop Team Epic a good bit of the way through! After Pop Team Epic’s original cancellation (yes, we said cancellation; more on that later!), Bkub’s newest work was a far departure from his previous works: Hoshiiro Girldrop! After stringing readers along for a bit, however, Bkub revealed the truth: it was actually Pop Team Epic season 2, as Popuko ripped through the page of the manga, declaring “It’s me!” and starting up the manga once again.

But the story doesn’t end there! After the success of Pop Team Epic’s anime, an actual manga anthology was released in Japan by Bkub and a bevy of other artists! Although it doesn’t have an official English translation as of yet, if you’re ever in Japan (or simply just use Amazon.jp), you can track down your own copy of Hoshiiro Girldrop yourself!

4. Early Pop Team Epic featured Popuko’s and Pipimi’s mouths opening and closing!

While this might sound odd, the art style of Pop Team Epic has evolved since the first strips were released, with one of the bigger changes being that Popuko and Pipimi’s mouths used to “open” when they spoke! Newer strips in later seasons of the manga did away with this little touch, opting to keep the neutral facial expressions intact unless the gag called for (usually Popuko’s) the mouths to change somehow. Observant readers might also notice that earlier versions of Popuko and Pipimi are far less round than they are now, with the art style changing in that regard too; Pipimi in particular looks far different in volume 3 of the manga than she did in volume 1!

Not only that, but many of the early and most famous strips on the internet from the early days of Pop Team Epic’s rise in popularity didn’t even feature Popuko and Pipimi, who started dominating the series in the second volume. Don’t believe us? Go grab your volumes off the shelf (you do own them all, right?) and check for yourself!

5. Pop Team Epic’s manga was originally cancelled!

In what would become a running gag in the other 2 seasons of the manga, Pop Team Epic actually got cancelled by publisher Takeshobo during its first season. For various unknown reasons, there’s no way to really know why this happened, but originally Pop Team Epic was published as part of Takeshobo’s online manga website, Manga Life Win. In the 15th installment, Bkub announced that this would be the final chapter of the series, and that the publisher was to blame; whether that was true or he just planned on ending the manga is hard to tell! Either way, it seemed pretty final, and readers online were left with little answer on when, or if, Pop Team Epic would ever return!

Subsequent volumes of Pop Team Epic would always incorporate some sort of joke about Takeshobo threatening to cancel the manga or replace Popuko and Pipimi with other versions of themselves that they felt might sell better, and generally involved Popuko violently destroying Takeshobo’s offices as a parting gag. Astute anime viewers might recognize that this sort of trend of teasing the hand that feeds you continued, as Pop Team Epic’s anime made various jokes about destroying King Record’s buildings and blaming them for all sorts of problems.

We hope you enjoyed getting all that knowledge dropped on you, as we’re sure the Pop Team Epic girls would approve of this as an excellent gift for their birthday in lieu of money or fancy presents. What do you mean Popuko has an angry look in her eyes? Look, we aren’t Takeshobo and King Records here, we can’t rebuild this building if she gets mad at us, so… we’ll just tell her these facts are your idea, okay? Well, gotta go! See you in another 5 years for the 10th anniversary of Pop Team Epic... if she doesn’t catch us first!

What’s your favorite Pop Team Epic gag? Are you on Team Popuko or Team Pipimi? Or Maybe you’re just thinking of Hellshake Yano?

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Nicole is a features writer and editor for Crunchyroll. Known for punching dudes in Yakuza games on her Twitch channel while professing her love for Majima. She also has a blog, Figuratively Speaking. Follow her on Twitter: @ellyberries

Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

By: [email protected]

#Anime #News #Latest in Anime News by Crunchyroll!

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