Tod Polson

Fibber Flats

2012-01-22T00:24:00.000-08:00

Where I'm from in Wyoming, people have traditionally told each other stories to pass long dark winter days. Usually these stories were of things that had happened to them during the year. Though one could never be sure how much of something was the truth, and how much of it was a "tall tale." Many people I knew had not left our town in years, had the most amazing stories of things they had done, and things they had seen. Looking back now, I appreciate how wonderfully creative people in my community are. Some very good memories.

Above: Some character presentation sketches for "Fibber Flats."

Inspired by my up bringing, a number of years back I developed a show idea based on the concept of a community that lived by the code of the "Tall Tale." This was some time before Tim Burton's "Big Fish" came out. The title of the show was inspired by the name of the area where my family home is, "Poverty flats." A modest ranching area, rich in creativity, and a wealth of interesting characters.

Children's Day

2012-01-16T19:29:00.000-08:00

Children's day was this week. So, in celebration I decided to post a few of my kid sketches. These were made not too long ago as a test for a client who wanted a sort of "cute young boy with a big head."

Above: Some variations on the design the client liked most.

Above: A younger variation

Above: I rarely show my thumbnail and rough sketches, mostly because they aren't designs; they are thinking drawings. But thought it would be interesting to show a bit of my process. Using different ideas from these two sketches as a starting point, I was able to play with variation of shape and proportion in the above digital versions.

I've really wanted to post more over the last few months. But, it's been a crazy year... we've been moving house to Chiang Mai over the last month ... the hard drive that I store my backups died. The biggest task that has filled my every waking hour, has been finishing the text on Maurice Noble's design book. I've found that writing about design is a lot harder than actually designing. I turned in the latest draft of "The Noble Approach" last night, and over the next month will finalize the text with my editor at Chronicle. Pretty excited about it.

"The Noble Approach" at the Fredrikstad Animation Festival

2011-11-08T07:44:00.000-08:00

Fredrikstad Animation Festival 2011

Nov. 9th-13th, 2011- Fredrikstad, Norway

"At this years seminar for professionals we are proud to present three distinct voices in animation. The industry legend behind Ren & Stimpy John Kricfalusi, director and designer Tod Polson, and Dutch independent animator Rosto." (from the Fredrikstad festival website)

-Along with being on this years film jury, I have been asked to speak about my newest project, the Maurice Noble design book; "The Noble Approach." I hope to give a brief overview of the book, show a few of Maurice's classic films; share some stories, and have a short Q & A period. This will be the first time I have talked about the project publicly, and it will be great to get feedback from an audience.

There are going to be some amazing speakers at this years festival; John K., Suzie Templeton, Rosto, and Don Hahn. I am really looking forward to hearing them.

For more information about the festival ... please click HERE.

Topaz Diary: San Francisco Sketches

2011-10-22T02:28:00.000-07:00

Above: Coit Tower

I've decided to post a few of the San Francisco sketches that I've been working on for "Topaz Diary." Fred Hoshiyama spent many, many years of his life in the bay area, both before and after his camp experience at "Topaz." I've made a number of mood sketches that try to capture the personality of the city.

Above: Depression era San Francisco, top... the way most people saw it, in contrast with the bottom sketch, which is how Fred described the city. "It was like heaven!" He said... "For a nickel you could get in a street car and ride anywhere you wanted in the city. With the flick of an electric switch you had lights!"

Above: Two views of the "Golden Gate Bridge."

I'm still searching for the exact style of this section of the film. But I know that I want it to be light, and playful. Dreamy and optimistic... saturated, and colorful... attempting to depict the way that many young people see the world. I've planned many of my sketches to be low angles looking up. Or set from a lofty point of view to capture this optimism.

Above: A re-post of a bridge sketch to show the contrast of Fred's world after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The palette of the film will be more somber, and the angles more grounded. This was one of the low points in Fred's life, and I hope to depict that through the art. Fred's life took on a new direction because of the war. In spite of hardship, Fred always found a way to make the best of things, and because of this, discovered his true calling.

To read more about the "Topaz Diary" project, please visit HERE.

all art copyright 2011 tod polson / Prodigal Pictures

Prodigal Pictures launch

2011-09-24T02:23:00.000-07:00

We are happy to announce the launch of our new company, "Prodigal Pictures."

Prodigal Pictures provides design and consulting services for a variety of projects, including animation, illustration, and space design.

The company is also focused on design education. This includes lectures at universities, and animation companies.

We will be soon holding classes in the Bangkok area, with plans for several intensive sea-side design and animation master classes.

For more information please email us at: prodigalpictures@gmail.com

Topaz Diary: Re-visited

2011-08-04T07:54:00.000-07:00

Above: Rough concepts from "Topaz Diary."

Last spring I received a small grant to continue development on my next short film, "Topaz Diary." As discussed in an earlier post, the film follows the life of Fred Hoshiyama, his experiences in the Topaz concentration camp; and how that experience changed the course of his life, and the lives of thousands of children. Topaz is a serious documentary, but charged with the visual poetry that only animation could give. I hope to present several dozen concept paintings this fall for further film funding.

Images © 2011 Tod Polson

Nine Lives: A short film teaser

2011-07-31T09:21:00.000-07:00

For a good part of the last year I've been helping a few of the young artists at "The Monk" studio put together the pre-production on a short film called "Nine Lives." We've been honing the designs, and animatic, which at long last are now complete.

The heads of the studio liked the first animation/ rigging test so much that they decided to render it, and make a small teaser as seen above. The animation is by none other than the famous David Notivoli.

"Nine Lives" is being developed by Wanichaya Phraejunya and Tom Zblur at the Monk Studio, Bangkok. Watch out for these two in the future, they are going to make some waves.

Maurice Noble Design Book

2011-07-01T05:12:00.000-07:00

Maurice Noble was arguably one of animations greatest design/layout artists. His innovative use of color and design was integral to many of the greatest cartoons of the "Golden Age of Animation", from the classic Disney features “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”, “Pinocchio”, “Fantasia”, “Bambi” and “Dumbo”, to more than sixty Warner Bros. cartoons with Chuck Jones. These include “What’s Opera Doc?”, “Duck Dodgers in the 24 ½ Century”, and the “Road Runner” series. Maurice co-directed and was production designer for the Academy Award winning short “The Dot And The Line”. He also designed the Christmas classic “The Grinch That Stole Christmas." The influence of his work is still being felt today.

The last few years of his life, Maurice had been working on a design textbook that described his approach to design. Unfortunately he passed away before he was able to complete the text. For most of the last year I have been working with Chronicle Books in putting together what I hope will be the book that Maurice had dreamed of. It will be chocked full of his pre-production art, notes, and thoughts from the master himself describing his process. The book will also be full of reflections from folks that knew and worked with him.

I submit the text to Chronicle Books this week, and if all goes according to schedule, Maurice's book will be on the shelves in 2012.

All above artwork was designed by Maurice Noble; Many thanks to the many collectors, and to Warner Bros, for allowing me to use the art for the book. And thanks to all the artists, friends, and fans who have given of their knowledge and time to help in this project. I will forever be indebted. Thank you- tod

Pumpkin Posters

2011-06-09T14:05:00.000-07:00

"The Pumpkin Of Nyefar" will be showing at the Indianapolis Museum of Art on July 31st, 2011. Please click the link for more details.

Escape of the Gingerbread Man!!! trailer

2011-05-08T10:00:00.000-07:00

A few of the festivals that I've entered have requested a trailer for the Gingerbread short. For those of you that haven't seen the short; hopefully this will give you an idea of what the film is like... and you can decide if you would like to see more. ☺ -tod

Howl! At the Cartoon Art Museum

2011-04-17T21:55:00.000-07:00

The Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco will be putting on an exhibit featuring the art from the movie "Howl" from May 14 – September 11, 2011

Curated by Andrew Farago, Eric Drooker and Chris Lanier

I served as the animation art director, and animation production supervisor on "Howl."

Above: A few colorscript panels from the movie by me, and the art team at "The Monk."

San Francisco, CA: Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman's film, Howl, produced by Werc Werk Works, opened the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. Featuring James Franco as the beat poet Allen Ginsberg, the film took an experimental approach to documenting the creation and performance of Ginsberg's revolutionary poem, "Howl"– as well as the obscenity trial that followed when, after undercover policemen purchased copies of Howl and Other Poems from City Lights Bookstore, the state tried to suppress its publication. The film blends glimpses of Ginsberg's personal life, recreations of the obscenity trial, and animated sequences that accompany Franco's performance of the poem, riffing on its ideas and images.
The Art of Howl gives a revealing look behind the scenes at the creative process of turning poetry into animation. The film directors enlisted Eric Drooker to design the animation; Drooker, a graphic novelist and painter, was friends with Ginsberg and had collaborated with him on the book Illuminated Poems. John Hays, a San Francisco-based animation veteran, directed the sequences, which were animated by The Monk Studios in Thailand. -from comic art news

Above: A young Allen Ginsberg modeled at The Monk Studios, based on Eric Drooker's drawing. The museum exhibit will show the process used in making the animated portions of "Howl."

Above: Backgrounds, and concepts for billboards by the art dept at "The Monk."

NHKL

2011-04-09T02:16:00.000-07:00

A while back I was asked to create some location designs and color script for a T.V. show. This was an established show, so the director wanted to keep the basic feel of the series, but push things a little bit further for the special. The time frame was super short, so I recruited a few friends, including my wife On, to help me brainstorm.

Above: Evolution of a location.
Above, some rough sketches for the "Bear Castle" location. I was asked to do something in sort of my "normal" style, but different. It took me a few sketches to "warm up" to the world I was trying to create.

Above: An overview of the valley.
The characters in the story were at war, so I tried to contrast two different kingdoms, but also tried to keep them in the same world. We had a wide variety of location designs to make in a very short, and intense period of time. After the initial locations were designed, I was asked to create the color script based on the storyboard. The final show was to be made in flash. So I recruited On again, who is a flash master, to help me put the color script together using pre-made flash symbols.

Above: Tree experiments.
Since a good part of the story took place in the forest, I played with various tree shapes. The art director wanted something "flat but dimensional." The trees above were found to be "too flat", but lead to some other shape ideas.

I always find it a fun challenge to build a graphic world for characters to live in.

"Escape of the GingerBread Man!!!" premieres in America

2011-04-05T06:22:00.000-07:00

Above: Stills from my new short film "Escape of the GingerBread Man!!!"

The first screening of Gingerbread will be at the

"L.A. Cinema festival of Hollywood."

April 6th 2011. Whitefire Theater, 13500 Ventura Blvd.
Sherman Oaks, CA 91423

A huge thanks to everyone who helped make this film possible. Particularly "The Monk Studios" Bangkok, and the "Animation Workshop" in Denmark. I'd also like to thank the numerous friends who have so generously given their time, and talent over the last few years.

The festival marks the films first public screening, and first festival win! Thanks again- tod

Burgers a go-go

2011-03-29T04:45:00.000-07:00

A number of years ago, I was asked to come up with some ad ideas for a popular fast food chain. In the mid 1990's I had worked with some shadow puppets on the island of Java, and thought it would be fun to make a commercial using "American" shadow puppets. Designing characters with simple shapes and colors, working digitally and traditionally I imagined making a "super" shadow puppet theater. To my surprise the client liked the idea too! Some development was made, but ultimately it was decided to go another route.

Flea N' E.Z.

2011-03-18T05:49:00.000-07:00

A concept I've been kicking around for a few years. A tug of war between good and evil, heaven and hell in the animal kingdom. Some fun story ideas... but recently I discovered that there might be a similar concept currently in production in Europe. This will be the second time this year that a concept that is similar to something I've pitched recently has been put into production elsewhere! Frustrating? ... Yes! But... C'est la guerre!

Al Tudi Tuhak in digital format

2011-02-23T06:06:00.000-08:00

At long last I have a digital copy of "Al Tudi Tuhak," my student film from Cal/Arts! For years I've only had the 35mm prints, and some old video tapes. This last January I was invited to show "Al Tudi Tuhak" at the Bay International Children's Film Festival. A huge thanks to Jim Capobianco, who offered to make the digital transfer from 3/4" tape for me. Jim is a really great guy, and talented director, animator, and artist. Check out his website . He and his group are doing some really interesting things.

"Al Tudi Tuhak", is an original story inspired by the art and culture of the natives of the northwest coast. The film was made under the guidance of my mentors Jules Engel (UPA, Cal-Arts), and Maurice Noble (Disney, Warner Bros). With narration by Maurice, and music by Bill Benson.

Jules and Maurice were both wonderful, passionate, designers; with two very different approaches to design. This film marks an amazing, yet confusing time for me. It was a huge step in helping me develop my own design philosophy.

Above: Development art presented to the board at Cal-Arts in order to get "Al Tudi Tuhak" approved as my thesis.

The art is a mix of latex house paint on cels, and cut-outs.

I shot "Al Tudi Tuhak" on 35mm at Stokes/Kohne in Los Angeles. Dan Kohne was nice enough to let me use his Oxberry camera on the nights they weren't using the studio. And he and Billy Robinson were extremely patient with all my late night camera questions. I learned that it's hard shooting on black! Dust, fingerprints, everything show up under camera! The water effects were shot using double exposure with a ripple glass. Maurice sat in quite a few nights as "camera assistant." He taught me how important it is for a designer to know the capabilities of the camera.

Ben Jones, and Mike Polvani were kind enough to help me out with a few scenes of animation.

Bernadette Gonzales helped supervise the ink and paint.

... and a big thanks to my friends in the Philippines who helped out along the way.

"Al Tudi Tuhak" toured the festival circuit for a few years, winning the student "Oscar", and receiving an "Annie" nomination.

To read more about the film, click here or here

Dark Forest

2011-01-09T07:32:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine contacted me a few weeks ago, and asked if I had any "Dark, scary, forest" reference I could give him to show a client for a potential job.

Above: Going through some of my old files, I came across a development sketch from a few years ago. I was working on a film about an elephant... and this character was the villain. I'm not sure why his eyes are glowing now... just seemed right at the time :)

Above: Variation on a theme... trying out a few lighting schemes... from "Secret of kells"

Above: This sketch is from my early 20's when I was working at Chuck Jones! I believe the studio was developing some sort of "Film Noir" story with a cat. I'll have to dig up the rest of the sketches someday. Was a fun project... but like most of the stuff we were developing at Jones... it never got beyond the development stage.

Ethan Golds' "Poison"

2010-12-23T07:18:00.001-08:00

Ethan Gold - Poison from Ethan Gold on Vimeo.

Above and below: Early concept sketches for "Poison" .

A while back musician/ producer Ethan Gold approached me about making a music video for his upcoming album "Songs from a Toxic Apartment". Some of the themes of the song "Poison" dealt with loss of innocence, and temptation. My first sketches took a bit of a biblical tone... going back to the garden of Eden. Though this time, the garden was set in a modern city.

Below and above: Ethan liked the first sketches, but felt that perhaps I was being too literal. But he liked the image of a fiery haired woman.

Below: Somehow she evolved into a sort of fiery biker chick.

Lee Croudy, Poul, Parn, Tu, Ingo, and a lot of the guys at "The Monk" studio pitched in for fun... sketching, and playing around with ideas. One of the animators, Lom, had an idea of plugging LAN lines directly into the head of the innocent character. I thought it would be nice if the streaming information would slowly taint the character throughout the video. I did some sketches based on this idea using a weird baby character... which Ethan really liked.

below: I am a big Hugh Ferriss fan, and have always wanted to do a project that was "Ferriss-like". I made the sketch below cobbling together photos I found on the internet. Ethan liked the feel... so we made the city in 3D... and went into production.

Below: More concept color sketches, which I painted over the rough 3D playblasts animated by Ingo Schachner at the MONK studio. Working with Poul Riishede, and Salvador Simo who put the video together in composite. The video is meant to have a sort of primitive, low tech, video game look to it... as if seen through the eyes of a kid that has slowly been sucked into an evil digital realm.

Done as a sort of a side project... with a tiny budget, and little time... It was fun to do something a little different, and quirkier than usual.

I wish Ethan the best of luck on his upcoming album!

Check for updates on Ethan Golds site.

Monk Reel

2010-12-02T03:10:00.000-08:00

"The Monk"- studio has edited together a few of the projects I've been more recently involved with. It is titled as a "Director's Reel"... when in fact, it is more of my "Directors / Designers" reel.

Here is a brief credit list

The Pumpkin Of Nyefar

Mark Oftedal as co-director.

Maurice Noble as co-writer.

June Foray on voices.

Produced at Wang Film in Taiwan, and Thailand.

El Tigre

Created by Jorge Guttierez, and Sandra Equihua for Nickelodeon

Directed by Dave Thomas

Art Directed by Roman Laney

The Secret Of Kells

Directed by Tomm Moore, co-directed by Nora Twomey

Art Directed by Ross Stewart

Produced at The Cartoon Saloon, by Paul Young

Lava Boy (trailer)

co-directed by Veerapatra Jinanavin

Produced by The Monk Studios

Howl

Directed by Rob Epstein, and Jeffrey Friedman

animation directed by John Hays

Production design by Eric Drooker

Produced by Werk, werk, Works and Telling Pictures

Escape of the Gingerbread Man

Produced by Juck Somsaman and Nitipat Somsaman, at The Monk Studios

Co-produced by the Animation Workshop, Denmark

Co-produced by the West Danish Film Fund

Voices on this clip by Jon Kenny

Ginger Music

2010-11-28T09:33:00.000-08:00

At long last, my short film "Escape of the Gingerbread Man!!!" is coming to completion with the addition of sound!

Above: Revisiting some of my old instrument designs for the "Band" of sheep in my short film "Escape of the Gingerbread Man!!!"

The actual music for the film was recorded at Doon Studio, in Waterford Ireland. All arranged and played by squeezebox man Benny McCarthy and a few of his friends. I am a huge fan of Bennys traditional Irish bands Danu, and Rattle the Boards. Fantastic stuff!!! I hope he's pleased with what I've done with his delightful music.

Originally I had asked the brilliant Billy "Keys" Benson to score the film. But scheduling conflicts got in the way. Luckily, the super talented, Mathias Winum, agreed to score the film... and has brought the story to a whole different level with music. Morten Green at Tonemasters is working on the sound mix... and helping put the finishing touches on foley. I have to send out a deep heartfelt thanks to the Animation Workshop, and the West Danish film fund, without who's help I would never have been able to finish the sound... or the rest of the film for that matter. I also have to thank everyone at the Monk Studio, for continuing to support Gingerbread.

Need for Speed

2010-11-25T23:51:00.001-08:00

Above: Quick character roughs, "in motion".

A while back I did a t.v. commercial pitch. I was asked to create a number of quick concept designs to give the client an idea of what I was thinking. The main drive behind the commercials concept was pitting speed, against things that... well... ideas that weren't so speedy.

The client also requested designs that had the feel of a children's book.

Below: A page from the pitch book... reinforcing the idea of children's book design.

I thought it might be fun to try out some designs on white... perhaps using paper textures and such in the spot. Alas, I didn't get the job... but had a few fun afternoons putting everything together.

The Outsider

2010-10-24T19:51:00.000-07:00

Not so long ago my friends at the Animation Workshop invited me to take part in a film Jam experiment. I was one of 6 professional filmmakers taking part. Each director was given the theme "The Outsider", a group of beginning animation students, and 4 days to put 2 short films together. The list of students involved are on the credits of "The Dude" video.

The Outsider -"Letters" from Ida Mårtensson on Vimeo.

"The Outsider" - about a letter who is left out of the group... only to take revenge.

At the beginning of the week I presented 4 or 5 concepts to the students based on the "Outsider" theme. The students chose which ideas they would like to make, and hit the ground running... sort of. None of the students had made a film before... and most of them had no knowledge of the programs we would need to use during the week. So they were learning photoshop, premiere, and flash, while they were learning the film making process! Quite a challenge.

The Outsider -"The Dude" from Ida Mårtensson on Vimeo.

"The Outsider" - about a guy who hates closed in spaces.

Some of the other directors did a lot of the work on the students films themselves... but I tried to remain as "hands off" as possible. Meaning, I laid down the basic concepts and designs, and let the students have fun with them. I gently guided the students through the film making process... only stepping in when I could see that the groups were struggling... and I tried to keep things on track so we could finish on time. The famous Jan Rybka would come in and answer our t.v. paint questions... and On would help out with any flash troubles that would arise.

"The Outsider"- about a guy who gets locked out of his house... and takes things too far.

Mid week, a few of the students wanted to break off, and work in a smaller group. So I broke out a third concept... and wrote it so the students could finish it in just a day or two. I called this piece "the door".

I think considering everything the students did a great job! We all had a lot of fun... they learned a lot... as did I.

Digital Fish

2010-10-16T02:20:00.000-07:00

A number of years ago my pal Mark Oftedal asked me to do some inspirational designs for the presentation of his companies animation software, REFLEX.

Reflex is a 3D software that is much more intuitive to use than other current 3D platforms. Since Mark is both a 2D, and 3D animator, he wanted Reflex to capture what is best about both types of animation, and wanted that to come through in the presentation.

The software is still in development, and hopefully it will be offered to the public soon.

phi ta khon

2010-10-11T07:49:00.000-07:00

One of the talented artists I've been working with, Nuttakorn "Kwang" Trivittayakorn, asked me to do a few inspirational sketches for a personal film project. The story concept is based on the Phi Ta Khon festival in his home town in north-eastern Thailand.

Above: A few passes on the main character.

Even though the story is set in Thailand... Kwang felt the main characters, who happen to be spirits, should feel as if they were from another land.

Below: I also did some concept sketches for several of the animals in the story. They often act as messengers between the humans, and the spirit world.

... and of course it was fun researching, and designing some masks from the festival itself!

I hope one day to celebrate the Phi Ta Khon festival in Loei. The masks, and dances, are absolutely amazing! Thank you Kwang for making me a little part of your project... and introducing me to a new world.

All images are property of Nuttakorn "Kwang" Trivattayakorn

Howl Opens!

2010-10-04T22:39:00.000-07:00

After opening the Sundance Film Festival in early 2010, "Howl" the film, is now finally getting a wider release!

The film is basically a drama centered on the obscenity trial Allen Ginsberg faced after the publication of his poem, Howl.

Starring James Franco as Ginsberg... The film was directed by Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman... with animated sequences directed by John Hays. The animation design was inspired by ILLUMINATED POEMS by Allen Ginsberg and Eric Drooker.

I served as the animation art director, and animation production supervisor on "Howl" at the Monk Studios in Bangkok. "Howl" was an artistically and technically challenging project. The film had a tiny budget, and a tight schedule. It was fun to work on something so experimental though, and I think we made the most of it. I was also able to work with one of my childhood heroes, illustrator / art director Eric Drooker who provided numerous designs and inspirational illustrations for the project.

The Chuck Jones Show Opener

2010-06-17T09:05:00.000-07:00

Years ago I art directed the opening of the "Chuck Jones Show" for Cartoon Network. The design style idea was to show the development of a cartoon from initial sketch to finished full color cartoon.

We had accidentally put the pencil in Chuck Jones left hand... and he was of course... right handed. Director, George Evelyn told us... "Chuck will never notice." Well... Chuck DID notice when he saw the animation. We ended up flipping the animation in parts, which sort of changed the composition.

My apologies for the quality of the video, it's something I found online recently... my copy lost to the ages. I will update this if I am able to find a better copy.

Aaron Sorensen directed the animation, with George Evelyn in the directors chair.

2010 Animation Workshop films

2010-03-21T07:48:00.000-07:00

I have been fortunate enough to work the last few years with the Animation Workshop in Viborg, Denmark. As an artist, it has honestly been one of the most satisfying things I have ever been involved with. I have taught classes in layout, animation and design. And proudly served for two years as direction supervisor on the students final bachelor projects. Working side by side with Michelle Nardone, the head of the bachelor program, I have helped guide the students through the pre-production process... from concept design to final animatic. While Michelle and I worked closely with the groups, and freely gave our opinions, all the final creative decisions were left to the students.

Here are some links to some of the students work I have been involved with

2010

2008

Dave Thomas' Wilburville

2010-03-11T09:05:00.000-08:00

Not so long ago, my pal Dave Thomas asked me to do some color sketches on a project he was developing. He liked the feel of "Mantelope", which of course we developed together years ago. He also liked the feel of some of my sketches from "John Deer". A concept that we also had originally started together, before life took us different ways.

Above: Some rough development ideas for the town of "Wilburville".

Dave wanted the town to have the feel of classic "Americana" with quirky differences. Here I am just exploring color and shape in broad strokes to give a general feel. The uniqueness, and details of the place would come from the characters that inhabitated it.

For example below, Daisy, a bird character, would live in a classic American house, that happens to be built for a bird.

Above: Color exploration for Daisy's bird house.

Dave is always coming up with cool, fun story ideas, and it's always a pleasure working with him. I wish him luck on his pitches, and hope to get the opportunity to help develop these visual ideas much further.

Space Sicle

2010-02-12T01:11:00.000-08:00

A while back I was asked to make a commercial pitch for a popular type of ice cream. I basically was given an afternoon to come up with some character ideas... along with a general approach to the spot. I kept having visions of over-sugared children, and their over-sugared hyper dog. These particular sketches were the first thing to come out of my "pencil"... As there really wasn't time to develop the idea further. Unfortunately the studio didn't get the job... but there are something in the sketches here that I like.

Above: I am a big fan of Chesley Bonestall, and Robert MacCall's classic space illustrations. These guys really knew how to handle a brush! I submitted this page of paintings to the client as a general approach to the overall feel. I've always wanted to make a project with the feeling of these sorts of images, perhaps one day I will get the chance.

Nominations!!

2010-02-03T16:40:00.000-08:00

A big congratulations to Tomm, Paul, Nora, Stewie, Adrien and the gang at Cartoon Saloon for their Oscar, and Annie nominations!!! We all knew "The Secret of Kells" was a special film... and it's so nice that others have found out about it. It was nice to be involved... God speed to you all.

The official site is here.

The Secret of Kells - Disney Trailer from Cartoon Saloon on Vimeo.

ROK VI

2010-01-30T09:04:00.000-08:00

This week I came across some old concept sketches, and color boards from a commercial I had been directing a number of years ago. Every year members of the Thai royal family put on a theatrical show in Bangkok. This spot was to be part of the advertising campaign for the show.

Many times I simply scan my storyboard, and put some loose color down to give the clients a feel for a project... as was the case here. From there I will develop the final art: BGs / character designs, based on the feedback I get. The client for this particular spot was wanting to capture the feel of Thailand in the 1940's and 50's. I had always wanted to make something with big band music... and this was the perfect opportunity. The client responded well to the initial sketches, and I began to plan the production.

I was experimenting with the idea of using cut-outs in Maya, mixing in elements of 2D animation. The first initial animation tests looked good, but everything came to a screeching halt when the clients son was killed in the tsunami. The whole country was in shock and mourning... the commercial spot, and the theatrical show were cancelled indefinitely.

My contract at the company I was working ended shortly after. But I have many fond memories of my first few years in Bangkok, and all the good friends I made there.

Jakata Tales

2010-01-02T01:02:00.001-08:00

A while back, my friend Nat from Xhabition studios, approached me about helping her design a personal project based on the "Jakata" tales.

P'Nat liked the look and feel of the backgrounds on my short film "The Pumpkin of Nyefar"... and wanted something in a similar vein. I took "Pumpkin" as starting reference, then developed visual ideas that were more appropriate for "Jakata". The story takes place in India, so I wanted to use design elements from Southeast Asian art. For the background styling, my wife, On Krapook, and I would sketch the locations out in pencil... I would block the designs out in color, we would pass the designs back and forth for a while... then she would add the final finishing sparkle. It was fun to work back and forth this way on the designs.

Below: Some of my exploratory character sketches for the story. These inspirational sketches were then modeled in 3D.

The Monkey King

2009-12-16T08:38:00.000-08:00

My pal Mark Oftedal and I were asked a while back to do some inspirational character sketches for Wang Films animated feature based on the classic story "Journey to the West" ... or "The Monkey King". Above are a few of my developmental color sketches for the film.

Below: A video of stills from the final film created by Wang Film productions in Taiwan. Mark and I weren't on the production, and had nothing to do with the final outcome. But I think it's interesting to see what the studio did (or didn't do) with our designs. I think the song on the video is from the end title credits of the film.

Lava Boy

2009-11-21T06:53:00.000-08:00

Above and below: I was asked by the nice people at the Monk studios to help develop an in-house project called "Lava Boy"... a story conceived by P'Parn and some of the animators on staff there.

I was interested in developing the idea that the legend of "Lava Boy" was as old as time... and had been passed down from generation to generation. I love the power of Oceanic art, and drew inspiration from it in my early concept sketches.

I also was inspired from a working trip to Reunion Island. Reunion is incredibly beautiful, and has one of the most active volcanoes in the world. I could easily visualize the story taking place in a fragile environment such as this.

"Lava Boy" is still being developed as the studio has time. I hope my sketches will help inspire the artists in some way.

Noble Tales: A man and his dream

2009-10-15T07:42:00.000-07:00

One of the most influential people in my career was my friend and mentor, Maurice Noble. He selected a small group of us right out of art school to train, and help him design projects at several studios in the Los Angeles area. This small group became known as the "Noble Boys".

One of Maurice's assignments was to develop and design folk stories from around the world using ethnic art as inspiration. We had all grown up watching Looney Tunes, and Disney. Maurice wanted to push us out of our comfort zone... looking to folk art, instead of simply regurgitating old cartoon design styles. The group of stories we developed eventually became known as the "Noble Tales". Maurice thought the ideas we came up with were so good, that at the ripe young age of 86 decided to start a company, and market "Nobletales" as a TV series.

Above: One of the incarnations of "Noble Tales" I designed... with a Captain Noble, and his crew as "host".

We pitched "Nobletales" all over town... and while many studios liked the concept... they felt it would be difficult to market a group of shorts as a series. They needed reoccurring characters to tie everything together... and of course, sell toys. So we developed a number of main character concepts... from Aliens, to an old explorer in a flying ship.

Above: A few of the "NobleTales" stories developed by Maurice and the gang.

We have yet to launch NobleTales as a series... I keep making shorts as I have time and money... mostly because I just like making short films. "Al Tudi Tuhak", "The Pumpkin of Nyefar", "Escape of the Gingerbread Man!!!", and at the time of this post, have just completed a rough animatic of "To Be a Cow", narrated by veteran actor Soon-Tek Oh.

Note: The Nobletales website is currently not working. I am hoping to relaunch the site soon.

River Of Kings IV

2009-10-04T03:45:00.000-07:00

The "River of Kings IV" concept revolved around the legendary Himaphan forest, and a brave warriors quest to find the one true king.

Above: Stills from the final TVC.

I was asked to design, and direct the advertising campaign for the show... appealing to an international audience. I thought it would be nice to show that old Thai myths, and legends were still very much alive in modern Bangkok. Having creatures from the Himaphan forest roam around the city.

For a number of years, the king of Thailand's oldest daughter would host a musical show on the Chaopraya river in Bangkok. The shows were usually big events based on Thai legends, or history.

Above: Some of the promo material for the commercial... showing the process of design, rough boards, and a final film still.

The TV commercial was a mix of live-action, and 3D animation. It was a challenge, because at the time I had little experience with either medium. I was asked to direct the ads for a later production. But unfortunately the show was cancelled because of the tsunami.

The World of "John Deer"

2009-08-08T00:43:00.000-07:00

Above: Caught somewhere between the worlds of humans and animals... John Deer must learn to fit into his new world, dealing with cultural misunderstandings, and the call of nature, while avoiding being eaten.

I've been developing a number of T.V. show ideas of my own over the last few years. One of those deer to my heart is an idea based on my experiences growing up in a small mountain town in Wyoming. I call the project "John Deer".

Above: My town doesn't look like this EXACTLY... but it WAS settled primarily by Danish, Swedish, and English immigrants. After working in Denmark I realized that a lot of what I took for granted as "American" or "Wyoming" building styles were in fact Scandinavian. Of course I have made a few minor embellishments here.

Above: Like my own home town, the community of Killdeer is rich in folklore, and characters from folklore: Big Foot, Jackelope, the monster in the lake. But to John Deer... these aren't mere mythological creatures, they are friends.

Drawing on the richness of my real, (and imagined) Wyoming roots. Spinning yarns, and telling tall tales has long been a tradition in my town. I plan to incorporate this style of storytelling into the world of John Deer.

Above: The main characters of the show

I've written quite a number of stories around these characters. I am still looking for a production partner, but am hoping to make a "John Deer" pilot episode in the near future.

Above: Uncle Bob quote: "The closer you are to danger, the closer you are to danger."

Topaz Diary

2009-08-01T22:21:00.000-07:00

Above: Fred Hoshiyama, in younger years.

Sometimes you have a pet project that you never feel quite ready for the challenge. I have been working on "Topaz Diary" with my friend, composer Bill Benson, since college. The story is about another friend of mine, Fred Hoshiyama, and how his life was completely changed in the "Japanese-American Internment" camps of WWII. The story shows how by simple faith, and a lot of love... a bad situation can be turned into good. The score will drive most of the film, Bill and I met recently to discuss plans for the project, he has some wonderful musical ideas and I am working out some visual ideas.

Below: Early inspirational sketches for the story from a few years back.

To learn more about the internment camps, please visit HERE.

Al Tudi Tuhak

2009-07-19T19:15:00.000-07:00

Al Tudi Tuhak from Tod Polson on Vimeo.

A clip from my student film, made under the guidance of my mentors Jules Engel (UPA, Cal-Arts), and Maurice Noble (Warner Bros). With narration by Maurice Noble, and music by Bill Benson. Additional animation by Mike Polvani, and Ben Jones. This year marks sort of an anniversary for "Al Tudi Tuhak" so I thought I would put a bit of it up.

When I first moved to Los Angeles I saw a show of masks from the Northwest coast of the U.S. The power and simplicity of the design inspired me to create a short film using Northwest coast story and design as a theme. Several of the Northern stories I researched mentioned the "creator"... or "father of Raven"... but I found no stories specifically "the creator" himself. So, I wrote a story trying to capture the depth and feel of a story from long ago.

Above: Development art presented to the board at Cal-Arts in order to get "Al Tudi Tuhak" approved as my thesis.

My pal, musician Bill Benson and I traveled to Seattle for research. There we were honored to meet with Upper Skagit tribal elder/ storyteller Taqʷšəblu (Vi Hilbert). She really liked the story, and named the film "Al Tudi Tuhak"... which in the Lushootseed language means "... long, long, ago." I am not native American, and I had gradually began to feel more and more uncomfortable using native motifs. Taqʷšəblu encouraged me to make the film the way I felt it should be made. "We are storytellers, the stories find us... we don't find them. If you honor the spirit of our people, and yourself, you have done nothing wrong... the story must be told"

I shot the film on 35mm... using house paint, and cut-out paper... using a very simple style. Unfortunately at the moment I have no clean digital copies. Someday I hope to re-transfer the film using modern technology.

"Al Tudi Tuhak" toured the festival circuit for a few years, winning the student "Oscar", and receiving an "Annie" nomination.

Mantelope

2009-06-12T22:32:00.000-07:00

Mantelope from Tod Polson on Vimeo.

Above: The "Pilot" episode for "Mantelope".

A long time ago when my pal, Dave Thomas, and I were working together in San Francisco... the studio we were at "requested" that we come up with a new fantastic t.v. show idea. We were too busy with our other projects to focus on something new. So as a joke, drawing on our Wyoming heritage... we pitched the dumbest thing we could think of "Mantelope": Half man, half antelope! ... hunted by "Hunter Jack" who's only mission in life was to cause the "Mantelope" serious harm... and yes, even death!

We pitched the show knowing the studio... and Cartoon Network would never go for it. But to our amazement... everyone involved liked the idea! ... and this is the "Pilot episode" we put together. There was interest in developing the idea as a series... Dave and I developed a number of fun, quirky story plots... then the whole thing got hung up in legal limbo. So for better or worse... this is the end of the story of the "Mantelope".

Above: Color keys that would later be reworked in flash.

One of my main tasks was developing the look, and getting the short to be less that 1MB ... so I kept things really graphic and simple... re-using as many elements as possible wherever I could... trees... leaves... etc. Mantelope was our first flash project... Dave, and I would later join Jorge, and Sandra on their flash show "EL TIGRE: The adventures of Manny Rivera".

Swordsman Legend

2009-05-10T19:58:00.000-07:00

For the last few years I have been helping my friend, director/ producer Saksiri Koshpasharin develop his epic "Kung Fu" feature film..."Swordsman Legend". It's a personal project for Saksiri, and his crew at Imagimax, so a lot of love has been given to the art and story.

In my opinion, personal projects are the purest form of expression in animation, because the films aren't motivated by profit ... but by a passion for storytelling and art. Those are the sort of projects that I try to be involved with. Of course if those projects also make money for the artists... fantastic! But no matter how much money you have... you can't buy sincerity, and "heart". The elements that make a project really special.

Above and Below: Some of my development sketches for the project. The characters are based on designs by Imagimax staff artists.

Saksiri wanted to explore combining elements of eastern, and western art styles. Here I have attempted to combine the feeling of Chinese ink paintings, with my own graphic sensibilities. To be honest, my personal style has been strongly influenced by Chinese woodcut artists such as Lu Ping, and Hong Tao, among others.

"Swordsman" is still in production, slowly being put together as the crew has time. None of these sketches are "finished" paintings... they are more like inspirational artwork. Every once in a while Saksiri will call me up and ask me to sketch up something new for him. The art department has created some amazing art since my initial sketches, taking the look to another level. I look forward to seeing Saksiri's dream hit the big screen in the near future. -tod

Song Of The Sea

2009-05-03T22:21:00.000-07:00

-My pal Tomm Moore, and his crew at the The Cartoon Saloon are putting together a piece of animated poetry, a feature film project called "Song Of The Sea". Above is the teaser for Cartoon Movie.

-Tomm asked me to do some inspirational sketches for the trailer exploring light and color, based on his storyboards. I sometimes take a "Shotgun" approach to color when I first get involved with a project, trying out a lot of different things until I get a sense of what the director is looking for. Even though I had worked with both Tomm and "Songs" art director, Adrien Merigeau on "The Secret Of Kells", both wanted to explore a different look for "Song". I have always been fascinated with "Lumage," a technique that involves animating cut-out plastic pieces on a light table... giving a backlit feeling to the images. Even though I was sketching digitally... I thought the feeling of "Lumage" would be appropriate to the "magical" quality of the story.

-Tomm and his crew are still developing the story and look of "Song of the Sea". To read the latest on the project please visit:

"The Blog of the Sea".

El Tigre! The Adventures Of Manny Rivera

2009-04-24T23:09:00.000-07:00

-A while back, my good friends, Jorge Gutierrez, and Sandra Equihua asked me to help them develop the look and color styling of their new t.v. show idea, "El Tigre". Working under the guidance of Jorge, and art director, Roman Laney. I started with rough sketches of the various locations that would be used in the pilot episode.

Above: A few early exploratory sketches from "El Tigre!"

Most of my early sketches were close in value, with little or no black in the backgrounds. There was a lot of black on the characters, and I wanted them to read well. But this gave a sort of calm feeling, and Jorge wanted everything in the show to be "Super Macho!"... having more contrast, more texture, more of everything. It made designing a bit more difficult, but also gave the intensity Jorge wanted. A lot of the art styling was worked out in the pilot by Roman. By the time "El Tigre" had been picked up as a series... the look had been fully established.

Above: Art director, Roman Laney, and his team took a lot of the development art, and created a beautiful, and unique look for "El Tigre". Check out Roman's website to see more amazing art from the show.

Above: A visual structure chart for one of the episodes.

I was working overseas, away from the rest of the team, so it was essential that I knew what Jorge, Roman, and Director Dave Thomas wanted for each episode. We were under such tight deadlines that there really wasn't much wiggle room for exploration. You will notice, that all the art follows the story Arc in the visual structure. We set up themes early in the show... and then generally kept them throughout all the episodes. For example, high contrast for exciting segments, low contrast for duller moments. We also used color themes throughout the show. Evil was often symbolized by using black and red, (or the main color of the villian) and El Tigre with green.With so many episodes going on at the same time... it was important that everyone was on the same page.

Above: A small sampling of my color scripts from the show.

My pal, Dave Thomas' storyboards were the blueprint for everything I did. Dave is a real master of timing, and staging. He and Jorge had worked everything out to make the rest of the teams work as easy as possible. I would usually do a first pass on the color script based on Dave's beat boards, and sometimes keys from Roman. Then Roman, Jorge and I would talk about it... after which I would make my adjustments. From the color scripts, the rest of the team would have a feel for lighting, mood, color.

A fan video... cut together from various episodes.

As in most of the projects I am involved with, "El Tigre" was a collaboration of friends, who also happen to be some of the most talented people I know. I was saddened when I learned that "El Tigre" had been canceled. Not only is it one of the best projects I have ever worked on... it is one of my favorite shows to watch.

Thank you Sandra, and Jorge for making a place for me. -tod

Bad People

2009-04-19T10:47:00.000-07:00

My old schoolmate, Michelle Meeker, asked me to take part with 11 other animation artists in her short film "When I Grow Up."

Michelle interviewed young people aged 7-10 years-old about what they would like to be when they grow up, and then interviewed elders to find out that they dreamed of being when they were younger and where life took them. She then gave short sound clips from the interviews to individual animators. Each animator had artistic control over their own piece. The film shows what we dream about becoming as children, and where life really ends up taking us.

I called my section "Bad People", the old woman in the interview talked about her dream of becoming a doctor. But her dreams were taken away by "Very Bad People". She wasn't specific about who the "Bad People" were... but from her accent, and her age... I guessed it to be the Nazi's during WWII ... but in fact I never knew for sure.

Above and Below: My design keys from Michelle Meeker's short film "When I Grow Up."

I wanted to be as vague in my design as the woman had been in her interview. Some of the other artists in the project became upset because of my seeming "lack of research". In fact, I did a lot of research on the uniforms, medical instruments,and architectural style for the piece. But instead of being literal... I chose to create a nightmare. Uniforms that might remind one of SS troops... without being specific. I also wanted the art style to be reminiscent of WWII poster art... but again, to give only a hint of the style... without being too specific to the period.

Ironically, most of these design keys were created at the old Nazi headquarters in Viborg, Denmark. The old fire station the SS had commandeered during the war... which also served for a time as the "The Open Workshop".

"Bad People" was animated in "After FX" at my pal P'Nat's studio...
XHabition

... and here is the official trailer for "When I Grow Up."

Birds Of Thailand

2009-04-16T01:28:00.000-07:00

I have wanted to do a series of bird paintings since first coming to Thailand. But I have always been too busy with animation projects to just sit down and do something for "me".
Thus I've decided to give myself a reason to paint, and am putting together an art show called "The Birds Of Thailand." Inviting both local artists, and bird lovers to participate.

It's quite amazing how many different bird species exist in southeast Asia. I am hoping the show will help raise awareness of Thailand's birds, and their shrinking habitats.

All images copyright Tod Polson

Escape Of The Gingerbread Man

2009-04-10T23:26:00.000-07:00

Above:Some early test renders and lighting set-ups from Aaron Schmidt, and some of the gang at the Monk Studio.

I was approached by Juck Somsaman, founder of Monk Studio to help develop and train his team in Bangkok through the creation of a short film. As it so happened my friends in Ireland at The Cartoon Saloon approached me at about the same time to create an "Irish themed" short to open "The Secret of Kells" feature they were making. Just seemed meant to be...

Above: A small section of the "color script". This board is a combination of quick color sketches, rough 3D renders and more finished backgrounds. The more 3d looking scenes are keyed by going over frames from maya in photoshop.

The main focus of the color script is really making sure the characters read on the backgrounds... and making sure that there is a artistic progression in the film... making sure each sequence and place feels unique from one another... yet still tie together in some way. One of my former students Susanne Olesen came to Thailand for a few months to help paint backgrounds. I've worked some of those back into the script.

"The Escape of the Gingerbread Man" is a personal short film, and the third installment of the "NobleTales" short film series. A series of original stories from around the world... created by my mentor, Maurice Noble, and the group of us fortunate enough to train under him.

Above: An early sketch by me... inspired by the work of that talented Dub, Barry G. Reynolds.

The short has been funded in part by "The Open Workshop", and the "West Danish Film Fund".

To see more artwork, and go behind the scenes, visit:
Escape of the Gingerbread MAN!!!

The Secret Of Kells

2009-04-07T21:22:00.001-07:00

Above: The trailer for the "The Secret Of Kells"... The film was directed by my pal Tomm Moore, co-directed by Nora Twomey, Produced by Paul Young, Art Directed by Ross Stewart, with additional design excitement by Adrien Merigeau.

-Above: A few of my development sketches for Brendan

My main job on "Brendan" was helping set the color... and to a lesser extent help out with development. Originally I was slated to be head of backgrounds... unfortunately there was a scheduling conflict... so my stay in Kilkenny was shorter than expected. But I was able to get through the rough color script, and Tomm and I were able to get in a few good work outs.

I have to say the Brendan team was different than any other I have worked with... they were all "artists" who happened to be doing animation. For example, Producer Paul Young was heavily involved in theater, and writing a comic strip. Art director Ross Stewart could as easily be off painting canvases... or playing music ... as designing film.

Click here to visit: Ross Stewart's Site!

So the approach to making Brendan was totally different than I was used to... the art team wasn't referencing Disney, or UPA, they were just splashing color... blowing paint around... creating textures... looking at ancient illuminated manuscripts... just trying to create something new that fit the story. It was totally refreshing... and in my short time in Ireland... I learned a lot! I couldn't really rely on shortcuts... I actually had to draw! And I have to admit... I was more than a bit rusty. But the approach to the art was simply a reflection of Tomm, and the crew making the film... honest, real, and direct.

Above: More development sketches. I tried to keep "color themes" to the various sequences of the film. For example... the vikings represented death and destruction. So I thought it would be good to use more "primitive color"... the kind of colors a caveman might use... for those sequences.

Above: A section of the color script for "Brendan and the Secret Of Kells". All the sketches here are based on the storyboard, painted after talking to Tomm, and Ross about the mood and feel of each sequence. The color script is a rough guide for the crew... a sort of "map" for the background artists... fx artists... compositors, and so on. These sketches were completed very early in the process... and you can see how they were used by watching the trailer. It is interesting to me to see what changed, and what stayed the same in the final film cut.

I feel very fortunate to have been a small part of "The Secret Of Kells" ... a very special film, made by some special people... who I am lucky enough to call friends. -tod

The Blog Of Kells! The Cartoon Saloon!

Khan Kluay

2009-04-06T18:41:00.000-07:00

Khan Kluay- TV teaser from Tod Polson on Vimeo.

Several years ago Kantana Films asked me to help develop a t.v. show project called "Khan Kluay". The stories were about the adventures of a little Thai elephant that would go on to save Thailand from outside forces.

Being short on time, I designed something very simple and graphic that would be easy to animate in Maya. I decided to make the end of the teaser a series of illustrations... showing less animation, and more of the world of "Khan Kluay".

Above: Early character and color sketches for the t.v. show pitch. Several of these designs are inspired by doodles by the famous Mark Oftedal.

This pitch generated a lot of interest in the project in Europe. Thus the studio asked me to develop "Khan Kluay" as a feature film.

Khan Kluay- Early Test from Tod Polson on Vimeo.

We got some seed money to develop the feature. I was able to bring over writer Ariel Prendergast to help develop the script, and "super artist" Aaron Sorensen, as my co-director. Above is the first test we did with a more 3D look.

I wanted to keep a soft, artsy children's book feel. The studio wanted to make the film look like a Pixar movie... but without Pixar's budget, or experience. This test was my compromise. The rigs weren't finished... and we were still figuring out the background styling... but it was enough for the studio to push forward with production.

I worked closely with Aaron Sorensen on the story and character design, Aaron's style is really graphic and fun... translating well to 3D. It's Ironic that Kantana "let us go" because the character designs were too "western"... after all, the studio hired us to help make the film "international". The designs remained virtually unchanged after we left... and can be seen on t-shirts, cups, and other products throughout Thailand.

In this video clip I explain our basic development process, and present an early trailer to the movie. The trailer at the end of the presentation is "unfinished". My co-director, Aaron Sorensen, and I were only able to make a "first pass" on the animation, texture and lighting... as the studio felt it was "good enough". The sound on the trailer was re-dubbed after Aaron and I left the project.

The two years I spent as the creative director of "Khan Kluay" was a real joy. A small crew of us working together, writing, designing, and researching. The team spent a lot of time "outside" the studio, researching how wild and domesticated elephants live, working with "Mahuts", and animal experts. We also worked closely with historical experts, and even members of the royal family to make sure that we got everything just right.

Here are some samples of the key artwork we generated based on the script. A big thanks to Patchanu Noree and the crew for doing such a great job! Patchanu is an amazing designer, and a good friend, who was able to help translate my vision to the screen. We made dozens of paintings like this describing each major story beat. Spending months designing trees, grass, Thai huts, insects, clouds... trying to give the film a unique feel... mixing Thai and western design. After I left, the studio opted for "realism" in styling... but I think some of the spirit of what we made still remains. Until next time - tod

The Pumpkin Of Nyefar

2009-04-06T01:49:00.000-07:00

"The Pumpkin Of Nyefar" from Tod Polson on Vimeo.

"The Pumpkin Of Nyefar" is a personal hand animated short film I wrote with Maurice Noble (Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century and What’s Opera, Doc?) in Turkey, and co-directed with Mark Oftedal (Toy story, A Bugs Life) at the "Wang film studios" in Taiwan, and Bangkok. The film is narrated by June Foray (the voice of Rocky in Rocky and Bullwinkle).

Prince Abadaluh... Named after Maurice's surgeon

The Palace of Nyefar, complete fantasy, but inspired by trips to Turkey and India

Above: Some stills and color keys from the film. Character designs and character layouts by the amazing Mark Oftedal.

In 1994, Maurice Noble began training a group of young designers at Chuck Jones Film Productions. A lot of us were working on our own personal short projects, several of them based on ethnic folktales. Maurice thought it would be a great idea if the group of us could develop a series of shorts inspired by stories from around the world. We called this series “Noble Tales,” and we, his trainees, became known as the “Noble Boys” (which also included a few girls). Many of us traveled around the world and developed and together designed several dozen idea.

“The Pumpkin Of Nyefar” was one short idea Maurice and I wrote while visiting Turkey. Our first morning in Istanbul we came downstairs to the dining room and around the table were twenty belly dancers and a lot of pumpkin dishes. All the girls of course were smitten by Mr. Nobles charm. Ha ha… I can still see him grinning from ear to ear.

Afterwords we talked things over, and decided to write a story about a prince who could marry any beauty in his kingdom, but instead chooses to wait for true love. As fate would have it, the prince finds true love in the form of a pumpkin. While I was supervising a TV show in Thailand, James Wang (Wang Flm) invited Maurice and I to use his Thai studio to make our short. Maurice underwent surgery so that he could make the flight to Bangkok. Unfortunately he died a few weeks later. I came to Thailand a few months later to work on the short myself. But my friends didn’t leave me to do the film alone.

Soon after, my pal Mark Oftedal, came to town for a visit. His short vacation, turned into a several year working holiday. He became so involved with the project, re-working designs, storyboards, editing, setting the animation style, that he became the co-director. It was very much a partnership and it was fantastic working with such a talented fellah. Other friends from America helped out too. June Foray donated her voice to the film. Ben Jones, and Lawrence Marvit both did short stints in Bangkok to help get things going. Sue Kroyer did a lot of inspirational character design as did Roman Laney. Jules Engel looked over a lot of the early design and color. Aaron Sorenson, Dave Marshall, Dave Thomas, and Mike Polvani all donated time to the project. It was really a great collaboration of friends, just the way Maurice had dreamed about: doing a short film together, everything donated, just because they wanted to do it.

Please visit the link below to see the Pumpkin website!!! with more information and artwork! Put together by my friend p'Nat, and her company xhabition -tod

The Pumpkin Website