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Morpheus306 In reply to real-faker [2011-10-03 00:03:13 +0000 UTC]

Haha thanks, these were a lot of fun. Maybe I should south park next? Just kiddin, that's your job. Yeah the newer episodes don't really delve into the deeper personalities of the characters anymore. Now it's more about site gags and one off jokes. But thats what they want, so oh well. Are you excited about the new south park eps?

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real-faker In reply to Morpheus306 [2011-10-03 05:57:41 +0000 UTC]

Dude, I think I would die if you did South Park characters! Haha... no, but like I think I probably raved to you before, I've been praying for the day you'd upload Simpsons in your style. So I'm more than satisfied. xD And a mixture of embarrassed and flattered that you know South Park fanart is my guilty pleasure.

Yeah... you know, I have this friend who moved to NY. Every now and then she'll call me and we'll have these 3-hour long, really in-depth discussions of why all our favorite shows suck now. Just trying to like... piece it together and make some sense out of it. I once read some guy's opinion (because Some Guy obviously is a credible source), of the difference between older Simpsons writing and newer writing, and he had a good way of putting it. ([link] ) it was #8, I believe, that really stood out to me.

I realize that has nothing to do with character episodes though. I want to say they've done some delving into personalities episodes recently, but they still somehow just dont' feel quite right. The last time the Simpsons got a good tug at my heartstrings (that I can remember) was when Homer's mom died. That genuinely got me pretty good. And that was 3 seasons ago. or 4? I don't know, whatever. Simpsons is still better than most stuff on TV, I'd say, but it's just lost something over the years.

I know people probably bother you about Simpsons stuff all the time, but when you say "that's what they want", do you mean that's what Fox wants or that's what Film Roman wants...? That's what Groening wants? I'm really curious as to who "they" is. Just so I have someone to direct my angry letters to. XD haha.

I'm super stoked for new South Parks! It left off at such a great cliff hanger! That's one of the things I can really dig about SP, is that I still feel like it can reinvent itself and grow and change when it needs or wants to. There's still this level of creative control for the most part that I don't think a lot of cartoons get.
I'm also really excited because I was one of 15 winners in an art contest for SP... I get the seasons on DVD AND my piece signed by Matt and Trey! So I'm incredibly partial to SP right now. XD haha.

How about you? Excited for new shows and whatnot?

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Morpheus306 In reply to real-faker [2011-10-04 06:37:34 +0000 UTC]

haha yes I get asked Simpsons questions all the time, but it's fine I don't mind. I just feel bad because I'm not an expert on the show at all, I just worked there so I got to see all the behind the scenes shtuff. When I say "they" I mean the producers and the exec's over at Fox. At Film Roman we have little to no say as to what goes into the show. We just made the show for Fox. When animatics would come back after writers, producers, and exec's saw them, we'd always get notes saying "this is too fancy" or "fix acting" etc. Now that the show is HD the writers are starting to set the locations that require a lot of extra peeps in them; example stadiums full of people, or locations with a lot of detail. I think I gave the example a while back, after I had worked on the HD opening, where I animated a three eyed crow and Groening had said "it's too cartoony" at first, and then "it's too realistic" and finally it arrived in the state it's in now. That's something I got told constantly on the show, "it's too fancy" which is one of the reasons I got discouraged working there. Not so much because I couldn't draw in my style, I understood that this was Fox's show, but more because they wouldn't let me do the best I could. The one time I got to really break free was on the Itchy and Scrathy sequence I did. The director knew what my speciality was and wanted me specifically to do it, and it was awesome.

Yeah the ending to the last SP was a nice cliff hanger, one which I know a lot of people were thinking Matt and Trey wanted to stop makin the show. So yeah I'm really excited to see what's going to be coming next. Good job on the win! Your stuff is great I think, you have a nice sense of color. I've always been terrible with color so i'm a little jealous haha. What do you think is gonna happen in the upcoming season?

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real-faker In reply to Morpheus306 [2011-10-07 05:58:05 +0000 UTC]

ha... I bet. It's really reasurring somehow to know that "they" is Fox execs and not FR folks.
I do remember you talking about your part in the new HD intro... I cite that journal somewhat frequently when talking with other animation students about the current situation on the Simpsons. (It's really really cool to say "HURR, I KNOW A GUY ON DEVIANTART WHO WORKED ON THE SHOW!" I got STREET CRED, YO. Haha...)
But yeah, I remember that journal vividly. That's crazy... but it's the way that kind of show works, I guess. It wasn't always like that so it's a little disheartening to see how it's become that... but ah well, that's the way things go. It's still great that they recognized what you were good at and let you have fun with it!

Ahhhh... yeah, well Matt and Trey are signed for another 2 seasons at least, so I was never worried about it ending... it was just this intense frustration showing through, I thought... being that they had so much on their plate and whatnot. I was fully ready to embrace whatever they were gonna' do or wherever they were gonna' take it, 'cause I feel like South Park is one of those shows that can get away with reinventing itself if it needs to.
But anyway, yeah, being that the episode has gone and done aired, I'm more than satisfied with how they played it out. I think it was really well done in that clever sort of meta but not TOO meta way that South Park can be... I'm curious to see what happens throughout the rest of the season. Like is drunk Stan going to be a canonical thing or whatever... that could be really funny.
I dunno, what did you think of it?

Anyway, thanks!

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Morpheus306 In reply to CainyG88 [2011-10-01 14:48:08 +0000 UTC]

Thanks, I love using newsprint paper and prismacolor pencils. Newsprint is great because it's cheap, soft, and a brownish color. That way you can add white highlights, which makes your pics pop. I prefer this than pure white paper for that reason. Also with the prismacolor pencils it's very smooth on the newsprint. Just experiment with different mediums and you'll find one you like.

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CainyG88 In reply to Morpheus306 [2011-10-01 23:58:39 +0000 UTC]

Thanks for the tips! I'd have never thought to use newsprint and white highlights to add depth to drawings. *writes down for future reference*

Did you find your style took a while to develop or did it just come to you in an epiphanic moment? I see such a distinct style with many cartoonists and sometimes I wonder if theirs just materialised one day or it took years of development to achieve.

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Morpheus306 In reply to CainyG88 [2011-10-03 00:09:29 +0000 UTC]

I get this question a lot, when it comes to "style" try not to think of it as something you need to consciously develop. The way I draw is just the way I draw. I don't think about style, I just put down on paper what I feel more than what I see. Of course when I need to copy another person, like the Simpsons, I'll need to be consciously aware of it. But if it's just you, draw what comes natural. Everyone has their own taste when it comes to style. Of course with practice and a lot of drawing experience your way of drawing will change and improve because you'll start to see things differently as well as understand more. The best advice I can give you is to just draw. Don't worry about style or anything like that, draw what you feel.

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