ANALYSING REN AND STIMPY

I thought I'd put up more rough sketches by John K for his Adult Party Cartoon, "Firedogs II." John usually gives his storyboard artists the first crack at a scene, then comes in with his own sketches if he's not getting what he needs. That's probably how these came about.

It looks like there's some drawings missing here, so I'll fill in the story. The Fire Chief needs to get his pants off fast, but the zipper's stuck, and the new rookies try to help. Stimpy gives it a timid tug then a disgusted Ren pushes him aside and tells him to let a "pro" take over.

For the push John experiments with a new way of drawing Stimpy.

Haw! John loves to draw inbetween poses (above) that the viewer actually gets to see.

The zipper beckons. Well, these are adult cartoons, after all.

Ren reaches behind his back and pulls out a pair of pliers. Boy, John really puts the focus on the pliers.

Here's (above) a new shot from the side. Some animation storyboarders are timid about doing cuts between similar scenes, but live action does it all the time, and it works just fine.  This new scene has the chief's stomach hugging the side of the screen and we're all set up for the cool profile poses. 

Ren antics back with the pliers. I love the way Ren's left arm comes out of his back and crooks around at the elbow. It's the kind of move you never see in Maya-type figures, which is one reason why I continue to think of 3D animation as inferior.  

Here's (above) something else that 3D can't do. In mid-scene, John unexpectedly switches to gorgeous, delicate lines and clear shapes. This is masterful drawing, but it's hard to get that kind of subtlety into the final clean-ups.  

The public needs to see more of John's roughs. If you've only seen what's on the screen then you'll have a hard time understanding why artists who've worked for him always regard it as a life-changing experience. 

Ouch! Ren makes a grab (above) and ends up pinching the...er, wrong part of the Chief.

The Fire Chief screams with pain...but hold on, something really unusual is about to happen.

Nine out of ten storyboarders would cut to the Chief for his reaction, but John correctly stays on Ren and Stimpy.  Do you see why? Cutting to the chief would contain no surprise. Seeing him shout would just be confirming what we already know. It's infinitely more interesting to stay on the main characters and get their reaction to it!

Well, that's all I have to say about that scene. I just checked John's Kickstarter site and he's at the $90,000 mark with a week to go. That means he has to rustle up $20,000 more bucks in a short time. Oh, man! The suspense is killing me! Is he going to make it?

I can't emphasize enough the importance of having original John artwork. If he's foolishly willing to part with it as a gift on Kickstarter, then...well, a word to the wise is sufficient.

The site:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1056985656/john-ks-cans-without-labels

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Yikes! It's late afternoon on Friday, and John HAS met his quota!!!!!! Many, many thanks to all the fans who made this possible! Your kindness and good taste makes me proud to be a part of this industry!