Creating Animated Cartoons with Character by Joe Murray

Introduction

Making your own series is now possible, with your soul intact

A few tips can make the difference in successfully pulling off a series

The intent is to allow you to create a series that makes a difference and expresses you

Cartoons and comedy are not drug/insanity induced zaniness, their comedy requires tons of work [see aso: weird al]

To find self-expression and craft honestly inside commercial entertainment

For creator-based shows

A brief history

My path to animation and television

The dawn of television animation

Why do you want to do a series

It’s an adventure! Hacking and slashing your way through sometimes inhospitable terrain=

Your motivation

Red flags:

Fame, money, control, be the boss, impress relatives, keeping up with the (chuck?) joneses, get the credit for no work, prove I’m good at it, impress a date, advertise this toy I invented.

You aren’t going to make a cartoon for something based on unrelated ambitions or insecurities.

You need a strong vision

Producing a series is very stressful, and the money tends to show up low or late, if at all

It needs to be for your vision of the show, or the networks will walk all over you.

Reality check

Fame

Ego gets in the way of genius, and your accolades will not come until after production wraps, and not last long after. Fame can be useful to direct your fans attentions to important causes later though.

Money

While you can make decent money after a career in the industry, it is in no way a get rich quick/easy scheme. Money is the means to achieve your dreams, not your dreams themselves. Stick with the dreams and goals.

Power Trip

You need your crew to care about your idea to execute it, you are effectively working to make sure they are in a good place to do so. And the show is your vision - you can’t set it running and walk off either. The crew will be better than you in each tiny respect, you are just responsible for guiding and holding it together.

Reasons to Plow Ahead

Your characters insist on being.

Your core talent is in keeping a vision intact through mayhem of production.

You have altruistic reasons to see the benefit a series has on the world.

You crave telling stories in an animated medium.

You want to make collaborative jobs for a lot of artists.

It’s a goal on your way to a larger goal

You want to build a better studio and great work environment

Your series can educate and inform the world

You want to raise money for charity through the show.

You want to shake up the art and get animation moving again.

You want to get the networks interested in more shows.

You want fair labor practices and to improve the ethics of the cartoon world

You like making people laugh across the world.

Are you prepared?

Basic skills to have:

Drawing, writing (well researched), animation, curiosity, travel experience, work and delegation skills, theatre arts, film studies, musical ability or appreciation, art history/appreciation, radio/voiceover/narration, daydream/imagination

Study the business (what do you think I’m doing here?)

Any extra classes you need

Make a short film as practice, start to finish.

Get to know animation artists

Do you need an Agent?

No. But you might need a lawyer once someone’s interested.

Q&A with Steve Hillenburg (Spongebob)

Indie films and shorts give you a great idea of what’s possible. Hobbies and interests help you have a unique point of view and voice. It’s never a sure thing until after it’s a sure thing. Your show will be merchandised if sold, that’s how it works. Shows work better as a dozen or so a season, rather than stacked for daily airing. You can’t engineer success, but you can make what you want to see and hope that others will too. Lots of successful shows were board-driven, even though networks like script-driven for logistics reasons.

Idea to concept

The idea is the foundation of the series. It should be inspired, not derivative or it will die. A show only you can do. The show you want to see on TV. Doodle as if no-ones watching to play with the ideas and get them on paper and evolve them. How can it need to be animated? Search for the theme/core idea that makes it a unique expression of you.

The Hook

(or show logline) - a one sentence description of the show that represents the sticky/entertaining bit about the idea, and the conflict.

The show is built around this - and while it’s initially the vital theme, as the show builds around it, it becomes more of a tentpole maintaining the stage than something tightly held to.

The overall design

You can go ahead and start designing, make it have its own look - obviously don’t copy another show’s design.

Personal style tastes. Make it yours, not just good.

Rules for your Universe

What forces govern character actions, what’s appropriate for how the show will progress? Animal characters - how animal are they?

Q&A with Everett Peck (Duckman)

Nothing of value.

Character Development

The characters are what your audience actually comes to watch - and no clever idea can keep a show afloat without them.

What makes a good character?

Why are they interesting/relatable/likeable? Do we want them acting on computer screens and mobile phones everywhere? What sort of people get your attention, what quirks, flairs, distinctiveness. What are their vices and secret pleasures and phobias, and fatal flaws?

Character Hooks

Before the audience knows your character’s backstory - what’s their personalty, what do they want, and what obstacles do they have keeping them from it? The character frictions are the basis for humor and plot.

Protagonists vs Antagonists

Protagonist - the character we follow and want to see overcome obstacles. Antagonist(s) - character(s) representing the obstacles. These roles can apply to each goal and obstacle, not just overall.

Ingredients for a Main Character

Main characters hold the series together, are what you usually see on branding, sets the tone, needs a strong hook, is the stand-in for the creator, and the viewpoint for the audience.Convey a sense of protection, that things will turn out ok. Relatable.

Secondary Main Characters

Groups operating as a collective protagonist unit sometimes, or can be grouped up into twos or threes for individual plots.

Design the characters’ attractions for each other (backstory to why they work together)

Conflicts and contrasts that create friction within the group

How the characters can transform each other in the moment to be better than on their own.

Character Tiers

First, second, and maybe 3rd tier characters if your series needs it.

First tier

In (almost) every story.

Main and secondary characters, and a main source of conflict.

Second tier

Supporting cast, memorable, can be the focus of an episode, are the characters that can be run to during an episode but won’t appear every episode. Recurring voices.

Third tier

incidental/background.characters. Walk-on or background roles.

Backstory

Every character should have a backstory, a reason they are who they are [another book said character IS story]

Helps predict how they will act, their idiosyncrasies.

May discover more of the backstory as you craft the show.

Voice

What voice works with the character personality? This will evolve when VAs get involved.

Character Design

Start narrowing down character looks.

Put them in a lineup and experiment with their shapes and silhouette.

Simplify but correlate quirks to backstory.

Consistency

Lock in a character’s look and personality. Both writers and artists need to reproduce the character consistently, so the audience knows what to expect (who the character is becomes part of the world rules to a large extent). Bring a character back to baseline by the end of an episode unless it’s a running gag that new episodes “reset” them or the audience will make it one.

Transitioning characters to film

Joe is really impressed by how Wallace and Gromit stayed consistent when they went to film.

Last word (for now) on character

Do the characters feel alive for you? Is it easy to spin new stories based on the premise and characters alone? The easier episodes come, the longer the series can last.

Q&A with Tom Warburton (Codename: Kids Next Door)

Codename KND was pitched as a spinoff from a pilot that was floundering!

Started as a Frederator-style “show of pilots” short.

Working outside Hollywood/NYC meant isolation from feedback/input from other shows, but also from studio politics.

Characters based on twists on basic team archetypes/cliches

Character development based on putting them in a situation where they can’t have the one thing they need most, and finding how they react.

Ensemble characters are a little piece of you or one person- each are traits that add up to a whole you.

Pitching your series: preparing the proposal

Even if you’re not addressing a network or studio, if you need someone to finance your project, it’s good to have a good presentation for why your project is the best next thing.

Pitch reviewers see thousand - these are basics to not have yours immediately tossed.

Know your audience

Know what age and category you’re targeting - and make sure the network you’re pitching to airs or is interested in airing your sort of content!

Television Demographics

Categorized viewership - age, gender, income, spending habits, hobbies, etc that networks are targeting with their commercials. Do your homework what your network currently sells to!

All about impact: crafting your proposal

A shiny nicely put together booklet. He suggests spiral bound, which is the opposite of what the other book said.

Cover and Series Synopsis

The cover is your pitch’s first impression - make it a good one!

Follow with title page and TOC, artwork on every page. Spellcheck, have a friend proofread.

Series synopsis: logline followed by synopsis paragraph.

Focus on the series not its merchandising.

Don’t get too detailed, they may want to provide their own input, don’t give the impression of thought out to the point of inflexibility.

Setting

Set the stage - where do these characters live, or their adventures take place? Background or layout art.

Main Characters

Color designs of each main character with a paragraph description. Posed design, show their personality!

Series Overview

Dynamics of characters, antagonists and protagonists, how the show will flow. Let the funny flow from the descriptions

Sample Premises

Six (or more) of your best series ideas, like a TV guide synopsis.

The Conclusion

Summarize why you created the show and why you are sending it to this network/studio - show how it fits as if you made it for them specifically!

Brief Bio or Resume

Talk about any relevant experience, but keep honesty and humility

Contact Info

On the back cover, a way to get in touch with you.

Will they steal my idea?

Put your copyright on it, but the network may ask you to indemnify them - people think in group patterns, odds are something similar has hit their desk a dozen times that week. If it’s really good enough for them to want to make yours, past the thousands of others, they’ll want you involved.

Rejection and Revision

Networks often reject even amazing shows, if they don’t fit their particular need in that moment. If it seems like they’re not “getting” it, you can always make a short film to better demonstrate it. If they offer revisions, don’t be too available to change - stick to your reasons but consider theirs if it’s something you don’t mind altering.

Q&A with Craig McCracken (Foster’s Home, Powerpuff Girls)

Craig McCracken, Rob Renzetti, and Genndy Tartakovsky learned on the job, without even finishing school.

Fosters was more of a sitcom, PPG more of a cartoon.

Digital animation is the future of network productions that need to be faster and faster.

Simplify to fit the animation budget, rather than make high-end designs poorly animated within the budget.

Animation has accelerated from 14 minutes a year in the loony toons era, to 11 minutes a week now.

Process of designing shows that had the same appeal feel as shows he liked

Animation just keeps getting easier for the artists to learn and produce independently

Don’t try to do everything yourself

Find your own voice to put in your series

They love it, now what? The art of the development deal

“If the studio thinks your lawyer’s a PITA, they’re probably good”

Take a moment to celebrate, then here’s what’s next

The development deal

Tell them you look forward to receiving the “standard contract they want you to sign” - then find a lawyer.

Deals:

• Development - step by step work towards launching the series
• Option - money to not shop it around (it goes in a drawer)
• Short - standalone film, or the pilot for the series

There is no such thing as a standard contract - find a lawyer!

• An entertainment lawyer so they know what they’re doing
• Don’t sell/transfer your ideas until certain conditions are met, these are your leverage
• Turnaround option if the studio drops it, make sure you still have a project to sell
• The future hasn’t happened yet, it’s not a bargaining chip you should accept
• Blanket “all media formats” in the contract, so if something new comes around you still have rights
• Nothing personal, kid

The studio is NOT your enemy, they are trying to make the best deal for them, and you need someone making sure you are taken care of too.

A Note on Surviving the Development Process

There’s not much money in this stage, stick with it

Development Materials

Several pieces to make, and if the network still likes it, then it’s pilot time.

The Mini Bible

Miniature show bible, what’s needed only to produce the pilot. Go above and beyond what’s asked, but not a full show bible.

Full model sheets (construction and turnaround) and color design for main characters

Background character designs

Scriptwriting guidelines - how the show should proceed, what the ground rules are

Character lineup

Prop/location designs and style sheets

Color palette/guide

Background style samples

General production notes

Living document addendum

Pilot Premises

A few ideas for premises. Don’t make them suck - just make them a perfect random episode, rather than covering all the introductory material.

Storyboards and Scripts

Script driven shows are more narrative/wordplay-focused,

Storyboard-driven shows are more gag-based

Writing Story

A good pilot looks like it came out of the middle of the first season, simple story on the series hook, only worry about including 1st tier characters.

3 act structure.

• Act I: Set up the conflict, get your character up a tree
• Act II, craziness/complication from the conflict, throw rocks at your character
• Act III: a new twist that leads to a final resolution, get the character back out of the tree (even if you chop the tree down)

Don’t Sacrifice Character Consistency and Story to Get the Funny

Don’t do it! You want your characters to stay consistent - and the trait you introduce as a bend to use a gag may wind up being stuck if the network likes it. The longer your short, the more there needs to be something besides gags to hang onto.

Writing Gags

Start with consistency of characters, premise, ground rules, add story, only then spice it with gags/humor

Humor sets up an association we didn’t expect, the result makes sense, but not the sense we thought! And then usually one more twist at the end for a laugh. Test the jokes with others!

Writing and Parents

Parents are overly sensitive to inappropriate jokes, so make sure you’re flying those under the radar if you have any!

Storyboard

Keep It Simple, Storyboarder!

Storyboard Guidelines

• Clarity is everything
• Less is more
• Show don’t tell
• Include all screen direction
• Use closeups
• Pose as much as possible
• Be ridiculous, exaggerate and silly!
• Stage consistently, screen direction for story
• Humor to facial expressions
• Pay attention to backgrounds
• Vary your staging
• Not too much camera work
• Write clearly
• For pilots, extra polish!

A Note on Presentation

Make it pretty and get it in on time.

Getting the Green Light: Producing the Pilot

This is another BIG step, another rather large chunk of cash the network. Your show is a finalist!

You can do it in house if you have capacity, or the network can provide a production studio. You should build a crew regardless.

Budget Allocation

A line producer normally does this and can help you out.

Above the line: negotiated costs like salaries and rights

Below the line: firm overhead like studio rental

Animation Guild for estimating costs

Account# Description Amt Unit x Rate Total

Budgets usually fairly small. Money allocation = time allocation.

Don’t sacrifice quality to save money, it’s still a tool to sell the show

1st: Story, character, gags - the entertainment content

2nd: Animation, the best execution of the show once the entertainment is locked

3rd: design/bkg/color, the polish for the show

The Pilot Process

• Cast Sheet & Script, record VO
• Animatic
• Timing
• Props & additional characters
• Layout
• Backgrounds
• Color design
• Animation
• Final edit/lock
• SFX/music
• delivery

Casting and Recording Voices

Hook up with a good casting director, someone who can get you good voices!

Make a casting sheet - parts that need voices, descriptions of how you hear them.

Audition the demos sent in from agents

Your crew can also do some voices!

Another read of voices with the auditions you like, see variations, and how they work with you!, can you keep working with them?

Note dialog for context, the actors haven’t seen what’s in your head.

Recording booth [hey, zoom/discord calls? Everyone recording their own audio?]

Watch the storyboard to imagine how the voice works with the character.

Animatics

Storyboard + VO & timing = Animatic

Timing Sheets

Or in modern pipelines, splitting the animatic up into scenes.

Prop and Character Design

Design everything that interacts with the characters, and make it match your style. Also designs for any background characters too. Colors need to be done- though the props will probably need to match the backgrounds.

Backgrounds

Key background design - the establishing shot or map so all the other backgrounds can be made from it, with lighting!

Recolor the characters per shot so they stand out from the backdrop.

[Backgrounds should be designed as a stage, with an open space for the characters to play]

Ship It

Even if not outsourcing it, package it as ready for production!

Editing and Lock

Animation revisions if you outsourced it, retakes and fixes.

Whether or not to fix:

• Does it affect the story?
• Does it distract the viewer (is it obvious)?
• Is there a major consistency problem?
• Does it harm a gag or have bad timing?

Fix it in-house whenever possible, everyone does this.

Lock: final timing on the playthrough so FX can work with it

Sound Effects and Music

Spotting - your SFX editor and you go through and note what SFX are needed for each scene.

Specific - what flavor of each SFX will best fit the mood or gag?

Stress the right feel over accuracy

Note what mood of music would fit each scene, you can use scratch music to test.

Hire a composer, or hire a band to make a bunch of cues to go in the series, or use stock (or all three)

The Mix

Sound mixing engineer works wit you to adjust the volume on the score and incidentals and voices, so everything comes across clear and as intended, adding effects to the voice (like reverb), etc. Make sure the story comes through

Final Delivery

Network will usually send the pilot to a focus group to test, but what you do with the feedback is up to you.

Network may pass if they don’t feel it’s a good fit, but as long as you did your best that’s all you can hope for here.

If they pass, take the turnaround option in your contract!

Q&A with Jeff Hutchins

The lessons a person needs to master in order to grow find you. Easier to be happy if your passion is your work and vice versa. You find yourself recreating yourself in each show. Most show creators have an idea for the sound - whether they know they do or not.

Q&A with Tom Kenny

Voice acting is NOT reading aloud, and improv and playfulness are key. Actors love to be let off the leash. Read every script and storyboard and know what’s going on in the scene - you can’t tweak or go off book if you don’t know the book and what will boost it. It’s not about the actor, it’s about collaborating with all the show’s makers to help bring off the illusion - they reach the screen as the creator intended. Voice directors just have the terminology to translate what the creator needs into VA. Good things happen when you let artists be artists. FIght tooth and nail for your idea, and don’t let the rejections get you down. Listen to advice from smart people, ignore advice from knuckleheads, and watch your back!

Series production: building the team to produce the show

Technology and production are constantly improving, budgets also vary with the economy. “That’s the way we’ve always done it” is never a good reason.

How you produce is based on: time, money, and technology

Scheduling and budget

Start with a great line producer - keeping the schedule, budget, and everything else organized, including problem solving.

Build a schedule and budget you & the network can live with.

Tired overlapping production schedules, so a new episode comes out every week or two.

Which means you will be checking different parts of a dozen or more shows by the middle of production.

Speed, Quality, Cheap: pick two (or a balance of all three)

Go over initial sketch of your budget/schedule with department heads make sure they’re ok with it, then let your line producer flesh it out.

Hiring the best possible team

The creator cannot do it all. Save your sanity. Do what you like to on your series, but hire people to help.

Departments:

• Writing
• Storyboarding
• Timing
• Art Direction
• Production
• Animation

Hire people more talented than you to head each department!

Story editor, storyboard supervisor, animation direction supervisor, art director, line producer, animation supervisor?

Then hire the rest of the team, with your heads’ assistance. Everyone has to work well together!

1. Start with Honesty, communication, courtesy/manners, doing your best
2. Next: commit to best efforts to keep to the budget/schedule
3. -to make the best possible show within those constraints
4. -to have FUN.

In that order.

Preproduction: creating a turnkey operation

You have to slowly work yourself out of a job, a bit at a time, creating a “turnkey operation” - train everyone to replicate how you do it so you do not have to (imagine a gourmet chef starting a restaurant chain).

The assembly line

Preproduction is building the conveyor belt, so that everyone can work their job and keep things running smoothly

The production bible

Much more detailed than the mini-bible, enough info so that anyone can get into the creator’s head and know how the world works and looks - model sheets that specify how everything is drawn. Floor plans for the buildings. Style guides.

• Full descriptions, turns, model sheets, expression sheets, for each major character
• Full color designs of every character
• Size comp lineups of all characters
• Do’s and dont’s for writing/storyboarding
• Background styles & reusable assets
• Signage/lettering styles
• Color guide/palette
• Logo usage

Everything people need so when they’re rushing through doing a scene, they can create anything they need.

Tracking a whole episode

Premise

Episode starts as a premise

Outline

Or a story beat sheet, mapping out 3 act structure. Once solidly outlined and confident it will work, to the network for approval.

Storyboard

1 week to thumbnail board to see if it works (director approval)

1 week to rough board (crew review, internal focus group)

2 weeks to clean board, while incidentals are designed. D/P review, then network review

Voice Recording

Script from storyboard, Ensemble recording, same day every week

Animatic

Week syncing audio and storyboard. Editing for time and story here, prior to animation

Sheets

(animation layout blocking in modern productions)

Art direction

You can reuse a lot of assets - which just means the art direction is working on a lot of new stuff.

Generally wait until the board is locked before creating backgrounds so nothing’s wasted

Prop, character, background designs, color styling department.

Title cards if you’re using them!

Animation

Whether in house or overseas. 2-16 weeks. With a new episode following along a week later.

Retakes and Editing

Same as pilot - do your revisions in house tho

Sound effects and music

Very streamlined compared to pilot - give the notes immediately after show is locked, and revise it a few days later.

Mix

After the mix sounds good, try it through crappy speakers, to see if it still sounds good. (maybe on a phone?)

Final delivery

Final mix, locked picture, add titles and credits, send to network. Could be as little as 3 days between delivery and airdate

Licesning Press and Other Mayhem

Keep the outside stuff outside when you can, as you’re still working on your show, except when it maintains your reputation as a team player with the network. You don’t generally get involved in licensing deals.

Q&A with Sue Mondt (art director)

Conductor of an orchestra of specialized artists.. Create the mood and themes of the story through color and design. The art in animation has a subliminal effect - while they may not be aware of the beauty, it’s a part of why they enjoy the shows.

Network relationships: saving your sanity

You get out of the relationship what you expect - so humanize the people you work with at the network

The role of the network studio

Networks filled gaps in programming by commissioning cartoons for millions of dollars.

Networks can make a fortune (billions) off your cartoon if it goes well - licensing, merchandising, distribution, movies, etc

Only 10-20% of cartoons that make it to production hit, though they almost always pay for themselves.

Your role with the network studio

Your return and involvement is again based on your contract. The network doesn’t want a strained relationship, just a creator making a unique new show- that also happens to make them money.

It’s your vision, but pick your battles if you’ve decided to have a network pay for it.

Sanity Savers

• Research networks and studios before working with them
• Everyone’s goal is to make the best show possible
• There will be rules (standard and practices)
• Networks are not art grant organizations, they are for-profit companies
• Television is a rough canvas, make content designed for the medium
• A network is a client - you are building a client service relationship with them
• Don’t take corporate politics personally
• Have a backbone, when you need to use it

Thinking outside the box: getting your series out there without a network or studio

Plenty of options other than TV

Can even go outside animation - comic books, childrens books, toys, comics

Both the film and TV industries need to realize they are no longer the sole content source, internet also

Are you a maverick?

Lots of successes from not taking “no” for an answer.

Mavericks plow through obstacles based on the strength of their belief in their ideas.

Internet and film festivals can connect creators with audiences and begin generating income

The internet

Youtube, Netflix, Hulu taking off for places to watch video.

How do I make money from the internet if I’m not Seth McFarlane

You need to attract a huge fanbase - push riskier ideas to give them something to talk about and go viral

Direct merchandising model, advertising income

How do I create my web cartoon without the benefit of a studio?

Start small, add staff as it becomes more popular, short format

Digital animation tools on home computer

Weekly publishing works best if possible.

Global Syndication

Produce pilot independently, shop it around conventions/festivals and try to get show orders

Retain more control, but get more notes from more investors.

Film

Shorts for film festivals are also possible, same processes.

Q&A with Dan Hawes (from a network)

Talent is talent, and will find its way to its audience. Gatekeepers’ “value added” belief system is crumbling, youtube is a better model than network-curated shows. Making a webseries is basically pitching but directly to the audience. Two challenges - de-risking the initial production, and then making money off the show.

Making a difference: How to work in TV without losing your soul

Your creative self feeds the development of the work.

Ego will break it. So will imposter syndrome when you realize your crew is much better than you. Make sure you are still creating aside from the commercial projects

• Do I have a life?
• Are my friends and family still talking to me?
• Am I keeping my life simple/frugal?
• Are there ways I can be of service anonymously?
• Are there ways I can make sure everyone on the production is treated fairly/with respect?
• Can I reinvest money & notoriety?
• Can I work on including positive messages in story/character moments?
• Can I be a catalyst for change during this production?
• Am I being honest and humble?