Animation Guild | We are 839 Digital Magazine
Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1313527
WINTER 2020 13 T H E C L I M B in my life," Robles recalls. "I thought, 'F- this guy! He does not know me…' I refuse to let one person tell me that I'm not good enough." An internship opened up at Graz Studios and Robles took every opportunity to learn. At night, he studied the studio artwork he Xeroxed and brought home, barely sleeping before heading back to the studio where he left copies of his own drawings on producers' desks, looking for feedback. One day a character designer quit and the director could not find his phone book because it was under a pile of Robles' drawings. After taking a closer look at the artwork, he called Robles into his office and offered him a job designing. For Robles this was life-changing. He remembers telling his parents that he would be paid $20 an hour. They were stunned—this was in 1995 and it was more than their combined hourly pay. With money Robles saved over the next few years, he and his parents were able to buy their first house together. Through his twenties he worked at DreamWorks, Cartoon Network, and Disney. When the industry experienced a slump in the late '90s, he designed animatronics for a Universal theme park ride and creatures for movies. He worked for BKN, an international company, that sent him to Paris and London to pitch ideas for the company to develop. Eventually, he realized it was time to start pitching his own ideas. He quit his job and dedicated time to developing original ideas. Cartoon Network optioned his first idea, which spent a year in development but ended up being swept out when new management came aboard. Robles moved to Nickelodeon where he worked on The X's and was given an opportunity to pitch a short to Fred Seibert. He drew from his childhood experiences to develop Fanboy & Chum Chum, which turned into a series. The show ran for two seasons and won five Emmys. Nickelodeon wanted Robles to stay on and offered him an overall deal. When he was working late one night then studio president Russell Hicks popped into his office and showed interest in the box of ideas Robles kept on his desk. Hicks randomly pulled out one about kids who work at a video game company to exterminate glitches that escape from faulty game consoles. "A kind of Ghostbusters with video games," Robles says. Hicks loved the concept and put it into development. Robles partnered with Dan Milano, who became his co-creator on Glitch Techs, now in its second season on Netflix. Robles says that although it's often noted how ethnically diverse the cast of Glitch Techs is, he wasn't actually thinking about diversity when creating the show. It simply reflected the Los Angeles neighborhood he grew up in. Reflecting on a career that has spanned 25 years, Robles is quite certain that if a teacher hadn't asked about his portfolio, his life would have gone in a different direction. "It took just one person to believe in me and to give me that one opportunity," he says. He likes to go to schools and talk to kids in communities that lack resources and positive messages about following passions and pursuing dreams. "So they know that if you can dream it, you can get paid for it—if you love it, it can be a career for you." — Karen Briner Learn more about Robles on Instagram @rrrrobles. from top left, clockwise: Glitch Tech characters High Five and Miko Kubota; Robles (circled) growing up in L.A.; working on DreamWorks' Prince of Egypt; one of five Emmy wins for Fanboy & Chum Chum; an action packed image from Glitch Techs; and sketches of Kyle Fanboy.