Animation Guild | We are 839 Digital Magazine
Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1343869
MABEL YE "For most of my life, I was—and still am—heavily inspired by comics. The linework in many comics, especially French, is beautifully detailed and supplemented by simple color. When I was told the style of the show is very much inspired by French comic work, it was a pleasant surprise!" CHRIS TSIRGIOTIS "Craig's desire for a hand-drawn look is something I've always been partial to. I had gained a reputation over the years as being one of the last people in the business that draws in pencil on paper. In fact, Kid Cosmic is the show where I finally made the transition to work completely digitally. I knew that because the line would be in the final painted backgrounds, it would be necessary to have all the layout artists using the same digital brushes rather than have everyone work traditionally." CRAIG MCCRACKEN "We treated Kid Cosmic like we were making a film, as opposed to a cartoon with a capital C. I always joke that it is an animated series. …We did a lot of live action as far as storyboarding styles, to make it feel more grounded and real." F E AT U R E Images courtesy of Netflix. 42 KEYFRAME The result of all these various approaches created just the effect McCracken wanted: "Rough around the edges. …All of that is to remind you, these are drawings made by humans. We wanted to keep that homemade, handmade, kind of punk rock aesthetic. Kid and his team are essentially punk rock superheroes. Meaning, they may not have the skill or the talent, but they have the determination and conviction to do this. They have that punk rock sensibility." It's not surprising McCracken mentions music when he talks about Kid Cosmic, because the soundtrack plays a crucial role. "When I'm developing any show," he says, "one of the first things I do is find a playlist or music that inspires the world I want to create, and I use that as inspiration. In 2015, when Frank, Lauren, and I were developing the show, I reached out to Andy Bean, who was our composer on Wander. I said, I need you to pretend to be a garage punk band from the early '70s called Dr. Fang and the Gang." Not only did McCracken use these raucous songs as inspiration, they play a major role in the show, including the theme song. Kid Cosmic has a lot of sophisticated silliness—think the cantina scene in the original Star Wars. It also lets itself be serious, something McCracken realized he could do because of childhood movies like E.T. where "kids experience heavy stuff. I wanted to lean into that sort of thing. Yeah, Kid doesn't have his parents. …He doesn't have a lot of resources. There's not any real other kids around. But he makes the best of that situation, and that's who he is as a character. Well, I'm gonna try to do the best I can in this situation I'm in. That's his real power."