Animation Guild | We are 839 Digital Magazine
Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1378252
Trash Truck's "Movie Night" is rescued by the creative use of headlights. "Snow Place Like Home" keeps Craig and his friends indoors in Craig of the Creek. SYLVIA LIU PRODUCTION DESIGNER TRASH TRUCK NETFLIX WHAT DO YOU THINK MAKES TRASH TRUCK UNIQUE? I like that Trash Truck is tonally quiet, simple, and slower paced. I also think that a trash truck being the best friend is an inter- esting idea since it's a memorable moment to see a large and loud trash truck in the very early morning. And it's cool that the original idea was inspired by [creator] Max Keane's son. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE EPISODE FROM THE PAST SEASON? My favorite episode would be the first one because [my fellow art director] Eastwood Wong and I got to work on the colorscript together. A lot of the main sets and stylizing were established in this episode, so there's a lot of great paintings and designs from the team. WHAT ANIMATED SHOWS INSPIRED YOUR CAREER? I've always been a pretty visual person, and anime in general caught my eye as a child because the styles/animation were somewhat realistic/relatable with a twist. And story-wise some- thing about the culture described in those shows also spoke to me as an Asian American. Shows like Sailor Moon or Cowboy Bebop had a lot of emotional range and learning experiences that I felt really immersed in. For me these shows displayed a lot of diversity in character/story/setting that was also very specific/distinct. Even if I may not have understood the mean- ings of everything until later on, I could generally feel the intent, and I think it's great in animation that you can express many different points of views in unlimited settings that can potentially speak to different people on different levels. WHAT ANIMATED SHOW HELPED YOU GET THROUGH THE PAST YEAR? I only worked on City of Ghosts for an episode or two toward the end, but I was always admiring it on the sidelines. City of Ghosts is such an amazing show, visually and story-wise. I think the pacing is great, and the concept is so well-executed. DASHAWN MAHONE SUPERVISING DIRECTOR CRAIG OF THE CREEK CARTOON NETWORK STUDIOS WHAT DO YOU THINK MAKES CRAIG OF THE CREEK UNIQUE? To me, nothing like it has been done before. I have not seen a cartoon about a young black boy, in a leading role, playing in the creek with his friends. There's so much more to the show than that, though. We let the kids be whoever they want to be in the creek, and imagination plays a big role in the stories we tell. And who has a bigger imagination than kids? By telling the stories from a child's perspective, I believe it resonates more with them. While I believe tons of children would love to be a superhero, every one of them can be a creek kid. It's cool. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE EPISODE FROM THE PAST SEASON? This is a tough question. It's probably 'The Ground Is Lava!' Or maybe 'Trick or Creek.' I loved 'Jessica Shorts,' though. And 'Ferret Quest' was fun, too. But then there's 'The Ice Pop Trio' and 'Snow Place Like Home.' It's too hard to pick just one. I can tell you that my favorite one to storyboard on was 'Fall Anthology.' I love working on the wackier episodes. WHAT ANIMATED SHOWS INSPIRED YOUR CAREER? Shows like Dexter's Laboratory, SpongeBob SquarePants, Dragon Ball Z, and Samurai Champloo. I tend to like action, anime and comedy. This selection is very interesting, even to me, but I loved these shows growing up. My art style and tastes are an awkward amalgamation of all of them. WHAT ANIMATED SHOW HELPED YOU GET THROUGH THE PAST YEAR? I watched a lot of Futurama last year. I guess it's a comfort show of mine. The episodes never get old to me, so I re-watch them when I want to have something on. Considering how uncomfortable last year was, I'm sure you can imagine how often I had it on. F E AT U R E Top left: Image courtesy of Netflix. Top right: Image courtesy of Cartoon Network Studios. Opposite Page: Image courtesy of DreamWorks Animation. 30 KEYFRAME