#the way i draw myself i look like a goddamn peanuts character.

[marclef]

art trade for @misdreavusplush! oh god i hope i drew eyelashes well enough

but uh. first time drawing a genderbent peppino i guess too? i think all forms of funny italians are pretty cool.

also........ did somebody say character designs with big eyes and no mouth

*sheepishly pulls out character design i made a while ago but haven't done much with*

[4colorrebellion]

Kickin’ It With Tim Rauch - Mushroom Park

There’s a new Kickstarter for a great looking animated film by veteran animator and artist Tim Rauch. Tim was kind enough to discuss the project and give us the inside story on its inception and the amazing team he’s assembled.

4ColorRebellion: If you'd like to get us started by telling our readers a bit about yourself and your previous work?

Tim Rauch: I'm an independent animator in LA with a wife and 4 month old baby. I'm most well known for StoryCorps: The Animated Series which won a Peabody, 4 Emmy nominations, and millions of views online. These were documentary animated shorts- stories about love, marriage, cancer, 9/11 and astronauts. Real life, real people, real cartoons- produced by my brother and I for PBS.

Most recently I directed the BoJack Horseman season 4 finale, which was a blast. I'm a fan and them folks are geniuses.

4CR: You've just started a Kicsktarter for Mushroom Park, a short animated film. What makes it different from other projects our readers might have seen on Kickstarter?

TR: There's a bunch of things that set us apart! How about I pick just three? ;) Our story- Two boys locked in a love-hate relationship as life and death hang in the balance. Sort of Tex Avery meets Lord of the Flies, something that isn't done in animation very often, if ever.

Our look- The characters are off-model/wild-style drawn by myself and the background design is a stunning new look from Bill Wray (of Ren & Stimpy fame). We're cramming the frame with visual excitement in a style that's fresh and exciting.

Our goal- We're making a finished film. Not a pilot or a pitch or a demo. Animation is 50% complete and will finish in 2018.

4CR: You've got a great cast lined up for Mushroom Park including Betsy Sodaro and Shondalia White. How did you get such great voice talent onboard? 

TR: Betsy & Shondalia are amazing!

Betsy's voice was, at times, the driving motivation behind this entire project. I was drawing Derek in 2013 when I heard Betsy on Improv 4 Humans and thought "that's the voice!" I shook down a long-lost friend who could connect us and met her for coffee. I've never been more starstruck- Betsy is a goddamn delight.

Shondalia I met while making a Nickelodeon pilot called Planet Claire. She had this sweet, bubbly charm that I knew would be perfect for Roger. Her voice plays really well off of Betsy's- sugar and spice!

4CR: You're also working alongside Bill Wray for this project and you've worked together in the past. How did you decide to collaborate on Mushroom Park?

TR: I initially resisted working with Bill again- I wanted to take a stab at the backgrounds myself this time. So I'm writing the film and meeting up with Bill a couple times a year. He likes Mushroom Park, says he'd be down to help, but I'm being a weirdo and sticking my head in the sand. Then, this summer, with my wife in labor and life beginning to get very real, Bill left an Instagram comment to the effect that he missed working together. When one of the greats says "pick me", you've only got one choice.

I called Bill from the hospital parking lot and we hashed it out while my wife pushed our son into the world. She had the harder job and still does.

4CR: The influence of Ren and Stimpy seems pretty front and center in what we've seen on Mushroom Park so far. What else inspires your work?

TR: Ren & Stimpy is an influence but in a roundabout way. I didn't have cable as a kid and, to this day, have seen shamefully little of the show. BUT I was an avid reader of John K's blog and he turned me on to Jim Tyer and Milt Gross- guys who could give a shit about "proper technique". That's the kind of animation I aspire to- unhinged, offbeat choices, zippy drawing.

I also had the good fortune of working with Bill and Stephen DeStefano for many years- Stephen is Genndy Tartakovsky's go-to character design guy and a former R+S board artist as well. I was copying Stephen's boards to make my character layouts, soaking it all in. You can't work with a talent like that and not have it rub off.

Speaking directly about filmmaking goals for Mushroom Park- The Lonely Island, My Neighbor Totoro, Woman in the Dunes, Hedgehog in the Fog, Lord of the Flies. I wanted kids removed from society, facing mortality and making tough choices. But I also wanted some beauty and joy. Can't be no peanut butter without no jam!

4CR: You're probably best known for your work on Story Corps, and some of our readers might recognize you from your work on the most recent season of BoJack Horseman. Both of those are known for tackling sometimes somber subject matter. How does Mushroom Park compare to those projects in terms of theme and style? 

TR: When we made StoryCorps, particularly the 9/11 trilogy, a lot of people said it was a bad idea to use cartoons to talk about cancer/death/terrorism. We vigorously disagreed and the results speak for themselves.

Now, with Mushroom Park we have a cartoon with themes adjacent to StoryCorps - love, forgiveness, mortality and redemption. However, because it's fantasy, we've got a freer hand to get metaphysical. There's also a vitality and life to the way things move that's rare to see. One of my great disappointments working "in the industry" is that the WAY things move often seems to be a total afterthought. When it's done well at all, it's often fairly predictable and formulaic. Animation deserves experimentation, same as any other art form.

4CR: If the projects overfunds, are you considering adding stretch goals to the Kickstarter? If so what kind of additional rewards would you want to look at?

TR: We have options- more elaborate lighting in the film, expanded Art Book, expanded Tips & Tricks... for now I'm focused on getting over 50%. If we can hit that and build some momentum, I'll let my imagination roam. I'll also be doing some livestream animation, so stay tuned!

4CR: Is there anything else you would like to add before we go.

TR: Mushroom Park is from the heart. It's a story about finding the good in other people, about turning back when you have every reason to keep on walking. It's a wild ride you're all gonna enjoy so GO CHECK IT OUT!!!