Krampus Cartoon

2012-01-08T21:39:00.000-08:00

Experimenting with black on red for the Krampus character designs. Need to get these designs tied down so I can start animating...

2011-12-20T16:02:00.000-08:00

It has been a while, but just wanted to share a couple things.

A friend sent me this cool Krampus that was designed by Jill Thompson:

Another friend sent me this video of a Krampen parade:

Then, I saw this one on Cartoon Brew...unfortunately it has very similar themes to the Krampus piece I am working on....

sketchbook on three blogs

2011-05-11T21:26:00.000-07:00

I got a new sketchbook. It has brown paper. I use white out to make white things. Got that idea from the Drink and Draw guy books. It is fun.

Thumbnailing

2011-05-09T21:34:00.000-07:00

I finally finished thumbnails for the Krampus piece. Actually I finihed them on the way back from France, and am just finally posting a picture of them.

I used post it notes cut up into quarters to jut quickly knock things out, but it would give me the option to pull them off the sheets and replace them.'

Next comes converting these thumbnails into storyboards and layout. Maybe Sam will come and play.

Kris Pearn came by the Powerhouse Animation studio and gave a talk on boarding that was very inspiring, hopefully that inspiration will filter into this process.

Something I am starting to like

2011-03-21T19:52:00.000-07:00

Kind of starting to like this one...still not there but I feel closer...

Based on the Krampus's below and the Yeti design I tried a white colored version as well...

I am totally ripping off some techniques and coloring by the insanely talented Ben Balistreri . Not going to use this for final designs, but it helped me break through a wall.

Not getting there.

2011-03-08T21:08:00.000-08:00

This is not where I want to be. I like the skeleton of the design but cant get the design where I want it to be. It needs to have certain things to be a proper Krampus and fit some ideas in the script.

1. One hoofed foot, one regular foot
2. Basket for kids
3. Chains to rattle
4. bundle of switches to whip kids with
5. horns
6. large upper body
7. beer gut
8. unruly eyebrows
9. crazy long tongue

I want it to be scary but look like it stepped out of a Rankin-Bass show or an Amanda Visell painting. This does not do this. I dont like it. It might be getting worse with every try.

Hmmm. Back to the drawing board.

Krampus at Citylights

2011-02-25T14:55:00.000-08:00

So I stepped into the wonderful City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco,and alone and staring at me from the shelf was this:

I think its a sign.

Playing with style

2011-01-17T21:05:00.000-08:00

I have been playing around with the character designs for this project the last few days. Have really been in a rut and having a hard time coming up with something I like.

So the below is what some of the guys at work would call "classic Brad" I think. Colored lines, thick and thins, rhomboid background. This is very similar to 90% of the character designs I have done. Trying to get out of this rut, though.

When I did this drawing I was trying to emphasize the yin and yang relationship between Santa and Krampus. I want to keep this idea, but break the style habits.

I really want this short to have a feel like Golden Books gone Grimm. I want it to be dark versions of Mary Blair. Get some of the feelings that Amanda Visell and Gary Cooper get with their illustrations. I want it to seem like if Wes Craven was part of Rankin Bass.

In an attempt to break out of my rut, I tried an experiment to try to reinvent the Krampus below as if it was one of Amanda Visell's vinyl toys.

Like these:

It is not working for me, but it was fun.

See ya next week.

What is Krampus?

2011-01-09T20:39:00.000-08:00

This project is a 2 minute animated piece that tries to recapture the spirit of a time where folklore and bed stories where harsh and horrific--St. Nicholas calls upon the services of his counterpart, Krampus.

Why do I want to make this short? In a world of helicopter parents and “Dora the Explorer,” we often forget the darker side of children's stories. The Brothers Grimm stories have been stripped of their fratricide, beheadings, and cannibalism. This cartoon will try to abruptly shatter the wall modern American society has placed between these two worlds. The cartoon will start out in a saccharin-coated Rankin-Bass world of Candyland, and then will burst into a horror-paced slasher film.

Maybe in a world where physical dangers in nearby woods are not as immediate, the need for the lessons that the Grimms and other forms of folklore taught are not necessary. But the balance has shifted to the other side, where everyone lives in a non-offensive Nerf world. This cartoon explores the balance. Krampus is the Ying to Nicholaus's Yang. If someone rewards the good, someone else punishes the wicked. The significant composition of the piece will be when Krampus is summoned, their silhouettes will create an implied Tao.

Krampus is a mythical creature from Eastern European folklore especially known in Austria and Hungary. Krampus accompanies St. Nicolaus during Christmas. Krampus warns and punishes the bad children, in contrast to St. Nick who rewards and gives gifts to good children. Krampus originates from the old high German word for "claw" (krampen). I find this interesting due to phonetical similarity to Santa Claus (claws). Krampus is generally portrayed as an incubus, a male demon. Traditionally, young men dress up as the Krampus in the first two weeks of December, especially on December 5. They roam the streets, clanging bells and rattling rusty chains. Krampus is often depicted with shackled chains between his arms like handcuffs. He also carries a birch rod for corporal punishment. This is often depicted in imagery with young girls. Another common image is Krampus carrying off bad children in a basket on his way to dump them into hell. I wonder if this is the origin of the saying, “to hell in a hand basket.” Sheep skins, long horns, a basket, chains, and birch rods are common imagery for Krampus. Krampus is a demon from hell. He should have the feeling of something possessed and unnatural, something in an abnormal body that it is not used to.

That's all for now. See you next week.