Perhaps of all the literary conflicts, comic books have championed Man vs. Man more than any other genre. The Man Vs. Man conflict manifests in the epic form of Heroes vs. Villains. There are many ways to use Man vs. Man in your script, but a Superhero-against-Arch-nemesis provides an excellent opportunity to examine a dynamic range […]
Creating Animated TV Shows for Disney & Cartoon Network :: Live Q&A From Denver Comic Con 2012
LIVE At Denver Comic Con 2012! The good folks at DCC 2012 invited me to join this panel discussion and share my perspectives on the future of the animation pitch! I was proud to represent the online community of visual storytellers but as you can see in the video, I was a bit intimidated to be […]
Man Vs. Machine: The Storyteller’s Frontier
If your robot army can be defeated accidentally by the likes of Jar Jar Binks, you have NOT crafted a strong Man Vs. Machine conflict. Man Vs. Machine is the newest of all the types of dramatic conflict. The Legend Of John Henry is the oldest Man Vs. Machine story I could think of. That […]
Is Your Concept Art Portfolio Versatile Or Just Confusing?
Is your concept art portfolio versatile or confusing? It’s easy to tell when it’s someone else’s work but it’s much more difficult with our own. [ Painting: ‘Girl Before A Mirror’ by Pablo Picasso ] Every good concept art portfolio showcases the artist’s versatility. But many artists think they are demonstrating versatility when they are […]
Six Common Pitfalls Of An Animation Pitch
I have heard countless pitches from artists with ideas for animated TV shows. Usually, a pitch is unoriginal or derivative or it’s just a string of pseudo-interesting concepts but there’s no story. Sometimes a pitch has a snappy set-up or an interesting main character but it goes flat and formulaic in the “potential episodes.” And […]
