From Cult Favorite Creator to Web Series Director
Interview with Animator
Chris Voigt,
Creator of
Aniboom Original Series
"Angry Dog"
Watch it now!
His “Angry Dog” cartoon was a hit among web viewers, but there was no money for a full production. He pitched to Aniboom’s Virtual Studio and soon the disgruntled canine was a web success.
Have you always been into animation? I loved cartoons probably from the age of two. There was a few years in between growing out of Disney stuff and getting interested in Animé where I probably only had the "Simpsons" to watch, but these days there's plenty of animation for adults, and the Internet of course, so
I still find there's lots of stuff I enjoy watching.
Watch "Angry Dog"!>>
Tell us about yourself and where the ladies can send their marriage proposals.
I'm from Brisbane, Australia, and am in a relationship. The idea of
marriage scares me though! Not the one partner part, just the
ceremony and pomp.
What sort of training do you have?
I have a Diploma of Animation from a college here in Australia, and am
currently in my third year of a three year animation course at
Griffith Uni, which I've deferred until next year (or the year after
that or the year after that) to work on the series.
While doing the
diploma in 2005 I encountered Flash and had an instant attraction to
it, finally I could make my own cartoons without scanning every single
drawing and no huge file sizes! I've done various freelancing jobs
for a few years as well but the majority of my learning has taken
place working on my own cartoons.
Where did you come up with the characters?
I wanted to try a story with anthropomorphic characters (talking
animals with human qualities) in a sitcom situation. George draws on
my time working at a bank in London, though I wasn't desperately
unhappy like he is. I liked the idea of a cute animated character
who's life really sucks, so he lashes out at those around him just
like a human!
George is probably the only character who draws on my
own experiences though. Herb the Lobster is probably one of my oldest characters, I can't remember
why I drew a lobster with a moustache all those years ago but it
struck me as funny!
Is George really prejudiced or is he an equal opportunity
hater? He hates himself first and foremost, then he hates lizards, then he
hates everyone else.
View the Angry Dog Portfolio>>
Who are your influences?
Writing wise I'd say I'm more influenced by people I know and
conversations I've had with them than any established authors. I used
to hear my animations reminded people of Hunter S. Thompson's writing
style in "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" but I don't think you'll find
his influence in "Angry Dog". Animation wise I'm told my style is
"western Animé", I think it's because I use black outlines and bright
colours like Animé, but hopefully not character design wise. There's
probably a little bit of Disney and "Ren & Stimpy" in there too.
What's your work process like?
I sketch out each scene really roughly in a sketchbook, including
ideas for separate poses, expressions etc. I scan in the sketches and
draw over them and improve them a little in Flash and make an
animatic. I export each separate drawing as a png and draw over them
all in Illustrator.
This process takes 2-3 days for an episode, so I've probably spent a
week on it so far. Then depending on how large the episode is I'll
spend between a week and two weeks drawing the inbetweens and
colouring everything in Flash, along the way editing the dialogue.
Finally I go through and do all the lip syncing, which takes between
3-4 days and usually drives me nuts. Then theres a day at the end of
recording various sounds and doing fixes and odd jobs I've left till
last. From start to finish 3-4 weeks, or 160-240 hours.
Did you always intend for "Angry Dog" to evolve into a series?
I always intended to make more after the first one, it was always a
case of wanting to try other things first since I'd already made one though.
People responded more to the characters in Angry Dog than any of my
other characters so I knew they were worth coming back to. I've
really enjoyed animating them again and creating more stories for
them.
Check out Chris Voigt's website:
Greasymoose.com
Watch the Angry Dog Series
View the Angry Dog Portfolio