Heartaches Models

Story/Gag Workshop at TAAFI (TORONTO) on Sunday July 8 2012

STORY WORKSHOP 1:30 PM

HOW TO DRAW STORIES FOR CARTOONS

The folks at the Toronto animation festival came up with a unique workshop idea and asked me to demonstrate the way I write the stories for my cartoons.


As most people who've read the blog know, I don't use scripts; I use the classic cartoon method of writing the details of the story with drawings on storyboards. My writers are all cartoonists and animators. Of course, not all cartoonists have story ability but the ones who do write the best cartoons because they understand what works when you have to draw every frame of the story.

Mike Kerr, one of my funniest story partners will be joining me on stage to conduct a "gag session".

AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION

We'll want to involve some of the artists in the audience and have you suggest gags and draw them out on storyboards which we will pin up and review and add to.

Their may be around 80 people in the audience, so I wouldn't be able to personally spend time withe every artist, so I'm trying to figure out a way in advance to maybe see some of your work and select a few funny cartoonists.

I will do another post with some links to storyboards I've done and character designs and descriptions.

CAN YOU DRAW FUNNY? APPLY NOW

In the meantime if you'd like to participate in the event, you might get used to drawing some of my characters. (They don't have to be perfectly on model, but the drawings should feel like the characters and express their personalities).

The characters I am thinking of using are Slab N Ernie, Bobby Bigloaf, maybe George Liquor, Sody Pop and The Heartaches.

Maybe we can get 2 or 3 cartoonist units together and each unit can storyboard a section of a different story.


If you wanna do some sketches and upload them to a blog or web site to show, put an (active) link in the comments to this post. If I think you have story potential, I may select you and give you a heads up on a rough story idea to start sketching up. Or if you already are familiar with my characters, you can suggest your own story or gag idea. - REMEMBER - DO IT WITH DRAWINGS, NOT JUST TEXT.

CLICK THE LABELS BELOW

TO FIND POSTS ABOUT THE CHARACTERS AND THE PROCESS

STORYBOARD AUDITION - the HEARTACHES

If you want to be involved in the TAAFI storyboard workshop and want to work with my girl and light switch characters, here is an outline for a story I wrote:

John K Stuff: CALLING ALL GIRLS-THE HEARTACHES pilot

Most of it is already storyboarded:

JohnKCartoonStories: The Heartaches Pilot

THE ENDING ISN'T STORYBOARDED YET.

HERE IS THE PART THAT HASN'T BEEN STORYBOARDED YET:

CFP is found

CFP decides it’s time to recycle himself, when a mailbox recognizes him.
The mailbox nudges a nearby telephone pole: ‘Hey! Doesn’t that guy match the description of that missing Fuzz character??

Telephone pole: ‘Yeah, that’s the way Tia’s phone described him to me.’
The telephone pole sends a message to Tia’s house: ‘We’ve spotted the Curly Fuzz Poodle, corner of 57th and 3rd, heading northeast, looking mighty ragged.’

Tia’s phone, wall socket, vestibule and tights wait around the corner for the Curly Fuzz Poodle to approach.
The tights jump on CFP and engulph him, tying himself up tight at the top. The tights walk home to Tia’s with CFP inside, and everyone is happy.

CFP gets fixed up

The socket observes CFP’s condition. ‘We can’t take him back like this. We gotta fix him up!’
A drawer in the vestibule opens and a needle and thread hop out. They begin to stitch up CFP’s holes.

The phone pulls his string to try and make him talk. We hear a rusty, garbled groan. ‘He’s all rusted up inside!’

A toothbrush volunteers to help. He sticks his brush into CFP’s ring hole and scrapes the rust off his talking mechanism.
CFP is sparkling and clean.

The objects take him to Roxy’s and shove him back in Roxy’s room through the window.

Mom and Dad argue

Back on Roxy’s bed, CFP just begins to settle in when he overhears an argument outside Roxy’s room.

Dad is accusing Mom of throwing out the Fuzz Poodle and Mom is flatly denying it.
Dad: ‘I can’t believe you threw out that poodle! Roxy hasn’t been the same since! How could you?’
Mom: ‘I’m telling you I never threw it out. You convinced me not to! I have no idea what happened to it.’

The Curly Fuzz Poodle gets an idea. He writes another note to Roxy.

Roxy comes home

She is completely depressed. She hurls her books on the bed and throws herself down for a good sob right smack on top of CFP. She starts crying but we see her back quivering from the agitation of the CFP as he is trying to wriggle out.

A little paw comes out under her belly pulling a talking string.
Roxy hears the string retracting as she has heard so many times before and stops crying.
She smiles as she realizes…she arches her back enough to look under her belly and we hear “Get off.”

She grabs the Fuzz Poodle and gives him a giant hug. She sees the note.

‘Dear Roxy, Your mom never threw me out, I threw myself out. She suggested getting rid of me, and I thought the end was near, so I took care of it myself. Your mom isn’t to blame. She even found me and fixed me up nice for you. So even though she thinks I’m a filthy, repulsive, immature pile of sawdust, she’s letting you have me anyways. That’s how much she loves you.P.S. Please pull my string.’

She pulls the string. Fuzz Poodle says: ‘AND I LOVE YOU TOO.’

Happy Ending

Roxy runs out to the living room and yells, ‘Mom, thank you!’
Dad sees CFP. ‘Holy mackerel! Where’d he come from?’
Roxy beams, ‘Mom found him and fixed him all up for me!’
Dad looks guilty and gives mom a hug. Mom is dumbfounded.
Everyone hugs.
Hug hug hug love love.

If you want to show me your chops, take a small section from this outline and sketch it out. Send me a link in the comments and I'll check it out.

If I think it cuts the mustard and you're interested I'll work with you at the TAAFI storyboard workshop.

**TIP: If you give the furniture and inmate objects lots of personality I will be duly impressed.

Revised

The Waft Of Fresh Marriage

hey, I need some help with Illustrator. It took me a million steps to do what I thought should have been simple processes. Is there anyone in the north valley who knows how all the basic tools work that can show me. I'll do a drawing for you or make you a cheese sandwich if you help me.

IT CAME FROM THIS CHAPTER

OF THIS STORY

Heartaches Stickers Are Here!

Holy crap are you gonna have fun with these.

ONLY AT MY STORE

___________________________________________


SEE A HEARTACHES STORY HERE

Heartaches Pilot 16

Shaniqua's puppet show amusements are to no avail.
CONTINUED FROM:http://johnkstuff.blogspot.com/2010/05/heartaches-pilot-5-ponzis-pity-pooch.html

Roxy sighs: "It's no use, Shan. I just have to face a life without fuzz."
Downtown, Mrs. VanPelt has fainted and is dragged off by her loving husband.
Curly Fuzz Poodle has come to a momentous decision.
He is about to share it with all his fans. He pulls his weathered string.
Alas, it snaps and the Curly one is silenced forever.
He exhales his last dust puff.
Mute, he now resorts to sign language. An interpreter translates for us.
"Well folks, the time has come for me to discard myself for good."

Heartaches Pilot 15: the Ponzis Pity The Pooch

Poor old abandoned Curly Fuzz Poodle wanders the cold cruel city streets alone.
He puffs on a discarded doggy bone; his sole comfort in a world fated against used toys.
He gives in to his destiny.
A rich corporate magnate and his wife happen to be taking a stroll downtown to see how the lower-half lives. Mr. Ponzi, a dog-lover, stops and sees the ragged dog. "Hey Sweetums. Look! A poor homeless mutt! What a shame!"
Mrs. Ponzi: "I think he's foul and should be euthanized along with the rest of the working class!"Mr. Ponzi: "Nonsense and balderdash! You forget that I was a low class bum, myself once! But I worked my way up the hard way! -By stomping on the carcasses of my peers! That's the American way!""By Gadfry, this is my chance to get into Heaven Honey! I may be a dirty corporate executive, but I'll do something nice for the little ragamuffin pup! Not for free, of course! Nothing comes cheap in this here world! You bet your big smelly behind! Harumph!
Here Poochie, how'd ya like to make a few honest bucks? Can you do tricks?"
"MMMMm... smell that green ambrosia!"
"OK, boy. Let's have a trick. SPEAK! C'mon boy! Let's hear ya! Woof, sir, WOOF!"
Curly Fuzz stands up. It's his chance to make it in the world!
He pokes his finger through his magic talking ring.
...and yanks his enchanted string
His voice box is badly rusted and alas, only emits a raspy garbled backwards message.
The corporate magnate is shocked. He doesn't recognize this rusty language. "Egad! a foreigner!!"
Mrs. Ponzi, a member of the landed aristocracy is completely incensed. Mr. Ponzi pockets his cash, outraged.
"You call that speaking??! Why, I oughta deport you! I bet you're a damn communist - or worse!"
"Now look what you've done to my lovely wife!! You've ruined my trophy! Do you know how much it cost to fatten her up like that?"
to be continued