Industry case study on the layout design of the animated series 'adventure time'

‘Adventure*Time*with*Finn*&*Jake’A*case*study*by*Fraser*Brown,*Taylor*Madge*and*George*Barnes

Deconstructed+Media

• Adventure+Time+with+Finn+and+Jake+(TV+series)• Scott+Pilgrim+vs.+The+World:+The+Game+(Xbox/PSN

Arcade+Game)• Avatar:+The+Last+Airbender+(TV+Series)• Rocket+Dog+(Web+Series)

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2D#Animated#series#–#‘Adventure#Time#withFinn#and#Jake’

• Adventure#Time#follows#the#whimsicaladventures#of#a#young#boy,#Finn,#andhis#magical#dog,#Jake.

• The#series#was#created#by#PendletonWard,#known#for#story#boarding#workon#‘The#Marvelous#Misadventures#ofFlapjack’.

• After#the#pilot#gained#viral#successonline,#the#show#was#picked#up#byFrederator#in#2008#and#CartoonNetwork#in#2010.

• The#show#has#heavy#themes#of#highLfantasy,#with#postLapocalypticundertones.

Motivation(behind(ourselection?

• As(a(group(we(all(possess(a(jointinterest(in(2D(Animation(andthe(Concept(Process.

• We(felt(that(2D(backgrounds(andlayouts(was(something(vastlyunexplored((or(only(mentionedin(passing.)

• We(chose(‘Adventure(Time’(as(afocus(for(investigation(as(we’reall(fans,(and(a(member(of(thelayout(crew(was(kind(enough(toanswer(some(questions(for(us.

(

Audience• Adventure+Time+is+primarily+marketed+as+a+children's+cartoon,+however+it

caters+to+a+much+wider+demographic,+including+many+adult+fans.

• The+widespread+attention+of+Adventure+Time+can+partly+be+attributed+toFrederator+and+Cartoon+Network’s+use+of+social+media.+Uploadingcontent+to+sites+such+as+YouTube+and+Tumblr+allows+for+easier+access+totheir+content+.

• It’s+attraction+to+older+fans+has+a+lot+to+do+with+humor.+Ward+says+thewriters+try+to+“…make+eachother+laugh”+and+work+with+that.

• As+well+as+humor,+Adventure+Time+also+successfully+handles+some+moremature+themes+which+keeps+the+attention+of+older+viewers.+Althoughthe+main+aim+of+the+show+is+fun,+there's+more+to+the+characters+thanjust+being+20+minute+entertainment+for+kids.+You+can+feel+the+emotionbehind+some+of+the+storylines,+for+example+"I+Remember+You"+whichshows+that+Marcelline+and+The+Ice+King+have+an+untold,+backstoryinvolving+the+postPapocalyptic+Land+of+Ooo.

Industry)Contact:)Thomas)Hunter

• Tom)Hunter)is)an)animatorand)layout)artist.

• He)is)currently)workingfreelance.

• Portfolio)includes)layoutsfor)Adventure)Time(Cartoon)Network))andRocket)Dog(Frederator/CartoonHangover)

Crew• Jeremy(Shada(voices(the(main(character(Finn,(along(with(Tom(Kenny(as

The(Ice(King.• Many(of(the(crew(also(provide(voices(for(the(recurring(or(one@off

characters(along(with(their(art(and(writing,(such(as(Niki(Yang,(ex@storyboard(artist(who(provides(the(voices(of(Lady(Rainicorn(and(BMO,and(Pendleton(Ward(who(voices(Lumpy(Space(Princess.

• Adventure(Time(has(a(crew(of(five(artists(that(deal(with(characterdesigns(and(story(boarding(between(them,(including(Jesse(Moynihan,Rebecca(Sugar,(Michael(DeForge,(Andy(Ristaino(and(Ian(Jones@Quartey.

• Tom(Hunter(mentioned(how(many(additional(artists(are(employed(on(afreelance(basis(to(produce(layouts.

• He(attributes(being(asked(to(work(on(Adventure(Time(due(to(exposuregained(through(his(Tumblr(blog,(and(in(the(case(of(Rocket(Dog,attending(school(with(the(creator.

Comparison:+‘Scott+Pilgrim+vs.+theWorld:+The+Game’

• Paul+Robertson+is+an+Australian+Animator+behindthe+‘Scott+Pilgrim’+PSN/Xbox+Arcade+game.

• The+game+was+a+success,+winning+both+“BestDownloadable+Game”+and+“Best+Adapted+VideoGame”

• Robertson+worked+with+‘Scott+Pilgrim’+creatorBryan+Lee+O’Malley+to+draw+and+animateeverything+in+the+game,+from+entire+levelbackdrops+to+individual+character+animations+anditems.

• This+game+had+a+small+team+of+encoders+andproducers,+with+Robertson+and+O’Malley+beingthe+main+working+force+behind+the+gameplay+anddesign.

• Interesting+to+note+the+popularity+of+the+gamewith+gamers+and+critics+alike+was+achieved+withsuch+a+small+crew,+and+a+design/animation+teamof+two.

+

Production• *Writer*and*storyboard*artist*Rebecca*Sugar*composes*many*of*the

songs*that*the*characters*sing*throughout*the*show.

• The*show*is*hand*drawn*and*animated*digitally,*animators*can*vary*fromseason*to*season.

• Casey*James*Basichis*and*Tim*Kiefer*work*together*to*compose*theshow's*background*music.

• Pendleton*Ward*has*said*that*the*look*of*Adventure*Time*is*thanks*tothe*wide*range*of*talented*artists*working*on*the*show,*and*it's*allorchestrated*by*Nick*Jennings,*the*art*director.

• Ward*has*gone*on*to*say*in*an*interview*that*he*tries*to*make*workingon*AT*as*fun*as*possible,*because*he*knows*what*a*grind*it*can*be.*Hisattitude*here*is*thanks*to*his*previous*boss*Thorup*Van*Orman*who*hesaid*would*allow*him*to*get*a*look*at*how*his*cartoon*'Flapjack'*wasbeing*edited,*the*animatics*or*at*the*music*behind*the*episodes

Comparison*to*‘Avatar:*The*LastAirbender’*(Layouts)*–*Hye*Jung*Kim

• Layout*design*in*‘Avatar’*is*vastly*different*tothat*of*Rocket*Dog*or*Adventure*Time,*as*theprocess*is*stretched*over*long*distance*witha*smaller*margin*for*error.

• I*managed*to*ask*some*questions*of*Hye*JungKim,*a*layout*designer*and*painter*forAvatar.**

• Jung*Kim*agreed*that*she*was*limited*in*hercreative*freedom,*as*the*creators*of*theAvatar*universe*also*direct*all*the*artcreated*for*the*series*to*better*aidecontinuity*and*the*vision*they*wished*tocreate.

• She*doesn't’t*consider*this*a*bad*thing,*it*justelevates*the*pressure*for*her*to*create*workto*their*high*standards.

Process'and'Timescale'(Layouts)

• On'Adventure'Time,'Tom'is'provided'with'“rough'storyboard'panels”'as'a'base.

• He'“sketches'rough'ideas”,'either'digitally'or'by'hand'before'beginning'to'work'the'piece'up

in'further'layers.

• 3'or'4'rough'layers'are'completed'before'lines'and'colour'are'applied.

• The'turn'around'for'Adventure'Time'was'generally'one'week,'whereas'Rocket'Dog'took'up'to

three.'Though'Tom'mentions'that'he'did'all'of'the'backgrounds'for'the'first'episode'of'RocketDog,'which'was'a'large'workload.

• There'were'however'fewer'specifics'in'Rocket'Dog,'allowing'for'freer'designs.'Though'Tom

did'often'take'artistic'liberties'with'the'Adventure'Time'layouts,'he'encountered'noproblems.

• He'has'worked'both'from'home'and'in'a'studio.'His'preference'however'remains'at'home,

due'to'comfort'and'the'specifics'of'his'work'setHup.

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Conclusion

One+thing+to+take+away+from+the+production+of+Adventure+Time+isthe+sense+of+an+extended+community,+rather+than+set+crew.+Thoughthere+is+a+solid+crew+at+it's+core,+writers,+designers+and+artists+areoften+brought+in+on+a+one@off+commission+basis.+This+keeps+ideasstrong+and+varied.+It+also+shows+just+how+many+people+are+involvedin+the+production,+a+stark+contrast+to+small+teams+seen+in+theindependent+industry,+where+Indy+games+and+web+cartoons+alikeare+producing+professional+content+from+drastically+different+input.++

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accessed31st3May32013.• Eddy,3M.3(2012).3Inside'the'Fun'Factory:'An'Elucidating'Discussion'with'Pendleton'Ward,'the

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