How to use this Page

by Shannon O’Leary

The second part of a two part series of email Q&A’s with some of the indepedent cartoonists working at Cartoon Network. There are so many of them who were so generous with their time and answers that we had to break their answers up into two posts! These Q&A’s were conducted as research for a Publisher’s Weekly article that spotlights the vast pool of indepent comics talent that’s currently rocking Cartoon Network’s world.

Minty Lewis (Storyboarder and Voice Actor, Regular Show)

How did you come to work on The Regular Show?

JG (the show’s creator) asked if I would be interested in taking a storyboard test after he read some of my comics. I thought the name JG Quintel sounded suspiciously spam-like, but once I confirmed that it was the real deal, I was really excited about the opportunity. Some might say a little too excited. So I took the test and then I waited three long months before I got a call asking when I could start. I think it was about a month later that I went down to Burbank and started working as a storyboard artist/writer. I was pregnant the whole time I was working there and when the show went on hiatus last October, I decided to move back to Berkeley to give birth, etc. Much to my surprise, I got a call a few weeks later asking if I would be interested in doing the voice for the Eileen character since they had liked my voice so much in the pitch for “Do Me a Solid.” Obviously I was interested, so now I fly down to Burbank every month or two to record for Eileen.

How has your work in comics informed your work in animation and vice versa?

It’s hard to say how my work in comics has affected my work in animation since I never did any work in animation before I was doing comics. I’m sure the experience writing and drawing was useful, but I don’t think anyone would be hired to work in animation with zero background in either of those areas. I have definitely noticed a difference in how I approach comics now, though. I’m frustrated sometimes by the lack of movement allowed in them and find myself wanting to include things like camera directions and animation cues. My experience in animation has also made me very aware of how motivated I am by deadlines and accountability. The sheer quantity of work I completed at Regular Show amazes me now, and that experience makes it very hard to come up with good excuses about why it takes me so long to finish a comic.

What comics have you made in the past?

A collection of my minicomics called PS Comics was published by Secret Acres in 2009. I have also contributed to several antho

By Shannon O’Leary

Part one of a two part series of email Q&A’s with the indepedent cartoonists working at Cartoon Network. There are so many of them and they were so generous with their time and answers that we had to break their answers up into two posts! These Q&A’s were conducted as research for a Publisher’s Weekly article that spotlights the vast pool of indepent comics talent that’s currently rocking Cartoon Network’s world.

Martin Cendreda (Technical Director, The Problem Solverz):

How did you come to work on The Problem Solverz?

John Pham, a designer on Problem Solverz, was my man on the inside. He was hounding me for months to apply for a job on the show. But I was a stay-at-home parent at the time, so I was reluctant at first. Eventually I caved. He got me a meeting with Ben Jones, the creator, and Nate Funaro, the producer and they decided to take a chance on me.

How does your work in comics inform your work in animation and vice versa?

Since my position on Problem Solverz (was) mainly editorial, there’s nothing too creative or artistic about it. So comics doesn’t really inform it in any way. But doing comics over the years has taught me a lot about color, which helped me a lot on some Flash animation jobs I had previously, where I had to color backgrounds or come up with color palettes for an episode. As far as animation informing my comics work, there are times when I’m drawing a character in a comic panel, where I feel I need to push the “silhouette” more, and that goes all the way back to my animation school days at UCLA.

What comics have you made?

Publications to date (oldest to newest): Zurik Robot mini (2001), Hi-Horse Anthology (contributor, 2003), Dang #1 (Top Shelf, 2004), Drawn&Quarterly Showcase #4 (2006), Kramers Ergot 7 and 8(contributor), Mome #1-5 (contributor, 2006-2009), Anthology of Graphic Fiction, Cartoons and True Stories: Vol. 2 (contributor, 2008), Best American Comics (2008), Stories #1-3, (self published minis, 2009-2010)

What comics are you working on right now?

I’m currently working on a book length project, but it’s still in the thumbnail stage. I’m hoping to shop that around to publishers sometime this year.