#ppg 20th

Over 20 (or should I say 27?) years of saving the day and the world from the forces of evil!

Thanks, @crackmccraigen & team @cartoonnetwork Studios, for one of your greatest franchises ever! Craig McCracken & Genndy Tartakovsky are the next 2 crucial big shots of Cartoon Network since network creators William Hanna & Joseph Barbera!

I drew them as close to the styles of @chrisbattleart, Andy Bialk, @donshank, Carey Yost, @cheyennecurtisart, and @deanheezen as I could... with a little re-design for the villains of the Nick Jennings/Bob Boyle-produced episodes, including some design detail inspired by Cheyenne’s designs on Star vs. the Forces of Evil Season 1. I procrastinated a long time since November last year as I worked on this, and I decided to not color the villains to same time/effort, which resulted in a more dynamic look. It shows not all villains (some from the intro I couldn’t fit in or were not in the particular shot referenced), but I really put effort into this one.

Yesterday, May 2nd, 2019, A.D., a veteran of Hanna-Barbera Cartoons (AKA Cartoon Network Studios) and Spumco, Chris Reccardi, also the creator of Meddlen Meddows, passed on. I just found out today and am dismayed at this, certainly given how young he was, but at least he “died doing what he loved” (according to Bill Wray on Facebook).

The day he passed away, Samurai Jack EPISODE XXXIII, an episode Storyboarded and Written by Reccardi and Aaron Springer, aired at 8PM on @adultswim/@cartoonnetwork. Reccardi worked on Samurai Jack Season 5 for character/prop design and storyboard layout, and I was there for it.

The designs of @daronnefcy’s Star vs. the Forces of Evil comics, under the title “Star and the Forces of Evil”, looks very much like Chris R’s style. I sure wish that he and/or his wife, Lynne Naylor, worked on SvTFOE; hopefully Lynne will be on its future content. Speaking of Disney Television Animation, Chris also worked on another Disney show, @crackmccraigen’s Wander Over Yonder. His name is featured as an Easter egg in “The Gift” on a list of Lord Hater’s watchdogs.

Reccardi worked on many of my favorite shows: The (ground-breaking) Ren & Stimpy Show (John K.’s thoughts here), Samurai Jack, The Powerpuff Girls, Wander Over Yonder, Meddlen Meddows, Buy One, Get One Free*, and so much more... even Paul Rudish’ envision of Mickey Mouse!

May Chris Reccardi rest in peace with the Lord God Almighty now and forever more. His contributions are a blessing to animators, designers, artists and cartoonists everywhere, including me.

Guess who worked on these amazing cartoons?

I think that we should start something like “Charlie Bean Appreciation Day”.

Tweet of this here.

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As for Samurai Jack, which you can watch not only on @adultswim​’s site and on Max, but also Fridays on Checkered Past at 6P (starting in May), Charlie Bean wrote and boarded EPISODES V, IX, XX, XXVI, XXIX (aired when I made this post and is probably why I made this post), XXXIV, and XLIII.

Also, I’m not sure that some of the episode shots I picked are scenes whose storyboards, props, or layouts are by Charlie (specifically Ren & Stimpy, AOSTH, and Samurai Jack), but he worked on the episode more or less.

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“Ms. Keane only wishes for Mitch to behave”, said the narrator (Tom Kenny).

Well... “The prayer of a righteous man (which) avails much” is powerful and effective, as the book of James says.

“I’m a know-it-all and I smell like an old shoe!” - Blossom Utonium

Destined to become a “classic” moment.

Episode: “Rainy Day” / STORYBOARDED BY ALICIA CHAN and @gracekraft​ / CHARACTER DESIGNERS @carrieleighhobson​ @carlosluisnunez @violetbrucedrawings

Just discovered a PPG reference in Aqua Teen Hunger Force! The episode that aired on @adultswim on 9/01/2018 AD at 1:15 AM, Rabbot Redux, and the episode referenced, pilot Rabbot, show a mall called “Powerpuff Mall”.

The use of the name coined by Paul Rudish, “Powerpuff”, which I noticed on the sign, was already intriguing, but a closer look at the background in the pilot/referenced episode showed that it’s actually...

...the mall that’s the very first shot in @crackmccraigen‘s The Powerpuff Girls Meat Fuzzy Lumpkins, the 2nd PPG episode after A Sticky Situation, and the first episode of World Premiere Toons and What A Cartoon!, the earliest of @cartoonnetwork minisode showcases that evolved into The Cartoon Cartoon Show and ultimately the block Cartoon Cartoons (AKA Cartoon Cartoon Fridays). The original background/location design (or “layout design) was by Mike Moon who served as the art director for The Powerpuff Girls Movie. The mall is apparently named after the show in which it appeared.

As if that weren’t enough, Brian Larsen showcases The Powerpuff Store in The Powerpuff Girls: A Documentary.

My “CN Thankful” 2017 sketch regarding The Powerpuff Girls.

Some of my references came from Lauren Faust’s How to Draw The Powerpuff Girls book, while I wanted to draw Man-Boy with a Andy Bialk-esq design.

I’m thankful for the contributions of @crackmccraigen @lambebeardo @chrisbattleart @cheyennecurtisart and everyone else at @cartoonnetwork!

Original tweet of this sketch here