Sarah and Duck

Over the past few months, I've been absolutely bowled over with this lovely new series currently airing on CBeebies in the UK - the premise for Sarah and Duck couldn't be simpler. A little girl called Sarah (voiced by the adorable Tasha Lawrence) and her best friend Duck embark on gentle adventures packed with huge amounts of imagination. Whether it's baking a cake, stargazing or buying a new chair, creators Sarah Gomes Harris and Tim O’Sullivan have no trouble at all adding such charm that really appeals to children and parents. Compared to a lot of pre-school series today, this one has a special blend of its own, and I can't enough of the episodes aired so far!!

It's as timeless as Mr. Benn where anything here is possible, and with a host of fun characters to add - including Scarf Lady and Bag, Rainbow, Donkey, Moon, the Ribbon Sisters, some friendly little Shallots and the Storyteller (voiced by an unseen but enthusiastic Roger Allam).

So delighted was I in this series that it's fair that I do my bit to spread the word as much as possible. As luck would have it, I got in touch with one of the animators of the show, Hannah de Spon, to hear a little more;

Rainbow pays a visit!

For folks who are unfamiliar with you, tell us a bit about yourself;
Ok well I'm a 28 year old traditional animator from London. I've been into cartoons and animation since I was a kid and it's the only job I've ever really wanted to do. I currently work for Karrot Animation studio where we make Sarah and Duck.


Who / What inspired you to want to become an artist?
This is always a REALLY hard question for me, because there wasn't one single thing or moment that made me go 'gosh I want to do that!'...but I think it really helped having family who encouraged me. Even when I was drawing amazingly naive comics and colouring them with highlighter pens they would encourage me to do more.

Plus watching a LOT of cartoons up until now keeps inspiring me further. There's so much quality animation around, kids today are so lucky!


What caught your interest first - drawing or animating?
Drawing :D I didn't even realise you could do animation as a job until I saw a promo trailer thing for Disney's Pocahontas which showed animators animating. And then finding out later I could STUDY it too? WHAT. I WANT THAT


How did you become involved with Karrot Animation? What's a typical working day there like?
I became involved when I was introduced to one of the studio's founders before the studio was even created. I was still a student at the time but had made some contacts through some articles I had written about animation festivals, and two of those contacts introduced me to him. Then I did some other jobs for a while when he contacted me again asking if I wanted to join his new company. I would have jumped at the chance but I was already on another work contract at a school and could not break away.

Thankfully I kept in touch and once I'd finished at the school I worked part time for him and the slowly growing Karrot Animation before I was finally taken into the fold full time.

A typical S&D day is fairly intense but I think we have a great work environment. We all get on really well as a team even if we are in our separate groups so when there's a problem we all help each other out to get the job done. Plus there's the awesome commercial team on the top floor of the building (who work on other Karrot projects and commissions) who are also a great bunch of guys and girls!


What did you think about "Sarah and Duck" when it was first developed / pitched?
I loved it. I know I'm bias because I work on it but seriously, Sarah and Duck is a totally unique and different looking and feeling show. Though the show has developed a LOT since the original designs by S&D created Sarah Gomes Harris I think it's still retained a lot of the essence of what she was going for; a quirky and unique show about a little wide eyed girl and her flappy duck companion on their odd mini adventures.


What was working on this series like? Did you had any idea how much interest it would receive when first aired?
Again I'm bias because I was so excited and happy to be working on the show. Every time I get a scene approved it's an amazing feeling...even if it's just a shot of a character blinking! I knew the show would get some attention for being different. So far the feedback we've been getting from review sites and twitter and parents (and kids!) has been so uplifting, we are glad everyone loves this show as much as we do.

Sarah and Duck at Scarf Lady's house

Who is your favourite character from the show, and why?
Scarf Lady. Really there is no part of her I DON'T like. Everything from her design to her voice acting is brill, her banter with her Bag always gets a laugh from me, and she's a fun model to animate too.


As S&D is pretty vast in imagination, how would you describe this series to first-time viewers - or parents looking for an ideal programme to watch with their children?
Oooh there's the million dollar question. I would say firstly that Sarah and Duck is unique appearance wise. I don't know of any pre-school show that has so much detail put into the character designs and backdrops (seriously, this show is loaded with little 'easter eggs' and sight gags) to make the whole world fit together. Plot wise it's more like a kids story book, a relaxing and quiet show that isn't trying to force a message, in my opinion it's perfect 'just before bed' viewing.

Plus it's very gender neutral. Sure the protagonist is a girl but she's a curious, good natured and focused little soul who is balanced out by her boisterous and blustery friend. I think most children can see themselves in the characters, even Duck who is...well...a duck.


With wild speculations that "2D animation is dead" and "British Animation is being phased out", do you think that this will peak interest again from across the Globe, and open up new possibilities for Animators / Artists in the UK? More to the point, where do you think the current state of Animation in the UK stands at this present time?
I hope so! The UK animation scene has been struggling these last few years, but we have still managed to maintain a strong preschool legacy and kept work 'in house' rather than sending it abroad. I don't know how big an impact Sarah&Duck will make on the global scene compared to other big preschool shows, but I would like to think it helps prove that preschool animation has the capacity to be smart, beautiful and a little outlandish. So the more kids who like it the higher the bar is raised.

I'm afraid I can't say much for other animation (film etc) as I really don't know. But Great Britain has always had a knack for producing quality animation with a look that is all our own, and I think people internationally recognise and respect that. No one can produce British animation like Britain can! 


Thanks for your time! Any final thoughts for fellow "Sarah and Duck" fans out there?
THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH. The number of people who have told me how much they enjoy the show warms my heart every time I hear them. And this is from adult fans of the show as well as the kids! It's a great feeling to be working on this show and when the going gets rough and the hours get long it's the support of people like you that make it all worth it. We'll keep making the show great for you!

Duck wants to be a penguin!

You can view Hannah's home page here for more of her lovely work!

LINKS OF INTEREST:

Follow Sarah and Duck on Facebook and Twitter!

Karrot Animation's main website

For the wee 'uns, Sarah and Duck's CBeebies page!

Episode guide of eps currently on air so far!
Find out how Sarah and Duck came to be!

Toonhound's review on Sarah and Duck

Bashful Octopus

Must have been when the 'seaweed'...

Oh Lordy =P

Commissions!

Things have been much too quiet for me lately, and I'm quite desperate for money now. So I'll just leave this here...

If you need someone or know someone looking for an extra pair of creative hands, drop a line. I'm always free!

View previous examples of my work here!

Children's Illustrations

In my search to find work, I've come across several ads on sites like Gumtree advertising for a children's illustrator. Some I've applied for and some, unsurprisingly, hardly ever get back. Not even to say; "Thanks but it's a 'No' I'm afraid."

So rather than let these be forgotten about, I might as well share some here;

 

Mike Pearse - Happy Easter!

'specially for the Easter weekend, here's some more fab Mike Pearse comics fresh from the Beano - 2000 vintage!

From Issue No. 3014;

From Issue No. 3046;

Lenny Henry's Polar Bears

Lenny Henry has had a very successful career as one of Britain's top comedians - and his humour have made him just as popular in voice-over work, particularly in the animation department. Famous Fred, Little Robots, Tinga Tinga Tales and Aardman's Pirates! movie are just a crust of what he's been involved in.

But one series I especially adored was a segment that was part of his 2003 series Lenny Henry in Pieces. Unlike the other sketches involved in Series 2, this one was different as it was animated. Directed by Pierre Coffin (Despicable Me, Pat and Stanley), it was about a family of polar bears living at Dudley Zoo - Gary (Lenny Henry) and Claudia (Alison Steadman), their son Shane (Barry Farrimond) and Uncle Ian (Trevor Peacock).

The family - as interpreted by me. From left to right; Shane, Gary, Claudia and Ian

You might think that it sounds too simple a premise to work with, but true to the saying, "it's the simple things in life that are the most extraordinary". The scripts by Chris Reddy and the performances of the small but amazing cast are the reasons why I always get belly laughs whenever I rewatch these episodes...something else that DVD sales are missing out on!

Viewing caution is required. Some elements in the videos below may be unsuitable for younger viewers - including minor cursing and polar bear nonsense.

Maggie Simpson - "The Longest Daycare"

As many of you might already be aware of, I take little notice of anything Simpsons-related nowadays - which has tried so hard to better Family Guy at "entertainment" over the years (in spite of the vast amount of celebrities shoe-horned in as well) that many friends I know have long since given up on any hope of its redemption. But out of pure curiosity,  I decided to check out this animated short which - in keeping with animation tradition - was shown in theatres before Ice Age 4: Continental Drift, on July 13th, 2012. As it was also up for an Oscar Nomination, and given the fact it was a theatrical release, I wasn't sure what to expect.

Again I have seen very little of Simpsons beyond Season 11, so forgive me for the following review if I've not up to speed with everything...

Some folks have showered it with as much stupefied praise as they had with seth macfarlane's "performance" at this year's Academy Awards. While others have just claimed; "meh".

For a more in-depth view, I'll say this: it was SO nice to see something Simpsons-related that had nothing to do with the obnoxiousness of Homer or the idiocy of Bart. Maggie, as with Lisa for that instance, have been sorely underrated as decent characters throughout the show's legacy, and to focus on a "silent" episode with only Hans Zimmer's wonderful score to accompany it (next to Maggie's trademark pacifier sound-effect) made for a very good break of the usual.

I'm still in two minds with the visual quality, however. The animation crew appeared to have made a better effort at something along the lines of the Simpsons Movie, but in some places the quality is still mechanical-looking. It's been mentioned long ago how much energy in the series has been toned down, and it's a shame as this was directed by David Silverman, whose previous episodes were much more lively in animation than the current crop today. Homie the Clown being one of his finest moments of the show's history in all.

Then there's the plot - Maggie rescuing a butterfly from Gerald "The Monobrow" Samson.  The storyline was good, but what this also suffered from were the number of jokes tossed in; some that fell flat (fat kid eating paste, close up on the lice) and others that, to me at least, were just sadistic. I mean, if done right, sadistic humour can be funny. But I barely chuckled as they separated the "Specially Gifted" kids from the "Nothing Special" group. A very far cry from Maggie's Great Escape as shown in A Streetcar Named Marge.

However, I'll give them credit. There were scenes that truly did hit the nail for chuckles (the timing of the Drumming Monkey), Silverman did a good job of keeping the energy and pace flowing, and the ending was overall very satisfying. Not the best short I'll admit, but for long-time fans (and those that have stuck by the show after so long right from the very beginning) it's something else to glee over.

I just wished that it had the same amount of energy and sharper humour as, say, Do The Bartman, directed by Brad Bird. I need not indulge in a breakdown of what was good there.
 
In fact, given the quality of the series now - in writing and animation - I think this would make a nice "retirement plan" for the Simpsons: call it quits with the TV Show and stick to theatrical shorts. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, as they say...that and the writers wouldn't worry about churning out more ideas to fill another 25-minute slot. Just sayin'.

If you're still feeling nostalgic, click here to view the original Tracy Ullman shorts from a previous blog post!