Rough Draft Studios
Rough Draft Studios, Inc. is an American animation production studio based in Glendale, California,[1] with a second studio in Glendale[2] and its sister studio Rough Draft Korea located in Seoul, South Korea.[3] The studio was founded in Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California by Gregg Vanzo in 1991.
Type | Private |
---|---|
Industry | Hand-drawn animation |
Founded | March 20, 1991 in Van Nuys, California, United States |
Founder | Gregg Vanzo |
Headquarters | 615 Allen Avenue, , |
Key people | |
Divisions | Rough Draft Korea |
Website | roughdraftstudios |
Rough Draft has produced animation for shows like Futurama, Napoleon Dynamite, Sit Down, Shut Up, Drawn Together, Baby Blues, and The Maxx. Rough Draft Korea has animated shows such as The Simpsons, SpongeBob SquarePants, Gravity Falls, The Ren & Stimpy Show, Amphibia, Beavis and Butt-Head, Dexter's Laboratory, The Powerpuff Girls, Samurai Jack, Phineas and Ferb, Rocko's Modern Life, The Angry Beavers, Star vs. the Forces of Evil, Family Guy, The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa, Sheep in the Big City, Dragon Tales, Steven Universe, and The Owl House.
Rough Draft Studios and its divisions have also produced specials, commercials and direct-to-video work for companies like Warner Bros. Animation, Cartoon Network Studios, 20th Century Fox Television, Nickelodeon Animation Studio, Film Roman and Disney Television Animation.
Founding
Rough Draft Studios was founded in a Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California garage by Gregg and Nikki Vanzo. While working on The Ren & Stimpy Show, Nikki approached John Kricfalusi, creator of The Ren & Stimpy Show, about taking the animation to Korea.[4] Nikki founded and runs Rough Draft Korea.[4]
Growth in business
After working on The Ren & Stimpy Show, many other shows requested the assistance of Rough Draft Korea in animation and ink & paint. In 1992, Rough Draft Studios began producing animation for The Simpsons and then for Beavis and Butt-Head in 1993. Also in 1993, Gregg's brother Scott Vanzo was brought on board. Rough Draft Korea quickly built a strong portfolio in the animation business with shows like their first series The Maxx in 1995, which was nominated for an Annie Award.[5] Claudia Katz, who had joined Rough Draft Studios in 1994 to produce The Maxx, and Rich Moore, joining in 1995 after having worked with Gregg on The Simpsons, completed the core of a Rough Draft Studios which would help "drive the cartoon boom of the late ‘90s".[6] It was also in 1995 that Rough Draft Studios moved to Glendale, California.
Technology
Rough Draft Studios is known for its blending of 2-D with computer animation, or non-photorealistic rendering which it first used on The Maxx and further utilized with Futurama, and The Simpsons Movie.
Filmography
Rough Draft Studios
Most projects produced by Rough Draft Studios are animated overseas by Rough Draft Korea.
TV series
Show | Year(s) | Client | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1990s | |||
The Maxx | 1995 | MTV Animation | |
Futurama | 1999–2003; 2008–2013 | The Curiosity Company 20th Century Fox Television | |
2000s | |||
Baby Blues | 2000 | Warner Bros. Animation | |
Star Wars: Clone Wars | 2003–2005 | Cartoon Network Studios Lucasfilm | |
Drawn Together | 2004–2007 | Double-Hemm Productions Comedy Partners | |
Sit Down Shut Up! | 2009 | Adelaide Productions | |
2010s | |||
Good Vibes | 2011 | Rough House 6 Point Harness | "Pilot"[7] |
Napoleon Dynamite | 2012 | 20th Century Fox Television | |
Full English | Two Brothers Pictures | ||
Clash-a-Rama | 2014–present | Tolerable Entertainment Supercell | |
Tarantula | 2017 | Rough House Solid Brass Studio T | |
Disenchantment | 2018–present | The Curiosity Company The ULULU Company | [8] |
Films/specials
Title | Year | Client | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1990s | |||
The Thief and the Cobbler | 1992 | The Completion Bond Company | ink-and-paint |
RoboCop 3 | 1993 | Orion Pictures | "Johnny Rehab" commercial animation |
2000s | |||
Duck Dodgers: Attack of the Drones | 2003 | Warner Bros. Animation | theatrical short |
The Whizzard of Ow | |||
A Fairy Tale Christmas | 2005 | Waterfront Pictures | TV special |
Futurama: Bender's Big Score | 2007 | 20th Century Fox The Curiosity Company | direct-to-video |
Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs | 2008 | ||
Futurama: Bender's Game | |||
The Pink Panther 2 | 2009 | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Columbia Pictures | opening title sequence only |
Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder | 20th Century Fox The Curiosity Company | direct-to-video | |
2010s | |||
How Murray Saved Christmas | 2014 | Universal Television | TV special |
Other
- The Simpsons - "Deep, Deep Trouble" music video (animated by Anivision)
- MADtv - Spy vs. Spy shorts (produced for Klasky Csupo)
- 2003 Wendy's "Go Wild" commercial starring the Looney Tunes characters, promoting Looney Tunes: Back in Action[7]
- 59th Primetime Emmy Awards - Brian and Stewie Griffin opening number[7]
- Futurama: Worlds of Tomorrow
Rough Draft Korea
Rough Draft Korea, RDS' sister studio based in South Korea, has produced animation for the following series, features and specials:
TV series
Films/specials
References
- "Studio Info". Rough Draft Studios. Retrieved 2015-12-07.
- Spoke (2011-05-26). "Rough Draft Studios, Glendale, CA". Spoke. Retrieved 2015-12-07.
- "ROUGH DRAFT KOREA CO., LTD. (82-2-571-4871) | South Korea Business Database". Kor.bizdirlib.com. Retrieved 2015-12-07.
- Loos, Ted (November 10, 2002). "Commuting the Pacific, Unseating 'The Simpsons'". The New York Times. p. 2. Retrieved 2008-07-05.
- "Legacy: 23rd Annual Annie Award Nominees and Winners (1995)". International Animated Film Society. Retrieved 2008-07-05.
- Driver, Dustin. "Rough Draft Studios: Drawing Inspiration". Apple. p. 2. Archived from the original on 2008-07-25. Retrieved 2008-07-05.
- "Studio Info". Rough Draft Studios. Retrieved 2015-12-07.
- Ramos, Dino-Ray (2018-05-23). "Netflix Sets 'Disenchantment' Premiere Date, Unveils First Look At Matt Groening Animated Series". Deadline. Retrieved 2018-05-24.
- "Megna Co-productions Database (over 1000 listed titles!!)". Digilander.libero.it. Retrieved 2015-12-07.
- Meyer, George (2004). The Simpsons Season 4 DVD commentary for the episode "Homer the Heretic" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
- Furniss, Maureen (1999). Art in Motion: Animation Aesthetics (Reprint ed.). London: John Libbey. ISBN 9781864620399. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
- https://twitter.com/VincentWaller72/status/428391093520965632