Sublo and Tangy Mustard watercolour animation

 I was in Toronto recently. Great visit full of fun hangs with friends although never enough time to see all the people I want to! My cousin Ryan Long (who plays Sublo) was in town at the same time, so he and my friend Kevin Doan (Tangy Mustard) finally got to hang out in person for the first time. Historic night! Here's the three of us.

While I was in town I did some watercolours in my sketchbook, and ended up trying some simple loose animation experiments with them. They came out really janky because I didn't plan anything, I just drew a bunch of heads next to each other on the page and figured the flickering watercolour textures might be visually interesting.

I love Crapston Villas

I'm in love with Crapston Villas, Sarah Ann Kennedy's extremely grimy stop-motion comedy series from the mid-90s. It's hard to believe a show this chaotic and nasty was ever allowed to exist, but I'm so glad it does. It's loud and abrasive but also honest and hilarious. I only discovered it last week, but it's now one of my favourite shows ever. I burned through the two series of 10x10 episodes quickly, despite knowing it would end on an unresolved cliffhanger (maybe the only fitting way to end a soap opera satire) and I'm currently experiencing post-Crapston withdrawals.

The visceral, tactile nature of stop-motion is perfect for this show. It amplifies how upsetting everything is.

The pacing feels so unique & unencumbered by TV comedy conventions/expectations. There aren't always hard punchlines or buttons, it's more about bathing you in the squalid atmosphere and a constant barrage of funny weirdness.

The show makes great use of real-world imagery like magazine covers and t-shirts.

I'm impressed by the casual female nudity throughout the series, bare breasts are never a big deal or even acknowledged. Somehow even two decades later on Tuca & Bertie, we were still fighting for that.

Crapston breaks all the rules of TV animation and feels like a vital shock to the system, even all these years later. It's currently all on youtube (and on 4 on Demand if you're in the UK) so go check it out. It's definitely and aggressively not for everyone, by design, but I think even if you don't enjoy it yourself you can appreciate how special it is that something so weird, specific and unique was created.

Metal Gear Solid with Henry Shipes

A while ago I watched the documentary "Vernon, Florida" and became obsessed with the turkey hunter Henry Shipes, who keeps mentioning his buddy Snake. I thought it might be good to try cutting him into Metal Gear Solid cutscenes.

tribute to Yeong-shin Ma's ARTIST

I just read Yeong-shin Ma's comic Artist! It's rare to see a story like this about artists in their 40s who aren't super-successful and I liked how unflinching it was about their egos and perspectives on the world. It felt very real and I kept wondering how much of it was autobiographical or based on people he knows. I rarely do fan art but for some reason I was compelled to do this little group walk cycle. I included Ha Seya along with the main trio because she stole the scene every time she appeared. The comic is out in English from Drawn & Quarterly and I recommend checking it out! Next I gotta read Ma's other comic Moms.

 

Sublo and Tangy Mustard season 3 has begun!

Episodes 1 and 2 of Sublo and Tangy Mustard season 3 are out now! Here's "Casual Friday" - just a quick one to ease back into the show...

...followed by "Tito's Pants" which is a longer one that continues some story threads from last season, specifically Tito and Katy breaking up, Tangy Mustard and Tito's semi-related music ambitions, and Katy's fraying friendship with her roommate Ashley.

You can support the show on Patreon!

Sublo and Tangy Mustard Press Junket

 

Things get a little too honest in the press junket for the upcoming season of Sublo and Tangy Mustard.

I thought this would be a fun way to hype up the new season without being too uncharacteristically flashy. It started with Kevin (Tangy Mustard) giving his honest thoughts at the end of his recording session, since he was the first to record for season 3. I thought it was funny how underwhelming a sales pitch it would be, and I just like seeing cartoon characters have naturalistic, mumbly spontaneous conversations.

rough animation from new Sublo and Tangy Mustard

Working on a new season, and currently animating! Here's some footage, you can see more at patreon.com/aaronlong if you're curious!