Shell & Paddy
Shell & Paddy by Thomas Spettel
Who:
Shell & Paddy was created by Thomas Spettel and Joseph Hill, two animation students who back during their final year of their BA course decided to work together to create a cartoons based animation in 2D featuring crazy characters and a wacky plot. One goal in mind is to set this as a series fit for children and kids but also to express the feeling of watching the old cartoon classics when everything was hand drawn.
What:
An Animated Slapstick Comedy about Shell, cute land crab running away and humiliating Paddy, scrawny scavenger trying to eat him but fails at every opportunity. 4 minutes of slapstick comedy, Paddy being the predator wants to get his hands on Shell, the prey who only seeks protection from such threats. Like the classic Road Runner and Coyote cartoons, Paddy is unable to capture Shell as both run into obstacles such as long tripping animals, and a very angry and highly protecting mother guarding her brood. This 2D animated short is featured with gags and simple yet adorable characters that you will laugh at and along.
Why:
I got most of my inspiration from by watching cartoons. When I was a kid back in school, I always love watching “Tom & Jerry”, “Looney Tunes” and a French cartoon called “Oggy et les Cafards” which you’d only find on a French TV broadcast. I think to be honest is that me and Joe were looking at a lot of the old classics of Tom and Jerry as the characters have the same relationship as the characters in Shell and Paddy. I also like loony drawing style from the cartoon “Ren & Stimpy” since its very stretch and squashy type of animation.
How:
Shell & Paddy was animated using the software Toon Boom Harmony and was first produced at University College Falmouth 2011. The animation itself is all hand drawn first on paper, roughs, sketches and story boards then drawn digitally onto Toon Boom Harmony. The fun part was animating the stretch and squash technique that makes the animation smooth. Joseph Hill worked a lot on the background art which saved us a lot of time and looks amazing in my opinion but I also say that it is having a team of animators doing the roughs and colouring that really helps.
Next project:
Currently, I intend on creating/making more “Shell & Paddy” videos, aimed as episodes to be put online. Right now, an episode called “bath-time-trouble” is in near completion and I will be starting the story board for the next one.
At the same time, for my Masters course in Bournemouth, I plan to have my idea of “shell & paddy” to be pitched as an idea for a short cartoon. I already have the pilot episode for it and will continue to make more videos in my spare time with my friend Joseph Hill and any other animator who whish to participate.
Otherwise, I am building a promotional package for shell and paddy plus myself as I intend on getting a good job in 2D animation, character design, story boards or animatic’s. I am also doing a small bit of freelance to get myself noticed and to improve my CV.
Which animated film who you like to have made?
I am not sure which animated film would I have liked to have made, there are obviously a lot out there, I rather prefer to work on the most popular of cartoons broadcasted on Cartoon Network but if there is an animated film I would of love to have worked on would be “The Princess and the Frog” because I want to help animate the crocodile or the firefly character.
