Munch Chunky Issue 1a

 ~ NEXT

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So I’m finally going to tell this story. 

Not in the way I had wanted to a few months back 

(which was animated) 

but the way I had originally conceived the project in 2001, as a comic book.

I learned a lot about storytelling and pacing when I decided to make Munch Chunky into an animated series. 

I could get away with things that would fall apart in a comic book scenario. 

Because of that, I had to change the beginning of the story 

and the way it plays out for the comic.

Another of my problems was my limitations in animating. 

I only know how to animate so many things, and I often hit walls 

I couldn't get around. 

In comic book form I hit a lot less walls with the images being fixed. 

It’s hard to explain, but what it came down to in the end wasn’t the expense of animation, 

but the time. 

I’m able to commit the same amount of time to the comic form as the animated form, 

but i yield more story from it, 

for my effort.

and ultimately I just really want to tell my stories, 

and I can’t let the process of building the body of that work be 

the part that breaks down the ability for the story to be told 

consistently and fluidly.

Trongo Bongo

Trongo Bots.

I've been drawing these goofy looking mech suits for so many years.

I'm a big mech, super giant robot enthusiast. seriously.

I spent a huuuuuge chunk of my childhood reading watching stuff like Voltron, Tranzor Z
(or Mazinger Z if you want to be a purist about it) and yes... of course, Gundam.

 but of all the mechs and robots out there i say that i was most influenced by Shirow Masamune's Appleseed manga series when i was a kid, which was filled with all these wonderful personal sized mechs he called landmates.

Shirow would used these really great organic shapes that often reminded me of insects, and that just pulled me in further into his magic. seeing smaller, one man, personal mechs was a revolution to my mind, and I immediately was drawing personal mechs in everything I created.

with Munch Chunky i wanted to continue with that tradition, but since MC is a lighter more fun story i didn't want the designs of the mechs to be too overwhelming.
Since the series is about things like food and adventure, i wanted them to be very organic and bouncy in shape.

for me, they had to have a look of functionality without being to visually complex. I wanted them to look like they could run around, while still looking funny, but not absolutely cumbersome.
Silly, but still kind of cool. like the G generation SD Gundam model series.
C:

they're also made this way so that i can customize each one for a new rival team at the drop of a dime and without the design really slowing me down.

they all have the same basic shape underneath, and then i start slappin' on all the extra bits that make them fun and flashy, as I go.

i did decide a while back that some teams would customise their mechs to the extent that they would have very specific advanced functions only used by that team.
it's all regulation of course.
ha ha

live love & eat fruit.