More bragging on Chad

 I'm the Art Director for the animated series, Archer, currently airing Thursdays on FX at 10 PM.  The below is a brief glimpse into our process in making the show.  

Introduction
The Pilot: Part One
The Pilot: Part Two 
The Pilot: Part Three
The Pilot: Part Four

Above: Pencils and Inks by Chad Hurd.  Cover colors by Daniel Cox.  Graytones/letters by  me.  

I met Chad Hurd on the internet.  Specifically, I saw Chad's work on Comic Space  --a site that seems/feels totally weird now-- and contacted him about possibly doing some freelance work for me.  This was way, way back in 2007.  I wanted to do a project that wasn't owned by 70-30 Productions or Cartoon Network, one that was owned solely by me.

Love, Lust and a Giant Killer Turtle was that project.  You get the general idea from the above, as foul-mouthed Lindsey Davenport meets her end at a giant turtle's beak.  It was to be a Shaun of the Dead-esque horror/satire comic, with elements of summer camp movies and those terrible movies on the SyFy Channel. (Mansquito, anyone?)

Ultimately, the project didn't go anywhere (though we did have a brief stint on Zuda.)  In hindsight, it could have been edited down to the above, much as it pains me to say it probably should have been in color and the language, while purposefully ill-fitting for a teenage girl, throws people off more than I expected.  OR it could've been the entire subject/genre/idea.  Regarldess, none of that was Chad's fault.

After doing some freelance work for us on Frisky Dingo, Chad and his wife made the big move from rural Maine all the way down to join us full time in Atlanta.  On The Xtacles, Chad served as a character Illustrator, learning the ropes and adapting to a new style of drawing. 

By the time we began work on Archer, Chad was already one of my go to guys, consistently turning in solid files.  With fellow illustrators Sam Ellis and David Caicedo, the three of them drew every character file in the pilot. 

Between the pilot and the production of the first season, we had around 4 months of waiting to see if FX was going to pick us up.  During this period, Chad and I produced another comic pitch, this time with colorist Jeremy Treece.

We shopped it around, but the economy was in the shitter and once Archer was picked up, none of us really had the time to give it the attention it deserved.  I still love this project.

Below:  Cover by me.  Pencils/Inks by Chad.  Colors by Jeremy. 
©Neal Holman and Chad Hurd.