Chaps and Tumbleweed

Description

For my capstone, I have animated a five minute pilot episode of my cartoon, Chaps and Tumbleweed.

Chaps and Tumbleweed initially started out as doodles on my classwork. I didn't think much of it then, but I quickly fell in love with the tall and stoic character versus the short and energetic character.
Tumbleweed is a caricature of the classic outlaw type typically seen in western media; aggressive and a little dimwitted. Needless to say, he's still got a big heart. I designed him to be both friendly and intimidating - small and round contrasted against the wild hair sprouting from his circular face, much like a tumbleweed.

Chaps on the other hand, is a caricature of the cowboy himself - Clint Eastwood. He's tall and silent, much like the Man With No Name. He's the brains of the operation, but lets Tumbleweed do all the talking. Chaps also has a body that is shaped like a coffin, which helps structure his character as being the strong morally grey type as most cowboys are in cinema

From there, I slowly began building the wild world of Chaps and Tumbleweed. The two of them share a best friend named Long John - A non-binary, knife slinging vaquero with a little bit of an attitude. Long John represents a little mixture between both Chaps and Tumbleweed, exhibiting personality traits from both leading characters.

But what's a western without an antagonist? I created Two Shooter Red Rattlesnake shortly after Tumbleweed and Chaps. His name is a play on ridiculous enemy names seen in comic books such as Marvel and DC, and his overall appearance is inspired by Esteban Rojo from A Fist full of Dollars. He's arrogant yet smart, and finds it entertaining to torment poor Tumbleweed. The two of them go way back.

Coming up with the pilot episode was a little difficult in the beginning. I wanted something that introduced all of the important characters in the series - including important supporting characters such as Long John. It was messy at first, having over six characters to stage and write dialogue for - but eventually I established roles that would help bring out the best of their personalities.

The plot follows Chaps and Tumbleweed and their best friend, Long John. They heard about an explosion at the nearby bank and decided it was up to them to bring the robber to justice. Unfortunately, the three of them end up in a sticky situation. The robber gets away but Sheriff Blueberry catches Tumbleweed with the bag of money the robber left behind. Thinking they're in trouble, the three of them flee out of town to avoid getting caught. They have no intentions of going back...not until they realize how hungry and thirsty they are. Together, Chaps, Tumbleweed, and Long John devise a sneaky plan to get drinks at the local saloon.

The final runtime is roughly six minutes, and the trailer I initially made for it is around one minute.

Other Projects by Emma Malbon