Putrid Pal Cometh
this February in 4 colorways: Classic, Champignon, Blanc et Noir and Tricolore.
(retailers: for wholesale enquiries, pls email to DKE Toys; DKelemer [at] aol.com or Wookieweb.com info[at]wookieweb.com)
TOYSREVIL: first tell us about yourself, Michael - what do you do?
MICHAEL FLEMING: My name is Michael Fleming (sometimes known as Tweedlebop) and I'm in the exciting world of freelance illustration. My work can be seen in greeting cards, prints, spot illustrations and galleries currently. You can have a look at my work via my blog or by Flickr.
TOYSREVIL: sketch-pencil or digital tablet? what is your "creation process" like?
MICHAEL FLEMING: Almost all of my work is "digital" (or whatever we're calling it today). I usually start with rough art via thumbnails on paper or on my tablet PC, which I then transfer to my Mac and draw via a Wacom Cintiq. And Painter is the software of choice (with clean-up in Photoshop).
TOYSREVIL: what are your inspirations and influences? and how do they affect your work, and your creations?
MICHAEL FLEMING: I think we're all lucky to have so many talented artists to draw inspiration from. Personal heroes of mine include Jacques Tati, John Stanley (Little Lulu), Shigeru Mizuki (GeGeGe no Kitaro) and of course, Charles Addams. I think I've absorbed a sense of pacing from most of them, as I love long pauses and beats in art. And double takes! Where would we be without characters looking confused by random events?
TOYSREVIL: *pause for effect* ... now that's a sweet-list you have there, IMHO ... how did the creation of Putrid Pal come about? what was his genesis? ... an undead French boy? a seaside town named Woe? groovy! LOL
MICHAEL FLEMING: Here it is! This piece was from a 31 Days of Monsters set I created for October in 2006. As you can see, I flip flopped the heights (the Putrid Pal is now the little kid, and Sunny Graves is now the tall girl), but you can see the very rough beginnings of the characters. Andy Woo of Crazy Label contacted me about the possibility of creating some toys (I believe after seeing my work on Flickr), and thus the comic was born.
MICHAEL FLEMING: As for Woe Beach, I've always been fascinated by seasides. I love the sort of melancholy feeling that permeates them, so I thought, "kids will love this" (ha)! Tati might have stepped in here the more I think about it (go check out the film, Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot to see what I mean). At the least, the tiny beret and striped shirt we can blame on old French cliches :)
TOYSREVIL: in this case, VIVA LA FRENCH! tell us more about Putrid Pal and his pals?
MICHAEL FLEMING: The Putrid Pal is a young French boy, who just happens to be undead. At this point we don't know his name or what brought him to this state of gooey rot. We do know that, like any kid, he just wants some friends, but unfortunately the local (living) children want nothing of him. Luckily he's surrounded by fellow monsters who live around the haunted Woe Beach area, so it's not all bad. His best friends are Sunny Graves, a young girl who lives in the abandoned light house, and Algebra, a giant sea monster.
TOYSREVIL: i like Algebra (heck, all giant monsters, sea or land anyways LOL) ... what was your experience with the development and creation of Putrid Pal, the Toy? is this your first toy?
MICHAEL FLEMING: This is my first toy! After much hand wringing, I sent off designs to Andy and he was enthusiastic from the start. I came up with a model sheet of the Putrid Pal from four sides, and Andy's artists took it from there. Later down the road, I came up with some choices for the colorways, but other than that, all the amazing hard work has been done over in China and Hong Kong. Crazy Label have been wonderful to work with.
TOYSREVIL: Andy + Crazy Label rawks! LOL ... did you ever imagine your creations taking 3D-form, in toys? or was it all part of the master-plan? and how did it feel, to actually hold the first colored samples in your own hands?MICHAEL FLEMING: Some of my art has a sort of flat 3D look to it, so I could always see them being dimensional, but never in my wildest dreams did I think it was ever going to happen as a toy. Even now I'm completely astounded that all this happening. When I held the hand painted production samples I was beaming from ear to ear. I took them outside to photograph and one of the young neighborhood kids said in an authoritative tone "these are totally cool - I can see them on key chains." Ha, so hopefully a good sign!
TOYSREVIL: sounds real good to me, Michael! (gotta somehow start them "young" nowsadays, i reckon LOL) ... do you collect toys yourself? what do you collect?
MICHAEL FLEMING: Yes, when the budget permits, I do buy toys from time to time. Mostly very kawaii stuff (Woodmates rock!), but as you would guess, I always have room for any new GeGeGe no Kitaro related toys I run across. I just love yÅ kai.
TOYSREVIL: kawaii is always good muahahahaha - being a collector yourself, who would you say would be the folks that'll be collecting Putrid Pals? was there ever a marketing strategy? or just sharing with your fans your own creations?
MICHAEL FLEMING: I think one of the great things about Crazy Label is their desire to have some sort of backstory for all the characters. Lots of toys are just created with no thought as to why they exist (other than they look great from a design perspective). After having the webcomic of the Putrid Pal up for under a year, I'm always excited that there are new readers who are getting the quirky ideas I throw at them (or at the least, just enjoying the artwork!). Between Myspace, Flickr, and other webcomic sites, the Putrid Pal is out there and always finding new friends.
TOYSREVIL: too true about back-stories ... i for one am a staunch believer in back-stories, which somehow makes that piece of plastic/resin/wood/object a little bit more "alive", IMHO ... what's up next for Putrid Pals? and for Tweedlebop? and further expansion of the toy-empire? any of Putrid's pals getting the toy treatment? vinyl or plush? heheheheh
MICHAEL FLEMING: Well, I'd say if you think that other characters from Woe Beach might be getting their own vinyl likeness down the road, you wouldn't be too wrong. :)
MICHAEL FLEMING: If you've seen what Andy has come up with for Treeson and Seamour Sheep, then I'm sure you won't be disappointed by any of the follow-ups to the first Putrid Pal toy. My wife and I have toyed (no pun intended) with the idea of making a few limited edition plushies as well, so who knows?
TOYSREVIL: looking forward to more surprises! (i want me a gigantor-scaled Algebra LOL) cheers for your time and trouble, Michael - any closing words to your friends+fans?
MICHAEL FLEMING: I appreciate all the support I've received over the years and I'm most excited that longtime fans can now own a high quality toy based on my work. I hope they love it as much as I do.Thanks for spreading the Crazy Label/Tweedlebop word at ToysREvil, Andy!
TOYSREVIL: tis my utmost pleasure, Michael - have a fab 2008!
