Former Simpsons artist identifies his scenes

[Mark Colangelo]

Deffinatley cool information! Jeff Lynch sure liked using Steve Mealue, about as much as he liked using you, Mark. Did they have anything in common or something?

No. Jeff simply used all the artists on his team to finish an episode on time, including doing layouts himself. He didn't use Mealue or me more than any of the other artists on his team. (I just happened to remember some scenes Mealue worked on, that's all.) The directors might try to use certain artists according to their strengths, but they didn't always have the time for that. Usually the scenes that called for more acting or complicated staging went to the stronger artists, like Paul Wee or Sondra Roy. Other than that, there wasn't too much difference between the layout artists.

[Mark Colangelo]

Many years ago, Sarge Morton and Jen Kamerman came to the board to talk about working on The Simpsons, and that thread is almost as enlightening as this one.
http://www.nohomers.net/showthread.p...mator-Director

Sondra Roy and Jen were old friends, and it was Sondra who encouraged Jen to apply to The Simpsons. Sondra drew caricature of Jen and herself in one of the shows she did the layouts for. (I forget which episode, but it was from season 2, and they are seated in the background of a theater.) So Jen appeared in the show even before she worked on it.

[iambobdole1]

What are you working on these days, Mark?

[zartok-35]

Sondra drew caricature of Jen and herself in one of the shows she did the layouts for. (I forget which episode, but it was from season 2, and they are seated in the background of a theater.) So Jen appeared in the show even before she worked on it.

Cool! That must've been Grampa and Jasper watching 'You have the right to remain dead' in "Oh Brother where art thou?".

Jen Kamerman went to a few theatres on The Simpsons.

[Mark Colangelo]

What are you working on these days, Mark?

I spent the last two years at Nickelodeon. I'm currently looking for work right now.

Cool! That must've been Grampa and Jasper watching 'You have the right to remain dead' in "Oh Brother where art thou?".
Jen Kamerman went to a few theatres on The Simpsons.

No, that's not it. It must have been more like an opera house of some sort. There was a bigger crowd, too.

[Matty]

I know Jen is in the theatre in Colonel Homer when Homer chokes on the ice, but I think she drew that herself.

What has so far been the most fun animation gig for you, Mark?

[zartok-35]

I know Jen is in the theatre in Colonel Homer when Homer chokes on the ice, but I think she drew that herself.

I don't think that's a Kamerman scene; Jen Kamerman has a different style than that. Most notably, her use of triangular notch shaped mouths.

Its probably by Sarge Morton, or one of the Kirkland animators I can't tell yet, like Tuck Tucker or Mike Polcino.

[Mark Colangelo]

What has so far been the most fun animation gig for you, Mark?

Ren & Stimpy, and The Mighty B!

[zartok-35]

Mr Colangelo, did you ever know Tibor Belay? I always notice his name because of its usage in 'Marge gets a job' as "The guy who doesn't speak english". I believe he was hungarian, like Ishtvan Majoros.

[iambobdole1]

Tibor's an actual guy??
If there was an animator named Zutroy, I'm gonna lose it!

[Mark Colangelo]

Mr Colangelo, did you ever know Tibor Belay? I always notice his name because of its usage in 'Marge gets a job' as "The guy who doesn't speak english". I believe he was hungarian, like Ishtvan Majoros.

No, the name doesn't ring a bell. I'll ask around and see if other former Simpson artists remember him.

[zartok-35]

Sorry folks, double post.

[zartok-35]

Tibor's an actual guy??

Yes he is:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0067702/
He's even on facebook!

[Dark Homer]

lookin' good tibor

[Mark Colangelo]

Yes he is:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0067702/
He's even on facebook!

I emailed Sue Beilenberg, and she confirmed that picture is of Tibor. She wrote that he was "20 years older than us, Eastern European, very taciturn, an excellent artist", and wore Hawaiian shirts and shorts at work. She said he was "one of the favorites" and could be trusted with drawing scenes that required a lot of perspective angles.

[zartok-35]

Excellent feedback; thanks Mark! On The Simpsons, Tibor always did lots of animation for Wes Archer, and then he left after season 6. I wonder what he thought of the Tibor gags on "Marge gets a job".

[zartok-35]

Mr Colangelo, have you freelanced on any other newer episodes of The Simpsons? You've showed us the scene from 'Moe baby blues', but as far as I know, you weren't credited for your work. Are there any other episodes you might not have been credited on?

[Mark Colangelo]

Mr Colangelo, have you freelanced on any other newer episodes of The Simpsons? You've showed us the scene from 'Moe baby blues', but as far as I know, you weren't credited for your work. Are there any other episodes you might not have been credited on?

The 14th season was the last time I freelanced for The Simpsons. In addition to Moe Baby Blues, I worked on Old Yeller Belly (the scenes of Lisa explaining the Duff contract to Homer), and some layouts for the menus of the 5th Season DVD box set (Apu at the Quik-E-Mart counter and Homer sleeping at his job). One had to do a certain percentage of scenes in order to receive screen credit. I forget what the magic number was, but obviously I didn't reach that quota for Moe Baby Blues. (I think I only did 4 or 5 scenes for that show.)

EDIT: I just recalled that the year of production for the 14th season was a memorable time at Film Roman Studios -- the artists there finally voted to join the Animation Guild.

[Sinister Burns]

If I recall correctly, someone on the "Simpsons Bible Stories" commentary said it was ten scenes for a credit.

[cinco]

During the fourth season a lot of new rules were passed down from on high by Groening. Silverman would write out the new instructions (with illustrations) and we'd all find a xeroxed copy on our animation desks in the morning. One particular rule caused the place to boil over with anger and resentment: it was that Homer was no longer allowed to open his mouth wider than the food he was eating. (I kid you not.)

Yesterday I listened to some S5-audiocommentaries and Matt Groening mentioned this and the fact that it wasn't a popular decision. (I believe during the 'Homer loves Flanders'-commentary)

[Speedy Boris]

I just wanted to say this is a very informative thread. I love behind-the-scenes animation trivia like this, especially when the people who actually worked on the show shed some light and/or validate/disprove statements from the fans.

Mark's comments pretty much validate that Jeffrey Lynch was one of the great directors on the show, along with David Silverman. Mark, did you have much contact with Jim Reardon? He's one of my favorites, too; "Treehouse of Horror V" in particular has great direction.

[Swartzwelder-County]

Thanks for the opportunity to set the record straight.

(The attachments below are some of the drawings I did for the sequence.)

Attachment 2326Attachment 2327Attachment 2328Attachment 2329Attachment 2330

Woah Maaan!! Your an amazing drawer with superb talent!! Thank you so much for your contribution to the show!
Btw- that homer "I'll show you intimate" scene is one of my all time favourites!!!!