New show in development

It was exciting to hear one of my new shows in development get a mention in Animation Magazine - Max Helsing: Monster Hunter. I've been working with the team at Disney XD for a while on this show - indeed most of my spare time is currently being taken up working on the bible - so it's a thrill to see it get a mention by Disney in the Press. It's very much a "watch this space" as we progress, but it's been a pleasure working with their development team thus far.

Off down to London on Monday to have a writers' meeting @ Chapman Entertainment for my new CBeebies show Rah Rah. That's also now well under way as we march into preproduction proper. It's been a long time coming, this show, but it's got so much heart we're really excited to be making it now.

Had a great visit to Middleton Technology School in Manchester yesterday to help their Year 8's with a project on Witchcraft. A great example of cross-media creative projects, they've incorporated their English, History and Art Departments as well as crayonboy here, a storyteller and a herbalist (!) as they create their own spellbooks. I don't often visit secondary schools - I'm usually an obvious choice for primary school visits - so it's a great buzz to go along to work with older students and see them engaged and enjoying art. Thanks to everyone there for making me feel so welcome!

Bada Bling!

New EdgyCute book

I'm very pleased to announce that I've been asked to include work in the new EdgyCute book from Mark Batty publishers, available in shops now from the seller or Amazon, or your local bookstore. The book covers what tends to be referred to as "lowbrow" art and pop surrealism, and features a fearsome list of artists and their work. I have a few of the Biteneck Beatniks paintings popping up in there - the book is compiled and edited by Harry Saylor, owner of the Orbit Gallery in the States and longtime chum and champion of my work.

List of contributors: Ana Bagayan, Gary Baseman, Becca, Mike Bell, Jeff Burnette, Robbie Busch, Michael Caines, Nicoletta Ciccoli, Alexis Covato, CRASH (John Matos), Chris Crites, Gerd Dagne, Kirsten Easthope, Jarrod Eastman, Greg Gossell, Rodney Alan Greenblat, Ryan Heshka, Brian Holderman, Angelique Houltkamp, Curtis Jobling, Jeremiah Ketner, Travis Lampe, Lex, Todd Marrone, Angie Mason, Hal Mayforth, Elizabeth McGrath, Brandi Milne, Motomichi Nakamura, Mitch O’Connell, Kathie Olivas, Emma Overman, Daron Parton, Brandt Peters, Lisa Petrucci, Mark Atomos Pilon, Judy Ragagli, Kevin Scalzo, Joe Scarano, Shag, Matte Stephens, Vivienne Strauss, Gary Taxali, Brian Taylor, Chris Uminga, Brian Viveros, Keith Weesner, Donald Roller Wilson, Derek Yaniger

Bada Bling!

THE GOOD FAERIES

Available for the first time as a strictly limited series of giclee prints comes Curtis Jobling’s personal homage to “Sleeping Beauty”; "Flora", "Fauna" and "Merryweather".

The triptych of paintings has been reproduced on radiant white watercolour paper, ensuring that they capture every magical detail of the originals. Brought to life on A3 sheets, each piece of artwork is 10” x 14”. The faeries are priced at £75 each or a bargainous £200 for the full set of three prints. The edition is limited to just 50 of each piece, with buyers to pay postage and packaging.

Ideal for homes, hallways, boardrooms and playrooms, "The Good Faeries" are the perfect gift for lovers of art, animation and alchemical aunties!

Please don’t hesitate in getting in touch for further details.

Bada Bling!

Curtis Jobling

frankscat@hotmail.com

Happy Birthday Bob the Builder!

It's been a funny old week on Planet Bling. Last week the BBC and HIT Entertainment celebrated 10 years of Bob being broadcast on the channel. That's quite an acheivement for any show, and one for which I and many other who helped to make the show are very proud. I was asked to appear on a Breakfast show to talk about the initial design of the character which although horrifically nerveracking still proved to be a lot of fun. Not least because I got to meet celebrity chef Brian Turner in the green room who, while the studio manager was walking us through what would happen, managed to shove a homemade scotch egg into my hand. Cheers Brian! :-D

Then it was on to a party at the Charlotte St Hotel where the new CGI version of Bob was screened/previewed. My personal tastes are still that you can't beat the original stop motion show (but then I'm biased as it's the medium of animation that I've always loved) although the CGI does I suppose breathe new life into the property. It's not like back in the days of Mr Benn when you'd make a dozen shows and that was your lot! Pictured above is the lovely Jackie Edwards, my old producer from Frankenstein's Cat and now VIP at CBeebies!

Off to MIPCOM in Cannes next month with Niel Bushnell from Qurios Entertainment. Great place to meet broadcasters, production companies and distributors, and generally get networky. Of course, with Mr Bushnell in tow, I'm suspecting it's going to be more like Morecambe & Wise in That Riviera Touch!

Bada Bling!

Ginges of the world unite

So, it's amazing what name-dropping Bob The Builder can get you. Emma and I went to see the rather fabulous Tim Minchin last night and much chortling occured when he started shouting out profanities during one of his songs about said-builder. On our way out my dear wife couldn't resist mentioning at the stage door to a chap (who turned out to be John, his tour manager) that the guy who DESIGNED that show was in the audience. "Hold on there, one minute," says John, disappearing. As a crowd of fans gather at the stage door he reappears to say "Bob The Builder's got you in!"

Admittedly he looks like he's going to kill us both, but in our defence he was talking at the time. At least when it's him and Em and I'm out of the picture he's grinning. Top chaps the pair of them and a terrific night topped off in the most unusual fashion :-D

And from divine comedy to crappy musings, here's a link to a podcast of myself and Qurios Entertainments Niel Bushnell, waxing unlyrical after a few too many shandies. Enjoy, or don't!

http://bushnellbling.jellycast.com/podcast/feed/2

Bada Bling! xx

Inside Bob's Belly

He doesn't post anything for three months then it's two in two days! Like a bus that Jobling fella...

TA-DAAAAA!!!!!!

Much weirdness. Cleaning out the garage and I found a box of old floppys (and no, that's not back issues of some kind of specialist geriatric magazine). This was a box from my days at HOT Animation designing BOB THE BUILDER. Checked the properties on these photos and it says the files are from February 2000. FEBRUARY 2000??? HOW OLD DO I LOOK ON THESE?!?!?! Anyway, crashing past the fact that I look like a forty year old tramp in these pictures (when in truth I was about 28 years of age) they're still an interesting flashback into my past and my 'umble days kicking off on Bob.

I've still got that Bazooka Joe tshirt upstairs. Heirloom, that. Heirloom........

Spinning plates

Developing original ideas isn't an easy business. Sure, an idea that might work for a book or a show can pop into one's head at the most unexpected moment, but to see that through into a finished, published book or broadcast animated series is another matter altogether. The majority of my time in the last few months has been spent keeping up the momentum on a number of new properties, as well as seeing others up to a level where they can be presented. This would be the spinning plates, for that's how it often feels, keeping the energy alive on one idea while picking the speed up on another. I suppose a better analogy for a short fat northern lad would be having his fingers in lots of pies.

Visited the Showcomotion Childrens Media Conference in Sheffield the other week which was terrific - a great place to catch up with writers, artists, creatives, producers and broadcasters. If you're in the business of developing ideas for television, in particular kids TV, I can't recommend your attending Showcomotion enough. It's the perfect sounding ground for potential collaborators as well as a great place to hear the ideas, first-hand, from broadcasters re: what they're looking for.

Just waiting for proofs back on the FLORA, FAUNA & MERRYWEATHER limited edition art prints. As soon as they're in I'll be opening up for orders.

Novel manuscript? Argh! Wish I could say more on that front, but we've got specific interest from one wonderful editor from a well established publishing house. Have to sit tight while we wait for a response. In the meantime I'm looking to crack on with my next attempt at a novel, this one a fantasy novel for girls as well as boys.

Bada Bling!

Flora, Fauna & Merryweather

A new series of paintings based upon my favourite Disney Movie, SLEEPING BEAUTY. Flora, Fauna and Merryweather (for those are their names) are the three fairies in the movie. Been wanting to do this triptych for ages now, and am expecting the originals to be going to an art gallery in the US in the very near future. These are also available as limited edition fine art prints - if you're interested just contact me directly, post on here with your details or drop me a line at frankscat@hotmail.com and I can fill you in with the details.

FLORA - the Green Fairy

FAUNA - the Red Fairy

MERRYWEATHER - the Blue Fairy

The High School Of Doctor Moreau

Here's a first sneaky peek at the new show I have in development, "THE HIGH SCHOOL OF DOCTOR MOREAU". I've collaborated with good chum and Spongebob Squarepants scribe Eric Shaw on the development of this, and the article shown above is from this month's Kidscreen magazine, a trade publication that features what's happening in the world of childrens television. Next week is the MIPTV trade fair in Cannes, which I won't be attending, but the lovely folk at Kidscreen asked if they could feature Moreau in the magazine in their "Cool New Shows" feature.

We're already getting a good deal of interest in the property and will hopefully be able to announce a deal with a production company in the very near future. It's a show that I feel is really read to run, packed with ridiculous characters and a world of nonsensical experiments. In a line, it's Weird Science crashing headlong into High School Musical...

Bada Bling!

Blowing off the cobwebs!

If there is such a thing in the worldwide tinterweb of an organisation that protects against the misuse and neglect of sorry, sad blogs, then I suspect I should be looking over the shoulder right now, waiting for a booted foot to come crashing through the front door as the blog police come and liberate the poor Badablingthing blogspot. I have, of course, been a bit busy - which is grand - but that's a feeble excuse for not keeping up to date on here with my happenings and goings on.

Big news on the business front is that I now have a new literary agent, John Jarrold. I met up with him for the first time a couple of weeks ago in Lincoln and enjoyed a tremendously pleasant evening in his company, as we outgeeked one another over all things fanboy. John is best known in the literary world as uber-editor of all things fantasy, scifi and horror. It's quite a departure from Laura Cecil, my previous literary agent who specialised purely in childrens literature. John is a dedicated adult fiction editor/agent, but he's been very happy to take me under his grown up wing. Which sounds rude. But isn't. Do check out his website for more about the fellow and the staggering list of famous authors he's edited, not least Iain Banks, Tad Williams and Terry Brooks.

The Animex Festival in February was fantastic as always, this time round the speakers' highlight was dinner at the Dun Cow Inn in Sedgefield, the infamous pub where Tony Blair took George W Bush for a meal of fish and chips towards the end of his tenure as prime minister. I was the only Brit in a party of fourteen, most of who were liberal Americans and staunch anit-Bush types. We asked the owner if we could purchase the chair that "Dubya" sat in for his meal, but he declined. Then we asked for just a wee stool, and still he said no but seemed to waver. When questioned we admitted that we planned to burn it in the street. This put an end to the prospects of us acquiring any furniture from the Dun Cow that evening...

I'm about to embark upon a trio of paintings based upon the fairies from Sleeping Beauty: Flora, Fauna and Merryweather. If you're liking the look of these and are interested in the originals, let me know. It's the Biteneck Beatniks hurtling headlong into the Grimm Faerie Tales. They're red, green and blue respectively. Or at least will be when I'm finished!

My Art Show is now in full effect in that there London. If you're in the capital, be sure to visit the Animation Art Gallery in County Hall, next to the London Eye. The original Frankenstein's Cat paintings and the Biteneck Beatniks show will be hung together there for the next month until mid-April. There are also limited edition giclee prints available of the nine Cat paintings.

New properties in development include a show that Jetix are just about to option, plus HIT Entertainment have picked up a preschool show from me directly and are optioning another exciting property too - more on this in the coming weeks!

Belated New Year to all

I've been asked by my better half to put a post on the blog as it's our homepage for the home PC - whenever we connect to the tinterweb we get SNOWFALL blaring full volume from our speakers and it's driving her a bit loopy, especially as Christmas was four weeks ago now.

Been busy already this year with a lot of school projects kicking off, principally an ongoing arts project with English Martyrs School in Hartlepool. I'm booked up until the beginning of April with schools which is pretty splendid stuff. The kids at English Martyrs have been great, and it's doubley a pleasure to be working up there as I get to stay with Niel Bushnell of Qurios Entertainment, and generally goof around a lot like a big gullah. We met up for a quiet night's suppage with Chris Williams, director of the Animex Festival of Animation, on Tuesday and what started out gentle enough ended with me leaving the drinking den with a shadow firmly cast over my reputation. Tarnished, I'd go so far as to say. I apologise to the Barmaid, just in case she's reading this!


Will be up in Teesside for Animex next month holding workshop and talks (4th to 6th Feb) - if you've never been along, get yourself down there. Better still log onto the website to view Qurios's rather brilliant sting for this, the festivals TENTH year:

Bada Bling!