| BEAVER FEVER OUTBREAK Animated Cartoon goes into Syndication durhamregion.com February, 2007 |
Patrick LaMontagne is the creator of the an animated cartoon, Beaver Fever, which
recently debuted on durhamregion.com. The show, starring a talk-show host beaver
named Tim Castor, pokes fun at a number of aspects of Canadian life, from the political to
the social. The feature debuted on Jan. 15 on durhamregion.com and will be updated at the
beginning of each week. Patrick sits down to answer our questions
1. Among current politicians, who’s the easiest caricature to draw? The most difficult?
While it wasn’t always the case, it would have to be Ralph Klein or was until his recent
retirement. He was also the most enjoyable. Stephen Harper is the toughest, but his time
in the big office is putting more lines in his face, so it’s getting easier.
2. Sum up what Beaver Fever’s all about.
Beaver Fever is an animated weekly cartoon done in the style of a political pundit
television show. The host, Tim Castor, is an opinionated and sarcastic, though likable,
beaver in a suit, a “Joe Canadian� type of character. He’s not from anywhere
specific in Canada, has no political affiliations and is perpetually flustered by the decisions
coming out of Ottawa. He brings in guests from around the country, usually other
anthropomorphic animals, who are very often unco-operative and for roughly two and a
half minutes every week, Tim comments on whatever is happening in Canada that
currently has him and other Canadians concerned.
3. What served as the inspiration for Beaver Fever?
I’ve been wanting to do an animated editorial cartoon for quite a while. Mark Fiore, a
cartoonist in the U.S., was the first cartoonist to do so and he now syndicates it weekly.
The first Canadian to create animated editorial cartoons was Jim Phillips, a cartoonist in
Toronto. He created a series of them for CTV/Globe Media during the 2004 federal election
and I was inspired by them, so I spent a couple of years learning the software in my spare
time. During the 2006 federal election, I created seven animated editorial cartoons for the
CBC website. One of those was Beaver Fever. The beaver looked different than the
current incarnation, the set was simply a news desk and he did an angry rant about
promises made and broken.
Every other animated editorial cartoon I’ve seen and done were essentially animated
skits. Since that seemed to be the method others were employing, I wanted to be different.
With reviving Beaver Fever, I have a unifying set and character each week, somebody
people can become familiar with. One editor called him, “an animated Rick Mercer.�
While I find that incredibly flattering and don’t feel I am yet in Mercer’s league, the
comparison of the vehicle is appropriate. Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, 22 Minutes, The
Mercer Report... the format of Beaver Fever is the same model.
4. What do you do to relax?
I haven’t got expensive tastes or hobbies. I enjoy spending time with my wife or
friends. I go to the gym three or four days a week and do some sketching at the coffee
shop. I’m pretty happy when I’m working. I don’t usually need much of a break
from it.
That being said, I would go camping every weekend from May to September if I was able
to. Living in the Rockies, I take every opportunity to pack up the car, head off into B.C. or
other parts of Alberta with my wife or friends and get away from phones and e-mail. Give
me a pristine mountain lake in the middle of nowhere with good food, drink and company
and that’s about as close to paradise as it gets.
5. What’s the biggest challenge of working in new media (as opposed to more
traditional drawing)?
I think every art form can be cost-prohibitive, but the cost of keeping up with technology is
daunting at times. I’m constantly buying software upgrades and upgrading my
computer. I am always training and learning, whether it’s website design, flash
animation or digital painting. I’ve spent a lot on books, magazines, online courses,
tutorial DVDs and CDs. The learning never stops. It’s the only way to keep ahead of the
game. The advantage I have is that I enjoy the education part of it, the acquiring of new
skills and techniques and then being able to incorporate them into how I work.
6. Same question, but what’s the biggest advantage?
I’ve never been a traditional artist. I cut my teeth on digital artwork. I’m very
comfortable with digital painting, flash animation, website design, vector graphics, 3D
modelling, audio software. It suits me and I adapt to new software quite easily. I still sketch
most things out first on paper, but I’m in my element with digital media. The ease of
marketing online is a huge advantage as well. I can send any file over the net to anywhere
in the world, without a second thought. I’m doing illustrated maps for a client in Costa
Rica. I’ve met with him in person only once about it while I was on vacation. Everything
from concepts, delivery and payment is done online.
7. Is there a particular body of work you’re most proud of?
The type of work I enjoy the most is digital painting, the detailed caricatures that take 20
hours to complete. I enjoy getting lost in that. I did one of Ralph Klein recently that was
simply for the fun of doing it, because I knew it would likely be the last one while he was in
office. It was a satirical official portrait. I didn’t care if it sold or not. The funny thing is, it
ended up being my best-selling caricature to date. Mr. Klein even has a framed print of it.
Ironically, I’ve done very little caricature work lately. I’ve been spending most of
my time launching Beaver Fever and getting this new routine down. Now that it’s
running fairly smoothly, I’m about to put a lot of energy back into the digital painting.
8. In one word, describe the state of Canadian politics.
Myopic.
9. Finish the following sentence: An editorial cartoonist has done a good job when --
-- He or she makes you feel something. Anything. But ask 10 people what makes a good
editorial cartoon and you’ll get 10 different answers. I would never pretend to be the
authority on this business. I didn’t start doing this until six years ago and have only
been doing it full-time for just over a year, so I’m as surprised as anyone that I make a
really good living at it. There are some amazing cartoonists working in Canada and I count
myself very fortunate to be included in their ranks.
10. Prediction time: When do you think the next federal election will be?
April or May. Politicians don’t like to share power for too long.
PREVIOUS ARTICLE: Flash animation and the 2005 election
recently debuted on durhamregion.com. The show, starring a talk-show host beaver
named Tim Castor, pokes fun at a number of aspects of Canadian life, from the political to
the social. The feature debuted on Jan. 15 on durhamregion.com and will be updated at the
beginning of each week. Patrick sits down to answer our questions
1. Among current politicians, who’s the easiest caricature to draw? The most difficult?
While it wasn’t always the case, it would have to be Ralph Klein or was until his recent
retirement. He was also the most enjoyable. Stephen Harper is the toughest, but his time
in the big office is putting more lines in his face, so it’s getting easier.
2. Sum up what Beaver Fever’s all about.
Beaver Fever is an animated weekly cartoon done in the style of a political pundit
television show. The host, Tim Castor, is an opinionated and sarcastic, though likable,
beaver in a suit, a “Joe Canadian� type of character. He’s not from anywhere
specific in Canada, has no political affiliations and is perpetually flustered by the decisions
coming out of Ottawa. He brings in guests from around the country, usually other
anthropomorphic animals, who are very often unco-operative and for roughly two and a
half minutes every week, Tim comments on whatever is happening in Canada that
currently has him and other Canadians concerned.
3. What served as the inspiration for Beaver Fever?
I’ve been wanting to do an animated editorial cartoon for quite a while. Mark Fiore, a
cartoonist in the U.S., was the first cartoonist to do so and he now syndicates it weekly.
The first Canadian to create animated editorial cartoons was Jim Phillips, a cartoonist in
Toronto. He created a series of them for CTV/Globe Media during the 2004 federal election
and I was inspired by them, so I spent a couple of years learning the software in my spare
time. During the 2006 federal election, I created seven animated editorial cartoons for the
CBC website. One of those was Beaver Fever. The beaver looked different than the
current incarnation, the set was simply a news desk and he did an angry rant about
promises made and broken.
Every other animated editorial cartoon I’ve seen and done were essentially animated
skits. Since that seemed to be the method others were employing, I wanted to be different.
With reviving Beaver Fever, I have a unifying set and character each week, somebody
people can become familiar with. One editor called him, “an animated Rick Mercer.�
While I find that incredibly flattering and don’t feel I am yet in Mercer’s league, the
comparison of the vehicle is appropriate. Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, 22 Minutes, The
Mercer Report... the format of Beaver Fever is the same model.
4. What do you do to relax?
I haven’t got expensive tastes or hobbies. I enjoy spending time with my wife or
friends. I go to the gym three or four days a week and do some sketching at the coffee
shop. I’m pretty happy when I’m working. I don’t usually need much of a break
from it.
That being said, I would go camping every weekend from May to September if I was able
to. Living in the Rockies, I take every opportunity to pack up the car, head off into B.C. or
other parts of Alberta with my wife or friends and get away from phones and e-mail. Give
me a pristine mountain lake in the middle of nowhere with good food, drink and company
and that’s about as close to paradise as it gets.
5. What’s the biggest challenge of working in new media (as opposed to more
traditional drawing)?
I think every art form can be cost-prohibitive, but the cost of keeping up with technology is
daunting at times. I’m constantly buying software upgrades and upgrading my
computer. I am always training and learning, whether it’s website design, flash
animation or digital painting. I’ve spent a lot on books, magazines, online courses,
tutorial DVDs and CDs. The learning never stops. It’s the only way to keep ahead of the
game. The advantage I have is that I enjoy the education part of it, the acquiring of new
skills and techniques and then being able to incorporate them into how I work.
6. Same question, but what’s the biggest advantage?
I’ve never been a traditional artist. I cut my teeth on digital artwork. I’m very
comfortable with digital painting, flash animation, website design, vector graphics, 3D
modelling, audio software. It suits me and I adapt to new software quite easily. I still sketch
most things out first on paper, but I’m in my element with digital media. The ease of
marketing online is a huge advantage as well. I can send any file over the net to anywhere
in the world, without a second thought. I’m doing illustrated maps for a client in Costa
Rica. I’ve met with him in person only once about it while I was on vacation. Everything
from concepts, delivery and payment is done online.
7. Is there a particular body of work you’re most proud of?
The type of work I enjoy the most is digital painting, the detailed caricatures that take 20
hours to complete. I enjoy getting lost in that. I did one of Ralph Klein recently that was
simply for the fun of doing it, because I knew it would likely be the last one while he was in
office. It was a satirical official portrait. I didn’t care if it sold or not. The funny thing is, it
ended up being my best-selling caricature to date. Mr. Klein even has a framed print of it.
Ironically, I’ve done very little caricature work lately. I’ve been spending most of
my time launching Beaver Fever and getting this new routine down. Now that it’s
running fairly smoothly, I’m about to put a lot of energy back into the digital painting.
8. In one word, describe the state of Canadian politics.
Myopic.
9. Finish the following sentence: An editorial cartoonist has done a good job when --
-- He or she makes you feel something. Anything. But ask 10 people what makes a good
editorial cartoon and you’ll get 10 different answers. I would never pretend to be the
authority on this business. I didn’t start doing this until six years ago and have only
been doing it full-time for just over a year, so I’m as surprised as anyone that I make a
really good living at it. There are some amazing cartoonists working in Canada and I count
myself very fortunate to be included in their ranks.
10. Prediction time: When do you think the next federal election will be?
April or May. Politicians don’t like to share power for too long.
PREVIOUS ARTICLE: Flash animation and the 2005 election