Your Dog's a Star with Draw the Dog- Part 2

Last post, we met Bruce Kasanoff and Jim George, the creative team behind the popular site, DrawtheDog. Today, they share more about what makes them tick and their site click with readers.

First, many of you have read about my dog Kelly on this site. Well, check out this wonderful drawing of her that Jim created, based on my story about Kelly keeping me warm--inside and out. This drawing appeared on DrawtheDog November 18, 2009. And your dog could be featured too. Read on!

More from Jim George and Bruce Kasanoff--
Q: How long does it take you to complete each drawing? Do you look at real dog models or photographs for inspiration?
JG: Each drawing takes a total of about four hours. I look at any photographs that our audience sends me. I make use of any and all inspirational material I can before beginning a cartoon but the looming deadline of a daily panel limits the amount of research I can actually do.

Q: Bruce, I know you have been obsessed with dogs since you were seven or eight. Tell us something about your own dogs.
BK: I own two rescue dogs... Dex, who we guess has German Shepherd and Pit Bull in him, and Dakota, who is a Boxer/Hound. Dex sounds and looks tough, but in reality he is the friendliest, most affectionate dog you are likely to meet. He’s also quite smart, and understands English. Dakota is very cute – people instantly love her – and very easygoing. She comes from down South. Her picture is in the right hand column of our website, encouraging people to spread the word about DrawtheDog.

Q: Jim, what is your favorite Draw the Dog illustration you've done so far?
JG: That's a tough one. There are many criteria for a "good" cartoon. From a purely esthetic standpoint, I like the "Halloween" and the "First Dog" panels. For pure silliness, I like "Not the First Time" and for the essential "Haiku" effect, I like "Hurricane."

Q: How can readers get involved in DrawtheDog?
BK: Come to the site, stop by our Make Your Dog Famous page, and submit one or more amusing stories about your dogs! Jim and I read every story, and your stories are the site’s secret ingredient.

The Genuis of Draw the Dog- Part 1

Two months ago, Jim George woke up with the idea to create black and white cartoons of dogs and post one each day on a website. He partnered with Bruce Kasanoff, and the idea became a reality. Simple enough, right? But it gets even better... Each cartoon appears on your computer screen as if it is drawing itself. And, almost all the cartoons are inspired by a real dog, and each dog gets credit.

DrawtheDog is a fun, exciting and uplifting site. Jim and Bruce have received many hundreds of stories, and Jim has drawn about 60 cartoons, with more on the way. People have stopped by from 55 countries, and everyone is having a lot of fun.

Meet Jim George and Bruce Kasanoff--
Me: How did you two meet?
BK: We met through my brother, who is a film producer. Jim created all the characters for his animated film, Foodfight!, which will be out next year. My brother basically told me that Jim was one-of-a-kind, a rare talent who could create and bring memorable characters to to life. If you look closely at his drawings, you realize that the dogs seem filled with energy and spirit. Jim makes this look easy, but so far as I can see it is the result of talent, attention to detail, and incredibly hard work.

Me: How did you get the idea for DrawtheDog?
JG: Bruce and I were working on a much more elaborate book project with a dog at its core and - as is so often the case - funny and interesting but unrelated ideas started pouring into my brain. My mind works pretty visually so I "saw" these scenarios in cartoon form. It occurred to me that we could do one of these per day on the web and go directly to our audience. The idea of having the cartoons "draw themselves" has been something I've been playing with on and off for years. I'm fascinated by the "revelation" of the forms with this kind of time-lapse effect and it adds an entirely new dimension of time to the traditional cartoon "strip." It's half-way to animation, which is where I spent much of my career.
BK: Once we started talking about this idea, we quickly got to the other essential element of DrawtheDog, which is that most of the cartoons are inspired by real dogs. This creates a wonderful, close connection between us and everyone who enjoys the site

Me: Jim, what is your past experience in drawing and animating? Did you work on any Disney or other dogs we might recognize?
JG: I was at Disney back in the seventies and they had pretty much done the dog thing by then. Lady and the Tramp and 101 Dalmatians was an earlier era. The only film I did that was exclusively about dogs was a project that Rodney Dangerfield wrote and spearheaded for Warner Bros. called "Rover Dangerfield." I co-directed it but I had little or nothing to do with the content. It was Rodney's show. I did character design, storyboards and animation as well on it. I wasn't too happy with the result but apparently the film has done quite well in the video rental arena.

Me: Bruce, what is your role in DrawtheDog?
BK: As he said, Jim draws and I do everything else. This works out perfectly, since I can’t draw and Jim doesn’t want to do anything else. Besides building and managing the site, my main role is to reach out to dog owners and encourage them to submit stories that will inspire Jim to create more cartoons. The more stories, the better Jim’s cartoons.

Check back again next time, as we learn more about how Jim creates these amazing animated drawings, about the dogs in Bruce's life, and about how your dog can be a star!