I am Alex Ruiz, animator on The Simpsons. AMA!

I'm sure many people will bring up how the old episodes were better than the new ones, but I gotta say this:

Back in the day, animation was really fluid. Right now everything seems robotic, and just barely enough to get the message. Is this intentional to cut costs and do everything as fast as possible? The HD opening is one of the biggest examples.

Here's a comparison: http://imgur.com/a/3cqh8

It's all a part of the evolution of the show, really. The characters evolved over the years, they became less wacky looking. And so the animation had to follow suit, and I agree, it suffered from it. When the show went all digital, it lost even more fluidity, and once again, suffered again. Another element that's affecting the animation is the timing. This is a HUGE determining factor of how an animation looks. And so with all of these components changing to modernize( or rather, 'normalize' the show), things like fluidity and the 'charming wackiness' we all loved on the early shows went bye bye.

Uh, excuse me, Mr. Ruiz. On the Itchy & Scratchy CD-ROM, is there a way to get out of the dungeon without using the wizard key?

Hi. A question for Mr. Ruiz. In episode 2F09 when Itchy plays Scratchy's skeleton like a xylophone, he strikes the same rib twice in succession, yet he produces two clearly different tones. I mean, what are we to believe, that this is some sort of a magic xylophone or something? Boy, I really hope somebody got fired for that blunder.

haha!

I'm sorry friend, you're going to rot in there.

Did you make their eyes look like boobs on purpose?

yes.

How involved is Matt Groening in the creation process nowadays? And what's he like in person?

Matt of course can always give input, but he's usually not around at meetings as he's pretty occupied with his other projects. Nice guy, interesting combination of artist, writer, and post-modern philosopher:)

I'll leave this mini-doc starring Alex Ruiz here; answers a lot of preliminary questions (for me, at least).

great, thanks for posting this!

Who is your favorite minor character 1) to draw and 2) to laugh at?

(I think mine's Gil.)

I always love drawing Duffman when I get the chance...that's a rare thing:)

I noticed in your girlfriend's post that people kept on bringing up Korea doing the animating work. Can you explain exactly what you do and how the whole Korea thing works?

Thanks!

What I do here is the key animation, the main( and most important) poses of the character. We have the voices already recorded and we make drawings accordingly. Those are timed, and sent over to Korea to be 'inbetweened', cleaned up, shot, colored etc. Then it comes back to us for further editing, music etc.

Do the characters ever look slightly different depending on who did the scene? Btw, thanks for doing the AMA!

your welcome! Absolutely, each animator has their own style, though it can't differ too much from the standard model sheets of the characters.

1. Can you add your own secret jokes to your animation?

2. Have you read or heard about the book The Simpsons: An Uncensored, Unauthorized History? If so, what are your opinions?

3. Who is your least favorite character to draw?

4. What are your opinions on the newer episodes vs the older episodes?

back in the day we were able to 'sneak' things into the art, but it was hard. what we did a whole lot was put ourselves in the crowd scenes, that was fun...many of us are immortalized in the show:)

Are you able to give an example, maybe a screenshot, of your character in one of the episodes?

I'm the tall one with the long hair in the middle:)

Is there any element, any nuance, you feel the show has lost that you wish were still there?

Conversely, what's your favourite way the show has changed?

I feel that when the show went all digital, that's when it lost some of it's magic. Back in the day, things were drawn on paper, cel painted, etc...lot's of grueling work. But it had a charm to it. But of course, the new technology has allowed the show to become more complex as far as camera moves, massive crowds etc.

When exactly show went all digital?

several years ago

Of all of the things you've had to animate for the show, which one was the hardest?

I had to animate the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse for the 'Simpsons Bible Stories' episode. Drawing horses is hard enough! I had to animate an upshot of four horses running, with dudes riding them, with weapons, cloth blowing, clouds billowing, meteors shooting through the sky. For a five second scene, it took me over two weeks to complete!

Is this piece of yours http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150828600243587&set=pb.96663788586.-2207520000.1356809014&type=3&src=https%3A%2F%2Ffbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net%2Fhphotos-ak-ash3%2F534170_10150828600243587_812248834_n.jpg&size=960%2C614 based off that scene?

Yes, it is! I took the original concept and made it Alex Ruiz-ified.

How long does it take to animate one full episode of the simpsons?

In general, the show takes about six months from beginning to end. The animation takes about 3-4 months.

How are there so many recent references then?

writers write real fast;)

I've got some time to blow. Who wants to be Simpsonized?

Edit - holy crap. I expected one or two people haha. i'll do a few here and there, sorry if you don't see yours right away!

simpsonize me and the mrs.!!!

http://sdrv.ms/VoD8IQ

here you go - 5 minute sketch. I have no idea why it's so blue. Sorry!

I really appreciate that. my girlfriend is actually a super simpson fan!

no problem:) my girlfriend said she sent you a PM asking if you wanted the physical copy of it, but then realized you guys probably didn't realize she was my girlfriend and may have thought she was some random person trying to get people's addresses off the internet. so, if you DO want the physical copy, there should be a PM from her!

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that muffin looks really good

Which character means the most to you? (hold dearest to your heart.)

Krusty the Clown has my heart;)

How often are you asked by friends to draw characters doing various things?

ALL THE TIME! But that doesn't mean I always do it lol

Do you watch Family Guy?

hell yes...actually many Simpsons alumni are in charge of that show now:)

I'm asking this because no one else has. In terms of Simpson characters: Kill one, marry one, and fuck one. Go.

Cletus, Brandine, and Maude Flanders.

There are 24 seasons of the Simpsons. Does the work you do ever get repetitive?

I'd be lying if I said it didn't:)

Have you directly or indirectly done any work with Futurama?

no, but wish I did!

Do you have any personal projects not involving Simpsons you're currently working on?

Also, which character is your least favorite to draw?

I'm always working on personal stuff, which is pretty far from the Simpsons. you can see it on my facebook page. My main site is www.conceptmonster.net and I also have a deviant art site.

Thanks for the ama.

I've read that episode production has gotten rather huge for the Simpsons in the past ten years. Episodes and such are written and pumped out several months in advance to a accommodate the large animation schedule requirements.

Don't take this as a direct attack on the hard work of you and your peers, but I personally suspect the "downfall of the Simpsons" (quoted as obviously not EVERYONE will agree with me) is partly because of this over- inflation of the production schedule, and how management chose to handle it. The $$ went to higher animation and not giving the writers what they needed to produce in- depth episodes (anyone remember when episodes where character driven?)

Now let me get this out there: the work that you and your peers do is GREAT. I have never under appreciated the ability the Simpsons has to properly illustrate whatever they want in order to make a joke work. Props to you and the rest of your co- workers for the skill and dedication you put into your work. Reddit alone is a sucker for all of those little easter eggs you love to include.

So here's my question:

Do the writers get the shaft these days when it comes to creative flexibility? It just seems like they're forced to pump out cheap jokes to fill an episode as quickly as possible in order to get it in the hands of the voice actors so animation can begin.

Has a higher value been put on the actors and animators than the writers?

Sorry for the wall o' text... And any spelling errors. Pumped this out on my phone.

Great comment, thanks for writing in. As of now, the animation production schedule has been cut quite significantly. People have been let go( artists and production) because budget was cut.

This has NOTHING to do with the writers and their quality of work. They have their own schedule, budget etc( not to mention residuals, which no one on the art side gets.)

The writers are treated incredibly well, financially and creatively. As a team, along with Al Jean, call the shots. But of course, their burden is heavy and I don't envy them. If anything, the value of the writers is over everyone else's, and unfortunately the animators have always been last in the scheme of things.

How long have you been an animator for the show? Have you worked on any other shows as an animator, or just in general?

I've been a Simpsons animator, on and off, for 15 years. I try to get away, but always keep coming back:)

I grew up watching the Simpsons. I knew it was something special. That said, I have noticed a severe decline in the direction and delivery of the show. There is some debate about when this took place. I'll say, over the last decade.

How is the Simpsons allowed to continue on?

the majority of the people still love the show dearly...even if it sucks from time to time. It's also such a staple in society, millions of people would want it to go on forever if they had a say...which they kinda do with ratings and all.

I agree that there's been a decline, no doubt. But it picks up here and there, I'm gonna say most of it has to do with the writing...if it sucks, the whole show suffers.

Your concept work is amazing. How have you developed a style so far removed from the Simpsons? Also, you must be slaying the ladies with that long lusty hair...lol

thanks! honestly, after a while I got sick of drawing the Simpsons all day, so I wanted to do stuff completely different...and yes, the ladies are lining up out the door;)

Is your girlfriend pretty supportive of your rockstar-style life? She seems like a great gal.

she's the best, she let's me do whatever I want:)

How much flexibility is allowed in your animation? Is creativity frowned upon? How do they maintain quality control of the animations?

As animators, we have a lot of creative input for the animation. We're given storyboards and director comments, but it's really up to us to make the characters come to life.

Hey Alex! I'm an animator in the games industry, doing CG character stuff on the LEGO games franchise. I've always been interested in the TV side, and how these 2D shows are produced.

1. How long does it take from initial storyboard to completion of an episode?

2. How big is your animation team?

3. On The Simpsons Movie, and other more recent episodes, I've noticed you use a lot more CG aspects, do you have specific CG animators now?

4. How was it starting there? Did it take you a long time to get used to the flow and style of the iconic Simpson style?

5. I'm In awe of you 2D guys, bring able to throw down a strong pose on a piece of paper. Do you have any quick tips for pose drawing?

Thanks very much! Keep up the sterling work.

cool, love me some Legos!

here ya go: 1) from boards to finished, probably 4-5 months. 2) there's about 30-40 animators on the show 3)we have a couple of dedicated cg guys doing maya work. 4) gotta admit, it was a rough start. Took about a year to truly get the style of the show...turns out, it was that way with everybody:) 5)the secret to become a great drafstman....get good at figure drawing!

Tell us about your own projects your lady said you were working on?

Do you read comics? If so is there any book you would like to work on?

I do a lot of concept art and illustration, sci fi and fantasy related. See the links at the top to see my work!

Hey Alex! I took your class at StudioArts and I just wanted to say THANK YOU!! You really opened my eyes about using Photoshop and utilizing references. You are an AMAZING instructor, thank you again!!

You're welcome!:)

Do the animators have any influence on the story? Such as you draw something in such a way that the writers/actors decide to change anything, if that makes any sense.

There's very little room to influence story, if not any. The writers have full control the story stuff:)

Holy fucking shit, never in a million years did I think I would have the chance to talk to you.

Hi there from Australia, I just wanted to let you know that your image, Starry night, is currently hanging on my wall, 106 centimetres of pure awesomeness. Thank you so very much for being alive and being amazing, because it is literally the best piece of art I have had the good fortune of laying my eyes on. It was not easy (or cheap, might I add) getting it to Australia and up on my wall but it is so so worth it. So thank you. =]

I really hope you see this.

Also, I did not know you worked on the Simpsons. Kudos.

The honor is all mine:) I'm so glad you love Starry Night, it's looks great in that frame!

Have you created any of the characters?

no, that's the writers and character designers' job.

do you work with the voice actors at all? who is the most memorable?

I don't work directly with them, but have met them all many times. They're all great, but Nancy Cartwright is the most fun:)

How long is the period between making an episode then having it aired?

it takes around six months to create one episode, from beginning to end.

Can I have the Homer Reddit Rules picture?

sure, pm me your address and I'll send it to you.

Why have you done it all?

But, seriously, what got you into the Simpsons?

I got in as an intern in 1995, and saw it as a stepping stone to Disney feature animation but never went through with that. Guess I got lazy:)

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Hate to say, but yes, very contentious:) Definitely a part of the process on any show, but it always has affected the animators' personally, because when they don't work, WE don't work!

What's an annoying thing to draw that you always get stuck on, that you wish wouldn't have been made part of a character in the first place because it is so hard to draw?

Marge's hair