Watch ‘Courage the Cowardly Dog’ Creator John Dilworth Animate His New Film

Courage the Cowardly Dog creator John Dilworth is among the rare TV show creators who has produced a significant body of animation work outside of the industry. He is currently working on a new short film—his eighteenth!—in an artist-in-residency at the Escuela Animacion Campus in Montevideo, Uruguay.

The short, Goose in High Heels, weaves together three stories about a goose mother and her children, a writer experiencing writer’s block, and a young boy in love. He’s documenting the animation process through a weekly Youtube video series, that is currently up to six episodes. Here is the latest one:

It’s the first time Dilworth has created a film by drawing into Flash with a Cintiq, and he shares interesting thoughts as a traditional animator adjusting to digital tools:

“I’m working with the software. I’m finding ways in which to reason with it, because it’s not giving me my line. All the lines are its own line; it’s like I work for the software. But I’m okay with the compromise as long as I don’t have to get too obsessed with the refining of the lines. This is why I’m also trying to keep it very loose.”

The video commentaries are a fun listen, even managing to deliver some good life advice alongside the animation tips:

“I very much enjoy adding variety and contrast to two similar objects, like feet and hands that are both coming down together…contrast and variety in our animation, as in life, makes for a much more interesting experience — and isn’t that what it’s all about?”