I’m an animator, and after 7 years of working on feature films such as Klaus, Space Jam 2 and Sonic 2, I decided to leave the industry to work on my own project.
For the past year, I’ve been making comics and videos about a firefighter called Tim who adopts a baby dragon called Bash. The series follows the day-to-day chaos that naturally accompanies the tempting yet unwise decision to adopt a fire-breathing, treasure-hoarding pet.
The comic started to build an audience over the past year, aided by the live-action videos my project partner Andy Bashforth and I have been making. You can check out our first 3 live-action videos on our YouTube channel.
To celebrate our first year, we have made a Tim and Bash Comic Christmas Special! We hope you enjoy this adventure, and let us know if you like it in the comments! Happy Christmas.
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Divine powers are wasted on peasants…
A new archnemesis…
Don’t cast your pearls before swine…
Into the darkness…
Feeling small…
Karen the Kraken…
A Souvenir…
A Happy Christmas…
The Christmas Special marks a milestone, and its creation was inspired organically. The idea originated with Tim performing a magic trick for Bash, and as we developed the concept, it felt fitting for the story to conclude with him putting the coin in a piggy bank, saving up for a Christmas present for Bash. My favorite moments include Bash walking through the spooky forest, and then the panel where he is embraced by Tim at the end.
Drawing on my experience as an animator significantly shapes my approach to character design and storytelling in comics. It’s helped me think about storytelling poses, and trying to communicate what someone is thinking/feeling in a single pose. I’ve tried to incorporate a good composition to lead the eye nicely in each panel.
The dynamic between Tim and Bash centers on the challenges and joys of pet ownership, drawing inspiration from real-life experiences while incorporating a fantastical twist with Bash being a dragon. Andy, who owns two beautiful spaniels, and my own experiences growing up with cats provided some inspiration for ideas. However, we are always trying to relate it to traditional dragon traits, such as gold hoarding, fire breathing, and a hatred of knights.
The most rewarding moments of Tim and Bash are when we receive comments telling us that they were having a really tough day, but that our comic brightened their day. This makes it feel like we are doing something purposeful. I suppose the main way it has evolved is that the comic was supposed to be something small to help introduce the characters and world in a small way, and we never expected to do longer episodes. But the characters and world feel like they lend themselves to longer stories very well.
Some of my favorite moments or story arcs from the series are when Tim paints rocks gold and Bash finds out, Bash’s adventures of sheep rustling, and Bash going to the vets.
My Christmas Special Comic Featuring A Firefighter and His Mischievous Adopted Baby Dragon Bored Panda
