
David Z. Horvath (May 28, 1971) is an American illustrator, comics artist, toy designer and author best known for creating the popular
Uglydoll characters as well as the world they inhabit, The Uglyverse, with his wife, Sun-Min Kim. The toy line began in 2001 with a single plush toy called Wage, hand sewn by his sweetheart and creative partner, Sun-Min Kim for David as a gift, and grew into the brand.
Kim and Horvath were later married. Today they live in
Los Angeles and have two kids: a daughter and a son.
Along with a plush Uglydoll line, he is also the author and illustrator of 12 ''Uglydoll'' books, including the four "Ugly Guides" and a series of comic books, and the Bossy Bear series of children’s books. His books have been reprinted in
Korean,
Japanese, and
Spanish.
Education
Horvath attended Parsons: The New School For Design.
Characters

David Horvath and Sun-Min Kim are the creators of multiple characters and toy lines including:
* Uglydolls
* Bossy Bear, Bissy Bear, and Turtle
* Crocadoca
* Noupa
* Littlebony
* Choco and Minty
* Roller the Reindeer
* Dunnys with Kidrobot
* Kaiju including:
:Mothman
:Flatwoods
:Chupacabra
:Uma
:Wage
:Ice-Bat
* Super Puncher
* Power Mister
* Pounda and Chu Chu
* My Friend Dave
Noupa is a heroic garbage man who organizes a small underground movement against the evils of Super 7.5 robots in a struggle of nature VS commerce. The Noupa world includes 21 characters. In the early 2000s, Flying Cat produced these 21 characters as vinyl figures which were distributed by Critterbox. Five of the figures were limited releases exclusive to toy shows. Collectors refer to the entire series of characters as "Noupa."
Adaptations
An ''
UglyDolls'' animated film was released by
STX Entertainment
STX Entertainment is a mini-major American entertainment and media company. Founded in March 2014 by film producer Robert Simonds, the studio produces film, television, and digital media projects.
In April 2020, STX announced that it would merg ...
on May 3, 2019 to mixed reviews.
A TV series based on the property is in the works for
Hulu
Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television serie ...
, as announced the same year.
A Bossy Bear animated series was announced in March 2022 for
Nickelodeon. Preschool-aimed, it is set to premiere in 2023 with an initial 30 episode order.
Awards
* Toy Of The Year Award by Toy Industry Association
* Oppenheim Best Toy Award
* Parent's Choice Approved Award
Publications
* How to Draw Ugly (2006)
* Bossy Bear (2007)
* The UglyDoll Ugly Guide #1: To the Uglyverse (2008)
* The UglyDoll Ugly Guide #2: To Things That Go and Things That Should Go But Don't (2008)
* The UglyDoll Ugly Guide #3: To Being Alive and Staying That Way (2009)
* Just Like Bossy Bear (2009)
* Chilly Chilly Ice-Bat (2009)
* 1 2 3 4 U (2009)
* ABC U Later (2009)
* The UglyDoll Ugly Guide #4: To Eating Out and Keeping It Down (2010)
* Ugly Colors (2010)
* Babo's Cookie Problem (2011)
* What Dat? (2011)
* Uglydoll: SHHHHHHH (2013) Comic Book
* Uglydoll: Eat Dat! (2013) Comic Book
*Uglydoll: Goin' Places (2013) Comic Book
References
Sources
Wall Street Journal InterviewVinyl Creep
External links
Official Uglydoll Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Horvath, David
American comics artists
American toy industry businesspeople
1971 births
American illustrators
American children's writers
Living people