Rough Draft Studios, Inc. is an American
animation
Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby still images are manipulated to create moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Animati ...
production studio based in
Glendale, California
Glendale is a city located primarily in the Verdugo Mountains region, with a small portion in the San Fernando Valley, of Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is located about north of downtown Los Angeles.
As of 2024, Glendale ha ...
, with a sister studio Rough Draft Korea located in
Seoul
Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...
,
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
.
The studio was founded in
Van Nuys
Van Nuys ( ) is a neighborhood in the central San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Home to Van Nuys Airport and the Valley Municipal Building, it is the most populous neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley.
History
In 1 ...
,
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
by
Gregg Vanzo in 1991.
Rough Draft Studios and its divisions have produced specials, commercials and direct-to-video work for companies such as
Warner Bros. Animation,
Cartoon Network Studios
Cartoon Network Studios Inc. (abbreviated as CNS or CN Studios) is an American animation studio owned by the Warner Bros. Television Group division of Warner Bros. Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. The studio is the producti ...
,
20th Television Animation
20th Television Animation (formerly known as Fox Television Animation) is an American animation studio and production company that creates, develops, produces, publishes, and distributes primarily adult animated television series and specials. ...
,
MTV Animation
MTV Animation is an American animation studio and the animation department of the television network MTV. The department's parent company is MTV Entertainment Studios, which is owned by Paramount Global. MTV Animation gained substantial popular ...
,
Film Roman
Film Roman, LLC, is an American animation studio currently based in Woodland Hills, California and formerly in Burbank. It was previously owned by Starz Inc., which is now a division of Lionsgate, and currently by Waterman Entertainment, the p ...
,
Disney Television Animation and
Nickelodeon Animation Studio.
Founding
Rough Draft Studios was founded in a Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California garage by Gregg and Nikki Vanzo. While working on ''
The Ren & Stimpy Show
''The Ren & Stimpy Show'', commonly referred to as simply ''Ren & Stimpy'', is an American animated Comedy film, comedy television series created by John Kricfalusi for Nickelodeon. The series follows the misadventures of Ren Höek, an emotion ...
'', Nikki approached
John Kricfalusi, creator of ''The Ren & Stimpy Show'', about taking the animation to Korea.
Nikki founded and runs Rough Draft Korea.
Growth in business
After working on ''The Ren & Stimpy Show'', many other shows requested the assistance of Rough Draft Korea in animation and ink & paint. In 1992, Rough Draft Studios had produced animation for its first feature film, ''
FernGully: The Last Rainforest''. In the same year, the studio began producing animation for ''
The Simpsons
''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...
'' and then for ''
Beavis and Butt-Head
''Beavis and Butt-Head'' is an American Adult animation, adult animated Animated sitcom, sitcom created by Mike Judge. The series follows Beavis and Butt-Head, both voiced by Judge, a pair of teenage slackers characterized by their apathy, Stupi ...
'' in 1993. Also in 1993, Gregg's brother
Scott Vanzo was brought on board. Rough Draft Korea quickly built a strong portfolio in the animation business with shows like their first series produced outside of
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
''
The Maxx'' in 1995, which was nominated for an
Annie Award
The Annie Awards are accolades which the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood, has presented each year since 1972 to recognize excellence in animation shown in American cinema and television. Origina ...
.
Claudia Katz, who had joined Rough Draft Studios in 1994 to produce ''The Maxx'', and
Rich Moore, joining in 1995 after having worked with Gregg on ''The Simpsons'', completed the core of a Rough Draft Studios which would help "drive the cartoon boom of the late ‘90s".
It was also in 1995 that Rough Draft Studios moved to Glendale, California, where they enjoyed further success.
Technology
Rough Draft Studios is known for its blending of 2-D with
computer animation
Computer animation is the process used for digitally generating Film, moving images. The more general term computer-generated imagery (CGI) encompasses both still images and moving images, while computer animation refers to moving images. Virtu ...
, or
non-photorealistic rendering which it first used on ''The Maxx'' and further utilized with
Matt Groening
Matthew Abram Groening ( ; born February 15, 1954) is an American cartoonist, writer, producer, and animator. He is best known as the creator of the television series ''The Simpsons'' (1989–present), ''Futurama'' (1999–2003, 2008–2013, 2 ...
's projects like ''Futurama'', ''The Simpsons Movie'', a few episodes of ''The Simpsons'' after the film and ''Disenchantment''.
Filmography
Rough Draft Studios
Most projects produced by Rough Draft Studios, Inc. in
Glendale,
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
are also animated overseas by Rough Draft Korea Co., Ltd. in
Seoul
Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...
,
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
.
TV series
Films/specials
Other
*''
The Simpsons
''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...
'' - "
Deep, Deep Trouble" music video (overseas animation provided by
Anivision)
*''
MADtv'' - ''
Spy vs. Spy'' shorts
*2003
Wendy's
Wendy's International, LLC, is an American international fast food restaurant chain founded by Dave Thomas (businessman), Dave Thomas on November 15, 1969, in Columbus, Ohio. Its headquarters moved to Dublin, Ohio, on January 29, 2006. As of D ...
"Go Wild" and
Sprint “Duck Naked” commercials starring the
Looney Tunes
''Looney Tunes'' is an American media franchise produced and distributed by Warner Bros. The franchise began as a series of animated short films that originally ran from 1930 to 1969, alongside its spin-off series ''Merrie Melodies'', during t ...
characters, promoting ''
Looney Tunes: Back in Action''
*
59th Primetime Emmy Awards -
Brian
Brian (sometimes spelled Bryan (given name), Bryan in English) is a male given name of Irish language, Irish and Breton language, Breton origin, as well as a surname of Occitan language, Occitan origin. It is common in the English-speaking world. ...
and
Stewie Griffin opening number
*''
Gravity Falls
''Gravity Falls'' is an American Mystery fiction, mystery television comedy, comedy animated television series created by Alex Hirsch for Disney Channel and Disney XD. The series follows the adventures of Dipper Pines (Jason Ritter) and his twi ...
'' - "
Weirdmageddon 3: Take Back The Falls" (ShackTron CG animation)
*''
Futurama: Worlds of Tomorrow''
*''
DuckTales DuckTales refers to:
Film and television
* ''DuckTales'' (1987 TV series), original TV series
** '' DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp''
* ''DuckTales'' (2017 TV series), reboot TV series
Video games
* ''DuckTales'' (video game) ...
'' - "Moonvasion!" (additional animation)
Rough Draft Korea

Rough Draft Korea, RDS' sister studio based in
Seoul
Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...
,
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
, has produced animation for the following series, features and specials:
TV series
Films/specials
Notes
References
External links
*
*
{{Animation industry in South Korea
1991 establishments in California
American companies established in 1991
American animation studios
Companies based in Glendale, California
Companies based in Seoul
Entertainment companies of South Korea
Entertainment companies of the United States
Mass media companies established in 1991
Privately held companies based in California
South Korean animation studios
Adult animation studios