Writing for animation is different from, say, poetry (or blogging) because you’re writing for artists. Graphic artists and actors and sound designers and editors bring what you write to life. Like composers, animation writers must consider interpreters and performers when they commit a thought to paper. Creative people like to have fun. So whenever we considered a story for X-MEN:TAS, one of the first questions we asked was: “Is this good for animation?” Some stories aren’t. There’s no reason to animate Twelve Angry Men with its dozen jurors standing around arguing for two hours. The Phoenix Saga, on the other hand, is bigger than life and visual. So we felt confident that episode #45 (“Love in Vain”) would be popular with our artists and actors. Alien life forms were inhabiting and transforming our characters. Instead of just drawing and voicing Rogue, Larry Houston and Lenore Zann got to re-imagine her as she transformed into an alien creature. Below are a couple of Larry’s drawings of Rogue — one standard, one half-transformed. Challenging your colleagues is always a good idea.
