Check Out Karen & Bill Drastal’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Karen & Bill Drastal.

Karen & Bill, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Bill and I have worked all over the animation industry for over ten years. We worked in games, marketing, design, and TV production, to name a few. We also worked on and off doing freelance work between jobs. One day at the end of 2016, we got a contract job from USC and Children’s Hospital to produce a series of animated vignettes for a joint project there were working on. Design, animation, compositing, the whole package. It was a lot of work and a ton of learning, but we did it. We built a fantastic team, cast the voice actors, produced the animation, and got it done. We were very proud of what we were able to accomplish, and we had so much fun in the process. It was a crazy new experience of running the machine instead of being a small part of it. We enjoyed ourselves, we played to each other’s strengths and found we make a great team. The entire experience got us thinking that maybe this is something we want to continue. So in late 2018, we took the leap and created Chubby Beagle. We’re taking everything we’ve learned in our careers, and we’re building something we are proud of. We want to take a different approach to an animation studio. Our plan for the future is to develop a studio that encourages artists to explore and grow their skills. To establish a team of diverse voices to tell their stories, express themselves, play to their strengths, and let them shine. We plan to create a solid foundation of original IP and products to keep the studio self-sustaining while working with clients creating fun and entertaining animated content. The possibilities for growth are endless, and we’re so excited.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
It’s been a slow road. We decided to do a slow growth for our studio rather than diving in too quickly, getting in a lot of debt, and possibly getting over our heads. We started with small projects and have been progressing with more extensive projects and building up. Making sure we have a solid foundation and then taking the next step. The challenging part has been being patient. We have so many ideas for the future that it’s hard not to jump ahead and get ahead of ourselves. It’s similar to the entire animation process. You want to see the finished product right away, but you have to take things one step at a time, such as planning the production before hiring the team, making the art before you animate, etc. We have to remind ourselves that we’re in this for the long haul, so patience is key. It has been gratifying to watch the studio grow. We look back to how far we’ve come, and we know it’s well worth the wait.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Chubby Beagle specializes in 2D and digital animated content. Currently, we have the privilege of working on an independent movie called ‘Maxxie Lawow: Drag Super-shero,” and we couldn’t be more excited! It’s a celebration of drag, animation, and superheroes. It tells a heartwarming story about embracing and encouraging folks to be their authentic selves and finding their inner confidence. All of that wrapped up in a campy adventure comedy with a great message. This entire movie fits the Chubby Beagle style perfectly. We pride ourselves on our friendly, relatable, and engaging style—art and animation with a lot of personality and heart. We chose our business name as an homage to our old dog Sally, who was a very fun, goofy, adorably, chubby, chubby beagle. We strive for our company’s brand to embody her personality in all our projects.

We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Our main goal is to build a sustainable studio. Success would be to continue creating a studio where artists play to their strengths and feel encouraged to develop new things. We want to bring on artists to stay and help build new projects and ideas. Once one project is done, move them on to a new project or develop something new. Success to us would be an ever-evolving studio with artists reaching their full potential and having their voices heard while building a future full of possibilities.

Contact Info:

• Email: info@chubbybeagle.com
• Website: www.chubbybeagle.com
• Instagram: chubby_beagle
• Facebook: @ChubbyBeagle
• Twitter: @ChubbyBeagles
• Other: https://www.maxxie.com/