Toon-In Talk Episode 17: Interview with Adam Toews

Hello and welcome to seventeenth episode of Fanboy Nation’s Toon-In-Talk, your rendezvous for animation interviews. What happens when an animation fan, an animator, and his crazy co-workers decide to have some fun during a podcast interview? This is what happened during the seventeenth episode. Whitney chats with Adam Toews, an illustrator on the hit series Archer. Adam works at Floyd County Productions, an Atlanta-based animation studio. They discuss Adam’s career, his work on Archer, and how Atlanta is becoming a bigger animation venue. Show Notes Adam’s last name is pronounced “taves,” although it’s spelled like “toes.” He will answer to both. Adam works at Floyd County Productions on Archer and he was the art director on He started in animation for Cartoon Network’s Squidbillies, Aquateen Hunger Force, and even Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law. Whitney and Adam talk about how animators are versatile artists. Atlanta is a hub for animators and is becoming one of the new centers for animation in the US. Adult Swim is probably one of the reasons why Atlanta is becoming an animation hotspot. Adam got into animation through an internship he had at Turner Broadcasting (Cartoon Network). He was impressed by the casual dress code and they played good music. He also got really great animation experience. His first job was at Radical Axis, an Atlanta-based animation studio, where he worked on Squidbillies and Aqua Teen Hunger Force. Adam recommends brand new animators start out at a smaller studio, because you get work on all tasks on the pipeline. The wonderful story about how Adam got to work on Archer is explained. Archer is described as if James Bond met Arrested Development, the classic office comedy that just happens to be an international spy ring. Whitney disliked the first two episodes of Archer, but after the third she was hooked. It was due to the character’s complexities and their bizarre approach to a the usually serious spy drama. Adam and Whitney praise the animation style and how it so different from its contemporary mature cartoons, i.e. The Simpsons, American Dad, and Family Guy. Each person in Archer’s animation staff has an important function and Adam explain each role in detail, including his own as an illustrator. All of Archer’s key animation is done using Adobe Illustrator. The show’s writer Adam Reed is like a unicorn in the mists, he appears one day with scripts and then disappears again. This was recorded on a Friday night, so a few of Adam’s co-workers came to visit, Kim Feigenbaum and Adam Forbes. But due to craziness and recording difficulties, their pieces had to be edited out. Adam does share that the Atlanta, Georgia animation community is like a family and how during the deadlines you can learn more about yourself and make some really strong friendships. Also he declares that dance parties are fun.