Over the Garden Wall background tutorial

Over The Garden Wall is an animation miniseries created by Patrick McHale for Cartoon Network. It was directed by Nick Cross in 2014. Over the Garden Wall was first envisioned in 2004 with a scarier and more adventure-based storyline. Before working as a storyboard artist on The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack, artist Patrick McHale pitched the show in 2006, then known under the title Tome of the Unknown. The series would follow two brothers, Walter and Gregory, who after signing themselves into a Faustian deal with a devil named Old Scratch, journey across the Land of the In-Between to track down the pages of a book of forgotten stories. McHale saw it as "a possible Halloween special", but had trouble adapting the premise with a larger story arc. After his work for Flapjack, McHale moved on to co-develop Adventure Time, where he served as creative director, and subsequently as a writer. The network later asked him if he had interest in developing a pilot, which led to him returning to Tome of the Unknown, polishing it and pitching it again to the network. After creating a pilot episode, Tome of the Unknown: Harvest Melody, McHale and the network settled upon the miniseries format for the ensuing series, as McHale felt that it would lead to "something that felt higher quality than what we could do with a regular series". McHale abandoned the original idea centered around chapters of a mystical tome and the series' title became Over the Garden Wall. The pictures on this page are a collection of artworks created for this miniseries.

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Who did the background art for over the garden wall?
What art style is over the garden wall?

THE STORY

On an adventure, brothers Wirt and Greg get lost in the Unknown, a strange forest adrift in time. A wise old woodsman and bluebird Beatrice help them find their way. Along the way, Wirt's thoughts envelope him, while the wonder of the surroundings preoccupy Greg…

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Who did the background art for over the garden wall?

Clarke Snyder - Background Designer & Painter Background paintings by Clarke Snyder for Cartoon Network's Over The Garden Wall.

What art style is over the garden wall?

It blends the styles of classical animation with modern techniques, a continuum of the past and present. It straddles the line between childhood and maturity. Much like Wirt, The Unknown is uncertain about what it wants to be.