Sunday, November 15, 2020

Steve Lowtwait to Give Away his Iconic Nickelodeon Desk to a Young Artist

Illustrator Steve Lowtwait, who worked on Nickelodeon shows such as SpongeBob SquarePants, Rugrats, Hey Arnold! and CatDog, as well as the network's upcoming Baby Shark's Big Show!, has announced that he is giving away his iconic Classic Nickelodeon animation desk to one young artist!


"My first animation job was on Hey Arnold at the start of season 1 production in 1996. Rocko’s Modern Life had been winding down so desks and supplies were transferred to the Hey Arnold crew. As a background designer, this was my desk on the show," said Lowtwait.

"In 1998, Nickelodeon opened a newly remodeled Animation Studio complete with modern animation desks. The old ones were offered to the artists to purchase. I think I paid $50 for it. It had been against a wall the whole time and I’d never seen the back. So when it came time to move the desk home, I discovered the painting of Ren and learned about its origins on Ren and Stimpy. What a great surprise! Nobody else’s desk had massive artwork on it. (The desk was built new in 1993 when Nickelodeon took over show production from Spumco.)

"It became my art desk at home in Pasadena. I moved it with me to Colorado where I used it as a freelance illustrator for 13 years. I moved it back to Los Angeles when I returned to the animation industry in 2014. It was my work-at-home desk for the first half of the 2020 quarantine. 

"I’ve created thousands of pieces of art on this desk. Your turn."

The desk features a painting of Ren Hoek, the bad-tempered chihuahua from The Ren & Stimpy Show:

"He’s really special," added Lowtwait. "The entire back of the desk features a giant, original, hand-painted in acrylic character portrait of Ren from The Ren and Stimpy Show. Ren’s crazy eyes and conniving grin capture him well.

"I wish I knew who painted it but it obviously was done by a Ren and Stimpy show artist. I tried several times across the years to track down a name. I’ve communicated with people from the crew who suggested who might have done it, but nothing conclusive. My notes on that were lost when a storage shed I had was robbed. Maybe social media can help track down the artist.

"I usually had Ren facing a wall and only got to see him when I moved. So he’s always been well preserved. Through several moves, he’s gotten a few scratches, so I’ve touched him up. He’s still not perfect, but he never was. "

The desk also features some unique pencil drawings from staff who worked on some of Nickelodeon's biggest shows.

"Underneath the plexi on the wood are some pencil drawings. Near the bottom is an amphibian like character in a top hat. There’s also a word ballon that reads, 'All I vant ess da fame' pointing to nobody. I don’t know its meaning. And in one corner are a couple of crude doodles, what looks like a middle finger up and a - you figure it out yourself. I just always left what was there as it stayed hidden beneath the white plexiglass."

The desk is "sturdy as hell", made of plywood, and built to last. The desk, which comes with its own drawer and lightbox, is is 48” wide and 29.5” deep. It’s 57.25” high and the desktop height when laid flat is 28.5” high.

How to Win the Desk:

This desk is a one-of-a-kind piece of Nickelodeon history. To be in with the chance of being its next custodian:

- You have to be a young artist, meaning 18 to 29 years old. Lowtwait is doing this because he wants to support youth and let the desk become part of someone else’s career for decades to come. You don’t need to prove your age, just be honest.

- You have to share Lowtwait's giveaway on your social media of choice. The artist is mostly Twitter based so you can retweet this tweet if you’d like.

(If Lowtwait works with you, you’re out. Sorry. Choosing you would seem unfair to others.)

How to Enter:

Simply Lowtwait to me about why you’re the best candidate for this desk and how you will use it. You can be an amateur artist, a student, or already working in the animation industry. Tell him about yourself, your art, and your creative dreams. Make your case. He's going to choose based on your personal story and your vision for the desk.

Submit your entry through December 1st.

Visit http://stevelowtwait.com/desk for details on how to enter and to find out more information about the desk! Good luck!

More Nick: Nickelodeon Updates Icons, Sets New Characters for 2021 | Next-Gen Nick!

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'A Little Birdie Told Us!' Trailer | Unleashed | Nickelodeon

Make sure to catch more animals doing the unbelievable in the brand new Nickelodeon Unleashed episode "A Little Birdie Told Us!", premiering Thursday, November 19, 2020 at 7:00 p.m. (ET/PT), followed by a all new season of Top Elf at 7:30, only on Nick! Check out the PAWsome trailer below!:


In the all new Unleashed episode "A Little Birdie Told Us!," a record-holding Terrier pops a field of balloons, secret agent birds take on a treacherous mission and space canines defy gravity. Featuring judges Peyton List, Preacher Lawson and Utkarsh Ambudkar. (#106)

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Originally published: Sunday, November 15, 2020.

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Josh & Blue's Thanksgiving VLOG Ep. 23 🦃 🍁 | Thanksgiving Crafts | Blue's Clues & You!

Josh & Blue's Thanksgiving VLOG Ep. 23 🦃 🍁 | Thanksgiving Crafts | Blue's Clues & You!


In this special Thanksgiving vlog, Josh and Blue reflect what they are thankful for as they open mail, read Josh's thankful book, and hang out with the Felt Friends for a feast!

For more activities, visit http://www.nickelodeonparents.com

Look out for the Blue's Clues & You! float in the 94th Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade!: http://nickalive.blogspot.com/2020/10/nickelodeon-balloons-and-floats-to-take.html

Meet Josh's "lola" (grandmother) in "Blue’s Big Baking Show," premiering Friday, Nov. 20 at 11:00 a.m. (ET/PT) on Nickelodeon!: http://nickalive.blogspot.com/2020/11/blues-clues-you-host-josh-introduces.html

Kids can watch their favorite Nick Jr. shows weekdays on Nickelodeon and all week long on the Nick Jr. channel: http://nickjr.com/tvschedule/

Subscribe to the official Blue’s Clues & You! YouTube channel! Subscribe today at https://at.nick.com/BCYSubscribe!


#Thanksgiving #JoshAndBlueVlogs #BluesCluesAndYou

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Celebrating Ruby Bridges | Nickelodeon

Nickelodeon celebrates the fearless Ruby Bridges and her contribution to ending segregation in schools across America.


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Classic Rugrats Comic Strip for Saturday, November 14, 2020 | Nickelodeon

Classic Rugrats Comic Strip for Saturday, November 14, 2020 | Nickelodeon
Rugrats, provided to Creators Syndicate by Nickelodeon, based off the popular animated television series has been created for children and family's to laugh and enjoy together.

Follow these comics and their take on real episodes of the show and their own spin on hilarious adventures.

Read more Rugrats comic strips!: https://www.creators.com/features/rugrats

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Classic Rugrats Comic Strip for Friday, November 13, 2020 | Nickelodeon

Classic Rugrats Comic Strip for Friday, November 13, 2020 | Nickelodeon
Rugrats, provided to Creators Syndicate by Nickelodeon, based off the popular animated television series has been created for children and family's to laugh and enjoy together.

Follow these comics and their take on real episodes of the show and their own spin on hilarious adventures.

Read more Rugrats comic strips!: https://www.creators.com/features/rugrats

More Nick: Nickelodeon Unveils First Look at CG-Animated 'Rugrats' and 'Big Nate'!
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SpongeBob Swears in 'The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run'

SpongeBob SwearPants!


A fan favorite episode of SpongeBob SquarePants is "Sailor Mouth". In the episode, SpongeBob reads a "bad word" off a dumpster behind the Krusty Krab, but does not know what it means. Patrick explains to him that it is a "sentence enhancer" which is used "when you want to talk fancy." The two start using it in every sentence they speak, but when Mr. Krabs hears them, he warns the two never to use the word again or any of the "13 bad words." What makes the episode funnier, however, is that, whenever SpongeBob and Patrick say a bad word, its censored by a "dolphin noise" sound effect.

So when fans watched the brand new SpongeBob movie, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run, they were surprised to hear SpongeBob swearing in a scene!

Just past the half-way point in the movie, after they try and snatch Gary back from King Poseidon, he imprisons SpongeBob and Patrick. Whilst in prison, SpongeBob reflects on how he may have failed on his mission to rescue Gary, and at one point, describes feeling "crappy" - a word that was normally be censored on the TV series!


That's not all! Earlier in the movie, El Diablo (played by Danny Trejo, Dora and the Lost City of Goldtalks about the "ghost town of the dammed".

Admittingly, neither cuss words are that strong - and I'd argue that the latter is barely a cuss word - but they're two words that fans would never expect to hear on SpongeBob SquarePants, which makes it truly surprising!

In fact, light swearing has been heard on Nickelodeon for decades, with "crap" being heard on The Ren & Stimpy Show and Hey Arnold!.

The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run is now available to stream on Netflix globally, excluding the U.S., Canada and China.

In the U.S., The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run will debut on Paramount+ early next year. In Canada, the movie will debut on Netflix at a later date. A release for China has not yet been announced.

Have you see The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run? Rate and review the here!: http://nickalive.blogspot.com/2020/11/what-did-you-think-of-spongebob-movie.html

More Nick: Nickelodeon Reveals First Look of Characters in Original 'Kamp Koral: SpongeBob’s Under Years' Animated Series!

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