So…does that mean they can be scary?  Katy Towell seems to believe that the creepy side of youth exists, as she's become an internet celebrity with her rather dark cartoons about little girls.  Her gothic work seems like something from a Tim Burton film with the creepiness of Marilyn Manson, not to mention the fact that most of her work hasn't really done a quote "Happy Ending".

If you wish to find her cartoons, you can look them up at Skary.net along with art, blogs, news and other info you wish to find out.  So with that out of the way, let's get to know the Lady Towell.

Drew:  When/Where/How did you get the idea of exploring the creepiness of Children?
Katy: I worked with preschool children when I was eighteen/nineteen. I loved it, but I found that they could be really creepy without even trying. There’s almost nothing creepier than a cute, chubby-cheeked two-year-old coming up to you for a hug and whispering in your ear, “I’M GONNA KILL YOU.” That happened once! I think (hope) he picked that up from TV or something. Anyway, those kids were very influential to me, even years later.

Drew:  Is there any influence for you with your work, whether it's an artist, musician, film maker that you would credit?
Katy: Aside from actual children, I’d credit a lot of different influences. My dad, for one. He always encouraged my drawing and writing, and he had a morbid sense of humor of his own. Musicians like Danny Elfman, Tom Waits, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds. Roald Dahl, Edward Gorey, and even Salman Rushdie for literary influences. I'm also strongly influenced by the artwork of Harry Clarke, Alphonse Mucha and again, Edward Gorey.

Drew:  What made you decide to start creating your own cartoons?
Katy: It was just something I hadn’t done yet. And I never intended to do anymore after The Little Girl, but the reaction to it was such that I thought, well… might as well keep at it.

Drew:  Some would label your art as gothic, is there anything you would call it?
Katy: I like “dark humor” for a label. Should be used more often, if you ask me.

Drew:  Your films all have unique soundtracks, where do you get some of them?
Katy: Some of the music has been written for me by friends. Other tracks I found on royalty-free sites. I never use music without permission.

STAGE FRIGHT
0:57
A Poor little girl who
just can't calm her nerves.


Drew:  Your first ever cartoon was Stage Fright, where did you come up with the idea for it?
Katy: I honestly don’t know. It just sort of… happened.

Drew:  As your first and shortest film, where does it stand for you with all your other work?
Katy: It’s probably my least favorite, but I did learn a lot in the process of making it.

Drew:  With no speaking parts or words to explain, some could get lost as to what exactly was going on, did you design it to leave them guessing?
Katy: Well… no. Haha. I think the story was just more obvious to me than it was to everyone outside my head. But that’s another reason it’s one of my weaker efforts.

CANDY 2:07	THE BLACK HALLOWEEN 2:48	CUPID'S LAST STAND 2:26
Two stories that bring new horror to Trick or Treating, and the final moments of Cupid.

Drew:  Candy and The Black Halloween are obviously meant for All Hollows Eve, and yet despite so many stories that have been used and done over, you've made two shorts I feel are very original. How did you come up with these two Trick or Treat stories?
Katy: I had a basic rule for those, and that was simply Someone Must Die. Knowing that somebody had to die - and die for the love of candy - it was only a matter of figuring out how. There are so many great elements to Halloween just waiting to be utilized. For The Black Halloween, a friend actually sent an illustration of a 14th-century plague doctor, and it was so delightfully weird that I knew I had to do something with that costume.

Drew:  Cupid's Last Stand seems to have a more abrupt statement against Valentines Day, is it more personal for you or was it just wicked fun?
Katy: A little bit of both, I think. I think we've all had a reason to loathe Valentine's Day at some point in our lives.

Drew:  After these three shorts, can we expect more short films about Holidays?
Katy: Possibly! There are still several holidays to tackle.

The Little Girl who was Forgotten
by Absolutely Everyone
(Even the Postman)
8:30

Drew:  This one could easily be called your first big project, how did it come about?
Katy: I guess I was going through kind of a sad time in my life, so for fun, I wanted to do a story about a girl who basically just gets her revenge. Sort of a catharsis. But as I was writing the story, it took a different path. Yes, revenge is involved, but is it really the answer? Is it worth it? That's what makes her story the ultimate tragedy for me.

Drew:  Part of what makes this so affective would be Tim Jones and his unique voice narrating the story, how did you come about recruiting his vocal talents?
Katy: Tim's been a good friend of mine for a long time, and I always thought he had a great speaking voice. He wanted to do some voice work, and I thought, "This one is perfect for Tim." I wanted it to have the feel of a dad reading a bedtime story. Tim's a dad, himself, so add that to his vocal talents, and he really was the perfect choice.

Drew:  The story is obviously dark and very much a tragedy, was there any theme or message you had involved?
Katy: There are two messages to this one. One: take time for your loved ones. Toys and presents don't take the place of affection. Two: don't bottle your feelings up inside. Eventually, they'll explode and cause more harm than good.

Drew:   How did Mr. Creezle's (hope I spelled it right) design come about, both his friendly and demonic forms?
Katy: (Close: it's Mister Creazil. The Mister is always spelled out.) His friendlier form was modeled in part after my childhood dog. She was a west highland white terrier and always had tufts of hair sticking up on her head here and there. His demonic form is sort of your classic demon look, but I exaggerated some of those elements because I wanted him to be uncomfortable-looking. Hence the impossibly tall horns.

Drew:  I know the ending was left for us not to know, but what do you think happened to little Emily and her friend?
Katy: I like to think they became ghosts, but friendly ones who comfort lonely little children.

Drew:  I've seen before that you've had a picture book of this story made, is it still being printed and how can one get it?
Katy: Sadly, it's no longer available for print. It may return at some point in a more professional format, but for now it's on hold.

When Genevieve Ruled the World
8:41

She should have been told no, but now it's too late...for all of us.


Drew:  This story had a complete 180 flip from the last one as it went from sad to spoiled with a unique twist, how did this story come about?
Katy: That 180 flip was a big part of the goal with this one. I had already done a tragic story about a lonely girl. So, it followed that the next story would be a lighter story about a spoiled brat. I figured that the ultimate brat wouldn't be satisfied with toys. She'd want the entire world.

Drew:  Like the last film, this one was influenced by the Narration work, this time by Aisha Elderwyn, how did you get her on for this?
Katy: She and her husband Gwydi were already working on the music for this cartoon when I had a narration crisis. Basically, another friend of mine - Melanie Ames - had recorded the narration, but there were some severe technical problems with the recording, and we didn't know when a replacement could be made. So, Aisha offered, sent me a demo, and I loved it! I kept Melanie's voice for that of the mother as it was one of the few parts of the original that was still usable.

Drew: This story is also different from the last as it's not so dark and even a bit comedic, was this because the last one was tragic, that you wanted a lighter hearted story?
Katy: That's it in a nutshell. I'd already been accused of being "emo" so I had to counter that somehow. lol

Drew:  Was there any messages or themes you wanted to get across at all?
Katy: Don't spoil your kids! Alternatively: you can achieve anything you want if you use your brain. But seriously, don't spoil your kids. It's dangerous.

El Despertar
4:24

When a little girl works hard for you, you pay her damn it!


Drew:  This story has a more obvious inspiration, the Pied Piper story, what was it about that story that made you want to do your own version of it?
Katy: This story was originally just supposed to be an extension of an illustration I had made that was called "The Black Tambourine." It featured a little girl dancing gleefully as a crowd of zombies gathered behind her, and I thought it would be fun to do an animation about her. But as I started working on the story, I realized that her control over the zombies was not unlike the Pied Piper with the rat infestation, so I went from there. The Pied Piper's such a weird, disturbing story on its own, you know, but that made it a lot of fun to work with.

Drew:  Another obvious part of this one is a classic of Horror, Zombies, had you had interest in doing Zombies before?
Katy: Absolutely. I just wasn't sure how to do it in a unique way until El Despertar.

Drew:  Another deviation this time was the break away from a narrator and voice acting, plus did the old fashion black and white silent films, was there any inspiration for that setting?
Katy: I really love silent films. There's something beautiful and also a little unnerving about them, even when they're happy stories. It's the dark makeup, exaggerated acting and the way everything moves just a little quicker than it should. And I love the cheesy dialogue and all the art deco design. El Despertar was as much a chance for me to play with a film style that I love as it was a retelling of the Pied Piper of Hamelin.

Ida's Luck (Part 1) 6:47	Ida's Luck (Part 2) 8:54
She couldn't catch a break, and not giving her one would cost them all.

Drew:  With this two part story, you returned to some of your roots with more darker and tragic themes, how did this one come about?
Katy: I had been listening to some classical music that was rather mournful-sounding, and the idea just sort of popped into my head. It took some time to iron out all the details of the story, but I knew I wanted it to be about a very sweet child who had seen horrors that most grownups never see, who was followed by misfortune wherever she went.

Drew:  There seems to be a sense of persecution and a bit of religious concepts involved, where they personal at all?
Katy: Religion was not an intentional influence, but persecution is definitely a theme. It's not really personal for me specifically, but everyone has both felt persecuted and persecuted others in some way. The point of this story is to not let it get you down for one, and to not judge a book by its cover.

Drew:  As mentioned, this is a two part film by you, easily your longest story to date, would you say you liked doing a longer then usual story or do you prefer the shorter ones you've made?
Katy: As long as the story is told completely, length doesn't matter so much to me. But as far as the sheer amount of work involved, I totally prefer the shorter ones! I would do it all again, though.

Drew:  This marks your second stab at voice acting for your cartoons, the first being Candy, how does it feel adding your own voice into your work?
Katy: It's just another step in the creation process. I still prefer the vocal talents of other people, but sometimes necessity requires you do it yourself.

Drew:  Ida's fate is left open to speculation, possibly even a return; will we ever see Ida again?
Katy: I'm following Ida's example and keeping mum about that for the time being!

Future of Katy's work

Drew:  So now that we've covered what you have done, can you elaborate as to what we can see from you in the future?
Katy: There are a lot of things in the works right now. My biggest projects are a picture book version of When Genevieve Ruled the World and a middle-grade children's novel based loosely on the whole Childrin R Skary series. Of course, I will continue to create new illustrations and possibly some short works of fiction with the occasional short animation.

Drew:  Have you ever been offered any form of commercial chances?
Katy: Quite a few times, yes, but this is something I've always wanted to be very careful about. There's a right time for everything, and I don't want to rush into mall store t-shirts just yet. Not that there's anything wrong with mall store t-shirts!

Drew:  What would you list as your long term goals with you cartoons and art?
Katy: Ultimately, I'd like to published and possibly see my work on the big screen. Granted, that's probably everyone's dream, but anything is possible, I think.

And like my last interview, I'll finish this off with random questions to get to know Katy a little more and to end on a fun note.

Drew:  Who were your childhood hero(s)?
Katy: Both of my parents, for sure. They really encouraged my creative habits, even when those habits fell on the morbid side. I was also a big fan of Tim Burton as a kid. Now that I'm older, I've come to appreciate the artists and writers who most likely influenced Burton, but you gotta start somewhere.

Drew:  Where would you love to visit in the world before you die?
Katy: That is a tough question. There are so many places! I think it's a tossup between England, Louisiana, Italy, and probably the Sedlec Ossuary in the Czech Republic.

Drew:  What food could live off of till you die?
Katy: Anything Thai!

Drew:  Favorite TV show?
Katy: It's silly and campy and a total guilty pleasure, but I have a special place in my heart for HBO's True Blood.

Drew:  Favorite genre of film and film in it?
Katy: I really like well-made horror films and thrillers, but they have have an excellent story. I'm not so much into slasher/torture films that exist purely for shock value. It's hard to pick a favorite, but if I had to narrow it down, my choices would be Murnau's Nosferatu, Hitchcock's Vertigo, and the more recent Let The Right One In.

Drew:  Favorite kind of music and musician who performs it?
Katy: I'm not sure what category he falls under, but Tom Waits is definitely my favorite, especially from the Swordfishtrombones album on. He's a great storyteller with songs like "What's He Building?" from Mule Variations and "Poor Edward" from Alice. If I had three wishes, at least one of those would be that he'd write the soundtrack to a Skary movie.

Drew:  Favorite Drink?  Alcoholic or not, doesn’t matter.
Katy: Masala chai with a little milk in it.

Drew:  Do you have any religious stance?
Katy: It might be a little surprising, given the amount of violence and bloodlust in the creative work I do, but I call myself a Christian anyway.

Drew:  Favorite book?  Fiction or Non-Fiction doesn’t matter.
Katy: Salman Rushdie's Haroun and the Sea of Stories. I bought the book with birthday money when I was about twelve, and I bought it because it had a fish on the cover just like my fish at home. I didn't know anything about Rushdie at the time. But that book ended up becoming a beloved favorite that I've read over and over, even as an adult.

Drew:  What is your favorite swear word?
Katy: I like old-fashioned curses that no one really uses anymore. "Damnation!" is just great when said with the right amount of melodrama.

Drew:  What is your favorite/least favorite thing about doing what you do?
Katy: Favorite thing is certainly writing the stories behind each cartoon and drawing the illustrations. Least favorite thing would be the actual animating. It can be pretty tedious work sometimes, and I often wish I could just draw the pictures and will them into being.

Drew:  And finally, anything you would love to say to your fans, new and old?
Katy: I'd say thank you! That's all, really. There aren't words for how great you guys are.

Yet all things have a dark side to them, and children are no exception.  Katy Towell's cartoons show that in serious, tragic, dark and even a little comedic ways.  With her own unique drawing style and creative work, I hope she keeps pumping stuff out for a long time to come.  So keep tuned to Skary.net and see what new creation this gifted woman can come up with next.