When animation director and co-producer of "South Park" Eric Stough (Film’95) started work on the quirky adult sitcom show 16 years ago, he cut out the famous cartoon characters from construction paper.
Today, he and his team use digital software to produce a similar effect, lending, in the process, a certain creative genius that has helped the animated sitcom become one of Comedy Central’s highest-rated shows.
“I feel extremely blessed to be doing what I love,” says Stough who has watched the show’s production team grow from just a few people to a team of 80 during his tenure.
The creators of the show, Trey Parker (A&S ex’93) and Matt Stone (Art, Math’93), spotted Stough’s talent for animation while they were attending CU-Boulder, and Parker convinced Stough to join them in the film department to broaden his animation abilities.
“Eric’s long-standing relationship with Matt and Trey is beyond valuable on a day-to-day basis,” says Frank Agnone, "South Park’s" supervising producer. “He is as much a part of "South Park" as Matt and Trey are.”
The "South Park" cartoon character Butters, created by Trey Parker (A&S ex’93), is loosely based on Eric Stough’s (Film’95) personality. Stough has known Parker since he was 13 years old — they attended the same middle and high schools and acted in school musicals together. Photo by Patrick Campbell.