 |
| Bob Camp | |
|---|---|
 Camp at the 2018 Phoenix Comic Fest | |
| Born | Robert Frank Camp Gregg County, Texas, U.S. |
| Area(s) | Animator Cartoonist Comic book artist Storyboard artist Writer Production artist Director Producer |
Notable works | G.I. Joe Conan the Barbarian The Ren & Stimpy Show SpongeBob SquarePants ThunderCats Evil Con Carne The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Looney Tunes: Back in Action Robots Ice Age: The Meltdown Robotboy |
| bobcampcartoonist.blogspot.com | |
Robert Frank Camp is an American animator, writer, cartoonist, comic book artist, storyboard artist, director, and producer. He is best known for founding Spümcø and his work for developing and serving as a showrunner for The Ren & Stimpy Show. He has been nominated for two Emmys,[1][2] a CableACE Award, and an Annie Award for his work on The Ren & Stimpy Show.
Career
Camp started his animation career as a designer for animated series such as ThunderCats, Silverhawks, TigerSharks, and several other series produced by Rankin/Bass.[3] He then worked as a designer on The Real Ghostbusters for DiC, and later as a storyboard artist on Tiny Toon Adventures for Warner Bros. Television.[3]
Camp was a co-founder of and director for Spümcø, the animation studio that created The Ren & Stimpy Show.[3] He played a major role in the studio's creative force (storyboarding the entirety of "Stimpy's Invention" himself) until September 21, 1992, when he left to work for Games Productions (a.k.a. Games Animation), the animation studio Nickelodeon initially created to continue work on The Ren and Stimpy Show after Spümcø and creator John Kricfalusi had been fired.[3][4] At Games, Camp was promoted to creative director of The Ren and Stimpy Show and supervised the series' production until its conclusion.[3] After Ren & Stimpy ended in 1995, Camp and former Ren & Stimpy writer Jim Gomez began developing a new series for Nickelodeon titled Kid Komet and Galaxy Gal, which was never picked up for a full series.[3]
In the 1980s, Camp worked at Marvel Comics as an illustrator on many comic titles including G.I. Joe, Crazy Magazine, Bizarre Adventures, Savage Tales, Conan the Barbarian, and The 'Nam.[3] During this time, he also drew the cover art of Jam on Revenge, the 1984 debut album by the Electro-hip hop group Newcleus.
In the 2000s, Camp worked as a storyboard artist on animated feature films such as Looney Tunes: Back in Action and Ice Age: The Meltdown,[3] and also as a director on Robotboy.
Camp previously teached at the School of Visual Arts[5] in New York City.
Influences
He was intrigued by Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Stanley Kubrick, Peter Sellers, Laurel and Hardy and Monty Phython, but also Bill Plympton, Terry Gilliam, Don Martin, Walt Disney and Tex Avery.[6]
Filmography
Television
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1985–1987 | ThunderCats | Development artist, design lead |
| SilverHawks | ||
| TigerSharks | ||
| Mini Monsters | ||
| Karate Kat | ||
| Street Frogs | ||
| 1986 | The Real Ghostbusters | Character designer |
| 1987 | Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures | |
| 1988 | The New Adventures of Beany and Cecil | |
| 1990 | Tiny Toon Adventures | Storyboard artist |
| Attack of the Killer Tomatoes | Storyboard director | |
| 1991–1996 | The Ren & Stimpy Show | Story editor, story, storyboard artist, writer, director, producer, supervising director, creative director, voice actor |
| 1997–1998 | Space Goofs | Story, storyboard artist, co-story supervisor, voice director |
| 1997–1999 | Cow and Chicken | Storyboard artist |
| I Am Weasel | ||
| 1999 | The Cartoon Cartoon Show | Dialogue director, writer, director, storyboard artist (The Lucky Lydia Show) |
| 2001 | Evil Con Carne | Storyboard artist |
| 2001–2003 | Jackie Chan Adventures | |
| 2002 | Ozzy & Drix | |
| 2005–2008 | Robotboy | Director, writer |
| 2010 | Sym-Bionic Titan | Storyboard artist |
| 2010–2011 | Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil | |
| 2011 | Bubble Guppies | Storyboard supervisor |
| 2012 | YooHoo & Friends | Storyboard artist |
| 2015–present | SpongeBob SquarePants | Storyboard artist, character designer, supervising director[7] |
| 2016 | Mighty Magiswords | Writer & storyboard artist |
| 2021–2024 | Kamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years | Storyboard supervisor |
| 2023–present | The Patrick Star Show |
Film
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | How the Grinch Stole Christmas | Storyboard artist |
| 2001 | Osmosis Jones | |
| Cats & Dogs | ||
| 2002 | Scooby-Doo | |
| 2003 | Looney Tunes: Back in Action | |
| 2005 | Robots | |
| 2006 | Ice Age: The Meltdown | |
| 2013 | Epic | |
| 2015 | The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water | Layout artist |
| 2020 | Happy Happy Joy Joy: The Ren and Stimpy Story | Himself |
| 2021 | Rumble | Storyboard artist |
Marvel Comics covers – selected bibliography
- The 'Nam (1986) Issues #14, #17, #20, #22[8]
- Conan the Destroyer (1985) #1, #2[8]
References
- ^ Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. "Primetime Emmy Awards Nominations for 1992 - OUTSTANDING ANIMATED PROGRAM (FOR PROGRAMMING ONE HOUR OR LESS)". Retrieved on July 27, 2013.
- ^ Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. "Primetime Emmy Awards Nominations for 1994 - OUTSTANDING ANIMATED PROGRAM (FOR PROGRAMMING ONE HOUR OR LESS)". Retrieved on July 27, 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Bob Camp Bio | Atlanta Comic Con". Atlanta Comic Con. January 19, 2016. Archived from the original on July 10, 2018. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
- ^ "'Ren & Stimpy' go on without their creator", USA Today, September 25, 1992
- ^ "Bob Camp". SVA Film & Animation. Archived from the original on July 10, 2018. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
- ^ "Bob Camp". lambiek.net. Retrieved November 14, 2025.
- ^ [1]
- ^ a b "Bob Camp - Comic Book DB". comicbookdb.com. Archived from the original on November 22, 2019. Retrieved April 13, 2019.
External links
- Bob Camp at IMDb
- Bob Camp's blog
- Bob Camp's Bob Lab Website
- Bob Camp interview with Super Hero Speak - 2016
- Lambiek Comiclopedia article.
