Nic Smal
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Nicholas Smal is a South African animator, actor, comedian, and musician. Alongside Lucy Heavens, he is the co-creator of Kiff and serves as an executive producer, writer, and storyboard artist for the series, in addition to writing and producing songs and voicing Principal Secretary and other characters.[1]
Early Life
Smal's obsession with cartoons started at an early age and skyrocketed when his family got a cable subscription to the MNET channel in South Africa.[2] His cartoon heroes growing up were The Simpsons, Rescue Rangers, Animaniacs, BraveStarr and Rocker's Modern Life.[3] He cites 2D animation as the visual style that he most gravitated towards as a child which has stuck with him to this day.[4]As a young kid Smal would try to draw and emulate the cartoons he loved by doodling in his textbooks and teaching himself how to create a flip book of moving objects.[5]
When it came to studying animation Smal only had one choice - The Animation School in Cape Town.[6] However, in the early 2000s the trend was to teach and learn CGI animation.[1] He chose instead to study in a graphic design program where he learned typography by hand, figuring drawing and photography.[7] This broader education allowed him to eventually pivot back to his first love of 2D Animation.[8]
Career
Prior to Kiff, he worked in the animation and art departments of shows such as Caillou, Florrie's Dragons, Boxed Warriors, and Team Jay. He also played in the rock bands Serving Suggestion (with his brother Tim)[9], Gravity Wins Again, and Versus the Wolf, and later formed the comedy duo Derick Watts & the Sunday Blues with his Gravity Wins Again bandmate Gareth Allison.[10]
Kiff is inspired by the people and places Smal and Heavens experienced when they were growing up in Cape Town.[11]In the early stages of the show's development Smal and Heavens would hike Table Mountain in Cape Town while discussing the stories and characters of Kiff.[12] This led to the creation of Table Town[13], the primary setting for Kiff Chatterley and the show's other character.
The series premiered on March 10, 2023, on Disney Channel in association with Titmouse Inc.[14] In June 2023, the series was renewed for a second season.[15]In 2023 Smal was nominated for two Children's and Family Emmy Awards in the Main Title and Voice Directing for an Animated Series categories[16].
In an October 2023 interview, Smal named "Weird Delivery" as his favorite Kiff episode thus far.[17]
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-2024 | Kiff | Executive Producer, Writer (created by), Principal Secretary, Additional Voices | |
| 2023 | Takeover | Principal Secretary | |
| 2019 | Team Jay | Art Director, Writer | |
| 2019 | Boxed Warriors | Storyboard Artist | |
| 2017 | Tali's Wedding Diary | Photographer | |
| 2010-2013 | Caillou | Animator | |
| 2010-2011 | Florrie's Dragons | Animator |
External Links
References
- ^ Betti, Tony (2023-03-08). "Spending Some Time With "Kiff" Creators Nic Smal and Lucy Heavens". LaughingPlace.com. Retrieved 2024-04-17.
- ^ "The Bancroft Brothers Animation Podcast : Nic Smal and Lucy Heavens - Kiff". bancroftbros.libsyn.com. Retrieved 2024-05-29.
- ^ "The Bancroft Brothers Animation Podcast : Nic Smal and Lucy Heavens - Kiff". bancroftbros.libsyn.com. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
- ^ "The Bancroft Brothers Animation Podcast : Nic Smal and Lucy Heavens - Kiff". bancroftbros.libsyn.com. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
- ^ "The Bancroft Brothers Animation Podcast : Nic Smal and Lucy Heavens - Kiff". bancroftbros.libsyn.com. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
- ^ "The Bancroft Brothers Animation Podcast : Nic Smal and Lucy Heavens - Kiff". bancroftbros.libsyn.com. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
- ^ "The Bancroft Brothers Animation Podcast : Nic Smal and Lucy Heavens - Kiff". bancroftbros.libsyn.com. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
- ^ "The Bancroft Brothers Animation Podcast : Nic Smal and Lucy Heavens - Kiff". bancroftbros.libsyn.com. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
- ^ Almeida-Seele, Paul Harold (November 18, 2004). "Serving Suggestion on The Native Noise Acoustic Collection". Native Noise.
- ^ Communications, Wired (2011-09-07). "Braai Day Parody Song Goes Viral". Wired Communications. Retrieved 2024-04-17.
- ^ Zahed, Ramin (February 27, 2023). "'Kiff' Creators Lucy Heavens & Nic Smal Gives Us the Scoop on Their Colorful Disney Comedy". www.animationmagazine.net. Retrieved 2024-04-17.
- ^ Development, PodBean. "Guests: 'Kiff' Creators Lucy Heavens & Nic Smal | LCJ Q&A Podcast". lcj.podbean.com (Podcast). Retrieved 2024-04-24.
- ^ One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates material derived from the "Table Town" article on the Kiff Wiki at Fandom (formerly Wikia) and is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License (2024-04-24).
- ^ Rosario, Alexandra Del (2021-06-17). "'Kiff': Disney Channel Greenlights Animated Series From South African Creators Lucy Heavens & Nic Smal". Deadline. Retrieved 2024-04-15.
- ^ "Disney's "Kiff" Has Been Renewed For A Second Season News - Entertainment". ResetEra. 2023-06-13. Retrieved 2024-04-17.
- ^ Schneider, Michael (2023-11-02). "Children's & Family Emmys 2023 Nominees Announced, as NATAS Works Out Ceremony Plans (FULL LIST)". Variety. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
- ^ "Nic Smal". Kiff Wiki. Retrieved 2024-05-30.