Smith’s unique style on films like Delivery has already influenced a new generation of animators.

I do the assignments, when I can, with the students and then we critique each other. It’s not just me guiding the class; it’s also me participating in the class. As a matter of fact, Puppet was a product of the senior thesis class last year. I started Puppet at the same time they started their senior theses. I think I was the only one that finished on time, too! But it was cool, because we all worked on a film, and every time I see another teacher, I suggest doing that. I found myself awake at 3:00 am trying to finish a scene, because the assignment for the next day was due, and the class will hold me to it. It worked beautifully and the film was done on time for the premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival. I think the class got a lot out of it because they saw me going through what they were going through.

DT: You have also created some public works of art, some of it resembling your animation. Will you continue to do this in the future?

PS: Absolutely. It’s very much a part of my career. I’m represented by a gallery in New York and I sell my pieces. I’m actually gearing up for another public installation. It works nicely with animation; when you’re frustrated with animation, you can go work on your paintings. There are columns that I do that are keeping me really busy, and they’re the antithesis of animation. They’re completely vertical and piled up on each other, and I think that the reason I did it that way was a reaction to the confines of the animation screen.

They’re fun to do, its extra income and it helps my studio get by. It also ties me into the fine arts world, which is always nice, because animation production can consume you and you can forget that you’re an artist in other mediums. It’s also nice to have a clique of friends that don’t do animation, because they inspire you in other ways. They ground you and don’t let you forget where you started.

DT: So Patrick… if Wile E. Coyote fell off a cliff, died and never came back again, what would the Road Runner do?

PS: Wasn’t that the tagline on Delivery or something? (Delivery is Patrick’s 2003 film in which the protagonist kills his brother). I really love that tagline because it exactly hits what I’m trying to do. Cartoons are great and they’re funny, but where is the reality part? What would the Road Runner do if the Coyote died? All of a sudden, you’re dealing with a character you’re not laughing at anymore; you’re dealing with a real, flesh-and-blood character.

The point is, you’re taking animation into the real world and you’re dealing with regret, abuse and all those things that cartoons stay away from. If an anvil falls on someone’s head, they usually don’t die in a cartoon, but if an anvil falls on one of my character’s heads, I guarantee you they will die. There might even be some splattering involved!

Martin “Dr. Toon” Goodman is a longtime student and fan of animation. He lives in Anderson, Indiana.