Background: On January 24, 2021, SpongeBob supervising director Dave Cunningham did a Q&A with The Art of SpongeBob Discord server (link here). The questions as well as Cunningham's answers have been replicated here for posterity.

Rodger Bumpass asks: What is your favorite one off character?

DC: That’s an interesting question. Some of the characters that I thought were going to be one off characters in ended up returning, like Rube.

And if there is a one off character we like we tend to try to revisit them

PickleMan: So you'd say Rube is your favorite?

DC: well I don’t know if I really consider him a one off character because he’s become a semi regular. But I have a fondness for him since he first appeared in one of my episodes.

MattPan asks: What was your favorite and least favorite episodes you worked on, Dave?

DC: I have a few favorites, but I am sure I am forgetting many... enjoyed CopyBob DittoPants and No Pictures Please...

Least favorite? Sportz was a tough one, for various reasons. But it came out alright

Sewers of BB was a massive amount of work, but fans seem to like that one

PickleMan: What issues did Sportz bring with it?

DC: I don't want to get into that too much here. But I will say that you won't typically find a large number of sports fans among the animation community. They are there, but not the norm. I am a sports fan myself, and I found myself explaining a lot to artists while working on Sportz 🙂

Pearl asks: Will there be any episodes involving the Gal Pals in Season 13?

DC: Fans seems to really like the Gal Pals... I have not heard of plans for them to return, but I honestly would be VERY surprised if that was not revisited

Deleted User asks: How long did it take to produce each specific season and what were the exact dates of the production cycles? (if you don't know all, only answer for the seasons you've worked on)

DC: BTW - going back to the favorite episode question a few questions ago... I have a LOT of "faves", definitely not limited to those two at all

Season lengths vary for a variety of reasons. I would say in general they last around 1 1/2 years per season. I have worked on the show since season 4.

Exact dates would have to come from someone from production, and I am not even sure they could get those dates easily.

TheWash asks: How did you get the job?

DC: I was working on Fairly Oddparents, then My LIfe as a Teenage Robot when a board position opened up on SpongeBob, which was RARE (the show had VERY low turnover for a LONG time). I took a test and they hired me.

Sherm had JUST left the show before I joined, so it was a thrill to get to work with him again starting with the 2nd film

Kappen asks: Do you like squilliam fancyson? (and additionally: are there any plans for him to make a reappearance?)

a lot of people here are big squilliam fans

DC: I do like him, but he has not been written into an episode in a long time. I snuck a cameo of him into Code Yellow (another TOUGH episode), but that has been it for awhile. I will have to ask Marc and Vincent about him sometime...

PickleMan: The seeds of Squilliam's return have been planted

DC: Haha

Raggedy Smeary asks: Will we see Patchy at all in Season 13?

DC: I do not know for a fact, but I am sure you can count on it. Hasn't he appeared in every season to date? Regarding S13, there was an overlap with 4 episodes that were done while Sherm and I were still directing Kamp Koral, so we were not involved in those episodes. We did do a couple S13 episodes before we moved onto the newest (unannounced) spinoff series, which we are currently working on. We will be returning to S13 in a few months.

SpiritWalrus asks: How does the current script-writing process work? Are storyboard artists involved in the writing process or are their contributions mostly visual gags?

DC: It has been a challenge keeping purely SPONGEBOB people involved in all SpongeBob projects. Marc and Vincent and Jennie have been committed to that.

The scripts are written, but the rough board artists ("board directors") have a lot of freedom to make things funnier. That basic thread of story remains usually, but details are worked out by the board artists often. It also depends upon how strong the particular script is

No one asked, but let me assure you guys... On KK and the new spinoff series, we have the same show runners, the same production staff, the same directors, the same writers, the same board artists, the same art director, the same color and layout supervisors, the same design team as we had in the regular series. Things may be approached slightly differently in each show, but the backbone remains the same in all of them

dysphoria asks: What's your favorite SpongeBob redesign?

DC: redesign? can you explain what you mean by that?

PickleMan: i'd assume it would mean something like the cheeks changing after the movie or his arms getting shorter? im not sure

DC: the truth is we have not done redesigns. it has been an evolution. for YEARS, we were sitting with the season 1-3 model sheets but we all knew that we were drawing him differently. Not until the second movie did we update the model sheets.

it hasn't been a purposeful change or anything

Sherm, Adam and I have had our approach the last few years

I know Tuck and Clint did when they were board supervisors

PickleMan: what spurred the decision to make new model sheets for the movie?

DC: I personally am I big fan of Sherm's approach to the characters. He knows them better than most, IMO

for the second film, because it was done by paramount and not nickelodeon (there was no Nickelodeon movies yet), we were required to do "BRAND NEW" designs for all characters. that meant updating the mains to how we were drawing them already, and basically tracing over the incidental designs

BTW, the cheeks on SB had been primarily drawn with "C" shapes for a long time prior to the second movie. just simpler.

we also had a period, mostly driven by Aaron Springer boards, where SBob's cheeks were floating down below his eyes

sabnino15 asks: What are your thoughts on Sponge on the Run? If you've seen it

I have not seen it yet. But I look forward to seeing it.

Barnacle asks: Which is your favorite spongebob movie?

DC: I love the first film. And I was SUPER proud of the second film. My only regret is that a lot of the traditionally animated stuff got cut. SO much great stuff that didn't make it. We could've made a second film with the amount of content leftover

we were involved with the second film from day one. a super fun experience for all of us.

the script we got on day one was NOT the film you saw, haha.

Rodger Bumpass asks: Did you have any storyboard jams

DC: for the film? or in general? when we in the studio, i would get my plussing team together at the beginning of each episode to brainstorm and find ways to make the episode stronger. Or to fix it, if needed.

PickleMan: i'd assume in general

DC: it is harder to do that remotely

but the more people bounce stuff off each other the better in most cases

i remember Karl Hadrika always brought amazing ideas to those meetings

CJM3 asks: Why were you in particular promoted to become a plussing director in Season 9B? What past experiences on the series impressed the showrunners enough to elevate you to the role?

DC: Well, I was promoted to storyboard supervisor, then supervising director within a year. without getting into details, i felt freed in the second film to do the work I wanted to, without anyone "filtering" it before it got to the showrunners. I got notice immediately from Paul, Steve, Vincent and all. I did a LOT of work on that film. A lot.

they decided to to bring Sherm and I back when we resumed the series

Vonny asks: What Patchy segments are your favorites?

DC: i don't know that I have a favorite TBH. sorry. they all seem fun.

PickleMan: that's alright!

DC: i tend to focus on the animation. probably bad of me, haha.

Bleach asks: What scenes were you involved in that eventually got cut out, and how did you originally feel?

DC: BTW, as supervising directors Sherm and I are involved with episodes from script thru post production, not just the plussing pass.

there was an epic chase scene roughed by the late Chris Reccardi, I recall putting a cameo of a BB version of Brad Vandergrift on a fake driver's license and renamed him "Vlad Blandergrift"

there was some great stuff by Howie Perry too

there was a whole "Thunderdome" bit with Sandy's treedome

Erik Wiese  did some great stuff with Plankton and Sbob trying to figure out the KP recipe that was cut

just SO MUCH

SnoopyFan2009 asks: What caused the direction switch between Season 9A and 9B? Such as the different animation styles

DC: on the film, there were a lot of eyes opened when we began to push the animation slightly. before the film, doing what we did with Sandy for example would probably not have flied. there was a cautiousness before that started evaporating after we came back, as the powers that be really liked what we started doing in the second film.

and it evolved from there

PickleMan: glad you guys could stretch your creative muscles!

DC: we were definitely more "stiff" with the characters before the second film. not that there is anything wrong with that, it is just a different approach.

tc asks: What is your favorite Spongebob song?

DC: they are all ear worms

PickleMan: watch out

DC: i remember doing an event at Universal Studios ("Shellabration") where a bunch of us were drawing for fans, and they had the first film's soundtrack on a loop. All day. For two days straight. I don't think we ever wanted to hear those songs ever again after that, haha.

Raggedy Smeary asks: Which characters/character pairs-ups do you think you'd like to see more of as the show progresses?

DC: you will see a return of a certain main character's relatives

some chars you have not seen in a long time

PickleMan: woah

DC: this is S13

tough question though, because we have not worked on a lot of main show SpongeBob recently

like I said, I think we go back to S13 middle of this year

PickleMan: can't wait for that!

DC: the spinoff we are on now is going to be epic

and no, you don't know what it is 🙂

CJM3 asks: Does Kamp Koral have a similar rough board/board plussing system as the 2D show?

DC: yes, but with a bit less attention given to "tidying up" boards. Because animation is based on rigs, there is nothing for animators to "trace over" as they do with traditional animation

BobCarotte asks: how is the crew producing new episodes during the pandemic? any pros and cons of working from home?

DC: it has been pretty seamless tbh. once everyone had work setups it was almost business as usual. Things take a little more time, since we dont have a universal server we have immediate access to. uploading and downloading takes up a lot of time. we do a LOT of zooming. i host a weekly zoom meeting just for all the board artists to hang out just so we have SOME community in the midst of all this. we all miss seeing each other though. but there are plusses too. no commute, no pressure to be in burbank...

i think the animation community is kind of split on how they feel about this whole WFH development an curious how things play out once it is safe to be at work again

PickleMan: any word/plans to return to the studio anytime soon?

DC: none. i dont think studios will be in any rush to bring people back until it is 100% safe, since things are working fine from home.

why risk it? that's how i imagine they are looking at it

Deleted User asks: What happened to spacebob invaderpants?

DC: i do not believe spacebob was ever anything other than an internet rumor. or perhaps an idea someone had in passing, but nothing serious.

PickleMan: same for krabs army id assume?

thats the episode its supposedly paired with

DC: i am not aware of it ever existing

the internet has given these episodes life

SpiritWalrus asks: Do you think we’ll get any mini-series in the main show at some point in the future (along the lines of Legends of Bikini Bottom or Runaway Roadtrip)? I’d love to see the current team take on that format at some point

DC: i have not heard any plans for mini series, but standalone movies may happen

tc and Vonny ask: What is your favorite Spongebob video game/flash game (if you've played any)

DC: i recently was sent Battle for BB, but I have not played it yet. my son plays games more than i

Shell Shack Dog asks: What's your favorite character to draw or work with?

DC: i love Patrick. i love dumb humor. I also enjoy drawing Mr. Krabs

funny, i drew the emoji with the bulging eyes a few people commented with above

Memes asks: Are you guys gonna explore the marine biology aspect of SpongeBob more?

DC: we try to, but it is not as much of the focus as it once was

SnoopyFan2009 asks: Any fond memories writing for Fairy Oddparents?

DC: i didn't write, i boarded. but i shared an office with Maureen Mascarena, who I have worked with for 16-17 years now on Sbob. It was a fun show. After we boarded each episode, everyone on the show was given a copy of your board and we went into a large conference room and had to pitch it to everyone. the reaction from the crew determined whether the board was a success or not, haha

Deleted User asks: Would you ever want to become an animation director?

DC: timing? i took a class a few years ago, but i have forgotten everything since then. i used to think of it as being a way to finish out your career, but the business seems to be almost phasing out that position on many shows these days in favor of tighter animatics

hez asks: Have you ever seen the reanimated episodes of spongebob on YouTube? Your thoughts on them if you have?

DC: yes, i try to catch them. we have actually given freelance work to some of those artists. we search for talent EVRYWHERE. 🙂

Carly asks: Which of the voice actors on the show has the most fun/enjoys their job the most? In interviews they always all seem to have so much fun with each other

DC: they are all a lot of fun. all of them. they are a travelling party.

i know Doug the best because he is the head writer.

he is one of the nicest people you will ever meet.

and funny as heck

when we do script read thrus he often adds things to the read

SnoopyFan2009 asks: Thoughts on The Kwarantined Krab not coming out due to the current world pandemic?

DC: i was proud of that episode. just my latest in a string of "gross" episodes i somehow end up with, haha. i think it will come out eventually, it would just be in poor taste to air it now. there is nothing malicious about the episode (or Hiccup Plague) though.

just poor timing and horrible luck

Raggedy Smeary asks: Will we see Tony anymore? 🐢

DC: i hope so. i have not heard of any plans though. it gets trickier when there is stunt casting involved

i was worried the hardcore fanbase was going to riot over that one

patrick's rock is a shell??? but what about CANON???

😊

don't worry, its back to being a rock again

SnoopyFan2009 asks: Was Truth or Square originally meant to be a 11 minute episode like Atlantis Squarepantis? and what was it like for the filming of the Patchy scenes?

DC: originally they were going to do a documentary on the crew. they had begun shooting it and everything. then someone decided they wanted a show with celebrity cameos

PickleMan: aw thats a shame, the crew deserves more public appreciation for sure

DC: it turned out good regardless

we got a spread in TV guide instead 😉

Squidward asks: Are there any artists or writers freelancing or returning in Season 13?

DC: the crew we currently have for the spinoff will roll directly onto S13

we have a very strong crew, and we have some newbies that we are excited about

in addition to the vets

PickleMan: goofy newbies

DC: always

no "artists that worked on the first three seasons coming back" or anything

hez asks: Is there any interest from the crew or nickelodeon to make a 4th movie?

DC: depends on how the third film does maybe? and i dont know how success is calculated in the pandemic. they tried not to involve the show crew in the third film because they wanted show episodes uninterrupted, so i dont know if they would involve us for a fourth film

some of our writers and rough board artists helped them a little

when they needed help

PickleMan: which would you personally prefer doing? splitting from the show for the film temporarily or having separate people do the movie?

DC: i like experiencing as much as possible, and the second film was a blast. i wouldn't object if they wanted us to take a break for another film. i dont see that happening though.

it was a very different pace. more time to focus on quality with films

you can "noodle" things longer

tc asks: So, was Pearl adopted or is she biologically Krabs’ daughter? (if you know or can tell)

DC: that will forever be unknown. Steve was adamant.

we arent big on "explaining" things on the show. just enjoy the ride... 🙂

Yee asks: any plans for this incidental to return after being removed from the model sheet post s2?

he's a fan favorite

DC: pretty funny. we can pretty much put him in anytime we want. maybe i will sneak him in.

TheRetroOreo asks: Can you think of any particular insights or ideas Mr. Hillenburg had during "Out of Water"/9B-S12 production or storyboard meetings (ex. little gags or notes that ultimately made their way into the final product)?

DC: He was VERY easy going when he returned to daily work. he seemed very purposeful about not stepping on the new showrunner's feet (Paul, then M/V). If he had a concern (often marine life stuff), he would speak up, but most often he was just laughing

having him there was a big morale boost for everyone. it felt like a stamp of approval for what we were doing.

Luke Vaughn asks: Do you know if SpongeBob will get a Season 14? Some fans are worried that Season 13 will be the last season of the show due to low ratings/infrequent episode premieres

DC: i have not heard plans for S14, but there is no reason to believe 13 will be the last. we are busy creating a "SpongeBob Universe" and that does not sound like the plans of someone wrapping up a series

all ratings are down across the board. it is the streaming effect.

not many viewers are planting themselves in front of the TV at a specific time for a premiere anymore

Tann asks: Thoughts on the SpongeBob Musical?

DC: it was fun, very seussical. the crew all went together to see it in NY a couple years ago

we MAY have referenced the mayor in the musical in "Plankton's Old Chum"

Deleted User asks: what's the current budget for an average episode? Is it higher or lower than past years?

DC: i am sure it is more, because everyone gets paid more than they did in 1999.

flashdawnx asks: How often do you guys get involved with the background music crew, there’s many scenes that are synced for certain background music to play in. Ex: SpongeBob and Patrick singing in MermaidPants. Were these deliberate?

DC: we dont really sync to background music in the boards. but if there is a song that is sung, we get that so we can sync it in the boards. even easier now that we all work in Storyboard Pro!

the music is done late in the process off-site

Deleted User asks: Do you know why season 12 episodes where leaked onto DVD and why the seasons airing schedule has been so crazy?

DC: i think everyone - PR and scheduling included - is just reacting to this pandemic and its daily developments. every S12 episode was 100% air-able a year ago, and now they aren't. the season DVDs are developed by those departments over time

i know they wanted to have Sbob episodes to air while the crew was busy with KK and the current spinoff, so they were/are trying to stretch them out

Yee (kinda asks): when did you become a SpongeBob fan? Did you watch the original premiere?

DC: i was excited about the show when i first heard the name before it premiered - it sounded so silly and fun. i was a fan of the show before i worked on it for sure.

OceanicKane asks: Why are there two King Neptunes in Bikini Bottom?

DC: one - Nick, one – Paramount

PickleMan: do you have a personal preference?

DC: ive drawn the Nick version (more masculine), but the P version looks fun (looks more cartoony, i am sure Sherm had a hand in the design)

Tc asks: When will Kamp Koral come out? Will a bunch of episodes come out at once since it’s on a streaming platform or will it come out more traditionally?

additionally, anything to say to skeptics of Kamp Koral?

DC: i dont know how they will roll it out. whether it be all at once or weekly. but it will be launched along with the Paramount + rebranding.

as for KK, i feel like a lot of the skepticism is coming from the notion that Steve would not want this. I did not hear the words come out of his mouth, but he was one of the nicest and most easygoing people I have ever met in animation. the last few years, he was a great support to everyone. not a guy saying "i don't want this" and "i dont want that". KK is being done by the EXACT SAME TEAM as the main show. the only wrinkle was training a new CG studio to do the SpongeBob style. which was a challenge. It is NOT being dumbed down for a younger audience. I feel that once the show premieres, people will really enjoy KK.

the CG staff at Nickelodeon is an all star team. amazing talents.

all i can say is, watch it, THEN decide if you want to watch more.

Marc and Vincent are not guys that are selling their souls. they do not compromise on quality.

none of the team does

Albert’s Country asks: Is Kamp Koral close to being done? The language you’re using to refer to it makes it seem like production is almost or completely done, so I was just curious about that.

DC: pre-production for the first half of season one of KK is done. everyone has moved on to S13/spinoff.

we are assembling teams for the second half of season one now

Shell Shack Dog asks: Thoughts on the season 7 episode Krusty Dogs

DC: Is there something to Krusty Dogs that makes you ask about the specific ep?

PickleMan: the guy that asked is just a big fan of it

did you do any work on it?

DC: Fun ep. cant recall if I worked on that one or not, we move from ep to ep so fast...

i would have to dig thru my files, haha

Deleted User asks: Are you allowed to give us any little details or small things we can expect in season 13?

DC: GG will be back

PickleMan: Goofy Goobers?

DC: yes

PickleMan: 🥜

DC: some really funny stuff

tc asks: How many Kamp Koral episodes are there in season 1 and how long are they?

DC: 26 half hours

usually two eps each

poy asks: Any planned episode premieres for next month?

DC: no idea about premieres, sorry

flashdawnx asks: Opinion on Bubble Bass being a regular character nowadays?

DC: hey guys, I gotta scram. thanks for taking time to ask questions

PickleMan: ah thats alright

thanks for answering for us!

Vonny: thanks for coming along!

DC: Thanks for watching, and enjoy KK! Its a good one.