Javadoodles Goes Full-Time with Plans to Take Over the Internet

When we last spoke to Javadoodles in 2022, they were working as a side project and had shared, “I plan on building this as much as I possibly can.” 

In the last two years, they’ve grown into a full-time business with an approved LLC and Trademark, working with freelancers and collaborating on projects with software companies like TVPaint Animation Software, animators like Cynemical, stop-motion studios like Apartment D Films, Grammy Award-winning pianist Dave Yaden, Facemoji Keyboard and The Webby Awards.

It’s safe to say their goals from 2022 have been achieved. 

“I think about it all the time,” says Javadoodles. “I just needed to take that step of leaving my job. I don’t want to frame it negatively, but it was holding me back. It’s funny though because, in my mind, I’m never doing enough.”

The animator also started their own web series on YouTube called Blobbo & Xavier. The series currently spans four episodes and marks the first time Javadoodles has created something in full color outside of collaborations. Blobbo & Xavier are two blobs floating through space, trying to figure out what it means to exist. In one episode, they talk about the concept of trying to be happy. Each episode is roughly three minutes and covers subjects like love, depression, and existential crises and thought processes. 

“My shorts videos are always more successful than my long form because they always reach more people and that was how my channel really took off, but I needed something to balance that out and I wanted to be a little more experimental,” shares Javadoodles. “At first, I figured I couldn’t consistently make three to five minutes shorts every week. I would need a full-time staff to do that, or I would completely burn out. But then I just drew some weird, existential blob guys in space, just hanging out. It was a really simple animation, so it was easy to make and then I just recorded myself talking to myself and put on different autotunes.”

With the current state of the world – multiple wars, political turmoil, and massive industry layoffs – Javadoodles felt it might be a good time to share colorful, yet mellow, animation that’s entirely honest. It’s soothing to watch, with the 2D blob characters floating in a water-colored, star-studded space, talking openly and patiently about the difficulty of finding happiness and letting awkward silences exist in conversations most people are too afraid to have in the real world. It’s funny, sincere, and dare we say inspiring. Who knew three minutes of blobs talking in space would be the therapy so many of us needed?

“Sometimes it’s about what I’m going through, and it’s like a form of journaling, but I try to keep it more general so that maybe other people could relate to it,” says Javadoodles. “My livelihood now depends on Javadoodles, and if I ever get down about my channel, feeling a lot of pressure to make all this work, I journal with my blobs, and it seems to be resonating with people. It’s a way to be a little more serious with also moments of comic relief. It’s a way to acknowledge that things are very heavy. And it’s there forever for whoever needs it.”

Javadoodles’ over one million subscribers seem grateful for the creator’s bravery to have an open conversation with themselves about their thoughts and feelings on the enigmas of the universe. Javadoodles will be releasing Blobbo & Xavier episodes more regularly, aiming for one episode per week, with a serious focus on mental health awareness.

“We get one life,” says Javadoodles. “And I want to be as authentic as possible with the things that I go through. And I just want to make amazing work.”

One of Javadoodles’ favorite accomplishment this year was getting to work with old friends, like Maximilian Lopez, CEO and co-founder of Apartment D Films. On Christmas day, Lopez and Javadoodles shared the results of their collaboration on social media – a stop-motion animation of the famous Javadoodles cup opening a Christmas present, surrounded by elaborate holiday decorations that fold up and unravel as the animation begins. The animation is also on a three-stage loop, and, in the background, viewers will catch another Javadoodles cup ice skating, then appearing as Santa Claus, or a wild-eyed reindeer. 

“They’re a tiny, boutique stop-motion studio in LA, and they’re incredible,” says Javadoodles of Apartment D. “They worked at Stoopid Buddy Studios for a while until they started their own studio, which really inspired me. I also went to college with those guys, and we’ve watched each other grow and develop as artists. This has been a very symbiotic project for us.”

In addition to the final animation, Apartment D Films – also in process of creating their own series Ruff Ruff Danger Dogs – shared a behind-the-scenes look at how they brought the stop-motion Christmas video together. It can be viewed here. 

“I have gotten to see Javadoodles’ style and aesthetic develop over the last ten-plus years and I always loved how distinctly 2D their characters were,” says Lopez. “They’re always graphic and sketchy. Those are exactly the kinds of designs I like to work with in stop motion because they give the most space for creative interpretation. There’s a unique challenge to adapting 2D characters into 3D objects, while still capturing the charm and graphic nature of them.”

Bringing another synchronicity into the mix, Sean Malony, co-founder and creative director at Apartment D, actually came up with the name for Javadoodles back when the animator was starting their Tumblr account for a coffee art project, long before they began doing their famous animations. 

“I would love to keep working with them,” says Javadoodles. “Can you imagine a stop-motion Kevin James Thornton collab? I feel like people would freak out over that.”

Javadoodles has been working with comedian Thornton for many years, creating animations over autotune story ramblings of childhood incidents with adhesive-side-up maxi pads, kissing practice on balloons, and attempting to hatch eggs via underwear drawer. Their latest projects with Thornton include “Hamala” and “The Mannequin.” 

“Anything with Kevin is just an absolute delight,” says Javadoodles. “It’s been so cool to watch him and his career just skyrocket from his TikTok days. I just saw him perform at the Hollywood Improv the other night and I sat front row, just smiling the whole time.”

This year, Javadoodles also did a lot of work with long-time pal and voice actor Spencer Ortega, including a Valentine’s Day animation where Ortega stars as a dimple-chinned, superiorly muscular cup saying, “You’re gonna wanna cup of me.”

It’s likely the first time any Javadoodles fans have been attracted to a paper cup. 

“Spencer’s been doing voiceover more and more for video games and he was begging me to collaborate for a couple of years,” says Javadoodles, who met Ortega in 2018. “One day he was like, ‘Hey, I’m going to make you a recording.’ and I was like, ‘Alright then.’ And ‘Throw It Out the Window’ was born. That broke the internet.”

The short animation that featured a paper cup throwing every toxic thing in his life out the window – including a crying baby on an airplane that, fear not, he did catch and save – exploded and received 22 million views on YouTube and over 44 million views on Instagram. 

“All these meme pages are stealing it every other day and I’m constantly sending them these copyright takedown messages,” says Javadoodles. “But Spencer keeps sending me these amazing ideas. We now have done around 10 videos together.”

Even with the Grammy Award-winning artists and the well-known software companies that Javadoodles has been working with, it’s friends they enjoy collaborating with the most. It would sound cheesier if the results weren’t so impressive. 

“Even my friend who just sent me a voicemail one day about her scary dream about Barney, that did extremely well,” shares Javadoodles. “Actually, she didn’t know I was going to make an animation about that until it went live. So, be warned. If you send me a voicemail, it might get made into an animation…just kidding, I always ask permission.”

In addition to writing their own book about content creation (release date still to be decided) and starting an apparel line, Javadoodles is keeping an eye out for chances to get more experimental and abstract with their animations, reaching out to as many companies as possible to see what new opportunities await their little paper cup characters. 

“Yesterday, I spent the whole day emailing people I want to work with,” says Javadoodles. “I sent 250 emails.”

They continue, “Currently, there’s me and there’s myself and then there’s also my dog. But I would love a staff of animators, and plan on making that happen when money is flowing. For now, I’m just working with freelancers on a project-to-project basis. I worked with a lot of them for the Out the Window remix that I did with TikTok. That was a big-time crunch, and I really needed the help. I had, I think, three animators working with me on that.”

Javadoodles has a freelance roster they reference when looking for help on their animations. And they’re always looking for more people. Those interested can reach out to javadoodlestv.com or their Instagram page, @javadoodles. 

“I’m always looking for new talent, and I love having people on deck and ready to go when a big project comes in.”