For years, I had seen his art in digital spaces, but I hadn't put a name to it yet.
My official introduction to Robert Valley's style was when I watched Disney XD's TRON: Uprising for the first time. As usual, I was surfing the web... analyzing TRON Fandom pages, searching for nothing in particular. At this point, I hadn't even watched the original TRON (still haven't); I was just curious. But since I'm a sucker for animated works, I decided to start my TRON journey with Uprising.
Apparently it was some niche show that aired in 2012. Couldn't get a footing, so it wasn't renewed for another season. It's happened to too many shows. It sucks. And it's crazy because I ended up LOVING it, and many others expressed their sentiments for the series online, too.
I originally thought the character design was that of Jamie Hewlett -- the long-time illustrator for Gorillaz. Their art shares recognizable quirks: particularly, the exaggerated long legs. It does make sense, though, as Valley has been said to draw inspiration from Hewlett himself.
But Valley has taken this and developed his own distinct art language. One with dramatic visual angles, sharp and flat lines, and a charming asymmetry that gives his characters life!
Also, how can I not mention the director himself? Charlie Bean's interpretation of the dialogue translates so naturally. The writing doesn't try extra hard to be funny. Watching Paige's first interaction with Beck as the Renegade was too funny.
It's a joke that slight more mature watchers will understand... and without being inappropriate or vulgar. I appreciate this a lot, because that means I can share this show with younger viewers.
And you see Beck live out some pretty good life lessons too, ngl. Namely, self-discipline and the struggle that comes with it ("The Price of Power" 01x07), loyalty ("The Renegade, Part 2", 01x30), and impartiality ("Isolated" 01x06). And Beck is a young program, so by no means has he got it all figured out yet. That encourages me a lot.
Sometimes I rewatch "The Stranger" (01x13) just to see Cyrus's character on the big screen. He's an interesting program. My first time watching that episode, I noted that he was slightly off-putting, but at the same time... captivating. The way he speaks makes him seem like a creep but when you listen closer you hear his strong opinions. He claims not to believe in free will, citing the fact that he and other programs are just that... programmed. He is the only one to address this in-universe fact. Yet he contradicts himself right after by asking Beck to choose his destiny! (This is the whole sequence where he coerces Beck into aiding him in destroying the Grid.) There's no doubt about it: Cyrus is a very amoral character. Insane, even. But maybe I just like antagonists a lot. I'm usually drawn to them more than the usual, flawless, goody-two shoes protagonists. But this series has some balance in its writing. I love it, and give kudos to the team behind Uprising.
This makes me think... maybe Disney XD's target audience was tween boys for this one. But as an older teenaged girl, I believe this would have resonated with me more watching it when I did rather than if I watched it while younger.
Sleek and sexy. Cold, but not sterile. This is the concept art of Darren Bacon. So stunning. The world of the Grid totally captivates me. He has captured and illustrated the neon-soaked streets of Argon and Purgos so beautifully. Cyrus's prison, too.
Anyway, these are my favorite parts of TRON: Uprising. I could nerd about it much more, but I'll save it. It's great. Writing about it brings me joy. Hopefully all this recruits someone into tapping into the TRON iceberg, haha.
One final thing, I promise: I can't end this without mentioning how the soundtrack for this series was created by THE Daft Punk! I'm a Daft Punk fangirl. Okay, I'm done. Uprising is awesome.