Original world development

Character creation · Book · Entertainment · DreamWorks series

Archibald’s Next Big Thing

A character that began in Victor’s sketchbook became a children’s book with Tony Hale, then a DreamWorks animated series.

The origin

From sketchbook oddball to animated world.

Archibald started as a character Victor kept drawing in 2009, named after his great-grand uncle. He was strange in the right way: open-hearted, curious, and always ready to wander into the next thing.

What began as a private sketchbook rhythm became a larger story when Victor and Tony Hale shaped Archibald into a children’s book, released in 2015.

A few years later, DreamWorks Animation adapted the world into an animated series. The first episode released on Netflix, and the show has since found a new home on Peacock TV.

The path

A small character had to hold a big emotional engine.

01 / Sketchbook

A character kept showing up.

Archibald began as a strange, open-hearted figure Victor kept drawing in 2009, named after his great-grand uncle.

02 / Book

The idea found a story.

Victor and Tony Hale shaped the character into a children’s book, giving Archibald a world, a voice, and a reason to wander.

03 / Screen

The world got bigger.

DreamWorks Animation adapted the book into an animated series that first released on Netflix and later became available on Peacock TV.

The book

Before the series, there was a book with a very odd little hero.

In 2015, Archibald's Next Big Thing became a children's book created with Tony Hale and Tony Biaggne, with illustration by Misty Manley and Victor Huckabee. The book gave the sketchbook character a public world: classrooms, nerves, friendship, tiny bees, and the small bravery of stepping into whatever comes next.

The physical book matters because it was the bridge from private character exploration into a story world other people could enter. It proved Archibald could hold emotion, humor, and a visual language long before the animated series arrived.

Archibald's Next Big Thing children's book on a wooden table — Archibald's Next Big Thing, released in 2015

Interior spread from Archibald's Next Big Thing showing a classroom scene — Interior spread: classroom nerves and a very Archibald kind of courage.

Interior spread from Archibald's Next Big Thing with colorful characters and a jump rope — The book introduced the visual rhythm and emotional grammar that later had room to expand.

Interior spread from Archibald's Next Big Thing showing Archibald at a chalkboard — A little character built to feel nervous, curious, and brave all at once.

Close-up detail of Archibald on the cover of Archibald's Next Big Thing — The tiniest details helped make the oddness feel friendly.

Conan O'Brien holding Archibald's Next Big Thing on television — The book found its way into a few wonderfully surreal places.

Launch event photo with Tony Hale holding Archibald's Next Big Thing — Launch-day proof that the little guy had a world around him.

Archibald's Next Big Thing book held close to the camera — The published book gave Archibald a real object in people's hands.

The work in practice

A world assembled from sketches, pages, screens, and scenes.

The story grew across formats without losing the thing that made Archibald work in the first place: a simple character with a strange silhouette, a generous spirit, and a little bit of cosmic awkwardness.

Animated world in motion

Early pencil sketch of Archibald with a tall dinosaur character — Early sketchbook world

Close-up pencil sketch of the original Archibald character — Original character sketch

Victor Huckabee and Tony Hale sitting together on a porch — Victor and Tony Hale

Early illustrated Archibald badge and character mark — Early character mark

Streaming page for Archibald’s Next Big Thing — Streaming series page

Archibald animated series still with a character singing on stage — Music and performance

Archibald animated series still with the main character ensemble — Character ensemble

Archibald animated series still showing an interior environment — Animated environment

Archibald animated series still in a large colorful environment — Big strange places

The creative shift

The world grew without losing the weird little center.

Where it began

A sketchbook character

A funny little figure with a name, a feeling, and a point of view, appearing again and again before there was a larger plan.

What it became

A story world

A book and animated series built around curiosity, optimism, friendship, and the thrill of whatever strange thing comes next.

What had to hold

A character has to carry more than a design.

Archibald needed to work as a drawing, a book character, an emotional idea, and eventually the center of a larger animated world. The shape mattered, but so did the personality: the curiosity, the kindness, the oddness, and the sense that every new problem might become an adventure.

01
Character origin
02
Name and point of view
03
Book storytelling
04
Visual worldbuilding
05
Animated adaptation
06
Long-form IP development

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