Dave Creek, the lead character designer for the Fox animated comedy Bob’s Burgers, died Thursday at 42 following a skydiving session.
The accident occurred over the previous weekend, and Creek passed away days later from his injuries, according to CartoonBrew.
In addition to his work defining the look of the popular animated series, the artist had also worked on animated shows including Brickleberry, Central Park and Happiness Is A Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown.
Tragic accident: Dave Creek, the lead character designer for Bob’s Burgers, died Thursday after succumbing to his injuries from a skydiving accident over the weekend
Creek was involved in honing the look of Bob’s Burgers since its premiere in 2011.
The critically acclaimed series was created by Loren Bouchard and follows a family who run a hamburger joint and served unconventional and opulent burgers.
Beyond his television work, Creek served as an adjunct professor focusing on character design and character animation at the California Institute of the Arts.
He graduated from the institution in 2005 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.
Character designer: Creek was involved in honing the look of Bob’s Burgers since its premiere in 2011
Giving back: Beyond his television work, Creek served as an adjunct professor focusing on character design and character animation at the California Institute of the Arts, which he graduated from in 2005
Creek’s enthusiasm for skydiving was evident from his Instagram account, which featured multiple stunning mid-air photos of him.
In an Instagram post from September, he shared a video recorded from his helmet as he circled for a landing while parachuting down.
In his caption he explained that he was tilting his cute so as to give himself more speed for an extra thrill, rather than slowing his descent.
When he wasn’t animating, he also documented his interest in creating stunningly detailed miniature treehouses in tiny bonsai trees.
Awe inspiring: Creek’s enthusiasm for skydiving was evident from his Instagram account, which featured multiple stunning mid-air photos of him
Day job: Creek’s Instagram was filled with skydiving shots and photos of his intricate bonsai tree houses, but he also shared his badge for working on Bob’s Burgers
Wendy Molyneux, a writer on Bob’s Burgers, expressed her sorrow at Creek’s death in a Tweet on Thursday.
‘If you love Bob’s Burgers, you loved Dave Creek,’ she wrote. ‘He was an adventurous funny outgoing amazing artist and one of the most incredible, interesting people I ever met. I often thought that Dave really knew how to live, and I wish he got to live some more. Rest In Peace, buddy.’
Bob’s Burgers supervising director Bernard Derriman also weighed in on his fallen friend.
‘We lost a great artist and a great friend at Bobs today — our lead character designer Dave Creek. Here’s one of his many designs, Lady Tinsel, and one of his incredible tree houses.’
Derriman included a sketch from Creek, along with a closeup of the twisting tree house.
Saying goodbye: Wendy Molyneux, a writer on Bob’s Burgers, expressed her sorrow at Creek’s death in a Tweet on Thursday
Multifaceted: Bob’s Burgers supervising director Bernard Derriman also weighed in on his fallen friend while sharing one of his character designs and a treehouse
‘Today we tragically lost our Lead Character designer and friend, Dave Creek,’ tweeted Bob’s Burgers director Simon Chong.
‘A wonderfully brilliant and talented man who I can guarantee designed your favourite character on Bob’s at some point. I’ll miss you, buddy x.’
Austin Madison wrote about Creek from a different perspective.
‘Many know his Bob’s Burgers work, but I know him as my crazy, Pogues-loving, Himalayan throat-singing college roommate,’ he tweeted. ‘Here’s Dave’s Freshman CalArts film, animated entirely in charcoal. I challenge any animation student to do better.’
Kind words: Bob’s Burgers director Simon Chong wrote that Creek was a ‘wonderfully brilliant and talented man who I can guarantee designed your favourite character on Bob’s at some point’
Old friends: Austin Madison wrote about Creek from a different perspective as his roommate