The Blackwing Diaries

Hope for Hand Drawn Animation: Minkyu Lee's "Adam and Dog" trailer

2012-01-10T11:51:00.000-08:00

Traditional character/hand-drawn animator (and current Disney visdev artist) Minkyu Lee has been working on a personal film over the past two years, a short that from the looks of the footage I've seen proves it's possible for beautiful and polished work to be achieved by a very small number of individuals, if the people involved--and especially the person in charge--has the chops to pull it off.

Obviously Minkyu Lee does. This has the look of what we tend to call "classical animation". By the way, Minkyu painted all the backgrounds himself. There are only 6 key animators listed in his credits, all are friends and fellow CalArts grads with the notable exception of James Baxter(I think his work is immediately apparent in the short trailer). In additon, a dozen more artists not listed below, all of an obviously high caliber, helped finish it on their own time and in addition to their day jobs.

This is really something else.

Adam and dog Trailer from Minkyu on Vimeo.

Here are the credits as listed on the trailer's page:

Written and directed by Minkyu Lee

Animation by:
Minkyu Lee
Jennifer Hager
James Baxter
Mario Furmanczyk
Austin Madison
Matt Williames

Associate Producer:
Heidi Jo Gilbert

Technical Direction:
Ethan Metzger

Score:
Joey Newman

Film consultants:
Glen Keane
Thomas Ethan Harris

A complete list of everyone who contributed is on the film's Tumblr page, which is also where I got the accompanying artwork I've posted.

Merry Christmas from a couple of legends

2011-12-20T11:27:00.000-08:00


A Christmas card from Ray and Charles Eames

Last night for their season finale, the PBS series American Masters aired a new documentary about the work and lives of Charles and Ray Eames, called "America's most important and influential American designers" in the PBS description--a claim I'd be hard pressed to argue with. Watch the trailer for the film here:

Watch Charles & Ray Eames: The Architect and the Painter on PBS. See more from American Masters.


Bob Wirth

There's a brief shot of the two working around what looks for all the world like Ward Kimball's train room, though I'm pretty sure that's just a coincidence of layout and fun functional organization. Who knows. Most famous for their eponymous chair, the couple did much more than that, and if you don't already know them, you should. Everything about this pair seems stimulating.

Also displayed are two other holiday cards that were sent to the couple, from the collection of the Library of Congress:

Lee Krasner and Jackson Pollock

Icons of Animation-another great Fred Moore piece going, going...

2011-12-17T12:52:00.000-08:00

Profiles In History's "Icons of Animation" auction is happening right now, 11am PST, Saturday the 17th, so you still have a shot at acquiring the Fred Moore piece pictured above.
[5pm PST: it sold for the low-end estimate of $3,000]

Christmas in Manhattan, 1934

2011-12-15T17:28:00.000-08:00

...as imagined by Frances Goodrich, Albert Hackett, Woody Van Dyke, inspired by Dashiell Hammett and interpreted by Myrna Loy, William Powell and Asta, I give you Christmas morning with the Charles family.

A Merry Christmas from Disney's in 1955

2011-12-13T13:43:00.000-08:00

This is a repost of one of my earliest entries, shortly after I began this blog in 2005. I think it suits the season and so merits an encore.

This is the front of the Disney Studio's 1955 Christmas card. It's quite a beautifully done thing; printed on a soft, high-quality paper, it's a large card that opens into a double-spread of the brand-spanking-new Disneyland, with a calendar running down the sides. I was unable to scan the entire thing, as it's just a bit longer than my scanner is. Great artwork--I don't know whose...anyone have any ideas?

May your fifty-years-on New Year be merry and bright!

Bravery

2011-12-08T14:23:00.000-08:00

Although it won't be on shelves for another seven months, last week Amazon put up the cover art and a short description for "The Art Of Brave", which I had the pleasure of authoring. It's going to be quite a beautiful book, one that I only wish could have been twice as long as its 160 pages. I'll write more about it here as publication time draws nearer.

In other Brave-related news, Brenda Chapman began using Twitter and has started a Tumblr blog. There's not much there yet as she only just began it, but it does link to a new, very good two-part interview with Brenda on the site Pixar Portal. Her thoughts on art, work and storytelling are a must-read.

The Story Man, or Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose

2011-11-15T08:47:00.001-08:00


Heck Allen, Tex Avery's story man, in 1953. He stands outside the MGM animation building. This and many others are from Michael Barrier's indispensable animation history blog .

It's always a little startling to look at color images from periods of history that we're used to seeing in only grey tones, especially scenes and people engaged in ordinary, everyday pursuits. Just about the only color photographs one does see are holiday snaps which are usually not the best quality. So what a pleasure, and how fascinating, to be treated to glimpses of the MGM animation staff taken on 35mm color slide film, by the late, great Ed Benedict.
Ed gave his slides and other photographs to Michael Barrier for inclusion in his book of animation history, "Hollywood Cartoons". They didn't make it in then, but happily can now be enjoyed gratis thanks to Mike's posting them here:
Michael Barrier's unpublished color photographs of Tex Avery's unit, taken by Ed Benedict.
Even in their early-fifties sartorial splendor of coats and ties, color seems to make the subjects younger, livelier, more real than is usually the case(I'm sure posing for their buddy Benedict didn't hurt either). But what really jolted me from out of the past was the portrait of lanky Heck Allen, gagman extraordinaire, pictured above. The only thing that distinguishes him from story guys walking down the hall from me today is the crease in his pants. History repeats itself-in some things, at least.

And here's the man himself, Tex Avery, from that same collection on Barrier's site. Look at that high stack of scripts-or script notes-or annoying memos from Quimby on the desk. And what's in those boxes to his right?

Go, go, go right away and look and read what else Mike's been posting. I promise you, if you have a real interest in animation history-Disney, Warner Bros, golden age comics-you'll be glad you did. I always am.

Fred Moore's 100th

2011-09-07T11:16:00.000-07:00

Moore with his wife Virginia and baby daughter in the late 1930s

Robert Fred Moore, animator, was born on this day, September 7, 1911. 100 years on and his influence is still meaningful in the films he worked on, the characters he helped define, and the effortless joy of his draftsmanship. Happy Birthday, Fred!
Edited to add: I wrote this before seeing the wonderful post Andreas Deja wrote to mark this occasion. Andreas is a great admirer of Fred's work and has one of the finest collections of animation art in private hands-including a large selection of Fred's animation work and personal drawing. The prostrate figure below is one I've never seen before (I'm guessing it came to Andreas through his friend and former colleague, Ollie Johnston). Typically lovely. Head to Andreas' blog to see much more of Fred's art: Deja View

The Fred Moore Expert: Tim Walker's new book and booksigning

2011-03-18T17:32:00.000-07:00

James-also known as Tim-Walker holds one of Fred Moore's original, well-worn pencils, along with a photo of Fred advising Ollie Johnston

One of the oldest friends of the Blackwing Diaries is a gentleman I met through our mutual interest in Fred Moore. I'd heard of him in the 1990s mentioned at Warner Bros as a guy who knew funny timing--as in Bob Clampettesque funny--so I already liked him, but it wasn't until five years ago, after reading an essay about the late, great Moore on these pages, that we met. He immediately offered to share his amazing collection of Fred's drawings, as well as many of his private photographs, with the readers of this blog. Talk about riches...

I've known quite a few collectors in my time, some with world-class collections that have taken years and a lot of money and effort to acquire, but it's not terribly common to find one with the open-hearted generosity of Tim Walker.

Tim's an animation artist of the old school, and his puckish sketches are all the more remarkable for having been done by completely re-training himself to draw using his left hand after he began to lose the use of his dominant right hand to the Parkinson's disease.

Parkinson's is a dread scenario for anyone in any walk of life, and for an artist using his hand and arm in his work it's particularly tough, but Tim refused to stop drawing, forcing himself to use his left hand instead. That's pretty astonishing, and inspiring.
He's collected a sketchbook of his called "Drawings From The Left, or Parkinson's Pictures", and it's filled with his buoyantly rounded, charming drawings. Tonight from 6:30-9 he's having a signing in Studio City. Highly recommend you drop in, hang out and chat a bit about drawing, cartoons, or maybe about some of the golden age Disney artists Tim's an expert on. He's a very cool guy.

Chouinard Art Institute Redux: Dig This

2011-03-10T18:04:00.000-08:00

Some time back I posted a page from a vintage Chouinard course pamphlet. Here's one of the covers:

Chouinard's class catalog, circa 1951
Those were the days at Chouinard-even their disposable, flimsy paper class lists sported designs like this. Two of these were inherited by story artist Justin Hunt via his great-uncle, a student of advertising in 1950, and last month he posted them in their entirety-along with a bit of the history attached-on his blog Buttermilk Skies.
Here's another cover:

Justin has excellent taste and a keen eye for vintage books, especially those that contain great drawing; along those lines he's posted loads of excerpts on his blog. Worth the trip.

Random Fred Moore

2011-03-10T15:16:00.000-08:00

While on a Google search for Wilfred Jackson I happened upon this image, part of a terrific post of screen grabs Michael Sporn did back in December. Here, from 1951's "Operation Wonderland", is Fred Moore and Johnny Lounsbery. Artfully lit, they're looking offscreen as they go through the promotional motions, drawing the soundstage antics of the actors used for reference on "Alice In Wonderland".

As an aside, Mark Mayerson comments on Michael's blog that this might be the latest picture of Moore he'd ever seen. I think that distinction might actually belong to this shot of Fred with John Sibley taken outside the Burbank animation building, posted here in 2006(from the collection of James Walker).
In any case, it's hard to believe that the man shown here is barely 40 years old. This is the visible toll years of hardcore drinking can take.

Walt Disney sends his regrets, 1938

2011-02-18T15:40:00.000-08:00

click to enlarge

The original of the letter shown here was an item for sale at the bookshop I once worked in, Larry Edmunds in Hollywood (still there, and still well worth a visit). At $400 dollars my 21 year old self couldn't think of buying it, but at least I made a copy. It must have been a quite a soiree for Walt to have been invited; he certainly took some pains to produce an elegant reply.

The woman he's responding to, Carrie Jacobs Bond, was an author of popular songs famous in the first half of the twentieth century. Wikipedia cites her best-known composition as that wedding stalwart "I Love You Truly", but my favorite would be "A Perfect Day".

I happen to know that one because it's beautifully performed in a favorite film of mine, the Mitchell Leisen-directed "Remember The Night"(1940). For an added Disney Studio connection bonus the singer is none other than Sterling Holloway--the voice of Disney's Cheshire Cat, Kaa and Winnie the Pooh:

Dave Pimentel published a lovely book: "Evoke"

2010-12-15T14:52:00.000-08:00

I've written on these pages several times already about my colleague Dave Pimentel.

Dave is a story artist who's probably the loudest cheerleader I know for drawing, drawing, drawing--at all times, in all places and with all media--and he's got the tweets, posts and sketchbooks to prove it.

He was lucky enough to be in the late Walt Stanchfield's gesture drawing classes at Disney. Stanchfield's philosophy and approach had a profound effect on him (as on so many others), and in the spirit Walt embodied he loves to share with and encourage other artists. He genuinely gets a charge out of not only creating his own work, but by seeing what everyone around him comes up with, whatever their take might be.

When I first started working with Dave I'd seize the chance to flip through his sketchbooks. He always had at least one in progress and a stack of what he'd just filled up on a shelf in the office. Each page was fun to look at, and each page was drawn from life. In fact, it was on those pages that I got to know his family before I'd actually met them--from the beautifully observed and executed sketches of them at the park, the bookstore, the beach, in the car...just engaging in ordinary everyday pursuits, but made to seem lyrical and alive on paper. The same was true of the anonymous passersby in his world, caricatured just enough to be recognizable as unique individuals. They all contained stories.

I hoped he'd self-publish a book of his drawings, and he has--he's also made it not only good to look at but to feel; it has a tactile, hard cloth binding with one of his ink brush drawings embossed on the oversize cover. He wanted it to resemble like the kind of 1950s-era books that all artists are drawn to(in my experience anyway) and it succeeds.

In addition to the many sketchbook excerpts he wrote a about a dozen pages containing the tips and ideas he uses in his gesture classes and applies to his own work. It's 100 pages of a very handsome and inspiring call to the pen, the pencil, and the sketchbook. Looking at it will make you feel good. And you'll really want to draw.

You can buy it from him here: EVOKE: The Art of Dave Pimentel

Chouinard Art Institute Brochure circa 1950

2010-12-01T18:25:00.000-08:00

Submitted for your approval: the back cover of Chouinard's list of class offerings for the 1950-51 school year.

How many of the instructor's last names can you recognize--and what would you pay for a time machine to take you back to the Westlake District of Los Angeles and register?

This rarity along with an earlier brochure are the property of a colleague and animation artist whose uncle attended Chouinard during this time. Want to see more?

(click to enlarge)

Lee and Mary Blair's 1939 Los Angeles Home On the Market: (UPDATED)

2010-11-06T07:44:00.000-07:00

I can think of an awful lot of people who are going to enjoy this.

The Hollywood Hills modernist home designed in 1939 by architect Harwell Hamilton Harris for Disney artists Lee and Mary Blair is for sale, listed at $725,000.
Harris worked for two of the greatest talents of the age and area, Richard Neutra and Rudolf Schindler, before starting his own firm in 1933.

The realtor's listing describes it as three levels "incorporating an entry, open plan living/dining area, bedroom, bath, and studio or 2nd bedroom and bath at the top". I think we know what the Blairs used the top floor for, and it wasn't a bedroom.

It's a wonderful space in a wonderful location, just what one would imagine for a couple like this. And it looks today much as it must have when they moved out, thanks to its current owner who obviously appreciated its value-sadly, not often the case in southern California.

Edited to add: an excerpt from Lisa Germany's book "Harwell Hamilton Harris"(2000):

Mr. and Mrs. Lee Blair were directors for the Walt Disney Studios who had been interested in a house by Harwell Harris since 1937. He had, in fact, designed a house at that time that was canceled due to an uncertainty in their work(of the five Disney clients Harwell had during these years only two would see their houses reach the construction stage). In 1939 they returned with a new lot and he started over again. This lot was extremely steep and Harris designed the tiny, one bedroom house with three stories sheathed in horizontal redwood siding. Each of the three blocks of the house rose another step up the hill. At its rear, each floor rested on the natural level of the ground and at its front it rested on the rear edge of the block below it. Thus, the second story used the roof of the first story for a roof terrace, and the third story used the roof of the second story for its roof terrace. So high, in fact, was the studio that the clients had a spectacular view of Los Angeles and even of the cowboy and indian movies being filmed at Fox Studios.
The Blair house followed all the rules of Harris' nine-point plan. The same finishes--grass matting, plywood walls and Celotex ceilings--were used thoughout, and each room had one wall of glass opening into a garden or terrace. This allowed not only for a more generous display of the floor but also showed the Alvar Aalto chairs and Harris-designed couch and dressing table to their full advantage.

A correction, and a note: the Blairs were not "directors" at Disney's in 1939. The Blairs' unbuilt property that fell through in 1937 was on Beech Knoll Road in Laurel Canyon.

Fellow Dreamworks story artist and author/illustrator Scott Santoro (who lives near the Blair's former residence and has seen the exterior) writes:
"It's the first time the house has been on the market since 1955. The lot is large, steep and rangy with a switchback stair to the front door. I'd hate to move things in and out of there, though it does have a funicular [probably what's more often called a hillevator-ed]. The garage sets into the slope and has a grass roof."

The images above are from the sale listing and are recent. Below are photographs taken both in the Blairs' time and today. The circa 1939 color photo of the living area features what looks like a watercolor by one of the couple near the fireplace. The chairs in the Blairs' living room are are by Finnish architect and designer Alvar Aalto

Here are some views from the street of the Blair residence garage, the "hillevator" and exterior taken on November 6, 2010 by Scott Santoro. Thanks again, Scott:

There is only one Glen Keane...

2010-11-05T18:06:00.000-07:00

As long as he's been working and as great as he is, he always seems to get better.
From the page about his upcoming Paris exhibition Nov. 10 through Jan. 8th, 2011 at the Galerie Arludik, here's a sketchbook drawing done in 1999. Click to see it properly.

Imagination+animation+technology= a profoundly jaw-dropping filmic experience

2010-10-17T13:22:00.000-07:00

I was emailed about this yesterday(thanks, Joe and David Doherty), and it's something I thought the passersby here would definitely appreciate. The link comes from a site called Kotaku, and as they wrote, in "a technique called video mapping, the Macula project takes the 600-year-old Astronomical Clock on Old Town Square in Prague and transforms it into one of the most impressive things we've ever seen. See for yourself."

The 600 Years from the macula on Vimeo.

Quoting from the Makula website (translated from Czech):

Video mapping using current technology available in the entertainment industry, a whole new way. The main contents are the projections to cooperate with the selected object and try to break the perception perspective of the viewer. With the projector can fold and stress any shape, line or space. Evocative play of light on the physical object creates a new dimension and changing the view of the seemingly "normal thing". Everything becomes an illusion.

I think this is pretty cool stuff.

Squid Pro Quo

2010-09-29T13:36:00.000-07:00

Growing around my desk this past month is a stack of fine new books I've wanted to write about. One by one they arrived, were pored over, enjoyed...and then the struggle began to find the time to do them blog justice.

Time: there's the rub. As the days go by this colorful group has migrated around my workspace like Kipling's cannons: looming to the left of me, tipping to the right of me, but never sitting quite where I want them--square in the middle. That position is claimed by a Cintiq tablet. Lately I've found that between work and what time remains to home life the blogging wedge finds a very thin edge indeed.

Happily, though, reviewing is a pleasure I still enjoy when possible, and never so much as when writing about new work from talented people. In that spirit I take up the keyboard this week and mark those recent titles, beginning with the first picture book published by my friend David Derrick: Sid the Squid and the Search for the Perfect Job.

Dave has been storyboarding, blogging and sculpting constantly in the five years I've known him. He's one of the most energetic and intrepid artists I've ever seen in action, and he's smart enough to play to his interests when planning a project. When he grabs hold of a subject he goes all the way, and one of his fascinations is sea life. He studies it, photographs it, swims with it and best of all draws it(all these permutations visible on his website), so it's natural that his first stand-alone children's book became a sweet-natured fable about a giant squid. It's a charming, simply written story about an anthropomorphized cephalopod and the little girl who helps him find the best way he can be employed in and around the northern California bay area, winding up at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Droll adventures ensue.

In most picture books it's the 'how' rather than the 'what' that makes it notable. Like virtually all of us in story Dave has been working on a Cintiq for some time and decided it would be interesting to use it for book illustration. While digital, his technique retains a pleasing graphic quality and a neo-impressionistic use of Photoshop paint. As far as Sid himself is concerned, it can't be easy to elicit character from a creature with little more than eyes to act with, but he manages to makes Sid very appealing. My favorite illustration is one of the giant squid dejected after having bombed out of most of his job attempts, spilling over a park bench clutching his appendages to his "chest" like knees.

It may be playing a little fast and loose to offer a legendary predator of the deep as an earnest red-orange character putting out fires, washing windows, or rescuing real-life mortal enemies like whales, but conviction can get you places. Dave clearly believes in Sid and his story and he delivers him-and us-to its end safely and sweetly. Nice job.

A detail from the endpapers for "Sid the Squid". These deep-sea portraits are among my favorite drawings, and were done in ink. The illustrations proper were all drawn digitally, via Cintiq.

The Blackwing Returns

2010-08-23T23:51:00.000-07:00

Some of my Blackwing pencils

NOTE Today I heard from two story artists simultaneously with exciting news via Mark Frauenfelder at boingboing.net: apparently that mighty elegant instrument, the extinct Blackwing pencil, is soon going to resume production. I wrote the post below ("Why My Blog Is Titled As It Is') in November, 2005, and it seems like a good time to give it an encore.

They don't make them like this anymore. Really--they don't make these at all; production ceased in 1998, apparently.
I love these pencils--they're a joy to draw with, although I rarely use them now (dwindling supply), but their real attraction is the association they can't shake for me--that of the Disney studio of the 50s, of sketch artists and draughstmen and designers working on immortal projects, not only at Disney feature animation but all over Los Angeles: the maitre'd at Musso's taking a reservation for four in 1933; a script supervisor working alongside Preston Sturges making notes during takes of "Sullivan's Travels"; a student at Chouinard toiling on a design project in 1961; Henry Miller, or Bob Clampett, or Clarence Darrow or Ward Kimball or Ernie Kovacs or Raymond Chandler. Who knows how many yet remain in the musty drawers of retired writers and artists all over the city, from Arcadia to Malibu?

I first saw one of these on the desk of an animator at Disney's in the early 80s, and later on the desk of Cecil B. DeMille, untouched since his death in the 60s; there were some among T. Hee's studio ephemera, given to us at CalArts after his death. I ordered an entire box from the redoubtable Cartoon Colour Company of Culver City, many years ago. Little dreaming of its eventual demise, I recklessly scrawled away, and now my Blackwings constitute barely a fistful, from stubs to pristine unsharpened.

It's a thoroughly romantic instrument: sleek and silvery, fast-moving and easy to sharpen, with a curious back end--a golden holder encasing a silver clasp cradling a removable eraser, the better to extract, flip and so extend its usefulness.

Among both pencil enthusiasts and stubborn pencil-wielding animators, it fights for prominience with the fat, round, green Blaisdell Layout, most famous as the longtime-preferred pencil of Glen Keane. I have a stub of a Blaisdell somewhere--really, a stub, barely two inches long. It's easy to see why it's so appealing, as it skates smoothly over the paper--best used as a blunt instrument with its wide smear of soft lead.
But I still swoon for Blackwings--surely the only pencil which bears its own motto--in quotes, no less--across its length: "Half the pressure, twice the speed". And it certainly seems to be so. A sorry world where such treasure is allowed to pass away. I am old enough to know it's the little things in life--particularly in an artist's life--that immeasurably enhance the day to day grind.

So, the Blackwing: I look over my shoulder and admire the gleam of the golden lettering on my desk. A glorious instrument with all the possibilities that art provides at its tip. And thus the blog moniker.

There's an excellent review of an "old" Blackwing here. Very much worth a click.

Fred Moore Girl Statue

2010-08-22T13:40:00.000-07:00

I saw the prototypes at Comic Con, and they were beautiful. There's a blonde and a raven-haired paint, and last but not least a red headed, green-eyed version available by special preorder from Electric Tiki. Just wanted to share.

John Canemaker signs tonight at the Americana on Brand

2010-08-17T13:12:00.000-07:00

I really don't want to remember today as the anniversary of Joe Ranft's death. I understand why many would, as I'm a person who's fascinated by history, the lives of people who've gone before us and marking their passages. I remember very well where and when I heard that Joe had been killed and what I felt at the time, though I didn't write about it here. Later I posted a memory of him that meant something to me. I understand this and I do it myself for people I'm interested in and have cared about, but I don't want to think about Joe dying that way, this year, on this anniversary.

This year there's a much more apropos reason to do a post mentioning Joe. John Canemaker has just published a beautiful book about him and the legendary, longtime-Disney artist and supervisor Joe Grant--a dual celebration and examination of two men whose lives, one way and another, contributed greatly to animation storytelling in films we love: Two Guys Named Joe: Master Animation Storytellers Joe Grant & Joe Ranft.

The book was released August 2nd, and that's the day my copy came from Amazon. I've been waiting for it as eagerly as any in a long time, and it's well worth the wait. I'll publish a thorough review later this week, but suffice to say it's another in the indispensable list of titles from John Canemaker. Anyone interested in, working in or who cares an atom about the art of animation can't afford to miss any book or article Canemaker signs his name to. How he manages to be a filmmaker himself while researching and teaching and writing as well as he does all those things is a mystery to me, but I'm certainly glad he does. We're all in his debt for the scholarship he's done.

The Los Angeles area is hosting John Canemaker for signings of Two Guys Named Joe: one tonight In Glendale and tomorrow at the Happiest Place On Earth. He is not only one of the most talented but one of the most generous and affable authors you'll ever meet, and I hope many of you get the chance--and get a book signed.

Barnes & Noble Tuesday, August 17, 7:00 pm
Glendale Americana
210 Americana Way, Glendale, CA

Disneyland Resort Wednesday, August 18, 9:00-11:00 am
Disney Gallery, Main Street USA
Anaheim, CA

Great Inspiration: music-only soundtrack for Lampwick's transformation in "Pinocchio".

2010-08-04T14:59:00.000-07:00

I just found this on the blog written by Jaime Weinman, Something Old, Nothing New-which he in turn found on youtube. It's arguably the most frightening scene in animation history-Pinocchio witnessing the wages of childhood sin on his new friend Lampwick.
Everyone's seen it numerous times, but here it is presented with no dialogue or other track-nothing save the dramatic score of composer Leigh Harline. The character animation is primarily the work of Fred Moore, Ollie Johnston, Milt Neil, Milt Kahl and Eric Larson.

I can't remember how I initially found Weinman's blog (and in all honesty I don't check in with him often enough these days), but in my internet wanderings he's one of the best writers on film and other popular entertainment I've come across. His entries are frequently so fascinating that I'll become interested in a title I either had no patience for or any curiosity about before he examined it. That's obviously not the case with "Pinocchio", a film I probably put at the top of my animation mountain, but it figures it's Jaime who shares something that's a must-see for anyone who loves animation. Be sure to read his accompanying comments about composer Harline.

What's up with Bird (Brad)

2010-07-12T20:03:00.000-07:00

Robert, Brad and George at ShoWest in 2005
Because it's always interesting to hear what's going on with him and because his name probably gets mentioned by someone in our industry 83.2 times a day in some context or other, I was very happy to read this exclusive by Nikki Finke at the head of her Deadline Hollywood blog tonight:

From Deadline.com/Hollywood by Nikki Finke: I hear that, after a hot pursuit by all the major Hollywood agencies, formerly rep-less Brad Bird has signed with UTA's Tracey Jacobs and David Kramer. The writer-director is currently prepping to helm Paramount's Mission: Impossible IV for producer J.J. Abrams, with Tom Cruise starring. But Deadline has reported previously that Paramount is currently rethinking MI4. I hear the script that came in is very good, but the studio is still trying to figure out the budget as well as Cruise's role in light of the lackluster Knight And Day grosses. There's talk that Tom's character will mentor a young operative this time out if the pic proceeds. I just hope Bird is pay or play.

He's also attached to direct 1906 for Warner Bros. Bird won two Academy Awards for directing the Pixar hits The Incredibles and Ratatouille, both of which he also wrote. Bird's first major animated feature came with Warner Bros' The Iron Giant, which he wrote and directed. In addition to working at Pixar, Bird has also had a prolific television career, having worked on shows such as The Simpsons, King Of The Hill, and The Critic. Bird will continue to be represented by attorney Jake Bloom.

Any news such as this is good news. Everyone I know wants to see whatever he does next as soon as may be.

Toby Shelton

2010-06-28T20:49:00.000-07:00

Toby Shelton's cintiq sketch revisiting his design for the title character in the Disney series "Darkwing Duck" and his story panels from "How To Train Your Dragon" and "Princess and the Frog" from his blog. CLICK to enlarge.

In an industry full of talented people and myriad styles the work of story artist Toby Shelton remains unique.

His facility with line is something else--form, weight and gesture beautifully employed. The guy can draw. But to leave it at his technical skill would be missing more than half the picture. It's the sincere appeal of his characters, their acting and his cinematic staging that give his stuff its impact, as well as an intangible something that's just terrifically likeable. Recent credits of his include "Megamind", "Princess and the Frog" and "How To Train Your Dragon".

In another life (as he puts it in his blog's profile) Toby worked for Disney feature animation as an animator, and in 1985 was one of the first to work at Disney's new Television Animation division, where his superb designs for "Rescue Rangers" and "Darkwing Duck" became well known and were traded freely, even by artists who'd never met him. He's posted some of that original character design work on his blog. For the requirements of this era in television in particular, sheets like these leap off the quality meter.

Everywhere he's worked has benefited immensely from his skill, and the influence and inspiration he provides to other artists is palpable. He's a thoughtful artist and a generous one.

Toby Shelton: Stuff I Did--be sure to visit it often.

A Toby Shelton rough story panel from Disney's "Princess and the Frog"-borrowed from a post by the great Paul Briggs on Paul's blog.

Toby's exploratory sketch of Mama Odie from Princess and the Frog. His design remained through the story process and animation.

Sunday, June 20: win rare art by Fred Moore. Or Glen Keane. Or Marc Davis. Or 100 other geniuses of animation.

2010-06-19T14:10:00.000-07:00

UPDATED 6/22 For the record: the auction raised over 70,000 to help Pres and his family defray the tremendous costs of his fight with leukemia.

This is a drawing by Fred Moore-probably a study for a presentation painting. It's one of a kind and it's beautiful-and it can be yours.
It'll be auctioned live tomorrow and even if you're many miles away, you can email the auction organizers today and arrange for an absentee bid to be placed for you. It's part of one of the most impressive auctions of great animation art in quite some time, and it's for a good cause.

UPDATED TO ADD: The L.A. Times had a nice article covering the auction here

Good cause? That's an understatement.

Patrick's painting of Pres and his wife Jeannine as Bonnie & Clyde, from Patrick's blog
I've never met Pres Romanillos, but thanks to my friend Patrick Mate I know several things about him, including these: he and his wife Jeannine have an awesome pride of cats, he's an excellent animator, and he's an awful lot of fun to take on road trips to the Comic Con. Also, anyone that Patrick draws with such affection and gusto must be quite a guy.

This is also borne out by the amazing organization of "Pres Aid", the auction tomorrow that Pres' friends and colleagues in animation have put together to help defray the costs of Pres' battle with leukemia.
There are far, far too many pieces for me to feature them all here, but clicking on the link above will take you to the blog set up to display most of them and explain more about the event.

In addition, some additional, choice art that wont be auctioned in the live event on June 20th has been listed on Ebay-I managed to win a beautiful, unsigned Marc Davis giclee of his personal watercolor work. Those listings, which are ongoing, are accessible here.

But back to June 2oth: here's a sampling of the stuff that'll wind up with a happy new home tomorrow:

Carlos Grangel studies for Tim Burton's "The Corpse Bride"; Carlos' original paintings--like Nico Marlet's and many of the other current artists in the auction--is virtually never available for anyone to buy anywhere. This is an extremely rare opportunity to own one. This particular piece was exhibited in recent the MOMA show devoted to Tim Burton's career.

A limited edition print-one of only 22 made-of a personal painting by Marc Davis, signed by Marc and donated to the auction by Alice Davis. Pres and his wife were good friends of the Davis'. I want this painting. Bid against me and make me earn it

This fantastic painting of Messrs Hitchcock and Scorsese by Patrick is going to be in the auction tomorrow. He's one of the very best caricaturists I know, in addition to his visdev and animation work.

Beautiful piece of character design(of Gobber) from Nico Marlet, done for "How To Train Your Dragon". Nico's famous work is more beautiful in person than any scan can show-true of all the scans I have here. You can bid on it tomorrow.

An original pastel by the terrific illustrator-much beloved of animatio artists--the late Earl Oliver Hurst.

THE DETAILS:
Live Auction to benefit Disney and Dreamworks animator Pres Romanillos
Sunday, June 20, at the Animation Guild
1105 N. Hollywood Way (just north of Magnolia)
Burbank, CA 91505. Registration at 1pm, auction to follow at 2 til it's done (about 4pm)

From Kevin Koch's Pres-Aid site: "The building will open at noon, and we anticipate registering people at 1 pm and starting the bidding at 2 pm. We're working with our friend Howard Lowery, the expert on animation auctions, and we're deeply grateful for his participation. Absentee bidding will be available for those who cannot be in Burbank that day, and we anticipate being able to handle phone bidding on a limited basis."

LAist reviews the Calarts Producers Show

2010-05-15T12:49:00.001-07:00

LAist, a Los Angeles themed website that reads like a hipper, more locally aware online edition of the L.A. Times, did a review of the annual Calarts Producers Show. As most of my readers know, this one-night-only screening is culled from the best films done in the character animation program at Calarts during the year and presented specifically to showcase the students to prospective employers and other interested parties.

I wasn't able to be there this year although I had a last minute invitation on Thursday evening. I wish I had gone after hearing the various wrapups yesterday from my colleagues who attended--and finding this article on LAist. I confess I'm a little shocked that it warranted mention as it's such an insider sort of show, or was. Is it openly advertised these days?
In any event it's a serious review of the show, with particular mentions (and critiques) of some of the standouts among the standouts. Go over to LAist and peruse their take.
In addition, if anyone can put names to the design art featured in the photograph at left it would be much appreciated.
images from LAist.com

Devin Crane, Paris and paintings in the spring...

2010-05-08T14:59:00.000-07:00

...who could ask for anything more?

My colleague and friend, Dreamworks visdev artist Devin Crane is having a show of his luscious personal paintings opening in Paris at the Galerie Arludik on May 26th. Lucky are those who will be able to drop in and see his work up close on the Ile Saint Louis. A small sampling of the paintings he's done for this show are below(click to enlarge):

"Waiting for Klimt"

"High tea in Hell"

"Heaven"
Galerie Arludik is a perfect venue for Devin's first European solo show, as a visit to their website will show. They have an impressive listing of artists from the worlds of animation and bande dessinée. If like me you can't get away to France have a look at the work online. If you are able to be there, it's going to be a lovely evening, no doubt about that.
Everything published on Blackwing Diaries is copyright Jennifer Lerew 2007; no unauthorized swiping and reposting of text or images from this site will be tolerated. Linking is one thing(I do too, of course), but plagarism is bad, bad, bad. Do NOT do it.

A Fred Moore for you

2010-03-16T17:34:00.000-07:00

Click to enlarge-it's worth it.

...via the Animation Guild's blog and an anonymous collector with an enviable collection of artwork he likes to share.

One wonders just how many of these Fred did for people over the years. This looks as if it's the same format as the ones I own-approximately 11x17, mounted on board.

Much imitated in his day, surrounded by other expert good girl artists and brilliant cartoonists...but none captured the particular elegance and spirit of these studies by Moore. 60 years later he remains inimitable.

Sanjay Patel's Ramayana

2010-03-01T18:11:00.004-08:00

There was a lucky bonus from dropping into Shane Prigmore's office today. Displayed among the many other visual goodies on his shelves was a volume with an arresting cover-the kind you're compelled to pick up. At Shane's behest I did, and found it was a brand new book from Sanjay Patel.

I've never met Sanjay but his wonderfully appealing designs of figures from Hindu lore are instantly recognizable, posted and reposted on the blogs of his many admirers. This new book (full title "Ramayana: Divine Loophole")is really stunning in its tackling of the Ramayana, the same story of love and war between gods and mortalsthat inspired Nina Paley's "Sita Sings the Blues".

Leafing through page after page of his lush, beautifully composed, dynamic illustrations was inspiring. Fascinating material, brilliantly executed. The color styling alone would be worth studying-as it is, it's merely as choice as every other element. My copy is on it's way.

"How To Train Your Dragon" Final Theatrical Trailer

2010-02-28T14:56:00.001-08:00

This has been out for a couple of days now and I haven't seen it linked on the other blogs I frequent, so here it is.

Bid on a box of Blackwing Pencils-and more-and help the Hodges

2010-01-17T14:59:00.000-08:00

David Nethery provided this fantastic coup to the Hodge auction-yours if you're the lucky bidder

Want to buy a perfect and unused box of 12 Blackwing #602s? You'll have a shot at scoring them this week.

I don't know Tim Hodge personally. I know he's worked as an animator and story artist at Disney, and I know his icon well from comments he's left on blogs I've visited...and I also know him from hearing about the auction organized by friends to help defray some of the costs of medical care for his son, Matthew.
Matthew had a horrible accident last August that has left him in a deep coma. The Hodge family is doing everything they can to care for Matthew and bring him back to full consciousness. Obviously the expense involved is tremendous.

The Hodge's story is detailed on the site Help The Hodges. The site and the auction was conceived by their friends and colleagues in the artistic community who wanted to help the family, and it's quite a list. A lot of great stuff donated by many, many of animation's best-not only as regards skill but most importantly, heart.

For just two examples-apart from the eponymous pencils mentioned above-how about a drawing by Pete Docter of Carl and Kevin the bird from "Up"-signed by Pete--and Ed Asner?

Another beauty: Vicky Jenson donated not one but three items-among them, two of her own gouache paintings, visdev art done for "Road to El Dorado". I still have old color copies of some of her remarkable paintings for that film(sadly much crumpled from frequent pinning and repinning on my various office walls). These are really rare.
And there's much, much more. It's all detailed at the auction website.

So have a go at bidding on fantastic, one of a kind art and collectible goodness while helping the Hodges.

The auction is going to go live on Ebay starting this coming Thursday, January 21st .

Gainsbourgia, and French Roasted Animation

2010-01-10T13:42:00.000-08:00

Serge Gainsbourg - animation des graffitis sur 5 ans du mur rue de Verneuil from Arnaud Jourdain on Vimeo.

I saw this posted on animator Matt Jones' Facebook page and felt compelled to share it.

The backstory-all of it that I think I know-is that since the death in 1991 of the legendary French singer-songwriter and world class roué, Serge Gainsbourg, the walls of his home on rue de Verneuil in Paris have been used by fans as an ever-changing palette to express their love and regard for this epic character. Seeing the various scrawlings, pictures and messages, put to Gainsbourg's music and literally parsed as they are in the clever film process used is not only hypnotic but for me quite moving.

Apparently (difficult for me to make out as I don't read french) there's a film in production that is making some use of this graffiti via animation done by a studio named Zebulle. And at the end of the piece appear some great drawings by an artist named Joann Sfar, who's making a film on Gainsbourg which is incorporating the Zebulle animation...I think.
I've seen his book "The Rabbi's Cat", but unfortunately don't own a copy of any of his work-which makes me think I'd better place an order at Stuart Ng's when my piggy bank is replenished. I think a post about bande dessinée and french animation is called for at any rate.

And speaking of the fair nation of France, yesterday I was at a screening of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science's short listed animation nominees, among which was a really wonderful short written and directed by the veteran, ex-Dreamworks animator Fabrice Joubert, "French Roast".

This captivating film has fantastic atmosphere, staging and character animation-in its lead character in particular. While watching it I wondered, "Didn't Bibo have something to do with this?" and sure enough, he produced it. Another familiar name designed it: Nico Marlet. And yet another: one credit goes to the charming and wonderfully talented animator and illustrator Aurélie Blard-Quintard; a visit to her blog is a must.

Illustration by Aurélie Blard-Quintard, from her blog "tea-time, isn't it"?

I just love this short. Here's a link to watch it all.
And here's more good stuff about how Nico's designs were translated to the screen (one of the best 2D to CG translations I've seen) from the French Roast production blog.
Amusez-vous bien!

Michael Sporn

2009-12-23T16:23:00.000-08:00

Michael Sporn's blog is like a Christmas gift every day with the beautiful things he posts. Here's part of today's entry-a collection of illustrations by Vernon Grant. Worth your while to take a look at that and everything else you'll find there.

Mary Christmas

2009-12-23T11:20:00.001-08:00

A Videotaped Interview with Roy Disney

2009-12-16T12:46:00.001-08:00

Roy Disney Has Died: 1930-2009

2009-12-16T11:50:00.000-08:00

Roy Disney. courtesy of cresenteulit.com

Animation has lost a great friend who more than lived up to the legacy of his last name.

Roy E. Disney. "Roy Boy", yachtsman and master of the Shamrock and Pyewacket, father, husband, son and nephew passed away from cancer today at the age of 79.

I've just read about it here, at the blog of the Animation Union Local 839. They have nothing more at the moment but I hope they'll write a longer post about Roy (he was known to everyone on a first-name basis as were his father Roy and his uncle Walt).

There's a lot to be said about him. He was by all the accounts I've ever heard an accessible, friendly, direct and intelligent man whose belief in his family's legacy of entertainment-quality entertainment-was borne out by a hell of lot of hard work both in front of and behind the scenes of the Disney studio.

It can also be fairly argued that it's through his personal efforts that we have any kind of viable feature-length animation scene in place today, much less one that makes billions and has changed the face of entertainment, not incidentally furthering the development of an artform.

He will be terribly missed. I'll miss seeing him--he always made a point of attending animation get-togethers, ones other men of his stature might have found too humble to bother with. He loved artists and was loved by them in return. Vaya con Dios, Roy.

EDITED TO ADD: There's an obituary up at the Los Angeles Times blog, which must be seen not least for a great photograph of Roy circa 1985.

Award Seasoning

2009-12-15T13:34:00.000-08:00

The Golden Globes nominations came out today. Of special interest here is the list of five nominees for the Best Animated Film of 2009. And those are:

"Coraline"
"Fantastic Mr. Fox"
"Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs"
"The Princess and the Frog"
"Up"

All worthy films and while the entire concept of contests for artistic achievement can be problematic, it's exciting that there's been such a healthy and varied year of releases in our profession.

Looking at the list--also a likely indicator of which titles will receive the AMPAS nod in a couple of months--it's quite a varied one in both style and story content. Congratulations are due to not only the producers and directors of these films but to the hundreds of unsung people on their crews known only to their coworkers, who in all likelihood went without a lot of breakfasts, bedtime stories, weekends and overall sleep to see their projects through. They did, and they should be proud of the results.

A Dynamite Disney Item that got away...

2009-11-27T15:51:00.000-08:00

Hal King seems to have redrawn "Bacchus" as Fred Moore in departing Disney employee Sally Holmes' book

Some readers of Blackwing Diaries have noticed that my entries weren't as frequent after 2007 got going. Those who read everything I've written and have an excellent memory and/or know me personally can figure out why that was, but I do feel a not unpleasant nagging urge to keep it more up to date than I have.

Life will keep happening though, and while a recent(and not quite uncompleted) move, a change of jobs, and the signing of a book contract mean time's even more elusive, there are so many interesting and exciting things going on in animation now that I expect the Blackwing posts will appear much more often.

And then there's the flip side of writing: reading. In tandem with less blogging there's been substantially less reading of other blogs. Truthfully, this has bothered me more than neglecting to post on my own blog, as once one falls out of the habit it's difficult to keep up. And it seems more talented and uniquely interesting artists are starting blogs everyday. Thank goodness they're doing them, and that some veterans have decided it might be worth it to maintain an online place to post their own work, too.

There are probably three blogs I've never stopped checking almost every day: the ubiquitous Cartoon Brew, and two others-one by a writer, historian and critic, the other written by an animator and longtime owner of his own Manhattan studio:: Michael Barrier and Michael Sporn, respectively. I can't exhort all of you who are serious about animation too strongly to visit them on a regular basis. I know many often disagree with the opinions expressed in them-I certainly have-but they continually post important and rare material, as well as views, news and serious discussion about our medium that you're missing out if you don't have a look.

And those are just three. There are dozens more with marvelous stuff every day. This post is the result seeing of something I missed because I hadn't dropped by a blog in too long: in Mayerson On Animation, Mark Mayerson's blog, he shared a (sadly ended) Ebay auction item's webpage...and what an item: a woman named Sally Holmes who worked at Disney through the early 1940s left to start a family. In lieu of a going-away card a mind-boggling array of animators signed and illustrated her copy of the large, lush "Fantasia" book that had been published concurrent with that film's release (this isn't the first time I've seen that book used as a yearbook by Disney employees-Bob Thomas "Art Of Animation" book of the late 50s would serve that purpose a decade later).

You've got to see these to believe them. How about Ward Kimball doing his thing-and Milt Kahl finding Ward an irresistible act worth following. So to speak:

Ward:

Milt:

And of course, Fred Moore:

John Sibley:

A beautiful little painting by Jesse Marsh

He signed it, too.

There are loads more where that came from, including a NSFW Donald and Goofy (actually they're safe for our line of work, but if you work at a more conservative establishment, well...). The original seller's page is here. As he notes, this was sold a few months ago, so that's that. I'm sure it has a good home.

Some John Kricfalusi 1989 character drawings (redux)

2009-11-22T13:20:00.000-08:00

Over on John Kricalusi's blog he posted some very early drawings by Eddie Fitzgerald that Eddie had done, studies of the characters he did for his Tiny Toons crew way back in 1989. The pig drawings especially-inspired by viewings of the classic Bob Clampett WB shorts like "Kitty Kornered"-are lovely things and generated a lot of comments. One of them referred to John himself doing work for a TT episode, which John didn't remember(he was in the thick of producing a Nickelodeon pilot called "Big House Blues" at the time).

I remembered them well. This was the first time I'd seen any art drawn by John K; I loved them-who wouldn't?-and Kent Butterworth, who John had done these for, let me make a copy of the lot of them. It's from an episode called "Who Bopped Bugs Bunny?".
I originally posted these here in January, 2006, a couple of months before John had his own blog.

Here's some of what I wrote then:

I love the feeling of these being produced on a real tear(well, in fact I know they actually were). One zips after and builds upon another--various ideas of how the guy here might use his trunk, his eyes, his torso, his teeth, his tail to express himself. Certain poses tell a story all by themselves.

-all the above by John Kricfalusi

Spumco, cartoon, elephants, drawing, John Kricfalusi

Richard Williams' A Christmas Carol

2009-11-06T19:12:00.001-08:00

This youtube posting is not of the very best quality to say the least, but I was reminded of this special yesterday and the impact it made upon me when I first saw it-old Magnavox, living room floor, Hancock Park, the 70s. One viewing cemented Richard Williams for me as someone working among animation's elite, although if I remember correctly he got a lot more press later for his "Return of the Pink Panther" titles.
But this TV special was just wild. It still is--even in these few clips, just the layout alone...amazing. And while I'd put the Ghost of Christmas Past in the Alastair Sim version a close second, the way it's done here is the most faithful to Dickens' description--a great marriage of film, drawing and concept realized together. And Marley still shocks me.

A Disney Dream realized: The Walt Disney Family Museum is about to open

2009-09-24T14:37:00.000-07:00

Interior of one of the galleries of the Museum. Photographed by and used with the permission of David Lytle.

Last year out of the blue I received an email asking about one of the photographs I've featured on my blog. This happens fairly often, but this time the source knocked me for a loop: it was the people who were amassing exhibits for the long-awaited Walt Disney Museum underway up in San Francisco, in the stunningly beautiful Presidio. Would I be amenable to helping? Is Fred Moore my favorite good girl artist? Is the Blackwing a pencil?

The circa 1890 barracks at San Francisco's Presidio. They had to be very carefully modified and worked around by the Disney Museum's architect to meet the requirements of this historic site

Of course I was happy to be able to help out in any way however small. When dropping my original off I was privileged to be shown an elaborate virtual walkthrough, examples of exhibits, and an overall idea of what the museum would be and look like. I found it utterly exhilarating. Truly worthy of Disney's oft-expressed vision of educating coupled with appeal and fun, it's clearly been based on his own approaches to those goals.

The cover to a Museum book that will be available at its bookstore in October. In addition to the store, there's also a theater, a cafe and an education center as part of the campus.

I won't see it myself until tomorrow at a preview, but if it's anything like the plans it's going to be a standard for this sort of place. Walt Disney's life and career contained experiences so simultaneously relatable and visionary, combining spectacular success with equally numbing failures (from which he managed to recover despite sometimes terrible odds--a point the Museum intends to make clear as part of its presentation) that he easily deserves a permanent educational resource of this kind. It's one his family, in particular his daughter Diane Disney Miller, have worked tirelessly to make happen. It's a shame that it's not located in Los Angeles, but having lived in that city for most of my life I can't say I'm amazed that the project couldn't be realized here. And it does make an excellent excuse to make more trips to the Bay Area if anyone needed one.

Opening day is almost here: October 1st. The Museum has been sending me various materials from its holdings and (I'd imagine) displays, a few of which are illustrated here.

Walt and Diane in Los Feliz in the 30s, a stone's throw from the Hyperion studio

Regardless of Walt's telegram, you just know Roy worried.

Yet another rare piece of visual development from a woman Walt gave a unique opportunity to: Mary Blair

Funny--it doesn't say "Park" anywhere on this billboard

It wasn't all work and no play: Walt learned to ride as my own father did-on a midwestern farm. Years later he used this saddle where I've ridden today: the Santa Ynez Valley. Don't know why the color swatches are there.

I wish I knew who drew this board for "Mary Poppins" so I could attribute it-anyone? Note the aspect ratio

After Friday I'll post my impressions; in the meantime, I'd think that regular readers of this blog--assuming you're still around--will have to start planning that little jaunt to San Francisco now.

The Walt Disney Family Museum
104 Montgomery Street
The Presidio of San Francisco
San Francisco, CA 94129

T 415 345 6800

Animtip Tuesday: Tweeting Animation Tips

2009-08-04T10:40:00.001-07:00

For people who use Twitter, this is of interest: today a lot of animation artists who use the keep-it-extra-short internet communication thing Twitter are tweeting tips--tagging them all with the hashtag #animtip. If you tweet have a peek.

I stumbled on this thanks to Clay Kaytis, owner/operator of The Animation Podcast and Animation Supervisor of Disney's eagerly awaited feature, "Rapunzel" in his day job.

EDITED TO ADDIf you work in or study animation, tweet and have a helpful tip please dive on in and contribute.

Moving Daze

2009-07-30T14:30:00.000-07:00

a shockingly accurate picture of my packing approach, from "Moving Day" © Walt Disney Company

Your Blackwing blogger has been very busy away from the computer of late. Obviously posts have been few, but I have some very fun items coming up to write about, hopefully by the end of week. Unfortunately my life just now has been given over to the horrors of moving house lock, stock and books-thousands upon thousands of books. Due to this sweaty work(no A/C in this c.1907 house I'm packing up, and it's been blistering in Southern California) I've had to forgo too many fun events to count: a generous offer to be hosted at San Diego's Comic Con last week, and just this week had to decline the offer of a champagne reception and accompanying tribute to Miyazaki at the Academy. Believe me, that hurts. But the end of the month is nigh and the Goof and Mickey haven't shown up to help with the piano, so it's been slow going.

At any rate heads up on a post about the soon to open Walt Disney Family Museum, some swell new books, and a few other choice topics. In the meantime there've been so many great posts elsewhere on the animation circuit that I'm sure you've been more than busy reading them.

Hard to believe that in a couple of months it will have been 4 years since beginning this blog. It feels more like 10 minutes has gone by. Thanks for continuing to check in from time to time.

Torch Tiger tales

2009-07-14T20:13:00.000-07:00

Cover painting by Paul Felix

Last year the story department at Walt Disney Feature Animation put together an amazing book, "Who Is Rocket Johnson?" just in time for the San Diego Comic Con. It sold out in very short order, and remains a bright gem of a compilation. Utterly unique and as representative of the talents at work at Disney as anything could be. One should never miss the chance to see--and own--the personal work of men and women like this-mostly story, a couple of directors and animators in there too-who are at the top of their game.

No sooner had he pulled the first copies of Rocket Johnson out of the box than the chief instigator of the project, Paul Briggs, laid plans for this year's book: "What Is Torch Tiger?"

Well, the books have arrived and as was done last year, Briggs and the gang are kicking off its official debut with an Ebay auction for a special copy of this beautiful book-signed by all the participating artists, as follows:

Steve Anderson
Aaron Blaise
Paul Briggs
Kevin Deters
Rob Edwards
Mike Gabriel
Nathan Greno
Don Hall
Byron Howard
Trevor Jimenez
Mark Kennedy
Joe Mateo
Nicole Mitchell
John Musker
Jeff Ranjo
Aurian Redson
Jeremy Spears
Lissa Treiman
Josie Trinidad
Chris Ure
Mark Walton
Dean Wellins
Stevie Wermers
Chris Williams

And as if that lineup isn't enough, there are also some pin-ups by:

Andreas Deja
Andy Harkness
Jeff Turley
Jin Kim
Shiyoon Kim

Remember, all these artists have signed the special copy now on auction at Ebay. The actual book itself doesn't otherwise go on sale until Comic Con opens next week, so if you can't make it to the Con and would like to both snag a lovely, brilliantly produced book and have every penny of your bid go to a worthy charity--the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, click on this link and give it a go. I did last year--and was outbid. Well, try, try again. You won't be sorry and you can write off your winning bid, both feeling good and having something rare and good to read at hand.

Torch Tiger Signed edition plus extra goodies Ebay Auction

I haven't seen all the stories, but since I did see this one and I can't help embarrassing him I want to add that it'd be worth it for Jeremy Spears' story alone. He did a wonderfully atmospheric tale with appealing characters and fantastic staging, completely lovable.
Now multiply that times 30 and that's Torch Tiger. They've each put their hearts and souls into their own versions of the theme and always, of course, had to navigate their day jobs at the same time, with the redoubtable Briggs cracking the whip and wrangling the printers on top of everything else. What's that bit that Bud Plant always adds? "Highest Recommendation"

In My Beautiful Balloon...

2009-06-27T15:00:00.000-07:00

I tend to avoid standard reviewing of contemporary animated films. In the first place there's plenty of that everywhere else. And more importantly I feel close enough to even those films and studios I personally have nothing to do with that I'm sure my reactions are skewed one way or another. There's aren't degrees of separation, plural, in the animation business. We're virtually all connected with every kind of tie and association, sometimes unwittingly. So it can get complicated. In any case I thought I'd post some random thoughts I had while watching "Up" in 3D a week after its opening:

I was struck by how beautiful I found the palette and textures to be. It looked painterly, roughly so in places, as with the side of a palette knife. There was a particularly delicate use of lighting in what seemed a great collaboration of the visdev(AD) and CG departments. It made such an impression on me that I I broke one of my cardinal rules and elbowed the person next to me, forcing him to lean in so I could hiss "I can't believe how great that lighting is!" and "Would you look at that fireplace!" in their ear. What you wish for as a toiler and as an audience member is that the story and visual beauty will both take you out of yourself and put you in that world, and I thought the entire opening succeeded brilliantly with it. I may sound as if I'm contradicting myself there, but it was a beat after being impacted by the beauty of the shot that I woke up to the extraordinary aspect of it. Eating one's cake and seeing it, too. The sets looked to me for all the world like a cozy Viewmaster setting from the early 60s, which I delighted in throughout.

I admired (as so many did) the storyboarding, particularly the "growing older together" montage early on. I reckoned it was done by head of story Ronnie del Carmen, and someone told me I was right.
There are a lot of ways to board anything, never one right way (the filmmakers hope it seems the only way), but the way that was done--the transitions, cuts, all the choices--were perfect. I arrived at that verdict because I felt exhilarated watching it. It had to be a tightrope walk to avoid slipping into bathos (some critics felt it did slip, but only a few; to achieve that is a feat with this material).

I felt as touched by the sweet comedy relief of Dug the dog as I did at Carl's running struggle with loss. That might seem a pretty odd thing to say-and I allude here with a virtual smile to my respected friend who may think I've regressed to an eight-year-old's perspective to claim it-but there it is.

"Dug" was a win for me because of this: one of my pet peeves is the lack of films that make use of plain old reality for comedy, for pathos, for appeal. Dug was in appearance a wildly caricatured canine, but his actions, movement and the clever way his thoughts were translated into dialogue were more real than real for any dog lovers in the audience--and judging from my audience there were a lot of us. The kids squeal and love him because he's friendly-looking, and funny. The adults laugh and respond because they consciously recognize Dogs They Have Known in this unlikely character--and here, by the way, is an illustration of the work methods of the filmmakers I was blogging about in an earlier post. I don't know which of those involved drove the character's handling-director, story people, producers,animators or as is likely a melange of all of them. But those people know dogs, and moreover have loved dogs--a special dog. And have a healthy amount of empathy and imagination and skill enough to make their experience translate to the screen. This is why I enjoyed Dug so much, and not because I'm wallowing in my childhood.

And this gives me an opportunity to say how really fine I thought the character animation was in "Up". I don't know who you are, but I want to find out-all of you: the crews who did Carl (young Carl and Ellie in particular-superb), Dug, Muntz, "Kevin"...all these characters had scenes where the movement and performance blended together in an idiosyncratic and beautiful way. It's a new high point for you guys-as every new film should be, ideally.

There were issues that I found myself thinking about while the film was running, things that I didn't understand, or that I would have done differently. It's a habitual story habit thing--an occupational hazard of the business. I could go into them but I won't, not even obliquely. Not because they're so harsh that I'm afraid to offend but because--on my blog or off--I'm wary of being taken out of context and let's face it, it does happen. It's all too easy to misread a written sentence. It's too black and white, and where some things are concerned my opinions and reactions are more fluid than that. I'm much more comfortable discussing anything I take issue with in person, where a conversation can be had rather than a one-sided speech made. And I'm not a professional critic besides.

An old man in a flying house heading for South America is not your everyday plot. Add a lot of visual beauty and some sincere heart and I want to see it. More than once.

Artist Beware

2009-06-15T22:49:00.000-07:00

Melinda Beck is nobody's fool; she's also successful and experienced enough to turn down an offer from Google to do work for them for free. Photo by Ruby Washington for The New York Times.

This article in the New York Times caught my eye today.
There's been a lot of this going around lately involving artists-most of you have heard or read about the "exposure opportunity" giveaway/contest deals various large businesses have been baiting animation artists with. Here's more of the same nonsense, this time from Google. I recommend reading it. Warning: your blood will likely boil.

"Use Their Work Free? Some Artists Say No to Google"

ADDENDUM: Via Drawger-an illustrator's internet destination site-there's a page of feedback reaction to this article, some of it from artists quoted in the Times piece, all of it well articulated. Read it here.

Ward had a hell of a nerve

2009-06-13T17:34:00.001-07:00

click to enlarge

Over at the union blog Steve Hulett posted a link to a Life magazine photo archive that deals with Walt Disney. Lots of interesting shots there, not all just of Walt. But I really love the one above. I've seen others from this same session but I can't recall ever before noticing that killer caricature of The Boss smack dab in the middle of it, pinned prominently next to Ward's desk. What an expression.

It looks like there's one of Walt Kelly's "Ward's life" gag drawings hanging from the shelf under the lamp, too. You know, one of these days someone's going to do a book...

Pix[ar] is [not just] for kids.

2009-06-11T14:03:00.000-07:00

"If you want to make a movie for children then make a movie for children. The experience for a parent or guardian is that they are spending time with their children at their child's level. The movie is not meant to satisfy an adult in the audience. You do not have to consider adults when creating content or story lines for "childrens" movies. Far to often mature content is blended into scripts only to promote the feature as "something for all to see". The marketing of this movie was selfishly aimed at drawing young children to the theatre. You call it "PG" but then you market it for a younger audience. Creating many 6, 7, 8 ,9 and 10 yr old Birthday parties/gatherings when this content is way too deep for them to handle and or enjoy. Pixar...Step back and really think about what you product is saying and who will be watching and effected by it. Two thumbs down from Daughter and Dad."
— ke flannigan, boston

-from the New York Times readers' responses to Manohla Dargis' review of "Up"

I finally saw "Up" last weekend, and I mean to write some of my first impressions in a future post. I'd avoided most of the reviews, wanting to see the film with as little baggage as possible, so I had to go back to see what was said about it including its review in the New York Times. Ms. Dargis' take was mostly positive, I think-albeit with some slightly schizophrenic and vague caveats. Her piece seemed possibly edited down.

What really caught my eye was the "Reader's Review" that I quoted above--a comment posted underneath the online version of Ms. Dargis' review. I thought it would be a good springboard for writing a bit about "Up" in particular and all animated films more generally.

So about the comment of "ke": what he writes is simply wrong.

Now, I'm of the opinion that very few if any reactions to a film are ever wrong. How could they be? All artistic experiences are subjective; one person's honest impression is as valid as another's, really, as far as it goes.

Obviously there are plenty of riders on that subjectivity: one person simply might have what I'd call better taste (more subjectivity at work there): they might be more educated about films, more experienced in life, awake, more receptive, generally appreciative of art and/or craftsmanship in all its forms(this can lead to a negative as well as a positive reaction, by the way). Another might have life experiences that drastically affect his or her judgement of a film, whether it's "The Sorrow and the Pity" they're watching or "Duck Soup".

All this might seem obvious, but I've read reviews from professionals that I admire-Andrew Sarris, Pauline Kael, et al-where once in a while they seem-to me at least-to be oblivious to some pretty extreme personal biases. But the bottom line whether professional or paying audience member is that each is entitled to their own opinion--it's the nature of the art.

In the comment above "ke" is taking another tack entirely. He's dead certain that the filmmakers of "Up" have made a cardinal error by misunderstanding who their audience is--children. He's actually dead wrong. Because children as some separate group are not who the film was made for. Certainly it was hoped they'd be part of the audience. Absolutely the reactions of children mattered to the crew, whether they happen to be parents themselves or not.
But so do the reactions of the dads in the audience--and the moms, teenagers, older people, and any other permutation. All of them make up the imagined audience. Yet even then, without forgetting or dismissing them, they aren't who the films are made for, it's who they are shown to--hopefully with the result of entertainment.

I'm going out on a bit of a limb here because I don't work at Pixar, I haven't spoken to the people who worked on this about it, and to date I haven't read any interviews specifically about its production. But I'm still sure I'm right.

"Up" was made for the same people it was made by. That isn't accusing the artists of solipsism-the inability to look beyond one's nose. It's about telling a story with a with a personal meaning, a personal intent. When you start with that, you-and eventually your coworkers-are the litmus test for whether your idea communicates. You know what you want to do, and then you proceed to do your best--everyone pitching in--to accomplish it.

Contrary to some reports Pixar's method isn't really a special secret, magic trick or rocket science. It also isn't easy. I'm sure sometimes it doesn't turn out films exactly as originally imagined. But it stems from individual imaginations: someone with an idea they're totally committed to doing. Other artists are brought on immediately to work on it if it's a go; they too put their stamp, their spin, their characters and their ideas into the mix. The film story usually begins to change, veering one way, then the other. There are peaks and valleys aplenty in the long years of production. There always are. I haven't read of any animated feature production anywhere that was entirely smooth sailing in the story process (well, maybe "Gulliver's Travels" at Fleischer's in 1938-enough said). So with all that work involved over a period of years, there has to be, hopefully, someone at the helm who knows what they want and why it should be there. To say a film is aimed "at children' is too vague, broad and vast a goal. But to please the child, young adult and grownup that the director has inside him or her is not only doable, it's imperative. Certainly the head of a production seeks out other eyes and ears and opinions, but the buck has to to stop somewhere and someone needs to know what the point of it all is.

It's long been a monkey on the backs of both animation lovers and professionals that "cartoons" have been so firmly fixed in many people's minds as primarily directed at children--often, small children. With every non-kid animation watershed in our generation--Roger Rabbit, Ren & Stimpy, The Simpsons, Beauty and the Beast, Shrek, anything produced by Tim Burton, anything written and directed by Brad Bird--it's been hoped that the old cliches about "animation is really the domain of wee ones" would finally be busted wide open--or at least dropped by the critics who really should know better by now.

But weirdly, with all those successes and very un-totlike films' releases--even with a studio or two whose entire output is well-known and successful for more adult oriented comedies--it still hasn't happened, and each time a film is released there are always too many writers who scratch their heads about why on earth something not specifically focused on preschoolers found its way into an animated film.

They forgot, if they ever knew, that even the very first, most famous commercial animated feature had adult thrills, action, and moments of beauty that were aimed at everyone: the grand premiere of "Snow White" had virtually no children present at all (exceptions being perhaps Shirley Temple, or Wallace Beery or Eddie Cantor taking a daughter). No, the stamping, shrieking, laughing and applauding audience was made up of all of the adult producers, directors and actors of Hollywood--everyone from Zanuck to Dietrich. A film made by adults, for adults-and for everyone else who could enjoy it, whatever their age. Why has this been so completely forgotten? Why is it a forgetting that recurs over and over again?

The agenda or template "ke" thinks Pixar should be following is a harrowing one. I've read enough to know that not everyone in animation fandom is pleased with "Up", but I can't believe that anyone, no matter what their take, would believe the answer is Pixar gearing their features for small children.

Why is this father so annoyed that the filmmakers of "Up"--a fable about an elderly man at the end of his life that includes a little boy but has much more, plainly, to do with the elderly man--didn't aim it at a "child's level" in any case? Which world does his daughter live in? Does it have old people and adults in it? Has his little girl ever felt sorry for someone(or herself), or had any sort of loss--even if it was only, say, a balloon she let go of? Does she like to play pretend? Does she like animals and stories?

If the answer to any of those questions is "yes" than she's got a lot in common with the filmmakers, and she's just as much a part of the potential audience as "ke".

Or "jl" for that matter.

Ricky, Pete, George Booth and UP

2009-05-18T09:09:00.001-07:00

sketch of Carl by Pete Docter

Yesterday's New York Times had an interesting article about the character designs in "UP".

Read it here.

Accompanying the text of the original published piece is yet another of those online-only great Times interactive specialties, with Ricky(Nierva) and Pete (Docter) discussing their ideas. Wonderful stuff.

And if you're not familiar with George Booth yet, you should be.

ADDENDUM: Some of you probably know that "UP" had its premiere at Cannes last week. I know virtually nothing about the film. First, because in its early days as with all the projects of that studio no one working on it or around it said anything, and so pretty much everyone not in Emeryville was in the dark.

When we down south do get jots of information--that Brad Bird has taken over direction of "Ratatouille", for instance--all we know is it's something concerning a rat/chef. Dubious as it might seem as a premise, it's usually a safe bet to assume that Bird will pull off whatever he's doing.

The same goes for the people working on "UP". While I've certainly been curious about it, as its release nears I find I don't want any spoilers at all. I really want to be surprised.

So, the film finally opened at Cannes--the first film screened (out of competition), a gala event. It was reported that it received an ovation. Todd McCarthy, longtime primary reviewer for variety and one of my favorite writers on fllm, filed his report. I skimmed the traditional bold-type opening paragraph, reading no further than that as I didn't want to learn anything crucial. Here's a bit of what he wrote:

Tale of an unlikely journey to uncharted geographic and emotional territory by an old codger and a young explorer could easily have been cloying, but instead proves disarming in its deep reserves of narrative imagination and surprise, as well as its poignant thematic balance of dreams deferred and dreams fulfilled.

Mr. McCarthy doesn't toss around that kind of sentiment very lightly.
It sounds lovely, and I wish the crew all the happiness that a good film will bring, that they've earned through their hard work these last 3-plus years.

Kahl Conversation

2009-05-06T16:06:00.000-07:00

A short time ago the motion picture Academy had a tribute to Milt Kahl that sounds like it was quite an evening--if you managed to get in (many ticket holders didn't, due to a snafu of some sort).

I wasn't there, unfortunately, but the ensuing mention of it on Michael Barrier's blog and the comments that followed are well worth reading, even though I find I don't entirely agree with anyone's opinions. But that's what makes a horse race. I only just discovered it and suggest you have a read here.

The screen cap above is from a scene near and dear to me and the friend I first watched it with back in the early 80s: the brilliant animator captured in the act of drawing. Talk about intensity.

We watched this episode of the "Disney Family Album" series on Kahl with a lot of awe and a wee bit of fear. Actually, the shots of Kahl relaxing outdoors somewhere up in the beautiful Bay area sunshine were charming, but nonetheless there seemed some undercurrent of coiled tension, of his just barely tolerating the process of being interviewed. Having also heard once-in-a-lifetime stories about working with Milt from his colleague Dale Oliver involving the breaking of Bakelite and other forms of studio equipment might have colored our view. Imagine handing this man some cleanups!

But make no mistake: we were in total thrall to the man's artistic skill. I would have "suffered" working around him gladly for the experience-and it was clear that Oliver and others had relished it and wouldn't have traded it for anything. Such is the spell of genius. I'll bet it didn't hurt that he also appeared to have had a terrific sense of humor. Here's to "Miltie-pie".

Oh, Miltie-pie, if I should die,
Please bury me in 3C-12.

Then I'll know why, but never cry,
About the pictures that they shelve.

I'll gaze upon, what's going on,
And get it straight from Walt—

And then I'll see who's blaming me,
When it is not my fault!

I'll get firsthand, the things they've planned
That animators never know.

See color shots, hear story plots,
Gee, I can hardly wait to go.

Yes, I like Forest Lawn, but when I'm gone,
You know where I'd rather be. . . .

I don't mean heaven, or 3C-11,
It's 3C-12 for me.

-attributed to Milt Kahl & Frank Thomas

Walt Stanchfield Lives

2009-05-06T13:15:00.000-07:00

It would be a safe bet that anyone working in the american feature animation industry has either known, heard of or seen the influence and artwork of the late, great Walt Stanchfield.

Stanchfield was a longtime animator at the Disney's from the postwar era through his retirement in the 1980s, but what made him famous beyond the walls of the studio were his handouts-his notes from the classes he taught in gesture drawing. Using a model in quick poses, the task was to capture the essence of an idea-to distill as economicallly as possible all the life, weight, and story the observer could find in the pose.

I really can't say much about Stanchfield that an old friend and student of his couldn't say much better: Dave Pimentel. Dave was an avid student of Walt's and took his lessons seriously-retaining enough to teach the "Stanchfield way" himself in recent years. I'd seen some of the notes and had the odd mishmash of 100th generation xerox copies passed on to me over the years, but sitting and doing it was something else again. There's no substitute for drawing, drawing, drawing, and the enthusiasm of a true believer like Dave really revs up the motor.

As you can see from Dave's post, the notes from his legendary drawing classes have been compiled into book form in two new volumes edited by Don Hahn. These are an absolute must for any artist-forget about their importance as "animation only"; there's gold there for anyone. Frankly, for someone who simply thinks idly of drawing for their own pleasure but no clue how to go about it, I'd point them to these books-but the contents are also bedrock for the most serious draughtsman. As Dave points out, this guru of the pen was also full of life lessons. He must have been an incredible person to know. I wish I'd been able to meet him as well as take his classes, but at least there's a benefit of these new books. A lot of thanks are due to Don Hahn for getting them into print.

A Matter Of Life And Death - Opening Sequence

2009-04-23T21:24:00.001-07:00

RIP Jack Cardiff

2009-04-23T00:04:00.000-07:00

A great artist has died: Jack Cardiff was 94, a cinematographer of genius and a notable director. Perhaps the most brilliant "painter of light" with Technicolor that the movies have had--I certainly would given him that title without any hesitation. He worked with Hitchcock, Olivier, and John Huston("The African Queen") to name a few highlights, but for me it was his collaboration on the films of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, "The Archers", that seals it.

Kim Hunter in the opening minutes of "A Matter of Life and Death", one of my favorite films. It was the first Powell & Pressburger film I saw, and its color took my breath away. Id never seen anything like it before.

Obviously this isn't about "animation", but animation is filmmaking, and this is filmmaking of the highest standard-and also, the most imaginative and artistic. Thankfully not "artistic" in the usual way it's used for film-something noncommercial, or worse, dull-but in the very same sense as it's applied to the best of animation. I've always felt that animation has as much to teach live action film as the other way round, and I've been pleased to find that some of the top talents in live action today agree. Yet so much of what could be done with design, color and every other aspect of assembling a film shot by shot, scene by scene seems to make no use of the extra-ordinary applications that animation can produce so brilliantly.

In Jack Cardiff live action had a man who thought out of the box, and the results are obvious. Each of the shots reproduced here is a screen capture from his films. I could and should add more, but these are what I found from some of the DVD review sites on the net. One of those has a terrific review of AMOLAD, great reading for anyone, which is here. If it doesn't make you want to see it, nothing will. I've seen it myself several times with an audience(Martin Scorcese, a huge P&P fan, was responsible for its rerelease some years ago), and it's a wonderful experience, but it's on DVD as well. However you watch any of these films, turn off the phone, sit yourself down and don't do anything but give them your full attention for their running time. I'm sure it will take only the first few minutes to see why..

from "Black Narcissus", another masterpiece

So here's to the life work of a very important figure in our shared industry-film. Hail and farewell, Jack Cardiff.

Bob Winquist, Design Student

2009-03-21T11:59:00.000-07:00

[guest]Design instructor: Tom Pope. Assignment: "Basketball hoop with attitude". Student: Bob Winquist. click to enlarge

Tom Pope was a year or two behind my class at Calarts, and it was great to see him at the get together for Bob Winquist in January. He'd brought with him an amazing rarity with a great story attached that he shared with all of us in his remarks to the crowd. I asked him if he'd share the artwork and its backstory here, and he kindly agreed. With the help of fellow classmate Zac Moncrief the very large framed piece was scanned so it could appear here. Tom's story follows below:

"I was fortunate enough to be a design student of Bob Winquist's for two-and-a-half years. So many people have shared so much about the pleasures and recieved wisdom gained from Bob that there is little new which I can offer. That said, Bob did give me something that not all his students can claim.

One day in Bob's class, winter of '90, I was offering my usual sea of valuable insight. At the end of class, Bob asked me if I wanted to teach the next week. I said sure, but... if I gave an assignment, would he do it?

Of course he would. So I thought of something random, as he oftened appeared to do. "A basketball hoop with attitude." I couldn't wait until the next week!
A week later, projects were pinned on the wall of the class room. It being second semester, there were less people in class and less projects since most people were knee-deep in their films by then. But Bob's assignment was right there among the others as promised. It was beautiful, but I hope I talked about someone else's first. I did my best to talk about and critique each assignment constructively and focus on their distinct merits as Bob always, always, always did.

After class, I asked Bob if I could keep his assignment, and he said of course. He signed it "Bob Winquist, 2/27/90" with a flourish on the back. I had it framed, and it has hung on the wall no matter where I've lived ever since. (I also have a handful of the other assignments in my parents' attic in Georgia.)

When I heard that there was going to be a remembrance for Bob I knew that I had to bring the piece. When I heard that we would be allowed to speak, I knew I had to talk about it. The response it got made me realize how lucky I was to possess an example of Bob's generosity in concrete form. The best part of all was the interest that Bob's own family showed in it. If I hadn't been aware of just how special Bob's own handiwork was, I was then.
Jenny has been generous enough to share this forum and to allow me to share this "wonderful", wonderful piece with a wider audience."

My pleasure, Tom. Thank you.

Walt Disney, Railroader

2009-03-06T15:56:00.000-08:00

From the collection of veteran Disney story artist and comics guy Don Dougherty come these terrific shots of Walt enjoying his obsession, apparently taken at the studio. As to who's who and exactly what year these were shot, I'm open to suggestions.
EDITED TO ADD: A commenter named Steve offered this great extrapolation on the photos:

"The top and bottom photos, as I recall (don't have my Broggie book in front of me) was taken in December 1949 during the Lilly Belle's first steam up. That's Eddie Sargent standing between Walt and Roger. He did the drawings for the Lilly Belle.

The British engine with Walt in the middle was never run at Carolwood--it was damaged as it was being shipped over from England. However, you may want to note that when Walt was in the store buying that engine, another gentleman was trying to buy it as well. His name was Harper Goff. He didn't get the engine, but he did get a job at the Disney studios.

Must be clicked to see them better. Thanks for sharing, Don[and Steve]!

Mary Blair's Alice Redux

2009-03-03T10:59:00.000-08:00

From the Cowan Collection

Bob Cowan (he of the incredible collection of animation art) was kind enough to share this with me, and allow me to post it for you.
I really love this painting. Click to enlarge it.

iPhone App'imation: Randy Cartwright writes an Animation timing app for Apple.

2009-02-26T21:05:00.000-08:00

Randy Cartwright: animator, story guy, committed iPhone geek. My kind of fellow. With a self-taught ability to program, this veteran Disney artist has created a neat little application for lucky owners of Apple iPhones and Touchs: an animation timing program called(aptly enough) Animation Timer.

Randy taps the Timer

It wasn't long ago that Randy told me he had this idea to write his own program for the iPhone, something that would be eminently useful and that no one else had yet done. As there are already a gazillion apps of all kinds for the thing, that would be an admirable feat. A very short time later, he'd done it and voila! It lives. Simple to use and at $2.99 a lot less than the old Minerva stopwatch Cartoon Colour used to sell.

Randy's official App store statement(reiterated on his app website) is as follows:
"Animators can use a stopwatch to time out actions but there has always been an annoying problem. Stopwatches show time as 1/100ths per second but movie film runs at 24 frames per second. To find out how many frames you need to do a tiresome calculation containing 41.66667 each time. I’ve always wanted a stopwatch that would show the time in exactly the format I need so I decided, what the hey, I might as well make one{...}."
The stopwatch action starts with either shaking the phone or tapping the screen. Each additional tap marks the time, which can be shown in either film footage, film frames, NTSC video frames or PAL video frames, as well as in seconds.

If you're interested, all you need to do is search for "Animation Timer" in the iTunes App store. And you don't need the iPhone to use it--it works with the iPod Touch. Very cool.
Enjoy!

The man and his program

Shane P. and Shannon T. and Coraline J.

2009-02-10T12:10:00.001-08:00

Shane Prigmore and Shannon Tindle are swell guys: friendly, generous with thoughts and props, and fun. They also draw and design like a bat out of heck.
At top is an example of Shane's work; Shannon's is below; click to enlarge them(and there's much more where they came from-see the links below to their blogs).

Dreamworks has them right now, but several years ago they were working on a stop-motion feature based on an exceptional book by Neil Gaiman, my new favorite author(be sure to read his latest, "The Graveyard Book", which just won the Newbery medal as the outstanding children's book of the year-also keeping in mind that in my opinion Gaiman, like all great authors, doesn't write so much for children as for himself).

I went to see "Coraline" on Sunday. It's a film that both men gave a lot to, along with many other brilliant artists.
I should probably do a separate post just about the film, but for now here's a sampling of some beautiful work Shane is sharing on his own blog, and Shannon's equally inspiring paintings are here. Go see--there's a lot more and it's all simply wonderful.

Lastly, here's a link to what's far and away the best of the several Coraline trailers, on YouTube. Really worth watching, even if you've seen the others.

Leo Matsuda

2009-02-06T12:58:00.000-08:00

He's amazing, that's all.
Leo Matsuda
The above from his blog--his impressions after watching "The Wrestler". Click to enlarge. And be sure you head over & visit his other work.

Bob Winquist at Chouinard Art Institute c. 1950

2009-02-01T15:41:00.001-08:00

Yesterday's gathering to celebrate Bob Winquist was a wonderful event--a great time had by all. Every story and memory related by his family, friends and former students made Bob alive and present again.

I was especially proud of everyone from Calarts--all of you do Bob so much honor and I agreed with every word of all you had to say. I had very little to do with bringing it together so I don't speak with any special authority, but personally I wanted to express how thankful I am that everyone came down--or up. I'm sure we all agree it was a party Bob would have loved.
This is a snippet of very old 16mm footage that I'd meant to show but events took on their own momentum and only a few people saw it later in the Palace. It's the youngest Bob yet--a full decade or so before the photograph that accompanies my earlier post. I'm pretty sure these outtakes (from among Bob's huge stash of stuff boxed away in his last home) were part of an instructional video on Bob's particular speciality, paper sculpture when he was teaching at Chouinard. A few examples of his large-scale work can be briefly seen behind him.

The crowd that was there to remember Bob was big, and it was easy to get happily lost among friends you haven't seen in about 18 or 19 years.
Thanks again, all.

A Bob Winquist Party-Calarts, Saturday January 31 at 4pm

2009-01-23T12:23:00.000-08:00

Calling all interested parties:

A CELEBRATION OF THE LIFE OF BOB WINQUIST

TOMORROW: Saturday, January 31st at 4pm in the Main Gallery at Calarts

Bob circa 1960
Bob Winquist led a life that extended far beyond his tenure at Calarts as instructor, mentor and head of the Character Animation department, but for so many of my colleagues that was where we met him and how we remember him. If you read the comments left on my original post it's plain that even though most of us hadn't seen him for well over a decade he's been fresh in our minds all along--a fact that I think we'd all have liked to relate to him if we'd had the chance to get together again.

While we can't do that, we can get together and remember Bob, kibitz with his family, and pay the man some well-deserved tribute.

Martha Baxton of the Character Animation dept. is taking RSVPs: mbaxton@calarts.edu

But it really isn't essential that you do that, and there's no token of admission required-just show up. Guacamole on Bob. Informal of course.
It should be great fun. I know Bob's nieces and family are looking forward to seeing this other side of their uncle's life, one that meant a lot to him.
Incidentally, I've heard from some fellow alumni that they've received no official word or details of this happening at all, although I was told the Alumni office was going to send out invites...so please pass this info along to anyone you think would like to attend.

(If you don't know who Bob Winquist was, please read my post of last September here.
Also, read the Los Angeles Times' obituary that was published a week after his death.)

ETA Thanks to Cartoon Brew for their post about this event-much appreciated

Mary Blair and Alice...by Kent Melton and Electric Tiki

2009-01-20T17:09:00.000-08:00

From Electric Tiki. Kent Melton after Mary Blair

Here's something that's got to rate as one of the neatest collectibles ever--sculptures of Alice in Wonderland and the White Rabbit based on Mary Blair's artwork(and licensed by Disney, of course). When I first saw this I just about jumped out of my skin. Fantastic!

Alice stands about 5" tall and should retail somewhere in the $120 range. For two figures of this quality in a limited edition it'll be well worth it.

This was an idea hatched by the company that made them, Electric Tiki--to create figures that based on Mary Blair's visual development and try to capture her unique style in three dimensions--and I think it's a great one. I've seen Alice here from every angle and the detail and appeal is all there. Below is a detail of the artwork that the figures are based on. They were the only reference used by the sculptor--the fantastic Kent Melton.

I can't wait to get my hands on this set(it will be sold as a pair). The ETA is summer '09. Until then, enjoy the preview.

Donald Duck and Ginger Rogers

2009-01-20T00:20:00.000-08:00

Ginger at work, winding Donald. Check out the version wearing what looks like a sombrero behind her.

Lovers of classic film often double as lovers of everyday items from the same era--clothes, magazines, housewares--or toys. Watch enough films of the 1930s and occasionally a famous face will spring out from the prop settings : Betty Boop, Snow White, Bugs Bunny, etc. It's always a treat to see something that would be a vauluable collectible now featured then as what it was meant to be in the first place--an inexpensive child's plaything. There are many examples. This might be the most extensive: in a really fine comedy from a great year for movies, Garson Kanin''s 1939 film "Bachelor Mother" has terrific performances from Ginger Rogers, David Niven, the incomparable Charles Coburn--and Donald Duck.

It's quite a display of product placement: Disney providing numerous sizes and permutations of Donald Duck toys for their distributor, RKO. And one particular windup waddling, quacking Donald has a crucial role throughout--right up to the denoument of the story. Curiously, although the Duck is in the film as part of a large department store's toy department stock, I've spotted no glimpses of Mickey or any other Disney characters on the set. It's all Donald--dozens and dozens of him.

Bachelor Mother is such a well-written and cleverly plotted comedy--one of the very funniest of its era. That it could be made at all well after the Production Code was in full effect is a testament to--well, I don't know what, but it has some really wild double entendres (and some flat out jaw-droppers), unsurprising as the story is one of an unwed mother--albeit a mistaken one. It just works, squeezing comedy out of every opportunity, as well as some charming if improbably screwball romance.

He even features in a brief, slightly hallucinogenic montage

The screen caps here (only a few of The Duck's scenes represented) are from a colorized version on YouTube; it was made in glorious black and white and should be seen that way. Look for it on Turner Classic Movies.
Your trivia for the week.

quacking away

Fred Moore Los Angeles Times Obit

2009-01-17T10:53:00.000-08:00

I've just finished reading today's New York Times obituary on Andrew Wyeth and have turned to organizing the files on my laptop. In doing so I rediscovered this, from a friend at the Los Angeles Times who follows this blog. So, just for the record, from November 25, 1952:

The baby of the family: Andrew Wyeth 1917-2008

2009-01-16T10:37:00.000-08:00

I really believed he'd live to be at least 100.

Andrew Wyeth, youngest of five children of N.C. and Carolyn Wyeth, died at home in Chadds Ford today. Not in the house he was born in, but much closer in distance and spirit than most of us probably will.

When I was little Wyeth's work was everywhere--it was ubiquitous. His "Christina's World" was featured in most books and magazines when "great American art" was covered. He was clearly famous, widely respected and hugely popular. And his work left me cold.

To me, it was too dry(as it happens, the arcane use of dry-brush tempera was his most favored medium). From the subject matter of barns and fields to the handling the rough, scraped, impassive feel of his art left me with a general feeling of dispepsia. Obviously the technique was incredible, but it came across as obsessively pinched and somehow sour to me.

Anyway, that was my superficial impression as a teenager. Later I came to look at his work very differently.

"Portrait of a Dog", a study of Andy Wyeth by his father N.C.. Age 15, he's here with his best friend, his dog, and engaged in his favorite occupation: drawing. It's a beautifully colored painting but unfortunately it's only been reproduced in black and white.
I got to know Andrew Wyeth anew in 1986, as a result of a marvelous documentary that appeared as part of the PBS series "Smithsonian World": "The Wyeths: A Father and his Family". If you can find a copy of this amazing documentary, get it and watch it. Every artist owes it to themselves to be immersed in it for an hour. It's spellbinding--and it made me reconsider the art of Andrew. I'd always loved N.C. Wyeth's work and I still do--in fact I appreciate it more as time goes on--but in the context of his amazing family and his incredible father, the approach that Andy Wyeth took to his own art became more understandable and multilayered to me. In addition, his watercolors were a whole other thing--the latter-day works, and most especially the vivid paintings he did at the very beginning of his career, barely out of his teens.

"The Road to Friendship" 1941, watercolor. Farnsworth Art Museum, © Andrew Wyeth
But again, it was the great influence that the Brandywine River valley had on the elder Wyeth that made me take that initial trip there, to return multiple times. The landscape had a spellbinding effect on the entire Wyeth family, and once you're actually there it's completely understandable. It's a haunting, lovely, mysterious area rich in history and inspiration. The Brandywine River Museum(a converted mill on the bank of the river) is devoted largely to once-local artists--most famous as illustrators: N.C., Howard Pyle, Dean Cornwell, Harvey Dunn and Jessie Wilcox Smith, among many others--almost all influenced either by Pyle or later by N.C. as students.
As a perfect compliment to the art, the house that N.C. built for his family and the adjacent studio where he painted most of his incredible works are open to the public most of the year--all except for those months when Andrew was using the property for his own daily work, as he was doing until very recently.

I wanted to mark the passing of Wyeth here because more than his own art, his life--the life his father made for him and the other children(Henriette, a painter; Nathaniel, an inventor and engineer; Carolyn, a painter, and Ann, a composer and musician)was full to bursting with an appreciation for the wondrous and inspiring in the everyday--the beauty. tragedy, and mystery of it. If you ever see the documentary or can read the very good biography of NC--or better yet, the collected letters of NC Wyeth that were published some 20 years ago--you'll be unable to get all of the Wyeths out of your mind. And the instruction and exhortations that NC pounded into his children are ones that I think all of us in our profession should take to heart. Andrew remembers his father telling him re: the world around him: "Andy, we [artists] must be like a sponge--sop it up! soak it up! But be sure-remember-to squeeze it out once in a while".

NC Wyeth in 1903

Devin Crane Paints Love And Tears

2009-01-09T15:21:00.000-08:00

If it seems like I'm doing a lot of plugs lately it's simply that there's so much going on that's worth knowing about. Even if you're not local to Los Angeles(or California), there's always the the chance to go to a gallery's website and digitally browse an artist's show from anywhere on the globe.

In two weeks the very talented Devin Crane will have an opening of his show "Love and Tears" at the Helford Gallery in Culver City. Devin is a development artist at Dreamworks by day, and he's just as busy painting like a madman in his private time as well. He often focuses on the female form (though not exclusively) and many of his portraits are based on people he knows well.
He grew up in L.A.(as it seems so few people actually have), with a movie-loving kid's imagination, and all the odd contradictions that this strange place offers an artist. This show will feature some lovely, melancholic, textured imagery. Go see it.

It opens on Saturday, January 24 at 7pm.

Love and Tears
Paintings by Devin Crane
Corey Helford Gallery
8522 Washington BLVD
Culver city Ca, 90232
310.287.2340

Under the heading of local madness: an art opening at the Little Bird Gallery

2009-01-08T21:10:00.000-08:00

JJ Villard at work

In the book Scrambled Ink my penultimate story was slam-banged up next to the closer by JJ Villard. I'd had no clue about the order of our stories--that was up to our editor--but in the event, I couldn't have been happier than to be able to imagine my dad's face as he turned from my drawings of a sweet girl and her dog to JJ's "DIG! DIG! DIE! DIE!". Sublime.

JJ is a filmmaker of note, a former colleague from Dreamworks, and the only man I've met who can write an email that screams. With this gentleman anything can happen--and usually does.

He's also part of a three man show opening this Saturday at the Little Bird Gallery in Atwater, in the company of fellow artists (and animators) Morgan Kelly and Jeremy Bernstein, both talented fellows with similarly skewed views of Our Town. Will be well worth a visit.
There are images aplenty at the Little Bird Gallery website--embedded, so I couldn't swipe them for partial inclusion here. But go have a look. This should be a grand opening.

Y'AINT GONNA GET THERE FREE : Screams in Hollywoodland
Little Bird Gallery
3195 Glendale Blvd. LA, CA 90039
Opening reception Saturday, January 10 @7pm
Runs through January 31.
Phone 323-662-1092

Where's Walt? a Disney photographic mystery posed by Michael Barrier

2009-01-07T15:51:00.000-08:00

Please click this photograph of Walt Disney somewhere in (I believe) Irish waters in 1946, and see if you can tell what shoreline that may be behind him. Is it England? Could it be America?

In the course of his years of research, author Michael Barrier (his latest, "The Animated Man: A Life of Walt Disney" is a must) has collected a lot of fascinating ephemera, including a couple of photos of Walt that even he can't be exactly sure of--though he gets pretty close. The above is one of two that show Walt on board ship in late 1946.
I borrow it here as I know that a 1) a lot of Irish and UK people read this blog and might be able to ID a black and white image from the late 40s, and 2) because it's not often enough that I point readers to the Barrier blog, which always has plenty of interest to enjoy.
Michael Barrier
photograph of Walt Disney from michaelbarrier.com

African Diaries-A New Sketchbook

2008-12-31T15:57:00.000-08:00

I've posted about my friend and fellow story artist David Derrick before, pointing to his blog. He's a multi talented man who somehow finds time for constantly exploring new things and continuing to build on the knowledge he already has, putting it to good use. There's no one else I know who's as knowledgeable about flora and fauna--especially animals. He has a special interest in the life of the African continent, and finally had the chance to go there on safari this past year. He made sure to record much of what he found there and just published some of the choicest excerpts from his sketchbook in a lovely trade paperback, "African Diaries".

Here is a review from a critic who's not an artist but knows an interesting read when he sees one. I can't describe the book as well as he has.

As my old money pit manager Bud Plant would say "Highest Recommendations" for this title, which you can get for $14.95 here.

In addition to sketching and writing notes about what he saw on safari Dave took his sculpting tools and clay on location. Below are a few examples of what he came away with. He's particularly inspired by the great, lively genius of animal sculptors Bugatti and Barye.

Mara King, a sculpture Dave did on location in Kenya that he's now cast as a bronze. I can't ever get enough of good rough animal sculpts like this.
So again, I'd urge you to add this to your shelves. And remember to take a look at the other sculptures and goodies at Dave Derrick's blog.

I've got a lot of catch-up to do with posts, but they are coming. Thanks for dropping by and eyeballing the archives and intermittent posting this past year. Hopefully 2009 will be full of pleasant experiences for everyone.

Fred Moore, Cuban style

2008-12-29T12:42:00.000-08:00

click to enlarge

Many moons ago during the Fred Moore marathon here I posted some terrific rough character drawings Fred Moore did of this little Cuban rooster. Here's one more, perhaps one of the best. As with the vast majority of the others this is from the collection of James Walker--a man whose generosity (as well as his love of Fred Moore's appealing drawing) is boundless. A little end-of-year treat for readers of the Blackwing Diaries.

At the time I knew only the sketchiest details of the project they were created for, but thanks to a post by Wade Sampson that you can read here, I know more. Fred Moore...in Cuba. Something tells me that trip would make the wild spree in Guys and Dolls seem like a girl scout bake sale. But as nothing much has ever been said about it before to my knowledge, perhaps not. Either way, Fred did some wonderful work on that trip that shows he still had it in '46-about the time he was fired from Disney's.
As Sampson mentions, Disney historian J.B. Kaufman has been working on a book about all of the Disney Good Neighbor/Latin American films; after seeing the Ted Thomas documentary recently I'm especially looking forward to its seeing print.

R.O. Blechman CBS Christmas Message (1966)

2008-12-08T19:16:00.001-08:00

It's poignant to see what television-and animation-once could be as far back as 1966. Simple touches like this made viewing the warm old tube an important part of the holiday season for kids--in a good way for a change. Today this spot with its understated good cheer looks positively revolutionary to me.

Save the Date for Bob Winquist

2008-11-17T15:42:00.000-08:00

A Celebration of the Life of Robert A. Winquist

Saturday, January 31 2009

at CalArts

more info to follow*

*invitations will be sent via the CalArts Alumni office, but an invitation is not necessary; all are welcome and your presence at the guacamole bowl will be wonderful.

That Hamster in Story

2008-11-14T19:10:00.001-08:00

Mark Walton at work © 2008 Marc Smith

This is story artist Mark Walton's year, no question. He was tapped for some scratch a while back and it's worked out okay for him.

In Sunday's (11/15) New York Times: "The Voice Behind the Disney Drawing Board". It's fun to see the Times apply their Grey Lady treatment to a description of Mark and his infamous cubicle(shown above in a photograph by fellow artist Marc Smith). I don't believe for a second that he was really "nervous", though--more like his regular-grade joie de vivre.

And here's a brand-new, fun companion website for "Bolt", You Are Fully Awesome!, where the fanboy hamster becomes your biggest fan.

Check him out!

This 'n' That

2008-11-06T11:39:00.000-08:00

Retta Scott at her animation desk at Disney's

Where did October go?

The fall months are busy ones, but this blog needs updating. Several things in the works but for today--please make sure you visit Michael Sporn, the better to enjoy his latest posts of artwork from "Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom". What's old is new again, always; these images are fantastic and inspiring.

Feast your eyes-appeal and style

2008-10-03T12:49:00.000-07:00

If you don't visit Michael Sporn's blog (or "Splog") regularly, you miss not only his great reports on animation life on the east coast, but also many things like these stunning boards from the Disney short "Melody: Adventures in Music". The artwork is loaned to Mike from his good friend and a man who needs no introduction to readers here, John Canemaker, whose collection is something else again.

Lots more where this came from--and again, it comes via John Canemaker and Michael Sporn.

Go there now!

Dave P just for fun

2008-09-30T17:19:00.001-07:00

For no particular reason than that I hadn't checked his blog for a while and found this there when I did.

"Uncle Winky Hot Dogs"

2008-09-30T15:01:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the prescience of Chris Ure (who saved a copy that he was actually able to find), a little film made at CalArts to be shown as a treat at the Producer's Show, circa 1988. Ultra rare!

Made on the side(meaning done with virtually no money, time or materials but much affection) by my talented classmates Chris Ure, Pete Docter, Mark Kennedy, Ashley Brannon, Van Cook, Tim Myers and Paul Rudish-all 1st years.

As must be plain to readers of this blog by now, we all loved Bob "Uncle Winky" Winquist, and here's but one more fun example of it. A trip down memory lane. Eat 'em with jelly!

"Bolt: One Ridonculous Adventure" by story artist Aurian Redson

2008-09-30T13:19:00.000-07:00

Front and (below)back covers for Redson's book. Sorry about the glare-it certainly looks better in person

In my initial fizz over finally getting my copy of Joe Moshier's new Bolt Golden Book, I completely forgot to mention that I'm expecting yet another children's adaptation by an animation artist, Aurian Redson--a bright light in the story department.

He worked long and hard on "Bolt" the film, and he too has accomplished quite a lovely piece of publishing with "Bolt" One Ridonculous Adventure". A larger-format, longer picturebook than the Little Golden, it's also fascinating to see how Aurian has chosen to design his own version of the characters and settings. I've just seen a copy belonging to another story artist at work who's received his, and while I may sound like a shill for the publisher, I care not. This is a gorgeous and appealing book and a perfect compliment to your library.

a cropped photograph of one of the large (9x12)pages; these moving men look familiar...

"Bolt"-a Little Golden Book by Joe Moshier

2008-09-30T09:29:00.001-07:00

This came in the mail yesterday from Amazon: ""Bolt", a Little Golden Book".

As most of you know, this film is coming soon to a theatre near you. But right now you can order the wonderful picture book by Disney designer/visdev artist Joe Moshier, which I recommmend doing stat.

I love the Golden Books done by Joe's former classmate Scott Tilley for such titles as "Finding Nemo" and this is just as appealing and beautifully done. I believe it's Joe's first book (his day job as a character designer at features is a busy one), but you'd never know it; the compositions, color, posing-all are completely assured and just so terrifically cute. There isn't a kid or artist alive that I can't imagine would love this eye candy. And by the way, "Bolt" is quite the same way in its other incarnation.

"The Art of Bolt" comes out soon as well-that I haven't seen, but have ordered. Believe me, the work by the directors(both of whom have drawn lovely storyboards), story, the incomparable art direction by Paul Felix as well as the work by everyone involved is beautiful. There are stunning displays in the animation building with all kinds of visdev and story work blown up lifesize and larger on the walls, and it not only holds together but is so solid that it makes one feel good just to walk by them. The film works that way too: it's one that reminds me of "Basil of Baker Street", which I loved and was a huge gift from the animation department to us--the audience. If you know what I mean. The early 80s were a nail-biting time for aspiring animation people.

I need to apologize to Joe for the rough iphone photos reproduced here, but I think as raw as they are you can tell what a swell little tome this book of his is.

Winquist '74

2008-09-29T12:31:00.000-07:00

Here's a rarity: Bob Winquist shows off a little of his home and office design in 1974-and there's Bob himself, aged 49, in his then-living room. From Good Housekeeping's House Beautiful, Spring 1974.

Keep that date in mind: 1974. Bob's is the most appealing and well-designed space that's showcased in this high-end magazine by far. The other interiors featured would likely make you laugh, cry, or just cringe; the seventies were not generally an attractive time, to be charitable about it.
But Bob then as later had his own highly individual taste and loved mixing old and new in an eclectic fashion, which makes a lot of his choices timely even now. But who knows what he'd say looking at this spread in 2008? By the way, the article identifies the art hanging over the fireplace as done by his life partner Robert Hammer. When I originally got this of course I had no idea who he was. He must have been a very interesting man to be Bob's partner for 50 years.

As to that and all things Bob, this opening line of the accompanying text is so apt:

Designer Robert Winquist calls his private life his "most treasured possession".

Indeed!

Click the lower image to see it in a larger size.

Me on Miyazaki

2008-09-22T21:15:00.000-07:00

This is the auction catalog of the recent benefit show held at Pixar-a beautiful book in its own right.

There's simply too much any one artist could find to write on the subject of Hayao Miyazaki, but having recently stumbled once again upon this email of mine on Michael Barrier's site (included in his "Feedback" section, where some great exchanges make it a must visit) I thought I'd use my email to Mike here. I wrote it 18 months ago but the subject isn't dated and I state pretty well what I think of my favorite Japanese animated feature.

Barrier invites and facilitates discussion of his views and will often reconsider a position he takes based on the feedback he receives, even if it's only to clarify or amend his original thoughts. That's a rare virtue in my book--one I hope I can cultivate better myself.
So here's my email excerpted. Do go and peruse the page it's taken from.

Dear Mike,

I thought I'd offer a few thoughts about Miyazaki's films, as mine differ from yours—most drastically as regards Totoro.

I'd never heard of Miyazaki or seen anything of his until Glen Keane (then teaching the upperclassmen at CalArts—I was a first year, but he made his lectures open ones) brought a clip from Totoro to screen. It was the scene of the girls waiting for their father; it grows dark, and begins to rain. First Totoro, then the catbus shows up. He showed this, saying that it had affected him profoundly (as I recall, the film had been screened for the Disney animation dept. the week before; I don't know if Miyazaki was there also, but I doubt it). It affected all of us profoundly, too. I was blown away by it. Me—hardly a fan of the anime I'd seen up to that point. A wordless but beautifully constructed encounter, with all facets working perfectly. I'd gather that you'd disagree, from your remark that Totoro "suffers for the opposite reason, an almost total sacrifice of action for atmosphere."

Every reaction to film is personal and often unique, of course, and I've come to various impasses with friends I respect: where one finds something sublime, the other sees kitsch, or worse, in the same thing. That's human. But I'm surprised to find you so (apparently) bored and unsatisfied by Totoro; to me, the atmosphere, the attention to detail of setting and mood, brilliantly supports and gets over the story, which admittedly isn't a "big" one: two sisters adapting to and solaced by nature, real and (possibly) imaginary. I see no lack of action—both physical and emotional. The film's full of scenes where the action and cutting are far from slow: running around exploring the empty, strange new house in the country; flying across the countryside with Totoro; riding the catbus; searching frantically for the possibly drowned Mei…and all these are interwoven with and spring from the story—not, to touch on your other recent discussion, "set pieces." Truly, what Totoro has that makes it work so well is what so few of any sort of American films—animated or not—often lack, to their detriment: carefully planned, wordless places to breathe and to really be visually hypnotized to believe in the story-world in the way film can do—better than any other art form.

As for the character animation—well, there's no question that it is coming from a very different esthetic from our American model. Yet the rough sketches Miyazaki does of all his characters (published in the "Art Of" books available for his films) are as well-realized and expressively gorgeous as anything any animator would have done at Disney's in the fifties; I can easily imagine [Marc] Davis and even [Milt] Kahl giving him his due as a sensitive draughtsman of people as well as things. I'd think he could master what we call "full" animation if he chose, but that's not his style. Yes, the lack of expressive distortion (or lack of a better word—and I'm sure there are better words!) in his characters' faces is obvious; but I've never not known what they are thinking. How that works, I think, is precisely by the cumulative effect of everything from his framing, to his cutting to the characters' silhouettes. All adds up—even if "we" would never do it that way, or try to.

I'd agree that there are definite "stock" figures in his oeuvre, but I don't agree that every heroine is the same. Perhaps as to that, though, there is something symbolic there for Miyazaki in these young girls particularly (I believe he's written on this subject, actually)—and certainly in Japan children and in particular young women hold a special place in anime and culture. I'm not qualified to comment too much on that. But just as a bystander, watching the films as pure entertainment, I've been totally satisfied by Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service, Spirited Away, and to a somewhat lesser extent ("lesser" where his studio is concerned still indicating a high level of interest) the rest of his projects.

-Jenny Lerew

the book of Miyazaki's storyboards for Totoro

More on Winquist-pictures from the past

2008-09-20T00:46:00.000-07:00

Ready for his closeup: Bob standing in the doorway of what was then our 2nd year students' room-now The Palace, in 1989

Steve Anderson, who started at Cal Arts in 1988, found these wonderful photos he'd taken. His generosity in allowing me to post them here is much appreciated. These are just priceless.

Here's Bob with his major domo/computer guru/all-around department glue Dale McBeath and Disney veteran/animation teacher Dave Michener, all snapped by Steve's camera while preparing the 1989 Producer's Show. Thank goodness he got this picture as these three were cogitating in the hallway...talk about serendipity. Bob: different day,different striped shirt. Dale: ebullient! And I can't get over how young Dave Michener looks to me...now. He was a great guy.

Thanks again, Steve.

The Los Angeles Times On Bob Winquist

2008-09-16T20:56:00.000-07:00

Published on 9/17/08:.

Bob Winquist dies at 85; influential animation teacher at CalArts
By Valerie J. Nelson
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

September 17, 2008

Bob Winquist, a former director of the character animation program at California Institute of the Arts who greatly influenced a number of animators now working in Hollywood, has died. He was 85.

Winquist died Sept. 10 of complications related to old age at an assisted-living facility in Simi Valley, said his niece, Joyce Snyder.

He was the kind of inspirational teacher that movies are made about, said his former students, who went on to make films that reflected lessons learned in his Valencia classroom between 1983 and 1991.

Ralph Eggleston, who won an Academy Award in 2001 for his animated short "For the Birds," credits Winquist with pushing students to think more broadly about what they could accomplish.

"When Bob came in, animators primarily left the school and became animators. Suddenly, they started becoming art directors and storyboard artists. He made us think of ourselves as filmmakers, not just animators," Eggleston told The Times.

The dapper Winquist might stroll into class, announce the lesson by saying "develop the character of the letter 'A' " and then walk out, leaving the young animators to puzzle out the assignment.

Pete Docter, a former student who wrote the story for the film "WALL-E" (2008) and directed "Monsters Inc." (2001), considers Winquist "a seminal person in my development as an artist and a person."

"He had a gentle and inviting way -- you felt intrigued. It was like he was saying, 'You go discover it yourself,' and it made things stick," Docter said.

A world-class raconteur, Winquist often captivated his classes with hard-to-verify recollections that often placed him Zelig-like at memorable moments in Hollywood history. Witnessing the burning of "The Gone With the Wind" set, designing a suit for Elvis Presley, "baby-sitting" Marilyn Monroe on the set of "Some Like It Hot" -- these were all first-person stories that could be woven into a lecture.

"In the end, it didn't really matter if he were there because his amazing stories made me think . . . I can go out and do anything," Docter said.

Winquist often eschewed credit for his work because he valued his privacy, his family said.

Trained as a designer, he studied at Cambridge University and ran a design firm with Robert Hammer, an artist who was also his life partner. They spent about 50 years together, living in Manhattan Beach and Valencia, before Hammer died about four years ago. Winquist has no immediate survivors.

According to a 1971 Times article, Winquist designed "everything from movie sets to diapers."

His family has photographs of him working on Main Street and plans he drew of Disneyland's main thoroughfare.

Winquist was known for his intricate paper sculptures and exhibited in France, Britain and the U.S., The Times reported in 1960.

As an interior designer, his work was featured in The Times in the 1950s and 1960s, and his celebrity clients included Gene Hackman.

Robert Amos Winquist was born Aug. 15, 1923, in Kansas City, Kan., one of six children of Adolph and Margaret Winquist. His father was a mortician.

Raised mainly in California, Winquist served in the Army Air Forces as a ball-turret gunner during World War II.

He also relied on his artistic talent to paint the noses of B-17 bombers, his family said.

He taught for 15 years at the Chouinard Art Institute, which merged with the Los Angeles Music Conservatory to become CalArts in 1961.

At CalArts, he taught color and design before heading the character animation program from 1989 to 1991.

Students "flocked to him like gremlins," said John Bache, an associate provost at CalArts.

"His low-key approach to teaching, plus the personal contact, made him a great teacher," he said.

The dark sunglasses he invariably wore only added to his mystique as he held court on must-see films or tossed off references to classical art.

Jenny Lerew, a former student and story artist at Disney, wrote in an e-mail: "He made us all believe every good thing could happen to us -- if we put ourselves 'in harm's way' first. . . . "

He was a "cheerleader for their futures," Eggleston said, one who came to campus in his butter-yellow Mercedes-Benz with the license plate frame that read: "I'd rather be flying."

Robert A. Winquist, "Bob" 1923-2008

2008-09-12T14:35:00.000-07:00

Wearing a typically bemused expression. This is the only picture I have of Bob that I took myself, circa 1990. Proof he didn't always wear the shades!

I've just had the news that Bob Winquist, mentor to many, many artists and friend to all, a gentleman, teacher and brilliantly talented artist, has died.

I don't know why this is such a shock, given his age. Perhaps it's because if anyone could figure out the secret to immortality, it'd be Bob(or he'd know someone who could).

His niece and great-nephew sent this message to share wth you:

Dear Jenny;

By way of introduction, my name is Joyce Snyder, the niece of Robert A. Winquist, and it is with a heavy and saddened heart that I am writing to you. Our family wishes to inform you of the passing of Robert this afternoon, September 10, 2008. He passed away peacefully today as his body simply said, “Bob it is time to go home.”

Uncle Bob so often spoke of the multitudes of people that were part of his life, the fellow artists, imaginers, designers, students, etc. There were no classifications or hierarchies when it came to Bob’s acquaintances, just friends. From Chouinard’s to CalArts, Disney to Pixar; even a quick search on the Internet reveals the many artists that give claim to the influence that Bob had upon their artistic development.

Although Uncle Bob has left us this day, he will always be with us as his love of the arts, willingness, and dedication to teach, has embedded a piece of “Bob” into each and every one of his students. It is these same students who are now creating and passing along the ingenious insight and creativity that Uncle Bob so loved and dedicated his life to.

At this time the family wishes to thank you for being an important part of Robert’s life experience.

They're hoping to compile a list of those who should know, and obtain contact details for them, I'd imagine a memorial will be planned but have no idea what shape it would take. If anyone would like their information passed along to his family, please send if to me here: jlerew@earthlink.net.

And please, share any memories or thoughts on Bob here if you like. I know there are a lot of people who'd enjoy reading them.

Bob's influence was prodigious and spread ahead of him into the world, and his roots ran deep. It's impossible for me to do him justice on the fly having just heard this news.

He'll be so missed. How lucky we all were to have been able to know him a little, enjoy his company and glean his hard won and always joyfully shared wisdom.

Fare well, Bob.

Portrait by Tom McGrath

EDITED TO ADD: The Los Angeles Times ran an article on Bob in the paper on Wednesday, September 17th (it's also online).

Blast from the past-Richard Williams

2008-09-05T14:10:00.000-07:00

Edited to add: here's the annotated photograph-notes by Steve Hickner.
To view larger, click the image.

It's 2008-do you know where you were 19 years ago?
Thanks to Steve Hickner for the photo from his distant past(for those that don't know him, that's Steve with his hands clasped in front of him).

This was taken after Dick Williams had been given a few Oscars for "Roger Rabbit"-a film Steve was doing various things on which in turn led to his relocating to London and setting up Amblimation. What a byzantine business we work in.

See how many faces you can place(Steve looks the same now as he did then-he's a cinch). I'll come back with the IDs later.

Happy Labor Day! Disney Counter Service-menu #3

2008-09-01T13:52:00.000-07:00

Here's the last-so far as I'm aware-of the circa 1940 Disney studio commissary menus.
Inside the contents are the same as the table menu(including the illustrations) so I won't scan the interior, but the back cover is special, featuring the offerings of the soda fountain:

Lime freeze for 15 cents, anyone?
I'd want these even if if they didn't have such wonderful illustrations on their covers, but luckily for us they do.

The other menus, for regular table service and a special one for breakfast, are in my earlier posts here and here.

When the world and the Blairs were young...

2008-08-25T22:59:00.000-07:00

Cartoon Brew mentioned this article in today's Los Angeles Times detailing the discovery among his possessions of the late Lee Blair's 1932 Olympic gold medal for "Water Colors and Drawing".

It's available to read online, but that edition doesn't include this striking photograph that appeared in the print version. The article by Times writer David Colker is an interesting one and worth reading--sadly, it mentions that the Blair's son Kevin (who I think might have been their only surviving child) recently passed away.

What a great image this is-though it's not from the period of the '32 games; I'd place it around 1938-40, given the cut of Lee's suit and Mary's outfit and appearance. It's credited to Jakub Mosur who's clearly reshot the original for publication. One wonders what other treasures the relatives have been able to pore through. Tantalizing thought for the animation historian and afficionado. Do go and read the article.

Ollie Johnston: a Life Celebration

2008-08-20T09:07:00.000-07:00

Mark Kirkland on the El Capitan stage, in front of one of his photographs of Ollie Johnston. Ollie's holding a portrait of Walt Disney. This is the best I could do from the balcony with an iPhone.

When a man passes from the scene who's been as historically and artistically significant and as personally loved as Ollie Johnston, he deserves a great tribute from the animation community.
That's exactly what the last of the nine old men got last night, in a nesting doll of an evening at the El Capitan in Hollywood. From the stroke of 7 till well after 10 Leonard Maltin(doing a splendid job) introduced and moderated for these colleagues, friends and family:

Roy Disney
Andy Gaskill
Andreas Deja
Charles Solomon
Glen Keane
John Musker
Ron Clements
Brad Bird
Howard Green
Bob Kredel (train enthusiast and friend)
Michael Broggie (Disney/train historian)
Mark Kirkland
John Lasseter
Ollie's sons Rick and Ken Johnston
Carolyn Johnston (Ollie's daughter-in-law)
Jeanette(Mrs. Frank)Thomas
Ted Thomas
Andy & Marshall Ayers (Frank’s son-in-law and grandson)

Leonard noted that in the audience were Kathryn Beaumont, Margaret Kerry, Dick Jones, June Foray and Virginia Davis. The names of those notable animation folk filling the rest of the theater are too numerous to list. The age range of the attendees was probably 5 to 95.

Ollie was discussed by those onstage as "the family man", "the railroader" and "the mentor"-a backdrop of portraits representing Ollie in those guises was projected on the screen. Clips of his animation were shown(including the seldom seen "Reason and Emotion" and a never seen pencil test of a very Fred Moore-like girl removing a brassiere-wow), but it was particularly lovely to see rare glimpses of Ollie's personal work: gesture drawings of his sons, paintings and drawings of his wife, the Johnston family Christmas cards--even early student work from Stanford(these last courtesy of Calarts alumnus and Simpsons director Mark Kirkland, whose presentation of his photographs of Ollie taken in later years was beautiful). I could have looked at the watercolors, pastels and paintings of Marie Johnston for hours...it's stunning to see such different material from an artist whose drawings you think you know well. I wish there was a book that could encompass that art.

All of the speakers were eloquent, funny, emotional and thoughtful by turns. Glen Keane, John Musker, Brad Bird, Ron Clements, Andreas Deja, Andy Gaskill...all of them became the young, neophyte animators of 30 years ago once again when remembering Ollie's work and mentorship. Ollie's sons Rick and Ken, Carolyn Johnston, Frank Thomas' son Ted and his mother Jeanette Thomas remembered their dad and friend as he was in his private life, full of enthusiasm and fun; outtakes from Ted Thomas of Frank and Ollie blowing take after take of discussing "Jungle Book" made obvious how much of a spur each was to the other as pals.

The penultimate speaker was John Lasseter, whose learning from Ollie began before they'd ever met(he spoke of memorizing the particular 16mm prints of the then-difficult to see Disney features in the Calarts library so completely that when he later saw copies without the same splices and pops, he'd be jarred by their absence) and eventually extended beyond animation into the heart of Ollie's great hobby, railroading.
John's story of rescuing and restoring the Marie E.--the little mine train that Ollie had owned and run for years at his property in Julian, California before having to sell it due to advancing age--was achingly bittersweet. Watching via video shot on the day a fragile Ollie, surrounded by family and friends being surprised with the sight of his beloved steam locomotive pulling up to the New Orleans Square depot in Disneyland fully restored...terribly poignant, and unforgettable.

Ollie Johnston lived an exceptionally long life-long enough, sadly, to see his best friend and his wife go before him into that good night--but also long enough that he was able to bask in the warmth and gratitude of his artistic heirs, many of whom became his friends. He saw the influence of his work in the achievements of dozens he personally guided and others who've acknowledged their debt to him and his colleagues. Everyone last night had stories and memories that overflowed with goodwill and thankfulness for the life of this quiet, unassuming and profoundly talented artist. It was a wonderful thing to be able to share in those memories and reflections, put together beautifully as was done last night. To those responsible-most especially the Johnston family-a heartfelt thanks.

Another Joe Grant tile design

2008-08-18T13:13:00.000-07:00

Excuse the sorry quality of the photo-it's from an Ebay auction I sadly didn't win. What a great little image by the great Joe Grant.

The Totoro Forest Project

2008-08-16T14:39:00.001-07:00

Many of you already know about this event scheduled for September 6, a benefit auction to help preserve the Sayama forest near Tokyo-a place special to many, not least the filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki. It's the inspiration for many of his films' themes and special sense of mood, especially his endearing "My Neighbor Totoro".

The Totoro Forest Project was begun as a way for some stateside artists to contribute in the best way they could-by creating and donating works of art inspired by the Forest and Miyazaki's totoro(forest spirit) characters. There's also a complimentary blog detailing the various pieces and artists:
Totoro Forest Project Blog

The roster of artists contributing is as impressive as one would imagine given the breadth of both Miyazaki's influence and the center of the event, Pixar. Apparently all the tickets for attending the auction at Pixar are already sold, but online bidding is going to be an option. It's a good cause, and a great chance to buy some amazing art. Here's a couple of examples, courtesy of the blogs linked above:

Bill Cone

James Jean

Tadahiro Uesugi

There's much more to see on the main website. Go have a look. It's a worthy cause in a world of too much development and too few trees and totoros.

Presenting Walt Disney Animation-on the web

2008-08-13T11:35:00.001-07:00

"BOLT" artwork by director Byron Howard

Walt Disney Feature Animation has a new name(Walt Disney Animation), a new head(John Lasseter), a new logo(see below)--and a new official web presence that went live just a short time ago:

WALT DISNEY ANIMATION STUDIOS

No doubt it'll grow and change as new films are released. For now there's a released films timeline(with links to the colorful Archives entries on each title), a comprehensive FAQ for artists and interested parties, and other relevant information --not least a page devoted to this week's SIGGRAPH and Disney's various presentations there. There are many tantalizing projects in the works in the hat building at present, all detailed on the Projects pages. Be sure to check out the "Bolt" visdev that illustrates the "Careers" pages. One such example is above.

I'm looking forward to a solid online place for Disney animation past and especially present to be publicly celebrated.

A neon replica of The original Hyperion studio sign, executed by Kevin Kidney and Jody Daily. The original was adapted for the new animation studio logo.

Gouachey Disney Goodness from artist Kevin Kidney

2008-08-13T10:13:00.000-07:00

original illustration courtesy of the Kevin Kidney blog; for Walt Disney magazine

Kevin Kidney has two abiding obsessions: Tiki art and Disney art. If you ever think either of those is overexposed and you've seen it all already--believe me, you haven't until you've been to his blog.
I mean, the man's a serious collector as well as talented veteran designer-his taste is exquisite. Go over to his place and see if you don't agree.

Just recently he's been posting beautiful, rarely-seen advertising and illustration art done by WDP artists.

Kevin's got the originals of these magazine illos--the better to appreciate their vibrant color and crisp design--and all doubtless whipped up on tight deadlines as if they were nothing.

Oswald the Lucky Rabbit casual Friday excuse for a post

2008-08-08T15:21:00.001-07:00

Because girls read The Blackwing Diaries too, and because they're keen:

From Brazilian designer Melissa. They're a soft plastic that feels like suede, and they smell like candy. Really.

Dave Derrick Draws Africa

2008-08-06T14:35:00.000-07:00

photograph courtesy of David Derrick

I've recently pointed readers to my friend, fellow story artist and co-author Dave Derrick--but it's not too soon to bring him up again as he's just returned from a safari to Africa.

That continent, its unique look and its life have been a special love of Dave's for years(inspiring his chapter in Scrambled Ink, an original just-so sort of story). It's been the number one place he'd wanted to go and he took along his sketchbook, his clay, and his paints.

He's only begun to post his impressions and artwork, but I feel certain that anyone visiting here should be sure to check in regularly to get a peek at what he's done. His observational skills are something.

Here it is: African Diaries

illustration by David Derrick

Coming in October

2008-08-05T22:53:00.000-07:00

224 pages. Bill Peet. Joe Rinaldi. Don DaGradi. Roy Williams. Ub Iwerks. Burny Mattison. Vance Gerry. And probably some other people we know.

Eric Goldberg animates, writes, publishes--and finally signs!

2008-08-05T17:13:00.000-07:00

Well, it's happened again: I plan to do a post on a subject and Cartoon Brew scoops me.

But although they get probably 20 times the traffic I do here at Blackwing, when it's Eric Goldberg one is referencing the more the merrier.

Amid designated Eric as the "cuddliest" man in animation. I'd add that he's one of the smartest and funniest--and I don't mean his animation (only) but himself; he's as sharp as a ginsu knife and his wit is matched by his kindness. No hyperbole here, just fact.

So I'm happy to make mention of his appearance at Samuel French in WeHo tomorrow night, August 5th, to sign his new book "Character Animation Crash Course".
The book is a must and if you can, you should certainly stop on in.

Here's more information courtesy of CTN's Tina Price:

The Creative Talent Network and Samuel French Bookshops invites you to join Eric Goldberg at a reception and booksigning in Studio City this Wednesday August 6th to celebrate the publication of Character Animation Crash Course. This event is free of charge and great for students of animation to get an opportunity to meet Eric Goldberg and for pros to re-connect. Food and drink will be served.

Samuel French Theatre and Film Bookshop
11963 Ventura Blvd.
Studio City, CA 91604
(818) 762-0535

Coinciding with the signing, Animation Podcast is up for the month(remember, friends: it's on a regular monthly schedule now-a great boon to those of us who enjoy this worthiest of podcasts)with the tantalizingly titled Part One of an interview with Eric Goldberg, conducted as always by the tireless and dulcet-toned Clay Kaytis.

When the Chino Hills earthquake hit...

2008-07-31T15:30:00.000-07:00

Most of us were at work, about to go to lunch.

Animation mentor, teacher and all-around beloved guru Dave Master was being interviewed. On video:

Thanks to Clay Kaytis for this link

For the record: Disney Imagineer Harriet Burns dies

2008-07-31T14:57:00.000-07:00

She was the first woman artist hired to work at Imagineering in 1955(the full obit can be read by clicking the title link-highly recommended). The photographs here are from the obituary; I thought readers would enjoy seeing them.
At her passing on July 25th Ms. Burns was a few weeks shy of her 80th birthday.

Earthquakes old and new

2008-07-30T10:37:00.000-07:00

I was standing in the entrance to my cubicle yesterday around 11:45 (talking to, of all people, visiting Disney veteran Floyd Norman) when that trundling heavy truck passing by on the 134 freeway turned out to be...not a truck passing by. "Uh-oh", I thought.

Funny, because no one panicked or in fact uttered much of anything although the building certainly shook for what seemed like a long time. "6.0" someone called out, calmly. "5.9" said another. I love southern californians.

Anyway, the little quake and the evidence of our stringent building codes at work(no damage!), made me wonder what the 1933 Long Beach earthquake was like for the Disney studio of those times-the old, (presumably stucco) Hyperion building?

That one measured 6.4 which would have made it roughly 100 times stronger than what we experienced yesterday. I've read and seen very few contemporaneous accounts but it was apparently quite destructive and certainly would have been felt in Silverlake. What happened? Was there enough of a scare or damage for production to be shut down at all?
I'd think the most likely person to ask would be the Disney expert and historian Michael Barrier.

Comic Con 2008 wrap up

2008-07-28T10:47:00.000-07:00

this year's haul

Well.

It was two years ago that I first blogged about my San Diego Comic Con experiences. I've just reread that old post. It's odd how quickly the time's passed, and how much has changed since then. I'd been writing The Blackwing Diaries for nine months in July of 2006, along the way reaquainting myself with some old friends as well as meeting new ones via comments and cross-postings. It was when the bunch of us doing story on a certain project decided to pool resources and do a single book together in time for the 07 Con.

Two years later:

"Scrambled Ink" creators Ennio Torresan, Dave Pimentel, JJ Villard, Ken Morrissey and me

This year all of us(with the exception of Keith Baxter away in Canada, and David Derrick-on safari in Africa)came together to sign our books at the Dark Horse booth. The Con was the "official" debut of the book and the first time we'd seen it on a retail shelf(I was relieved to see that Amazon too finally has it listed for sale after eternally showing a "pre-order" listing. One thing, though: Amazon mistakenly has the book listed as paperback-that's wrong. It's only been published in hardcover).

I've never done an event like the signing thing before. Very surreal to see a little line of people with books in hand for us to draw in. Dark Horse unfortunately ran out of books to sell midway through our time slot, but we carried on signing and drawing on some cover flyers. Best of all was meeting and chatting with the people who came up to the table.

Actually, finally in print and for sale

It's easy for me to forget that anyone reads this blog--especially when I've let so much time pass without posting as I was wont to do a year ago; to have people tell me they read and enjoy it is more gratifying than I can express.
The time passed in a blip, and we had to make way for Mike Mignola--Mignola! of course I had to shake his hand and tell him how much I admire his work. I think Scott Morse introduced me to Hellboy back in Turner development days--and speaking of Scott--I made a beeline to his Red Window booth, shared with another old friend, Jeff Pidgeon and Bill Presing, with the work of Don Shank, Lou Romano, Emma Coats and a few others also on display and for sale. Emma's done a wonderful sketchbook, Bill has topped himself with the beautiful binding of his bookplate art, "Bookplate Betties", and Jeff had fun new Happy Beaver merchandise--I picked up a watch and tshirt. Ditto Bill's and Emma's books, an 11x17 original by Don of his Kurt character, and not least an assortment of the riches Scott provides every year. This guy keeps busy! How he has time for a life I can't say, but I imagine that it must be a case of each passion fueling the other--work and life.

One of the big debuts this year was undoubtedly the "Who Is Rocket Johnson" booth

These gentlemen and a host of their colleagues did a beautiful job. Next year: "What Is Torch Tiger?" Paul Briggs (the guy in the hat) was a powerhouse for shepherding the project to fruition. A free button to whoever can name the others present here(just kidding).

Every year more artists who work in animation are publishing. For many of us the Comic-con has become a one stop shopping mecca where we drop in on Stuart Ng's booth and those of the individual artists to pick up the riches. There were so many that next year I've got to do two days just to make sure I can visit them all--I missed E-Ville press, JJ's booth and too many others due to a lack of time and the plain old difficulty of hacking and pushing my way across the endless convention floor one more time.
For all its unwieldy size, San Diego is really a must if you care about animation art and the people who produce it. They're not all there, but plenty of them are and it's a rare treat to get their work straight from the source.