Virtual Animators

A little while ago I was invited by my friends over at Virtual Animators to give an online lecture on character animation. We settled on this coming Saturday, Oct. 11. Buddies of mine like Don Hahn, Kathy Zielinski and James Lopez have already been involved in this lecture series, and I feel honored to be in their company. Click here for more details:

http://www.virtualanimators.com/index.php/workshops

Since I am in the process of putting material together for Saturday, I thought I’d ask you what kind of specific subject I should talk about. Is there anything I haven’t covered on my blog, something that might be useful to you? My main objective is to give you ideas about what could help you make your characters come alive.

As you know there are no tricks or formulas to good character animation, but there are things I can point out that you might not have thought of. Let me know.

I look forward to interacting with some of you on Saturday.

A few throw-away roughs from the villains I animated, plus Mama Odie.

Pinocchio Art II

Atmospheric studies and layout sketches from Disney’s film Pinocchio show a level of sophistication and dedication that leaves the viewer mesmerized. There is attention to detail, but nothing is over-noodled. The lighting compares to Rembrandt’s work. Disney artists were on a high, following the incredible success of Snow White. 

Long before photoshop and cintiq tablets, these drawings were carved out on paper surfaces with PENCILS. I know, how ancient. 

But look at the feeling and love for the medium in these incredible images. They date back to a time when giving all you’ve got was required and even demanded from Disney. 

Breathtaking work like his was being produced on a daily basis at the studio. It is still unparalleled, to this day. But…what an inspiration!!

Here is the link to Pinocchio Art I :

http://andreasdeja.blogspot.com/2013/06/pinocchio-art.html

Toot, Whistle Plunk and Boom

Looking at stills or artwork from this 1953 Disney short reminds us just how great the need had become for graphic change at the studio. While quite a few short films from the 1950s showed a  commitment and drive toward experimenting, the Disney animated features would continue the style that was established during the 1940s. It wasn’t until Sleeping Beauty came along in 1959 that a new modern approach toward drawing and animating became evident to audiences. Many Disney fans were disappointed with these flat graphic designs, but the Disney staff needed to go places, and modern art continued to influence the animated films. 

Artists like Ken O’Connor, Eyvind Earle and Tom Oreb would lead the way toward re-shaping the Disney look. While animators like Marc Davis and Milt Kahl were delighted at facing these new challenges, others struggled at the beginning while trying to incorporate strong design into their animation.

Jiří Trnka

Jiří Trnka (1912-1969) was a Czech puppet animator/director, children book illustrator and fine artist. Some people called him the Walt Disney of Eastern Europe, even though the content of their films differed greatly. Trnka’s work often deals with social-political themes and therefor goes beyond entertainment.

I am absolutely in awe of this artist. Everything he did was an intense labor of love, but also a reflection of post WW II in Eastern Europe.

Michael Sporn, who is so terribly missed within the animation community, has posted a lot of great material on Trnka’s life and work:

http://www.michaelspornanimation.com/splog/index.php?s=trnka&submit=Search

I will have more on Trnka in the future, today I just want to show a few of his incredible book illustrations. These images take you to different worlds, full of wonder and surprise.

What a masterpiece!!!

Trnka, genius, one of a kind!

Fritz Hug- Animals from the Bible

More awesome drawings from Swiss animal artist Fritz Hug. This 1970 book edition, loosely translated from German, is titled:

Animals from the Bible, Part 1 , All kinds of Birds and other Creatures (I don’t think Hug ever did a Part 2)

These color illustration are such a delight to study. Hug is perfectly capable of capturing an animal through simple line work, but here his loose brush adds beautiful color and texture to his subjects. There is realism but also caricature. This man LOVED animals.

Go here for my first post on Fritz Hug:
http://andreasdeja.blogspot.com/2011/11/fritz-hug.html

That Staircase

In the film Cinderella I have always loved the way the staircase was portrayed, dark and scary like real Hitchcock setting. These eerie steps represent the passageway between Cinderella’s living quarters and the rest of the house, inhabited by the stepmother and -sisters.

Mary Blair painted this moody color sketch. Her use of black horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines give the feeling of imprisonment. So great!

A final production background maintains the foreboding atmosphere. The image actually reminds me of an M.C. Escher drawing.

A dramatic downshot was used later in the film, signaling only one thing:

Trouble is on the way!

Say Cheese!

That would be a loose translation of the German phrase: Bitte recht freundlich!

This Heinrich Kley ink sketch portrays an energetic photographer trying to position a male model for a perfect picture. The man being photographed is covering his private parts with a hat, and he is tied to some sort of measuring contraption. And there are nails going through his feet…

It’s difficult figure out if there is a specific meaning to this illustration, or if Kley is just playing around.

In any case, it’s fun to compare the two contrasting poses. 

I never get tired of Kley’s definition of anatomy. The guy remains relevant to any serious animation student. 

A Hidden Gem Sequence...

…in the movie Robin Hood is the puppet show during the song number “The Phony King of England”.

Overall this is a fairly weak section, it contains tons of re-used animation from Jungle Book, The Aristocats and even Snow White. And when the animation is new, it is subpar. 

But…. the little puppet performance, which mocks Prince John and Sir Hiss is brilliant.

To help us go back to Disney during the early 1970s, the photo above is a nice snapshot with some of the key players from this production, Milt Kahl, songwriter/singer Roger Miller, Frank Thomas, screenwriter Larry Clemmons and director Woolie Reitherman. 

Milt got to animate the puppet show, which is surprising, since you might consider this little performance of secondary importance, story wise. But as I mentioned before, when it came to finish a movie, Milt would do whatever was left to do, crowd- or simple continuity scenes. And he would do them darn well. Just look at the feeling of weight he gets into the animation with different sorts of fabric.

The loose shirt bouncing as it hangs on a couple of sticks. Prince John’s head, which is made up of cloth, stuffed with some kind of soft material. The crown is hard and solid, and reacts properly to the movement. The character of Otto is manipulating a green sock, mimicking Sir Hiss beautifully.

Honestly, this is a mini animation masterpiece! So believable and enjoyable!

I also love the staging when Friar Tuck and Otto come up into frame. This could have been a very complicated scene to communicate. They both share a small space in this hollow tree, and they are holding various contraptions. Again…Milt makes it look sooo easy! 

Here is an edited clip, just showing the puppet show:

The final scene shows Robin emerging through the Prince John puppet. Look at how beautifully the shirt reacts as he comes up. Then the heavy crown lands on his head before he takes a little bow.