The Inspiration Grab-Bag

I'm Finally HERE!

2006-09-25T14:39:00.000-05:00

In... California

Well after a long and arduous cross-country trek...I'm all moved into my new place in North Hollywood (right off Burbank Blvd. and just down the street from the ASIFA Archive- YAY!) so I'm secretly hoping to get around to meeting some of you fellow bloggers from the area at some point, so feel free to send me a message so we can get together and talk cartoons, have some laughs, grab a bite to eat, mock small children, kick puppies, ponder the importance of human existence, talk cartoons - ya now... whatever you like.

Hope to be back with that long-awaited update by the end of the weekend.

-Clarke

Bye... for now.

2006-09-15T10:57:00.000-05:00

Well folks I am sincerely sorry that I never got around to updating with new posts or material as I have continually promised, and realistically I don't see me getting around to updating again anytime soon with all I have on my plate, so I guess this is goodbye...for now.

Tomorrow morning I am leaving to drive cross-country to move out to the wide and wooly world of Los Angeles and expect to hit town on Saturday September 23rd. So I hope to see a lot of you crazy cartoon fans in person soon.

I will return to this blog and get back to regular updates once I am all settled in...I promise. hahaha

No seriously.

A pleasant kick in the head

2006-08-16T10:57:00.000-05:00

To hell with all that filthy excuse filled rubbish that you saw here previously. I was being an idiot. Instead of sitting here and marinating in hate, frustration, and self-pity, I'm gonna get off my ass and make sure I post some new stuff very VERY SOON! So be on the lookout folks, I got plenty of PISS & FIRE in these veins and heart still to come.

And FYI to all you California people and potential employers...

I will be leaving Connecticut on September 16th to head out to L.A. and should hopefulyl be in town and somewhat settled by the beginning of October.

So consider this a warning!

Thanks for all the support and e-mails,

-Clarke

WOMEN!

2006-08-11T11:50:00.000-05:00

Duh Duh Duh Dunnnnn!

So since I have been so lax in updating this blog lately due to a whole gamut of factors, I thought that I would try to get back into things here with something a little different than what yopu may have come to expect from the inspiration grab bag. But don't despair cartoon lovers, there will still indeed be all sorts of fabulous cartoon & comic imagery to accompany what I am thinking will likely end up being a series of posts on this topic.

Also I feel as though this topic of women as inspiration is currently something that is personally creeping into my daily sources of inspiration in unimaginable ways and means. So be prepared for something a little different but hopefully equally inspiring and interesting over the course of the next few updates. Something raw and from the gut that is constantly on my mind as of late.

So where to begin on such a broad(no pun intended) and wide reaching topic...

Who can dispute that the most early, perfect and widespread source of inspiration throughout all cultures and eras for cartoonists, animators, painters, illustrators, sculptors and even electricians has been that of the mysterious, almighty and enticing WOMAN. (think of it being said by Animal of muppets fame).

For better or worse the joy and or pain of our relationships with women can be an incredibly strong source of inspiration far too powerful to dismiss or deny. In my opinion, forget the three toed African tree toad - women are the most beautiful and interesting of all creatures. Wether it be a muse, the bitch or a filthy cheating whore, Women have strange and mysterious powers that us lowly men can only sit and wonder about, slack-jawed while scratching our own naughty bits in powerless hairy amazement.

Hope you can join me as I attempt to delve into this mighty aspect of inspiration and join in the fun and debate via the comments.

Bloggers bieng it's usual bitchy self - argggh! and won't let me upload any more images right now, so check back and I'll do my best to continue.
I'll be back soon with the first "real" installment once I kick blogger in the nuts.

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming...

2006-08-06T20:41:00.000-05:00

Not just yet, but later this week I plan to try and get back into the swing of things here on the Inspiration Grab-Bag and see if any of you cartoon loving fools out there still remember me?

Here's a brief glimmer of what is in store as part of the planned update which will relate to something that has proven to be one of the ultimate sources of inspiration to most every artist regardless of medium or genre since the dawn of time.

Have any idea what I'm talking about bloggers?

check back later in the week for the real deal.

Back in CT (...for what it's worth)

2006-07-31T12:53:00.000-05:00

Well, I made it home a little while ago; back to the thriving super-exciting metropolis that is Connecticut. (extreme sarcasm)

So I guess now I can get back to doing a whole lot of nothing while I figure out how to best get myself back to California within a few months or so.

While I didn't get to see everyone I had hoped to, I do want to thank all of you fine California peoples who took the time to meet up and hang out with me and show me around a little between all of the chaotic and continual meetings I seemed to have. I really did appreciate it, and look forward to doing a whole helluva lot more of that sort of thing in a few months when I make the big move - in fact I doubt I would be able to make such a major change without all of you great people and your support - it means a lot to me.

See you all again real soon!

And I will do my best to get back to regular updates on this here poor neglected blog of mine.
-Clarke

LaLa Land

2006-07-24T18:15:00.000-05:00

Hey Gang,

I'm here in Burbank right now at the Holiday Inn until next Sunday or so, so if any of you folks wanna call me to try and hang out & draw or ridicule pedestrians or whatever other sort of fun stuff you might have in mind just give me a ring. So far I have no plans any day at night really, so I'll likely just be hanging out in my greta big swank but lonely hotel room drawing and crap to dull the boredom while I wait for some of you cool californians to call.

Hope to hear from ya soon,

-Clarke

Shameless Whoring

2006-07-19T17:20:00.000-05:00

Well I managed to throw together a sketchbook for this weeks San Diego Comic-Con at the last minute (As usual - big surprise!)

here goes...

38 pages B&W W/cardstock cover

No table or anything just me wnadering the hall with my bag of goodies along with agent helix, monkeyking, & Drugs.

Stop me if ya see me. And if you don't catch me in San Diego, you can always try to get a hold of me in L.A. the following week, and if nothing else, shoot me an e-mail request and we'll work something out.

Only making like 75 or so of these and Mostly looking to do trades with people, but if you really want one I guess I can be persuaded to take cash also.

see ya in a few days people!

And I promise a healthy hearty update along with regular postings to follow when I return from California in a few weeks. Thanks for bearing with me folks!

Meeting Mel

2006-07-08T12:53:00.000-05:00

Well I did in fact get a chance to meet one of my art heroes - the amazing Mel Crawford a week or so ago. Sorry there hasn't been much in the way of updates, but I am just very very busy tying up all sorts of loose ends.

I will give you a few quick things that I learned about Mel that I'm not too sure anyone else is aware of though as a tease while I try and put together a more comprehensive review of some of the things we discussed during my visit.

Mel worked for Disney on Vambi and did some BG work - While there he was pretty good friends with none other than Bill "Vladimir" Tytla and had some interesting stories.

back with more later and a new topic or two with some artwork as well.

thanks for stopping by.

"Thanks Bill"

2006-06-25T20:05:00.000-05:00

Well here's something rather rare and extraordinary for you guys.

The amazingly talented Bill Wray has been kind enough to supply me with a few examples of some of Mel Crawfords original golden book paintings from "Rootie Kazootie - Baseball Star"

Just look these beauties over and let the saliva gently ooze from your mouth in splendid wonder and amazment.

Buy this Original Mel Crawford Painting from Bill on E-BAY by clicking Here!

Now I have never EVER come across a Mel Crawford original painting from his golden books work ANYWHERE - let alone from one of his BEST forays into that world. Looking at these scans tells me so much more about Crawfords technique and approach to the paintings than even the most well printed version of the book that exists. I can only imagine what it is to look upon these beauties with your own naked eyes.

Be sure to stop by Bill's blog and website have a look at his amazing and inspiring artwork and then take a minute to say "Thank you" for being such a kind and generous soul.

With any luck I just might be able to get some more high quality images of Mel's originals for you soon.

More News and a special treat

2006-06-22T11:17:00.000-05:00

Well I have some incredible news to share with all of you faithful and patient bloggers out there who actually still bother to stop by here hoping for anything new to ever get posted in the forseeable future.

I have been in contact with legendary Golden Books Illustrator and artist extroadinaire MEL CRAWFORD and his wife via e-mail recently after discovering he lives amere 30 minutes away from my home here in CT. Mel has agreed to have me up to his studio for tea and some chit chat next week and I couldn't be more excited!!!

So to all of you Mel Crawford fans out there... leave me a comment or shoot me an e-mail with any questions or topics that you'd like to see me discuss with Mel and I'll do my best to get them answered and posted here.

There's also a possibility that I may even be able to get to see some of Mels originals too while I'm at it. But most exciting of all is the prospect of having Mel teach me some of his amazing painting techniques - which has me just overwhelmed at the thought of such an opportunity.

I also have purchased a few more Mel Crawford books recently and will be sharing those soon as well once I manage to catch up on things around here with my portfolio business and trips to San Diego and Los Angeles in less than a MONTH!!!!

and now for a Special treat!

Some kind soul has found what looks to be an amazingly nice quality print of one of Milt Gross cartoons for MGM and poste dit on you tube for all to enjoy...

I've never seen this before, but was amazed at how well the artists and animators were able to translate Gross unique and wild cartooning style to animation. This is a funny, fast-paced and ultra-cartoony cartoon if I ever did see one.

Here's to hoping I can find this cartoon somehwere and get some screen grabs from a few of the really wild and manic poses that pop up all over the place. I also hope that perhaps the second cartoon in this series just might show up on youtube very soon too (hint hint)

Latest news Update

2006-06-13T10:15:00.000-05:00

My sincere apologies to all of you great cartoon and illustration fans out there who have been patiently waiting for the next blog update. I am still hoping to get around to updating with the promised Hawley Pratt post within the next day or so, but there's a pretty good reason as to why it hasn't happened just yet.

Unfortuantely as a result of the following "excuse" I'm going to have to take a break from updating this blog for the next month or so in order to better prepare for what lies ahead. But I can't leaev without first saying thanks to all of you who have been coming by on a regular basis to check out and link to this blog. I should definitely be back and full of new posts and commentary all over again starting in August.

And now here'e the news...

It looks like I will be able to make it out to San Diego for Comic-Con this year after all. And the cherry on top of the ice cream is that I'm going to piggyback it with a long overdue trip to L.A. the following week.

Here's the details for those of you out there who might be interested in meeting up and hanging out for a bit while I'm in town...

I'll be getting in to San Diego a little after noon on Friday July 21st and as of right now I don't have a hotel room for the two nights I am in San Diego either since I am so late in making plans. If anyone of you kind souls can spare a pillow and a spot on the floor for those two short nights I can throw you a few dollars as a thank you or buy you some thank you food or drinks, etc.

I plan to hop on the train Sunday night to L.A. and stay in town from the 23rd through the 30th.

Mostly I'll be in town to do portfolio drop-offs and have a few face to face meetings and such, but I definitely want to get together with as many of you fine california fools as possible for some drawing, eating, and the inevitable hi-jinks & hilarity. I also want to try and scout out good living areas too if possible, but we'll see where the days take me.

I would also truly appreciate it if anyone could possibly be kind enough to let me crash with them in L.A. instead of paying for a crummy hotel room god knows where - even if it is just for a few nights/days. I can definitely throw you a few bucks, take you out to dinner, etc as a sign of thanks.

e-mail me if you are willing to help me out or if you just want to try and get together and I'll shoot you back my cell# so we can make arrangements or whatever.

I'm super-excited to finally be coming out to see all of you fools amidst the exotic splendors of your natural habitat.

Hope to see you soon.

-Clarke

Good News and Bad News

2006-06-09T11:19:00.000-05:00

Well it's been a little while now since I last updated my blog with anything of real value or interest, but thats all about to change, and here's why...

As of this past Wednesday, I got laid off from my day job which is bad news since I won't have a steady paycheck coming in, but is also good news since I really hated the job and was becoming more and more depressed, frustrated and angry with each new day there. I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders as I can now devote much more time to working on my portfolio and getting off my arse and actually making the whole move to L.A. thing a reality. But at the same time, I'm also going to be sweating at times because of cashflow issues and all sorts of other fun real life crap. But I really can't complain since I have been lucky enough to land a couple of good freelance gigs recently and am working extra hard at finding even more to keep me busy and motivated.

Long story short, starting next week, expect to see much more frequent and interesting blog updates with loads of new artwork, insight, and maybe even a rant or two for good measure.

-Clarke

Sorry for the lack of new posts, but In the meantime...

2006-06-06T10:56:00.000-05:00

In the meantime while you wait for me to get around to posting an update, here's a few especially inspirational links that I figured I'd pass along to all of you fine folks out there in Blogdom.

First off, the man who's artistic talent and sensibilities in eclipsed only by his insanely entertaining laugh... Eddie Fitzgerald has finally started up a blog of his own after much anticipation. He's off to an amazing start with a new post every day, and I for one am addicted to
Uncle Eddie's Theory Corner

Next up are links to two flick sets I stumbled upon from Ben Perry of Berlin, Germany who has graciously scanned and shared what seems like a bajillion incredible images from old WW2 posters as well as some equally wonderous old Russian Posters. No matter what industry you are in or where you're general interests lie, you'd have to be beyond comatose to not find inspiration in multiple images from either of these sets - take my word for it. Wether you're looking for inspirational reference examples of color, style, technique, typography, layout, compostion, or just to kill several hours during a slow day at work, then I implore you click and explore the following links.

WWII Posters

Russian Posters

Thanks to all of you who still bother to stop by this blog looking for new posts. I promise that more is on the way very soon if you are patient enough to wait until I dig myself out from under the current heap of work, freelance, and other day to day crap I have on my plate at the moment.

MORE! Jim Tyer animation (Mother Gooses Birthday Party) TerryToons - 1950

2006-05-23T13:46:00.000-05:00

Hope you all are still checking in on a semi-regular basis despite my lack of updates lately. Sorry to be so late with this latest update, but a whole slew of stuff that I can't really talk about publicly just yet is making it very very hard for me to devote the proper time to this blog lately. Hopefully it will all settle down some very soon and we cna get back to the sort of reqular updates with commentary that you have become accustomed to.

In the meantime I leave you with some more screen grabs from the amazing Jim Tyer...

Jim Tyer Animation "A Cat's Tale" Terrytoons (1951)

2006-05-12T12:42:00.000-05:00

I can't really think of any better way to introduce the following set of amazing screen grabs from one of the best cartoons that the legendary Jim Tyer ever animated on, so I'll simply let the words of someone much more knowledgeable and eloquent do the talking.

From a 2004 AWN interview with the King of cartoon knowledge, John K. conducted By Martin "Dr. Toon" Goodman...

A Cat's Tale (1951), which is a Mighty Mouse cartoon, and it has some of the best animation by Jim Tyer. Tyer is probably the cartoonist animator ever, even more than Rod Scribner. There's just crazy animation of the cat and I can't even describe the cartoon because if you just talk about it, it sounds like there's something normal happening. But when you watch it there's nothing normal about it, because Tyer is doing the craziest animation in the world!

Preston Blair (Animation & Books) Updated Again

2006-05-05T09:55:00.000-05:00

***Please Scroll Down for Updated Material***

Steve Worth and I have decided to do a Blogger tag-team this week that relates to animator Preston Blair and his invaluable books on cartoon animation. I will be updating this post over the course of the day today and possibly into the weekend with more inspiring screen grabs from some of the great Tex Avery MGM cartoons that Blair animated on and which he later used as examples for the first edition of his "Advanced Animation" How-to book from the Walter Foster series.

Steve is currently doing a two-part post for the ASIFA Animation Archive Blog where he is scanning and posting an incredible find that was generously loaned to the archive by Cartoon Brew'sJerry Beck - A first edition copy of Blair's "Advanced Animation" where instead of using those bland, generic looking versions of classic cartoon characters to illustrate his lessons, we are treated to the original models and drawings Blair intended to use which include the likes of Tom & Jerry, Screwy Squirrell, Droopy, and many many more familiar faces.

Personally I find this edition to be much more helpful and intriguing from both an educational as well as an inspirational standpoint. So a big and hearty thanks to both Jerry and Steve for taking the time and effort to share another example of one of Animation's long lost resources from disappearing into obscurity.

And now it looks like JohnK and Marc Deckter are also going to be joining in to make this one amazing big group blogging effort on the topic of Preston Blair and his invaluable book.

First up on the roster of screen grabs that relate to Preston Blair's book is Tex Avery's MGM cartoon "Big Heel-Watha" from 1944:

Next Up...
A selection of grabs from the "normal" squirrel skipping along from Tex Avery's "Screwball Squirrel" (1944)

Next Up...
A selection of grabs from the detective's entrance scene from Tex Avery's "Who Killed Who" (1943)

Stay Tuned...
I'll be coming back to add a few thoughts once Steve finishes up with the second half of his post.

Random House - Crazy Eights (Artist Unkown-1951)

2006-04-26T20:25:00.000-05:00

This week I thought I would try something a little different than one of my "usual" posts that use material from books, comics, or cartoons. What we have here in these brilliant little cards is one of those totally random and unexpected examples of just stumbling onto something that inspires you when you least expect it. I found this little retro looking card game set sitting innocently and quietly on a table in the back corner of some hoity-toity overpriced knick-knack shop that I was dragged into while visiting my father in Miami about three years ago and it immediately grabbed my feeble attention. I couldn't even see what was inside of the box which killed me, and I had to really struggle with my consience to not quietly open up the box since it was still shrink wrapped. But I knew just from the outside graphics that I needed to own it and see for myself what sort of incredible treasures were inside. here look for yourselves...

I really love the simple graphic approach that the artist took in these. They are so lively, fun, and appealing in almost every aspect from their design, color, composition & patterns. It's just a shame that I have no idea who in the hell the genius was that created these little beauties, and what other sort of similary mind-numbing works of art he or she might have created. I would also kill to see the original artwork for these, since they were obviosuly heavily screened and such to make the richly textured and colorful artwork suitable for printing. If any of you out there have any theories on who this artist might be PLEASE do us all a favor and post it in the comments or shoot me an e-mail. Also, if you happen to own the ORIGINAl version of this card game from the 1950's I would love to see how the printing compares to this more recently re-printed set I have here.

Disney Storybook Artists (1950's)

2006-04-20T23:19:00.000-05:00

Throughout the 1950's the "Disney Studio Artists" consistently created what stands today as some of the best looking and most memorable work for children's storybooks. One of the main reasons for this was that Walt wanted to make sure that these books maintained (or in some cases exceeded) the level of quality & care seen in his animated theatrical shorts and features. He was able to do this by utilizing the already present and well honed talent that existed right within the walls of Walt Disney Studios. The only downside of this well implemented plan was that apparantly it must have become difficult to give credit to the artists as individuals, since most all of these books limit the ilustartion credit to being "created by The Walt Disney Studios" . Perhaps this was due to the fact taht several artists would often work on a the illustrations required to complete a single book. Or more likely it was simply a case of ego or marketing, whereby it was deemed that the "Disney brand" was viewed as being far more important than the simple task of giving proper credit to the artists responsible for creating the work - I don't know and cannot say any of these things for certain.

What I can say though is that I personally feel that it is a downright shame and a slap in the face that none of the brilliant artists who toiled over the beautiful images you see below ever recieved proper credit for their work. Furthermore, it makes it incredibly frustrating to see something so inspiring and wonderous, only to be stymied when going to try and research the artist responsible. I am fairly certain that the Peter Pan images posetd below might have been the work of Al Dempster, and that Tom Oreb was responsible for the gorgeous artwork in the "Once Upon a Wintertime" storybook, and I even believe that Mary Blair occasionally lent her hand to a Disney storybook here and there, but who are the rest of these amazingly talented men and women and what other sorts of work did they do over the course of their careers?

Perhaps some of you out there who are older and wiser than I am may just have a clue or some further insight into who created any of the work I have posted below. if so, please feel free to either add it in the comments, or send the information to me by e-mail.

"Johnny Appleseed"

"The Tortoise & The Hare"

"The Mad Hatter's Tea Party"

"Pinocchio"

"Sleeping Beauty"

"The Grasshopper & The Ants"
"The Three Little Pigs"

"Snow White"

"Peter Pan"

Virgil V.I.P. Partch 1950's magazine cartoons (Updated 4-19)

2006-04-12T21:55:00.000-05:00

*** Scroll down for the Updates***

I have always felt drawn to VIP's cartoons first for their twisted sense of humor, and then secondly for something it took me a while to finally put my finger on. Partch has this seemingly simple style which is rather graphic and a bit "designy" & yet it never feels flat or like it's just hovering on the page. What makes this even more astounding is that he typically didn't use much in the way of background in his work, and yet he managed to maintain this dimensionality and strong perspective throughout his work. Undoubtedly Partch was well schooled and had a solid knowledge and understanding of "traditional" art concepts and techniques that allowed him to imbed such life into his chosen style of cartooning. Above all else though the thing that I feel always draws me in and captivates me about most of Partch's work is that it has this underlying almost magical feeling of action in even the simplest of one panel gags. To me when I look at a VIP cartoon it's almost as if I'm looking at a still frame from a piece of animation, because even though it is a stationary, singular image, I can feel what's happening and have an immediate sense of the larger scene he is portraying and how it will play out. This is what I admire most of all in Partch's work - the sense of action and life that he infuses into each and every cartoon.

Look at how this guy is sitting, it's hilarious! Who in their right mind sits down at a picnic and cuts their meat from this type of stance. Only a madman - Call the cops. Yet the pose is believeable because Partch knows his stuff.

Look at the pain on this poor womans face... better yet look at how Partchdrives the point home even further in her foot. Ouch!

Ever have some smart little jerk put a tac on your chair when you were a kid in school? tell me this isn't exactly how you felt as the point pierced your rump.

Sorry for the somewhat lousy quality in a few of these, but they came from old paperbacks that have definitely seen better days.

As promised, here are a few more examples of Partch's work along with a great article from his section in the "Famous Artists Cartooning Course" that gives us some insight into his process and technique for creating such great cartoons that continue to entertain & inspire over fifty years after their initial publication.

Also, I just want to say that if you frequent this blog and have gotten particularly inspired by something I have posted here and were able to use that inspiration in creating your own piece of artwork or animation, please feel free to e-mail them to me at info@csnyde.com i'd love to see them.

Also, if you ever have any additional artwork or information that relates to a post here on the Inspiration Grab-Bag, by all means don't be shy - email me and I will be happy to add it to the post here on the blog, or link to it.

Take care and have a great holiday weekend everyone.

A Corny Concerto (Bob Clampett) - 1943 Updated 4-10

2006-04-05T23:42:00.000-05:00

Sorry for being so late with the promised updates, but I had issues with uploading anything to Blogger all damn weekend long!!! luckily now everything has been posted, so enjoy!

***Please Scroll Down For Updates***

I can't think of a better team of animator and director than the infamous Clampett & Scribner. When these two get together you know that you are indeed in for a one of a kind experience no matter what the storyline is and which characters are involved.

While watching some old Looney Tunes tonight and gathering reference to use in helping to boost my construction and line of action skills, I chose this cartoon because after watching it for a few seconds I began to realize just how amazing and inspiring it was. I personally feel like this cartoon has the best portrayal of individual and unique emotions all throughout, and the acting is top notch. The expressions and the posing are a nonstop whirlwind of inventiveness without being overdone and unecessarily quirky just for weirdness sake. Even when we see some of the wildest and most original poses and expressions they seem to make sense and are able to communicate and register with the audience rather easily as to just what the character is feeling.

For instance in the opening where all we have is a ragged looking Elmer Fudd setting up the cartoon for the audience, the animation is just so damn full of emotion and feeling that it's truly amazing to behold on a frame by frame basis. I especially love how even once his tuxedo flap thing covers his face, you can still feel all of the power and emotion of the scene just by the movement and action in the arms and hands as they struggle with the flap. I love how the hands are handled and given so much attention in this scene. I am hypnotically drawn to their odd beauty which I can only attempt to describe as some sort of bizarrely posessed cow udders that are having an epileptic seizure. I would die to be able to get that much over on the audience with nothing more than hands and sleeve.

Here's some screen grabs of this scene.

Here's another batch of grabs as promised from the opening scene of "Blue Danube".

I just love all of the rubbery kinetc animation that has Scribner written all over it in these grabs. In my opinion this is the sort of animation that all good "Cartoony" cartoons needs to have in order to truly be successful. Unfortunately there really isn't anyone around today who still does this sort of wild and crazy style of animation today. Some of the stills are just flat out bizarre, and likely don't ever register as single images since they only appear on screen for 1 or 2 frames, but what they add to the finished animation is just a brialliant liveliness and sense of action and motion that can't be created on this same level by any other means. I personally see a lot of what I assume to be a Milt Gross influence and maybe even a touch of Cliff Sterett in the dog from these fantastically contorted scenes that are loaded full of insane and creative poses.

Check out this batch of frame grabs for what I feel is some of the best cartoon acting, emotion, expressions, and wackiness i have ever seen in any cartoon.

Last but not least, here are some grabs from the second sequence in Corny Concerto. Now I always have felt like this last sequence seemed sort of "tacked on", but it does include some wild and fun animation, the highlight of which is when the cute adorable little swan duckling goes haywire after being seasoned with a hearty dose of black pepper, and the result is a great scene full of Wild and wacky Scribner animation.

I'm trying out a few different things with this weeks update so please bear with me. I'm also trying to get the screen grabs so that they post at a better size along with changing the layout, as well as the increasing the number of overall grabs that I am able to post on any given cartoon. I am also thinking of expanding certain posts so that you will get 2 or 3 updates on a single topic over the course of a week when I feel that there is a lot I want to share and/or talk about. If you have any comments or suggestions regarding any of this just let me know what you think of these changes in the comments.

Frank Frazetta (Fritz) Funny Animal Comics-1940's

2006-03-29T23:16:00.000-05:00

Frank Frazetta is surely a name that most all of you are familiar with for his amazing skills as a painter of all things fantastic, but perhaps you never knew that before he became famous for creating some of the best looking paperback covers, he was a rather well known cartoonist who's main focus was Funny Animal type work. It's stunning to think that at the mere age of 19 Frazetta was churning out this incredibly sophisticated work that was on par with, if not better than his much older and more experienced contemporaries. It didn't take long for Frazetta to get noticed by none other than Walt Disney Studios, who sent him an offer to come and work at the studio. Frazetta declined their offer for his own reasons, but it is impossible to not ponder the possibilities of "what might have been" if he had accepted.

I personally find Frazetta's funny animal work to be some of the most incredibly inspirational material within the genre. It is completely unique and distinct in both it's design and execution. Frazetta was not merely doing a carbon copy of any current animation or cartoon style that was popular at that time, he took his skills and imagination and created a world and characters all his own without making the mistake of having more style than substance, as so many a young artist is prone to do. All of his characters and environments are so amazingly well constructed, laid out, and appealing that there is really no other artist I can think of whose work even comes close to what Frazetta was able to achieve. His beautiful brushwork astounds me to this day as does his uncanny ability to set a mood and atmosphere with such ease.

Enough talking already, have a look at some of this truly inspiring work and tell me what you think of it in the comments.

All of the images I have posted so far are taken from the fabulous book: "Small Wonders - The Funny Animal Art of Frank Frazetta" published in 1991 by Kitchen Sink Press. These single panels and such are just a mere sampling of what I found particularly inspirational, but the entire book is just spilling over with loads of great material that is well worth hunting down. The book is out of print however, so if you are interested in finding a copy it's best to try E-bay. It appears that this was the first in what was planned as a two book series, but unfortunately it seems that just never happened. For shame...

Below is a great example of what Frazetta was able to accomplish when he was turned loose on an entire comic story instead of just a fancy header to spice up a lot of text as was the bulk of his work from this period.

Unfortunately there isn't a whole hell of a lot of this sort of Frazetta stuff available on the internet or anywhere else for that matter, but luckily Shane Gline is also a fan of this work and has some great examples (often in color) available to members of his Cartoon Retro website.

I want to leave off be posting a quote from Frazetta himself that was included in the book from which all of this great material was taken:

"I'm just a straight, ordinary guy. I truly wish the world was full of sweetness, flowers and happiness. But it's not, and I do reveal that dark side in some of my work. I am known for my violent stuff, But the funny stuff is the real me."

Makes you wonder if Frazetta might have continued to make this sort of wonderful cartoony artwork throughout the years, and just kept it all for no one but himself.

Betty Boop-Old Man of the Mountain (1933)

2006-03-23T00:10:00.000-05:00

Well after a long and painful waiting process to figure out what the hell was going wrong with the photo upload feature, here's this weeks post. I hope you feel it was worth the wait.

What you have here is a damn near perfect cartoon short from one of my favorite studios - Fleischers. The Fleischers made loads of fantastic cartoony cartoons that are just an anything goes, wacky romp in the realm of the truly impossible. For me the subjects and execution in most Fleischer cartoons is the epitome of what a good cartoon should be - Sparse use of dialouge, creating the impossible, entertaining and fun characters, and a simple premise with a great musical backdrop. Old Man of the Mountain is an example of the Fleischers at their best, it's full of fantasticly fluid and funny cartoony animation that does the impossible things can only happen in cartoons, incredibly interesting yet functional designs, loads of funny and original expressions, superb posing, a simple yet engaging plot, and very little dialouge

The wacky owl is just such great character - im in love with his design and the way he moves and all of his wild expressions; bizzare - yet totally fitting. The real charmer here for me though is the beautifully fluid and lively dance number that the old man of the mountain performs. It's obvious that the animator studied some great live action reference and was able to take that and make it sing on the screen without becoming slave to every last detail. The result is one of those scenes that I just find myself watching in amazement over and over again, trying to learn as much as possible.

Anyway I'm so in love with this cartoon that I can't think of much else to say that would make sense, so instead of rambling on endlessly like a moron i'll let some pictures do the talking and hope that you are even half as inspired as I am every time I watch this cartoon.

This sucks! I've really got to figure out how to upload these images at their intended size, so that they don't get continually shrunk to hell and show up so small. If anyone can offer any suggestions, (aside from uploading each frame grab as a seperate image) I'm all ears.

Until then...Sorry for the teeny tiny images.

The ASIFA Animation Archive Needs Your Help

2006-03-17T11:21:00.000-05:00

I just wanted to take a minute here on my blog to point out an invaluable resource that everyone cartoon fan needs to know about, and that is the ASIFA Animation Archive run by Steve Worth. Steve and his ragtag crew of volunteers and animation fans have created a one of a kind resource that is unfortuantely not recieveing all of the credit and help it so rightly deserves as a top notch center for the research and preservation of all things related to animation and cartoons.

While I haven't had the pleasure of visiting the archive in person just yet, I have made contact with Steve and all of the scans from various books and comic strips here will eventually become part of the archive for all to enjoy in high resolution versions. I strongly encourage any of you out there who also have similar treasures that relate to animation and cartoons to conrtact Steve and offer up your wares for the bnefit of the archive and cartoon fans everywhere.

Click on these links to see just a few examples of all the great inspirational material Steve and his helpers have made available for anyone interested just by visitng the archive.

ASIFA Winter Cartoon Roundup
ASIFA Winter Animation Art Roundup

Also please include a link to the archive blog on your website or in your blog links area to show your support for such a worthy cause.

Thanks.

Mel Crawford - Pebbles Flintstone (1963)

2006-03-15T22:22:00.000-05:00

Well I've been super busy lately and some of the stuff I had thought about scanning and posting for this weeks update would have taken too much time that I don't currently have, so for now I guess you'll just have to settle for some more amazing Mel Crawford Golden Books scans.

Imagine that! Settling for Mel Crawford...

I've already spoken about Crawford and what it is about his work in general that I find so intriguing, so I won't try to re-inevnt the wheel so to speak in that regard. However, I do just want to mention that I absolutely love all of these Flintstone themed books that Crawford worked on and think that this book in particular has some of his best work. All of the wonderful color & painting theories and textures he uses throughout the book just continue to blow me away each and every time I open this book for a bit of inspiration.

Dream Pets (updated w/sketches)

2006-03-09T00:36:00.000-05:00

Here's a couple of Dream pet inspired sketches from yours truly...

If you want to see more funny animal type drawings like these check out my other blog.

I was first introduced to the world of Dream Pets thanks to the always awesome Sue Katowich who had recently purchased a Japanese book devoted entirely to the ever-popular stuffed animal line and it's history. After flipping through this delightful little book I knew I was hooked, and immediately searched out a copy for myself on E-bay. Such charming, colorful and appealing creatures of all shapes and sizes filled the pages. These were not your typical stuffed animals by any means though. Dream Pets range from disgustingly cute and cuddly to oddly beautiful creatures that almost defy recognition. These are the sort of toys that appeared cheap, and most likely ended up in the trash after a few years or so when a parent had decided that it was time for the tykes to clean house. Luckily this book is out there (though not easy to find), for people like myself who aren't necessarily interested in collecting the actual pieces and hunting them down on E-bay, but still finds them to be fascinating and inspirational. Dream pets are the perfect source for me to go to when I feel like I am being way too formulaic or generic in designing a funny animal character. The range of colors, shapes, and amazingly enough... the expressions, always seem to make me think in ways that wouldn't immediately occur to me. There's so many weird little creatures in the images below, and I haven't even posted half of what apepars in the book. I decided to go with just the ones that I especially adore. If I had to pick favorites... I just can't resist that super-weird seal, and that big-headed bug-eyed bunny in the first image who always reminds me of Ren. Now these are two Dream Pets that I would actually consider buying. I know John K. is a Dream Pets collector, so I just have to wonder if this wee fella might be at least partially responsible for inspiring his design.

Well I have a few Dream Pets inspired sketches and such lying around that I plan on posting later in the week, so check back to see what wacky-ness I have cooked up. And don't be shy... post links in the comments to some of your own Dream Pet inspired doodles. After all, how can you resist.

I have also been thinking a lot lately that it would be nothing short of amazing to create a Dream Pets animated series... But I haven't come up with a solid concept yet for what they would do and all that important stuff. But hell it sure would be purty to lookat!

Deputy Droopy (1955) - MGM

2006-03-02T01:08:00.000-05:00

Okay... where do I start to describe this particular cartoon and how it inspires me?

Well for starters this cartoon is a showcase for the talents of two of cartoon animations greatest talents; Tex Avery & Ed Benedict. For me, this cartoon is the perfect example of how to take an extremely simple premise, gag, or storyline and bend and twist it to the breaking point without making it feel boring, contrived, or overdone. In the hands of a much less talented director this short would have been a painful experience, but Tex knew exactly how to get a lot of mileage out of what would typically be a one-shot gag. Add to this the brilliant design sense and capabilities of one of my art heroes - Ed Benedict, who was in charge of the layout for this short, and you end up with a major turning point in Tex's work & the Droopy character. These two cartoon creating geniuses would go on to work together on many more shorts during this time period, and I feel they still hold up today as great examples of simple yet engaging cartoon shorts. This cartoon also seems to be significant since it marks a change in Tex's cartoons towards a much more "modern" visual style than what we had been accustomed to previously with Tex's work. To me, this had a lot to do with Benedict being involved on such a key level in these shorts. Here, Benedicts signature graphic approach to design & style was maintained and not watered down nearly so much as it had been on the multitude of Hanna-Barbera shorts that he worked on. As you can see from some of the grabs below the result is a cartoon loaded with scenes that are spilling over with appealing, strong poses that are just flat out wacky and hilarious in true Tex Avery Form while implementing a much more "modern" 7 graphic approach to design.

Floyd Gottfredson - Mickey Mouse Newspaper Comics (1935)

2006-02-22T22:50:00.000-05:00

Floyd Gottfredson was the man who was responsible for taking over the daily Mickey Mouse Comic Strip from Ub Iwerks, and while originally it was supposed to just be a temporary job, but luckily for us, it turned out to be a 45 year career.

Gottfredson managed to turn a job that to most of the Disney artists would have been nothing more than an easy, steady paycheck into a totally unique and excitig experience not only for himself, but also for the readers as well. Gottfredson also wrote most all of the storylines in additon to creating the artwork, and thus was able to step outside of just re-interpreting the Mickey shorts into comic strip form, and exploring all new adventures and even introducing and creating several of his own characters.

There are oh so many reasons to fall in love with Gottfredson's Mickey Dailies, they are a seemingly perfect combination of great storytelling, intelligent pacing, incredibly well drawn & full of poses and staging that in my opinion often rivaled if not outshone the Mickey Shorts. These are not the "typical" run of the mill comic strips based off of animated cartoon characters or vice versa. These were stories and characters that were full of just as much drama, character, and action as any of the superheroes, crime busters, or anything else that appeared within the same sooty pages. This is a far more interesting and complex Mickey and cast who are just brimming with character, personality and dare I say "BALLS". Far from the idealized critter devoid of all interest and personality that he would unfortuantely soon become

Gottfredson was a master of inking and gave nearly every aspect of EVERY panel the same level of care and attention. From the exhaust plumes billowing from the tailpipe of a backfiring car, an applied zip-a-tone pattern to indicate texture or atmosphere right on up to the expressions on a main character's face, Gottfredson never slacked off, and somehow managed to maintain a remarkable readability and clarity throughtout each and every panel despite the sheer multitude of things going on and STILL managed to find room for nicely placed word ballons that never seem obtrusive or interfere with the compositon and storytelling. This is what I find most inspiring about his work on these Mickey Mouse daily comic strips - his ability to maintain a seamless sense of overall balance and rythm throughout all aspects of a panel, that and his amazing inking ability.

Many poeple are of the opinion that Carl Barks was the "best" artist to ever work on Disney comics, and I would have to wholeheartedly disagree. Once upon a time I used to follow this same line of thought myself until I was introduced to the brilliance that is a Floyd Gottfredson comic strip. Furthermore, in my opinion no one has ever created better "cartoony" daily comic strip art with such action, intensity & depth of character the way Gorttfredson did with this strip.

I wasn't going to post every single one of these strips originally, but then I remembered while scanning them in that all of the strips that you see below appear in chronological order as one complete storyline, so how could I NOT post them all. It just wouldn't be fair and it definitely wouldn't have the same impact.

Al White (QuickDraw McGraw ) 1960

2006-02-15T21:07:00.000-05:00

Al White is another truly great master of "cartoony" painting and illustration. I would have to put White as a close second to Mel Crawford when it comes to bringing the normally flat & somewhat bland cartoon characters to life by treating them as if they were more "serious" subject matter. Unlike Crawford though, you can see that White leans more towards a much rounder, three-dimensional approach to these characters that is very close to being "On-Model", where Crawford tends to push for more graphic shapes and poses that often just barely keep to the original character designs. I am a big fan of both of these approaches that I can only begin to describe as, "How these characters might look in one of those weird dreams" where you find yourself walking and breathing in a completely cartoon world that seems as dimensional and solid as anything in your waking life. So basically what I appreciate most about White's work is his beautiful painting technique that makes these characters pop off of the pages as if they live and breath and almost makes you think that they could almost walk among us in some strange alternate reality.

Does that even make sense?

I know there is some other great examples of AL White's work out there on the net, but I'll have to look for the links tomorrow and add them to this post.

Gerald McBoing-Boing (1950)

2006-02-09T09:26:00.000-05:00

UPA is the one studio whose films are more likely than anyone elses to be pointed to when referencing a so called "50's Style" of animation & design. While I enjoy the bold and simple graphical approach they utilize in both their characters and backgrounds and find them incredibly inspirational, these are not the aspects that I find myself most drawn to when I look at this short with an analytical eye in hope of learning something valuable.

The thing that stands out above all in Gerald McBoing-Boing to me at least, is the way they utilize color as an unsung supporting character. In my opinion the way a designer or director chooses to use, (or not use) color is an all too often overlooked aspect of modern filmmaking, especially in the world of "modern" animation. All too often in animation it is decided early on what colors a character or background will use, and regardless of the changes in their environment, emotions & circumstances these colors can never deviate from the approved design. It seems that no matter whether a character is freezing his balls off on Antarctica battling a giant mutated penguin, or being wooed by a lovely mermaid temptress hell bent on world domination on some mysterious tropical isle there is no perceived need to make any changes in color. Everything is bland and Boring and adds nothing to the feeling and emotion that is supposed to be conveyed.

One recent exception that subscribes to a lot of what UPA is doing in the grabs below, would be "My Life As A Teenage Robot" which has terrific color design that changes and adapts as necessary to the situation or mood and serves to heighten the drama and deepen the sorrow as intended.

In Gerald McBoing-Boing, the color changes to suit the mood and environment. When gerald braves the cold outside world after being made to feel the outcast, his world and even his own appearance changes from the warm earthy tones of the interior world to stark cold blues and deep reds of a snow stormy night. And when a strange man appears out of nowhere to help Gerald in his plight, we see those deep blues lighten slightly and build back into the warmth of the radio studio where Gerald becomes a Star. The limited use and careful selection of colors used in Gerald McBoing-Boing also serve to direct your attention to the appropriate areas and build upon the composition of each and every frame. Watch most any modern cartoon and this aspect again sticks out like a sore thumb where the backgrounds and characters battle it out in a multicolored melee that is more often than not so indecipherable that your eyes don't know where to concentrate and you can barely tell what the hell is going on in any given scene where the sun is always shining and every surface has been candy-coated with a technicolor turd.

I'm beginning to think I've rambled on far too much already and hope that I at least got within the neighborhood of making a clear point as to what it is I find most inspiring about this award-winning classic cartoon.

Milt Gross - Newspaper Comics 1928-32

2006-02-01T19:16:00.000-05:00

Milt Gross is without a doubt a one of kind cartoonist that you either love or hate. Me...? I love him to pieces. But like many other artists, it took a little bit of an adjustment period before I could appreciate the underlying brilliance of what appears to most people to be the schizophrenic work of a rather half-assed & unskilled early american cartoonist. His quirky characters and jarring poses work beautifully with his compositions as they lead you by the nose throughout his strips at a breakneck pace. I appreciate Gross' work mostly for its wild, raw energy and the manic feeling that permeates throughout each and every panel. To me, it's like the difference between that sketch or doodle that is so incredibly full of life and excitement, but every time you try to polish it up into something more "finished" looking it just ends up being a shadow of what once was. I think if Gross labored over these strips and tried to make them more "well drawn" that a lot of the charm and energy would have run right out of the work. I don't really know what else to say about Gross, perhaps it's easiest to sum up his work as just "one of those things" that you either "get" or you don't.

I'm glad that I seem to "Get it."

here's a quick "goss-inspired" sketch I finally got around to posting. Check back later and maybe I might have some more of this stuff to share.

Mel Crawford - Magilla Gorilla (Big Golden Book) 1964

2006-01-25T23:34:00.000-05:00

I think I first became consiously aware of Mel Crawford's cartoon character themed golden book illustations thanks to Shane Glines and have been addicted to searching out and unearthing as much of this incredibly inspirational material as possible ever since.

Mel Crawford's cartoon character based artwork is pure bliss to behold. His style seems to be an intoxicating concoction made up of equal parts Mary Blair and Ed Benedict, with an added a dash of Sasek to create one of the most amazingly talented golden book illustrators that I have come across. I especially admire his use of simple yet effective shape combinations which create solid and expressive cartoon figures that seem to jump off the page. Top all of this off with his equally unique color sense and use of texture and it becomes even more difficult to find anyone who does cartoon character based childrens books better than Mel Crawford. Looking at these images and their scarcity of linework would also seem to point to a sense of style & design that has influenced the art direction of modern day cartoons like samurai jack.

Click each image for a larger version

As promised here are the rest of the scans...

Please feel free to leave any of your own thoughts, comments, etc.. regarding Mel Crawford and his work by using the comment feature below.

-Clarke

Pigs is Pigs - 1954

2006-01-17T20:59:00.000-05:00

Well after much procrastination, I feel like I can't come up with anything overly insightful to say here. I am far from the wisdom and expertise of folks like Amid Amidi. Though I do have some basic thoughts on what it is about this cartoon that I find inspiring.

I have waited a very long time to be able to finally see this short that I had always heard so much about from fellow artists and animation-type folks. I remember hearing that this was one of those rare disney shorts that broke the traditional "Disney" mold in terms of design and animation while seamlessly combining all of the trademarks Disney was known best for: well handled story, appealing characters, strong - cohesive design throughout characters and backgrounds that combine to create a decieveingly simple yet damn near perfect theatrical short.

If I had to pick one aspect of this short that stands out above everything else and can help me in my quest to become a stronger, more skilled artist & designer, I would have to say that it is the clarity and strength of the poses and staging that is carried throughout nearly every frame of this cartoon, which is a very often overlooked aspect that can truly make or break a scene, let alone an entire short.

Click each image for a larger version.

My apologies for the somewhat small individual image size, but I decided to use the blogger upload feature to avoid possible bandwidth issues and it is auto-resizing my images and making them about 50% of their intended size, and I can't see a way around it at the moment. CRAP!

I hope some of you will feel inclined to post your own thoughts, feelings, and any additional information you might have regarding this material via the comments feature at the end of this post.

While I have sketched a bit here and there this week in response to the grabs posted below, I wasn't able to really do anything much above and beyond copying what I saw, but perhaps upon further sketching and exploration I might come up with something post-worthy that relates in some way to these images. After all that's what this blog is all about in the first place, isn't it?

-Clarke

Welcome!

2006-01-12T10:07:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the Inspiration Grab-Bag, a new blog endeavor that I have decided to undergo as I depart on a personal quest to stay inspired and re-vitalize my work. I will do my best to share my experiences with you by way of posting screen grabs & scans from a variety of pre-1960's animated cartoons, comics & illustration, since this is the well from which I draw the majority of my inpiration. I will also attempt to post some form of insight and/or commentary to accompany the posted images each week. And while I don't want this to become a second portfolio or anything, I will occasionally post examples of my own work that has been inspired by certain aspects of the imagery I have posted. The blog will be updated weekly with a fresh batch of images every Wednesday beginning next week, and I encourage everyone to leave comments regarding the images posted in the hope of spurring further conversation and debate on the material.

As of today, my plans for the first post will be a selection of screen-grabs from the 1954 Walt Disney short "Pigs is Pigs" a wonderully fun adventure in limited animation with the sort of beautifully handled graphic design sensibilites and art direction that is a joy to watch. This short was recently released on DVD as part of the fantastic Disney Treasures collection on the "Disney Rarities" set. If you don't already own this DVD set, you should definitely run out and grab it.

Thanks,

-Clarke