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Milt & Roger Miller

May 25, 2018, 10:47 pm
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Great behind the scenes photo of Milt Kahl and Roger Miller, the voice of Allan-a-Dale, the rooster from Disney's 1973 film Robin Hood. As far as character designs, this is one of my favorites. This character needed to be depicted in some kind of period costume. How do you do that with a rooster?
Mild did have some experience with clothing on poultry, having designed and animated Ludwig von Drake in the early 1960s.
For an extensive post on Allan-a-Dale from 2011 go here:

https://andreasdeja.blogspot.com/2011/09/allan-dale.html


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Why isn't he finished yet...

May 29, 2018, 12:17 pm
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 ...because our team is relatively small, and it takes time to maintain quality. We were thinking earlier this year, if  everybody gives it an extra push, perhaps we could could finish the project by the end of this year. But this would mean compromising here and there in order to get it done. That's not going to happen. So we will go into next year with the hope and intention to finish by mid-year.

To be honest. there were times when I thought, what't wrong with a seven minutes format?
The fact is, I need 25 minutes to tell this particular story.
And we are making progress, with five sequences in final color very soon.

The scene above shows Sarah after she arrives in Eastern Russia. She is sent upstairs to her "room".
The camera follows her as she walks across her new home. She trips, then runs into a spider web before arriving by the window on screen left, where she opens her suitcase.


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One of Milt Kahl's last Drawings

June 12, 2018, 12:16 am
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Just a few days ago I found out that this little gem of a drawing was offered at Heritage's Comic Strip auction, which took place in January. It was sold for just about nothing (or an "apple and and an egg", like we say in Germany). I truly believe that the amount would have been 10 to 20 times larger, had the sketch been offered at one of their Animation Art auctions.

This of course is a Milt Kahl drawing, done for a fan on his last day at Disney, on April 30, 1976.
I think Milt spent most of that day doing sketches like this one. Many of them featuring Madame Medusa, his final character for the studio. 

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0F1GCPq5lYQ/TfHn-c5NS4I/AAAAAAAAAEE/Yie0e93ujwc/s1600/MK-14.jpg

PS. I re-read this lot's description, which says that this is a signed print.
Now I wonder where the original might be...


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Mike Peraza

June 15, 2018, 11:50 pm
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Kahl Witches

June 21, 2018, 7:04 pm
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Heritage Auctions recently sold these design sketches by Milt Kahl from the movie The Black Cauldron. I believe that in the original books by Lloyd Alexander the three witches keep exchanging their outfits in order to confuse the group of lead characters.
This story concept isn't easy to get across in just a few drawings, but if anybody might have pulled it off in animation, it's Milt.
Great drawings, though in principle the characters borrow heavily from the designs of Madam Mim as well as Madame Medusa.






You can see a Tim Burton concept sketch of the three Witches here:


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Kley's Artistic Evolution

June 25, 2018, 12:22 am
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Here are three Heinrich Kley magazine illustrations that show how his art evolved over the years.
The first one is titled "Summer Solstice in Heidelberg". I would date this piece sometime during the 1890s, even though there seems to be a later date indicated on the upper left side.
The depiction of men, women and children is realistic and rigid. It is a pretty illustration, but undistinguishable to other artists of that era.

The next one is titled "the late Hour" from 1896. A lot more going on here in terms of dynamic composition, inventive poses and personality. Just beautiful!

The third sketch represents what Kley became famous for. Fantasy illustrations that show, what Walt Disney would call "The Plausible impossible". Surreal, caricatured situations, drawn in a believable manner. In this case a violinist fiddling away while being eaten by alligators. Luckily the drawing shows the process' early stage.

Kley's work at this time also included assignments for the German steel company Krupp. Some paintings show plane architectural (but beautiful) renderings of their factories. But even in those environments he would occasionally include oversized evil, satyr-type or other characters.
His imagination is sometime difficult to figure out, since we always look for the meaning behind such unusual work.
What is easily accessible though is his drawing virtuosity. Way ahead of his time he could depict the most absurd situation and make it look beautiful and believable.


 






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Frank & Ollie

June 27, 2018, 2:00 am
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I just found this photo of Frank and Ollie online, and it brought back some memories.
It looks like they both are promoting the release of Snow White on home video.
Frank is wearing a Bambi sweater, while Ollie chose a Jungle Book shirt. Well, I gave Ollie that shirt, which I purchased years ago in Germany. The images are from scenes, he animated. And they were beautifully embroidered. (The Jungle Book still holds the record in Germany for most movie tickets ever sold.)
This is really how I remember both of them, in their retirement,  still full of passion for animated drawings. I miss them.


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Magic Mickey

July 2, 2018, 1:12 am
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A beautiful rough drawing by Fred Moore from Fantasia's Sorcerer's Apprentice, just recently offered by Heritage Auctions. Moore was animation supervisor on this short film, I don't think he animated much himself while working on it.
What's interesting here is to observe that Mickey is portrayed with his vintage black oval eyes. You can see it in the pre-production color sketch as well. So sometime during production the idea was discussed to give Disney's superstar eyes WITH small pupils.




And this is what he ended up looking in Fantasia, and pretty much from that time on, as far as eyes are concerned.



The story source material for The Sorcerer's Apprentice was as beautiful as the final film.









A finished cel set up from the film, though it might have been produced for publicity purposes.



A dramatic cel image for a final scene. Sometimes I wonder, what is it about Disney character colors?
They are stunning, just by themselves, without a painted background.
The Disney Color Model department really was the best in the world!



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Ken's Shere Khan

July 5, 2018, 2:33 am
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There are MANY posts on this blog regarding Shere Khan from The Jungle Book, and there is a reason for it. I believe that this character represents a late breakthrough in Disney character animation. Ken Anderson came up with an "above it all" villain, at a time when the rest of the animation crew was scrambling to develop a unique approach to this tiger. It could have gone in so many different directions.
A physically overbearing, threatening, vicious villain would be the most obvious way to go.
But once director Woolie Reitherman saw Anderson's sketches, the idea of hiring actor George Sanders for the voice came to mind. And the rest is history.
Milt Kahl was completely on board with the concept of a tiger, who is suave and acts in a restraint manner.
The final result is a villain for the ages. Designed with graphic sophistication and animated with just the right amount of realism.

https://andreasdeja.blogspot.com/2014/03/kens-and-milts-shere-khan.html





Images courtesy of the Reitherman family, with many thanks.

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Woolie's Student Life Drawings

July 9, 2018, 10:51 pm
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I am always thrilled to do a post on Woolie Reitherman, because there isn't a whole lot of his art available, at auctions or elsewhere. 
Years before he animated Timothy, the mouse in Disney's Dumbo, Woolie attended art classes at Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles in 1932 and 1933. (He was hired by Disney on July 31, 1933).

Here are a few samples of his life drawings from that time. I see a student who is in search of anatomy, form and motion, but also in search of a personal style.
A great start to a legendary career in animation.










In 1937 Walt Disney became involved with Chouinard by offering classes in animation, taught by top talent from the studio. In later years Ward Kimball and Marc Davis would join the faculty.





In 1961 Chouinard and the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music merged into the then brand new California Institute of the Arts (Cal Arts), located in Valencia, north of Los Angeles.

Drawings/Bob Reitherman, brochure pages/Howard Lowery.

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Jungle Book / Weekly Animation Productivity

July 19, 2018, 11:35 pm
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This is a true "behind the scenes" document, detailing the animators' animation output during the last week of 1966. Walt had died just two weeks prior to year's end. So the mood in the animation department was somber, to say the least. Most of the animators took the time off between Christmas and New Year's.
It is interesting to see what the average output was up to that point in production by each animator.
Ollie did just over 15 feet a week. That is about 10 seconds.
Hal king was pretty prolific, too, with 10-03 Feet.
Milt Kahl just short of 9 feet, average. (Of course, according to him, he could have been much faster, if he didn't have to do so many drawings for other animators.)

Funny, it looks like they were 10 frames ahead of schedule for total output.


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More Bernard & Bianca Sketches

July 27, 2018, 8:20 pm
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These photocopies of Milt Kahl's character designs for the mice leads in The Rescuers are currently offered byHeritage Auctions. Milt is exploring various outfits, but he is mainly trying to come up with new design concepts for animated mice. Not an easy task.
Bernard's nose eventually shrank to a more conventional, smaller size.
I do like the sketch in the the upper right corner, even though this looks like a British character.

Here is the link to my previous post on designing Bernard & Bianca:

https://andreasdeja.blogspot.com/2013/05/bernard-bianca.html


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Busch Magazine Covers

July 30, 2018, 12:45 am
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For this post I am borrowing illustrations by Wilhelm M. Busch from Hans Bacher's blog:

https://one1more2time3.wordpress.com

I think they are magnificent. Sternchen (Little Star) was for a while a supplement children's magazine within Stern, a leading weekly German publication still being published today.
These illustrations helped visualize stories that were included in each issue.
Staging, composition, draughtsmanship...there is so much to admire here. Busch (1908 - 1987) was a fantastic storyteller, and I wished I could hire him for one of my upcoming projects.









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Johnny Appleseed II

August 2, 2018, 2:57 pm
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As many of you know, Mary Blair created many works regarding color and background styling for a great variety of Disney films. Seldom did her personal vision make it to the screen though. Background painters as well as animators didn't know how to incorporate Mary's simplified almost abstract style into the film's final look. More often than not through the animation process compromises were made, and the project ended up looking like the familiar Disney house style.

Johnny Appleseed (1948) is one exception. This final background above could have been painted by Mary Blair herself. Her naive, childlike expressiveness actually made it intact to the screen, as far as art direction.
The character styling is still round and dimensional though, a quality that would change a decade later with Eyvind Earle's artistic contribution to Sleeping Beauty.




A cel from an Eric Larson scene.




A couple of Mary Blair color concepts.  



A cel set up from the film. The character cels show some airbrush shadow areas, something that was done at the studio before being offered for sale to the public.

Here is the link to Johnny Appleseed I:
https://andreasdeja.blogspot.com/2013/10/johnny-appleseed.html


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9 Old Men Exhibit

August 4, 2018, 10:44 pm
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Just a reminder of this phenomenal exhibition at the Walt Disney Family Museum. It will run until early January. Beautiful, inspiring and occasionally shocking (to realize just how good these guys were.) I believe for animators this is a once in a lifetime experience.
Just look at these drawings!



Woolie Reitherman. This study sheet for El Gaucho Goofy is part of the exhibit. The following images aren't.



Milt Kahl 



Eric Larson



Marc Davis



Frank Thomas



Ollie Johnston



Les Clark



Ward Kimball



John Lounsbery



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Roger Radcliff

August 9, 2018, 12:47 am
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In the previous scene Anita gently ridicules Roger's musical talent. "What clever lyrics!"
Roger: "Melody first my dear, and (then the lyrics)."
Milt Kahl is in full command of the human figure here. This allows him to play with the design of each drawing. Roger's neck would look way too long, but with his shirt's collar taking up much room, it looks perfect.
What an awesome arrangement of shapes. Flat and dimensional at the same time.
And of course Milt masters the most tricky head angles, look at # 27 through 35.

The one thing I can't tell is wether any live action was used for this scene. On Roger and Anita Milt used live action reference for many scenes, but he also avoided it when he didn't like it.















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Mickey Mouse Development

August 16, 2018, 1:41 am
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Two images from different eras in the development of Mickey Mouse.
The first one is from Steamboat Willie, 1928. A gorgeous animation drawing by Ub Iwerks, who animated the whole short. There are still graphic issues here that needed to be addressed, like the characters' black hands. You can't really see how Pete's grip on Mickey is defined. That's why later on  Disney characters were given white gloves for clarity.
Boy, I just love the energy in this fantastic sketch.

Twelve years later Mickey appeared as The Sorcerer's Apprentice in Fantasia, 1940, looking like this.
A new eye unit with pupils, draughtsmanship that showed real volume and shoes borrowed from Snow White's Seven Dwarfs.
There is greatness in both versions. Steamboat Willie shows the beginning of true, involved personality animation, while Mickey Sorcerer showcases the immense possibilities of the animated medium.





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Bambi at 76

August 20, 2018, 8:47 pm
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Bambi was widely released in US theaters on August 21, 1942. The film lost money in its first outing, partially because foreign markets were cut off due to WW II.
The critics weren't helping either, as they resisted the movie's realism. "The film lacked magic" was one reviewer's opinion. 
Stuff like this baffles me. The artists' dedication and sincere filmmaking is evident in every frame.
The movie's art direction is magic, the music is magic and the animation...don't get me started.
Luckily Bambi became a huge hit in re-releases over the years, and is now considered a classic and a masterpiece.
I believe this watercolor painting featuring Bambi, his mother and Friend Owl is by Mel Shaw.

The following story sketches are the work of Marc Davis, who spent years helping to develop the plot line before starting his animation career with Flower, the skunk.







I believe I have posed this model sheet before. Just a reminder of the film's drawing as well as animation virtuosity.



Louie Schmitt drew this terrific model sheet. Super appealing. I posted more of his mouse designs here:
https://andreasdeja.blogspot.com/2013/04/louie-schmitt.html



Young child actor Donnie Dunagan (Bambi) eats out of a Snow White bowl, as he ignores onlooking movie stars.


Peter Behn (Thumper) and Donnie Dunagan promoted the film's 75th anniversary last year.



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A Hug Squirrel

August 23, 2018, 11:10 pm
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Several artists are having an influence on me while animating on MUSHKA. Swiss animal specialist Fritz Hug is one of them. I love this sketchy squirrel illustration. I find his observation intense, how about if I angle the forehead like this, how about if I define the feet like this, how about if I emphasize the knee?
Lots of intuitive solutions going on, so typical of his work.
A man who loved animals!

Here again my first post on Fritz Hug (there are others):

https://andreasdeja.blogspot.com/2011/11/fritz-hug.html


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Roger Rabbit at the El Capitan

August 25, 2018, 10:02 pm
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Another Who Feared Roger Rabbit panel plus screening will take at the El Capitan theater in Hollywood on Thursday, August 30. I will be on that panel along with my partner in crime Nik Ranieri. The host will be Tom Sito. We all animated on the film.
This image brings back memories from probably my most challenging scene to do, because the camera was moving in on Hoskins and Roger EVER so slowly, but for a long period of time.
I might be talking about what was so difficult about it at the event.

Here are more details about the screening:
https://elcapitantheatre.com/film-info/who-framed-roger-rabbit


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