Words and Pictures: Nicholas Ray pt 1
"The celluloid strip is not made in the writer's studio"to be continued...http://johnkstuff.blogspot.com/2007/04/real-dialogue-versus-cartoon-writer.html
The Racket - Great Story, Dialogue, Acting, Direction
Here is a clip from one of my favorite movies, directed by John Cromwell and Nicholas Ray. "The Racket" along with other Robert Ryan movies was the inspiration for my web series "Weekend Pussy Hunt".This movie works on almost every level. It has a good story, great dialogue, brilliant direction and what I look for most of all in movies- wonderful interaction between rich personalities portrayed
Rusty Caricatures
Well sometimes they just come out boring. I apologize.The best reason for animators to do caricatures is to help us break from formula animation shapes, features and expressions. It's a long road though.
It Is Possible
to be good looking and still have distinct features. I can tell these two guys apart.And all the rest of these fellows.On top of their looks they all have extremely distinct voices, personalities and mannerisms. That's why they called them "stars".
Duke Starts To Morph
Everybody changes as they age but nobody did it better than the Duke.He turned into a completely different design.And everyone loved him even more.His personality is as distinct as his head."Distinct" is the thing that to me is most missing from entertainment today and especially animation.From some of the comments I can see that many people are actually repulsed by anything that isn't
YULETIDE GREETINGS
I hope you have a warm wonderful holiday with lots of presents, turkey and cartoons.Your pal,John
Pete's Remedy
C sent this line up of a pesky virus we just can't seem to shake off.Then Pete Emslie sent this all natural cure. Thanks Pete!Is the Duke struggling to make a 'tude face? Looks like he ain't built fer it.
The Inherent Beauty Of Holes and Dents
Here's a scary hole with teeth like hairs waiting to trap you.
Microscopic Moon Like Objects
I love how nature has geometry and form, yet is not mechanically perfectly proportioned.
New and Improved!
Testimonial from a satisfied customer:"My life has changed since I started shopping at John K's cartoon apparel and geegaws store!"CLICK THE CORNER STORE AND ENTER A WORLD OF SPINE CHILLING FUN"IT'S WHERE I DO ALL MY SHOPPING!"We read all your comments and made some adjustments to please the most people we can. Well Alex did. The store is now smoother on the draw but just as danceable...HTML
For Yowp: Look For The Low Ear
There are many ways to spot a Walt Clinton character, but the easiest trait to look for is the low ear.If you draw a line from the ear to the nose it will go up to the nose on a diagonal.He likes to put the ear right at the back of the head touching the collar.What I like about his style is that it feels like a middle aged man cartoonist's view of the world. Everyone is kinda dumpy, irritable and
Next: How To Tell A Walt Clinton Character Layout
This is Walt Clinton, one of the early layout artists/designers for H and B cartoons.I like him a lot.The main designers/layout artists in the earliest HB cartoons were Ed Benedict - the most stylish and inventive, Dick Bickenbach - good but somewhat blander and Walt Clinton.Tony Rivera came later and was the worst of the bunch.These frame grabs are all Clinton layouts from Quick Draw McGraw
What I Wouldn't Do For These
Imagine the beautiful garden you could cultivate with these beautiful Yogi Bear yardwork gloves?I love the license they took with his ears.
Christmas Solutions
OK, folks here is my prototype for a new kind of online store. Click the damn thing and enjoy the fun.WARNING: There is background music, so if you are in a quiet place turn down your volume first....
Tommy's Lesson 1
I started by explaining the most fundamental parts of good cartoon drawing:1) Construction:I pointed out that the center lines that slice through forms are not parallel to the edges of the forms.I pointed out that on a 3/4 view you see more of the side of the head and face than from the front view (which many young cartoonists don't realize).Here are very simply explained facial mechanics. When
Slab's First Fist all in one EZ to read post
I will post a link to the t shirt as soon as it is available
THE INCREDIBLE STORY OF POOBERTY VS SKILL
It started like any other fine morn, except for one thing.
Little 10 year old Slab's fist was throbbing and aching like it was on fire.
"Hey Ern'!" he yelled to his elder brother on the upper bunk.
"Yeah Slab'?"
"Dude you woke me up with all your throbbing down there. What's goin' on?"
Heartaches shirt preview
These are the samples sent by the printing company.They are being printed now.
The Magic Of Flintstone
I always wanted to look through Flintstone.Here's what Flintstone would look like if Pixar made him.Here's my kind of Flintstone- totally off model but crazy.There is a formless post Hippie Flintstone.And here is my favorite.
Mighty Mouse Fan Club Thrill Package
Look how much fun it was to be part of the Mighty Mouse Fan Club! You get a nifty "Sourpuss Hole activity" as just part of the fun.This is too much cool stuff. A kid would have a heart attack from this much joy.Before you play with all your Terrytoons treasures, here are the important rules you must follow.You better do exactly as we say, if you don't want Mighty Mouse himself to come and beat
Cartoon Shirt For Real Men
Here is the final with fancy-ass cross-hatching.This is how manly you will look in a shirt that celebrates the magic of cartoon violence.Even sissies look tough in this colorful MMA shirt.READ THE CARTOON STORY BEHIND THE PICTUREand here is the girl one revised again...
Will You Buy It?
I'm thinking about making a couple new t shirts to add to my store (click the store at top right of page if you don't know about the store)I wanted to make one for girls and one for guys. I've noticed that girls don't buy as many cartoon t shirts as guys though. So before I actually print these (this isn't quite finished) I'd like to get an idea of how many people might actually buy one.
Yearning For Cockamamies
Who can live without skin pictures?Skin was a much cheaper printing surface than paper in the 1960s.Remember the song? "Cockamamies, Cockamamies,Made from Human Skin.They will lift your spirits highHow they'll make you grin.Hide your blemishes and pimplesWipe away your molesDrape your flesh in CockamamiesPurify your souls...Flintstone FlintstoneFred and WilmaBarney, Dino TooClothe your flesh in
Cartoony, Graphic and Directly to the Point: Kurtzman's Hey Look
Harvey Kurtzman's "Hey Look" is UPA before UPA. It's also something more. It has the graphic qualities of "Gerald McBoing Boing" and "Fudget's Budget", but without abandoning its cartoony roots. It's similar to T. Hee's style, but with a lot more verve.Technically, Harvey has a lot of obvious great qualities but above and beyond them all is his ability to balance them graphically to convey a
The Incredible Story of Tommy, My First Official Cartooning Student
I was shopping for meat one day and I noticed a tall lanky youth following close behind me. I assumed he could tell I knew my meats and wanted to copy my selections, but after a few minutes he walked up to me, clamped his hand onto my skull and addressed me. He said "Are you........him?" I said "I am one of him." He then queried: "John K.?" Then he hailed his sister over. "Hey sis, it's John K.!"
A Bunch of Dirty Tricks: Ripoff Alert
Dirty Trick# 1 Not telling you on the cover what cartoons are on the disk, so that you get tricked into buying the same cartoons again. I can't believe they would do this. They should have just called the box :"OFFICIAL BUGS BUNNY PRODUCT"I scoured the back cover and found no clue as to what was on the disk.When I opened it, there wasn't even a booklet to tell you what was on the disks. But then
Look What Brent Did
http://brentnoll.blogspot.com/That's a swell inking style you got there Brent.Thanks!
Christmas Comic Book Stories
Christmas is not generally the best theme for cartoon fun. It usually means cartoons and comics that are mild, not too raucous and worst of all - good for you! Even so, I highly recommend Christmas comic books as a nice present for some kid in your family.Animators-when not telling pure cartoon stories- have an odd tendency to want to draw sweet naked men and boys and this book has some of that.
My Favorite Animated Scene
I love this scene from Kansas City Kitty.It exemplifies the fun, excitement and creative spirit of the most creative age of animation.After being somewhat stagnant for almost 20 years, animation experienced a creative explosion after the arrival of sound.I don't know if sound spurred it, or if it just happened by chance at the same time, but for about 10 years animation explored ideas and
Interim Doodles
Sorry I don't have anything more exciting at the moment.I can't show you what I'm really working on yet, so all I have are my morning warm up bacon doodles.
Looney Health Issues
Does breaking your leg make you a cripple? I heard that we aren't allowed to say "cripple" anymore. We have to say "better off" or something.I hope they bury me in this position.I have never seen this condition before, but I like it. Does Daffy have the Shingles?
So Dear To My Heart
I stole these from Hans Bacher's fine blog.They're from a hard to find Disney movie that's mostly live action.The cartoon in it though is quintessential Disney. It boasts a massive contrast between its content and execution.The layouts, color styling, painting, smooth animation are all incredible. The character designs are all stock generic Disney and so is the acting and story.Someone some day
The First Realistic TV cartoons
It's funny that the very first so-called "realistic" cartoons were drawn better than everything that came after.I mean, they're still stiff as hell, but at least they had some solidity and a bit of design.Probably because they used actual comic artists to draw them and didn't try to animate them.In the production process that came later, they would just design the realistic characters on model
Smokey Fun
They should have a funny animal character for all antisocial behaviors. "Knuckly" the "Don't Mug Old Ladies Gnu would make a good role model. "Bad Tastey" the don't wear your pants below your underwear waistband Wildebeest.
The Inverted Curves Theory
A while ago Rex and I were discussing how ugly modern animation design had become and why. We discussed what the ugliest of ugly styles was.We decided that Dreamworks wouldn't count because everyone pretty much agrees that they make the ugliest "toons', - even the folks who subscribe to other modern animation styles.I suggested one modern style that drives me nuts - the inverted curves theory of
Best Of Opposing Poses
One character's pose is dominant. The other characters' poses react to it.The characters' poses create interesting negative spaces between them.One Character Opposed to a GroupMargaret is dominant character. Other kids are together a separate element. Within that element, Tommy has dominant pose with strongest line of action-directed at Margaret.BACKGROUNDS FRAME THE POSESEven the backgrounds and
Eisenberg Studies
I like how Eisenberg controls all his shapes and spaces to make clear readable and appealing poses. He is an extremely clever cartoonist and I am slowly learning some of his techniques.and here is an old Flintstone sketch I found.
I Still Can't Believe It
I don't watch much TV but I keep seeing these guys plastered all over every magazine in the world and can't figure out why they are famous. By the 'tudes on their faces, you'd swear they are being passed off as being handsome or cool or something. Does anyone actually think that? Is media that powerful that it can completely make your natural sensory abilities invert?Pete Emslie sent me his wish
The Mouth Area
In reality, the mouth area seems monstrously complicated. All the details flow in and out of each other and are intricately connected.It's a far cry from the TV style "realistic" flat floating mouths. Whatever is appealing about real life is totally lost when translated into animation.Anime mouths go out of their way to exist completely independently of the heads they are supposed to be part of,
Dick Briefer Frankenstein Comics Reprinted
http://comicrazys.com/2010/10/22/book-review-dick-briefers-frankenstein-craig-yoe/
No More Need For Eyes
Someone should make a documentary detailing the decision making process in one of these filmswords failmaybe this will make up for it
Preston Blair Red Hot Riding Stock Girl
My friend Jill sent me these frame grabs she made from Tex Avery's "Wild and Wolfy:.I wonder why there aren't more animated sexy girls?It seems like such a natural thing for cartoons.Of course it isn't easy to do.
Some Basil Wolverton
One of the most imaginative cartoonists ever.http://comicrazys.com/2010/10/17/gjdrkzlxcbwg-comics-a-gallery-of-gooney-gags-basil-wolverton/
"Phone Doodles"
These aren't literally "phone" doodles, because you can't really draw while on the phone anymore, since phones are not designed to fit human heads in this advanced age of technology. It's up to our heads to evolve into cubes and our mouths to migrate to the same side as an ear to catch up with the advanced modern phone design.I still call them phone doodles though because they are made
more Arnold
I find it easier to caricature someone after I have done blander more "realistic" studies.Boy, anatomy is filled with so many mysteries. I think someone would have to spend full time studying for a few years before beginning to understand how everything fits together. Otherwise, you end up just drawing superficial copies, like what I'm doing. Little by little some stuff starts to make sense, but
Good Direction VS Turning The Furnace On and Off
WATCH THIS SEQUENCE OF FOGHORN ESCAPING DOGI had thought that because this was such a frenetic sequence, there must be a lot of scene cuts in it. It turns out there are only 3.A lot of story information is conveyed in the short sequence, and McKimson uses all the animation and film tools available to him. He doesn't use the same tool to tell each story point. He varies them and coordinates them
Arnold Studies
Here's someone who actually has accomplished things-and is a real character on top of it.I'm really starting to wonder how trying to draw realistically can help cartooning. The closer I study what things really look like, the more I realize how much more complex reality is than cartoons. That probably sounds obvious.Some things just can't be captured in line alone, for one thing.I have been
trees
Hans Bacher did a series of posts on trees and I pulled some of my favorites.ALl these have not only stylish and personal finishes, but bold and distinct form under the details.MORE TREES AND ANALYSIS BY HANS
Most Beautifuls Of All
To become rich and famous, you need good looks, taste, fashion sense, style and/or talent...right?Do your clothes need to fit?Standards may have changed in the last half century.Here is who we look up to today. Are they more interesting than your neighbors?Alfred E. Neuman grew up.I'm including crappy drawings to show that some people are so ugly that it's hard to make them weirder looking than
McKimson's Direction Toolbox
WATCH THIS SEQUENCE OF FOGHORN ESCAPING DOGI always liked the way this sequence flowed, so I thought I'd see how it was directed by analyzing it. It turns out to be different than how I expected.I'll give you my thoughts later.
Hans Bacher Has Good Taste
These are all from Hans Bacher's site:Great layoutskiller cartooning and draftsmanshipGreat colorNasty colorI remember this character from when I was a kid living in Germany.Fun cartooning in odd stylesCal Arts origins.From Sullivant toKen AndersonMilt KahlLOTS MORE GREAT ART HERE
Crazy Cute
I love when Scribner draws cute characters. They are reaaaallly cute - but kind of crazed too. It's like he's making fun of cuteness but at the same time likes it. he's torn - as am I.This frame is genius!___________________I have a theory about how Scribner evolved this jittery cluttered style.The action in much of his work after Clampett happens within very confined spaces.When he animated for
A Change Of Pace
I didn't wanna wear you out with all that crazy cartoony stuff so thought I'd take a left turn and show some killer Alex Toth comic book work.I'm not that big on "realistic" comics in general but I do admire skill when I see it. This stuff really wows me.Toth is not as splashy as some of the superhero comic artists and his style is more subtle.He draws like a sonuvabitch though and I'd love to
Pure Cartoon Genius
Scribner is that rare combination of great animator and cartoonist.This looks like a Johnny Hart expression!
Rod Scribner Sneaks Entertainment Value into a Koolaid Commercial
By the 1960s, most animation - even animation done by the classic animators - had gotten very conservative. Even squash and stretch eventually became "too cartoony".Here's Rod Scribner going completely against the style of the times and I don't know how he got away with it.I'm guessing that Tex Avery must have directed this and just let Rod have fun with it.Rod sure wasn't inhibited by the 60s
Cartooning Pretty Faces
It's harder to cartoon faces that aren't funny looking to begin with, but I'm trying it to see if I can then design some girl characters that aren't stock animation designs. There seems to be only a couple approved ways to design pretty girls in animation even though in real life there are countless pretty faces that all look different.SOME JINKS GAGS
The Entertainment Value Of Movement
One thing you see a lot of in cartoons from the 1930s and 40s is movement that is entertaining for its own sake.You can tell this animator had fun making this cat shadow box. The still drawings don't really convey the movement.Clampett encouraged his animators to make every bit of their work move in a fun way. He figured it was "animation" and that was the main thing audience watched cartoons for
Teeny Tinykins
These are some of the best mouth theories I have seen on toys.Some pretty appealing eyes too.We used to get these toys for free in Colgate toothpaste and Lipton's Tea. The tea would stain your teeth and the toothpaste would clean the stains. These tiny little toys would reward the never ending cycle of tooth destruction and renewal.They also sometimes sold huge bags stuffed full of Teeny Tinykins
BathTime
Hanna Barbera characters love to watch each other bathe.http://funkyhb.blogspot.com/2010/09/bubble-bath-bumper.html
Hawaiian Punch
This is some nice looking stylish and cartoony stuff. I wonder who designed and animated it.
Frank Mir VS Cro Cop UFC 119 Tonight!
Watch the big boys battle it out tonight!http://www.ufc.com/event/UFC119
The Bygone Golden Age Of Kids
I've probably mentioned before that the 1950s and 60s was a golden age for kids. We had it easy. We didn't have to work the farm, no depression and there were huge wonderful companies who spent their time thinking up great ways to entertain us.The Toy companies had genius designers and inventors. Just check out the design and functionality of Johnny 7We had the best toy weapons ever. I think we
Very Close Friends
This was one of my favorite toylines when I was kid.I wish I could find one of the cool commercials they had for these ramp walkers in the 1960s.Toylines used to combine characters from different studios and put them all together in one commercial.So you had all these buddies for different cartoon studios all walking down a plank.So you would see Donald and Mickey cuddling up in single file
What If Milt Gross Drew HB Characters?
I was thinking about how HB cartoonists blended their different styles into interesting new combinations and wondered what would have happened if some of my other favorite cartoonists had worked on the cartoons.Like what if Milt Gross had done the layouts on a picture or 2?Some random scribbles...PLAY THIS WHILE JINKS CHASES MEECESI also wonder who decided which parts of cartoon characters have
Classic Character Studies
When I want to learn how to draw classic characters, I don't only look at the model sheets but it's a good place to start. I try to find the earliest incarnations first.After studying the models I then also look at animators' drawings, storyboard drawings, toys and comic book or comic strip drawings too.I look for the most appealing incarnations of the characters and try to incorporate them all
Papa Yogi: George Nicholas
Limited animation done rightHere's a good Yogi cartoon animated by George Nicholas and laid out by Walter Clinton.The drawings and animation are cartoony and stylish at the same time. It show hows when you don't force (good) artists to trace model sheets you can get unique and funny cartoons - even when they only cost $3,000 for 6 minutes.One thing I love about the earliest HB cartoons is that
Good Classic Cartoon Repackaging
This is the way to present classic cartoons. Watching the Bugs Bunny Show on Saturday afternoons at 5 was the highlight of the week for me in the 1960s. These titles and wraparounds just made the whole experience more exciting.BUGS BUNNY SHOW OPENING TITLESBugs Explains How To Write Cartoons With Him In Them
Jinks Is Iconic - a Real Character
A lot of animation fans, particularly of my generation, were mad at Hanna Barbera's limited animation cartoons and blamed them for ruining animation. I admit they sure had a big part in that.But they also created some iconic characters, which is not an easy thing to do.When they started limiting their animation, they must have figured they had no choice but to find some new creative aspect of
Cuckoo For Cocoa Puffs
Here's a guy with a constant sugar rush.I love the giant man hand.When real life invades the cartoon universe it's always huge.Except for the real life products which are tiny so that cartoon characters can consume them.I'd like to make a commercial where the real life humans are small and the cartoon characters are giant voracious beasts that consume us when they run out of metabolism-boosting
Forcing New Information To Stick In The Brain
I copied a couple of my HB Rubber toys to see what I could glean for future use. (HB characters make the best toys)I took two characters and turned them to see what general characteristics they had in common,and what features were specific to the particular design of each. Whatever they had in common might tell me about what happens to cartoon faces when rotated - and more, what happens when toys
Spumco Production System Step By Step
Of course, none of this will work if the people aren't qualified to do the jobs. You need talent, skill and experience doing functional jobs that complement everyone else's functions.DirectionThe director supervises and follows through all the steps below.StoryI use the classic method of writing for cartoons. My "scripts" are actually much more detailed than any modern animated script. They
The Non-Terrytoons Jim Tyer Style
Boy, they weren't kidding.I like this other drawing style Tyer used in his early comics.It'd sure be interesting to know how he came up with it.Looks sort of like a combination of Milt Gross and Dr. Seuss.The first couple Terrytoons he animated on look sort of like this. There's a Mighty Mouse story that takes place at a circus that has unbelievably cool detailed animation by Jim Tyer. -about
Mr. and Mrs. J Evil Scientist
I loved these characters when I was a kid. I also liked that comic books would take characters that only appeared once or twice in a cartoon and give them their own series!Peek at a Snooper and Blabber Story Idea
I Fixed The Link in Yesterday's Post
sorry, I just saw that someone said the link was broken.try again!http://www.cartoonthrills.org/blog/commercialsClassic/GeneralMills/LuckyCharms-desktop.mov
Roughing Up The Lucky Charms Demon
I love these commercials because the kids act just the way real kids did back when I was eating Lucky Charms.It's funny that the demon character is the witless innocent.The Christian youths leap upon the pagan apparition.Look how much attention the animator paid to manhandling the sugar imp.The kid on the left is a funny design. The one on the right looks like the Cheerios Kid! Maybe his secret
General Mills Cereal Ads in Comics
Hey, these are drawn pretty good for comic ads. I wonder if they were done by an animator. It's someone named Williams.Here's the Lucky Charms Demon. I have a funny commercial where some roughneck kids manhandle him and debase him bodily.This Rocky and Bullwinkle one is really nice.
The Waft Of Fresh Marriage
hey, I need some help with Illustrator. It took me a million steps to do what I thought should have been simple processes. Is there anyone in the north valley who knows how all the basic tools work that can show me. I'll do a drawing for you or make you a cheese sandwich if you help me.IT CAME FROM THIS CHAPTEROF THIS STORY
The Cheerios Kid Beats Up A Train
Here's some fun design from a 50s Cheerios Kid commercial.I love the clever use of values. It's amazing how good black and white can look when it's done with control and know-how.Besides the design, the other thing I like about old animated commercials is that they tell a story.I like how the real kid accepts the magic of a little super elf that inhabits his cereal.An adult probably wouldn't buy
Yogi Defends Boo Boo
I did this color in Painter 2 long ago. It was a bugger of a program to use, and it got worse with each new version. I'm not able to do this sort of thing with the later versions.
Grogg VS Orrgo - who is more frightening in short pants?
http://goldenagecomicbookstories.blogspot.com/2010/09/jack-kirby-dick-ayers-steve-ditko.htmlThat website is fantastic, by the way. Lots of great illustrators from 100 years ago or so.
Smith's 7 Year Itch
Yep, he's got it. 7 years of dealing with irascible bears and finally he's gonna take some time off to woo his little lonely little wifie-pie.PART 1 - LOVE DENIED"How long have I denied myself the loving embrace of a civilized woman?"PART 2 - WIFIE PUSS WAITS NO MORE
Scum Rules BG
This scheme was inspired by a Yogi Bear cartoon called "Stout Trout".I think I have the layouts and maybe storyboard for this sequence. Should I post 'em?
BGS: Layout, Color Key, Finished Painting
I wanted my Yogis to have some feeling of the original 195-1960 cartoons. I didn't want them to be like the 1970s, an 80s redos where the characters try to be be with the times. No cleaning up the environment or riding skateboards - and no pink purple and lime green airbrushed bgs. I got Ed Benedict to do some of the background layouts and design and he drew them in pretty much the style he drew
Marker Color Keys
I often do marker color keys of scenes to give my painters. I can't paint, so markers are easy for me to dash out.They tend to fade in color over the years though, and I had a heck of a time trying to get the colors to scan right. They also look different on every computer screen I checked, so who knows what colors you'll see.This one is from my Bjork video and the colors here look much less
Next
I found some BG color keys and one BG from a cut scene from Day in The Life of Ranger Smith if anyone wants to see them.
UFC 118 Tonight
They are marketing it as boxing VS MMA.I can't wait to see what happens. Lots of other great matchups too.http://www.ufc.com/event/UFC118
Striving For Accuracy
I wasn't satisfied with my last Beebers; I knew there were subtleties I was missing, so I looked closer to try to figure out what I wasn't capturing.And I came up with this.Here are some more "serious" studies of celebrity childs and magazine people.This stuff busts my brain.But I think it's slowly paying off.
Beautiful Beeb
Girls, calm your poor hearts...I sort of applied what I remembered from drawing gym shoes the other day.
Stiff Warm Ups and Studies
I am slowly, painstakingly trying to beat new information into my brain.2 things I have been working on are facial structure and legs - with attention to balanced poses and how they work. Like many cartoonists, my eye lies to me a lot and I naturally draw things out of proportion.I think I am just beginning to understand how the major facial muscles and features interrelate with each other. The
Owen Fitzgerald Dennis Christmas trees
Level 1: Overall Tree Shape- Green bent triangleLevel 2: Tree trunk and branches structure, inside green shapeLevel 3: Sub branches coming off horizontal branchesLevel 4: Needles coming off sub-branchesEach of the levels is following the shape and direction - and line of action of the level above. Every detail fits within the overall schemeVery artistically cleverThese trees, as stylized as they
Carlos Nine
JoJo turned me on to a cartoonist I didn't know about. Carlos Nine combines illustration and cartoon skills into one fantastic style.I'm hoping Jojo will scan the pages Nine drew with Popeye and Olive for us. You'll die!I think you can buy Nine's comic, Meurtres et Chatiments here, but I'm not sure how:http://www.stuartngbooks.com/preview_nine_meurtres.htmlhttp://ronniedelcarmen.blogspot.com/2007
Cartoony Principles 1: Contrasts
I did this drawing the other day in a private lesson as an example of exaggerating what you see by using the principle of contrast.My student had copied this Preston Blair drawing above and had drawn the proportions too conservatively. The baby's head was too small in comparison to his body. I'll ask him if I can use the drawing to show you, but basically he undertured it.He was actually trying
A Classic Cartoon Face In Real Life
Ingrid Bergman has a great facial structure. She has very strong defined bones and then really distinct cheeks, lips and nose and eyes sticking out of, wrapped around and sitting within them.Unfortunately, in these glamor photos you don't see them quite as well as you can in her movies. I think the publicity department went out of its way to try to hide her most interesting features.She has a
Kirby Back 3/4 Heads
This is an angle I've always found hard to construct.I love the way Kirby does it.
Vintage UFC
I found these the other day. They are from the Golden Age of UFC in the mid 90s. I'm sorry I don't have higher rez versions.That's Tank Abbot above. He is my all time favorite UFC fighter - not because he always wins, but because he's a true bully. A great winner and poor loser - but he's always super entertaining. I wish he would get into shape and get back in the Octagon. I always thought that
Low Hairline Action and Other Forms Of Natural Beauty
"I'm filthy rich and no one knows why"Crappy ones
Private Lessons
I started giving private lessons to a fellow named Tommy who moved out to LA from the midwest to pursue his dream of being a top Hollywood cartoonist and getting beaten down by the man. I ran into him at the supermarket the day he arrived and he dropped his eggs all over the floor and did a Tex Avery take. "You're....HIM..." Jesus. I almost called the manager. Then he demanded lessons. I took
Kirby Effects and Graphic Textures
These all predate the famous iconic Kirby cosmic dots effects he used so much from the 60s on.
Kirby's Wide Stance
The characters in Kirby's comics must have really loose groin muscles to be able to push their feet so far away from each other.I love this stuff.
Kirby Aliens
Do you love Kirby aliens as much as I do?I can never figure out whether they are supposed to be funny or serious.I hope they meant to be taken seriously because that makes them even funnier.
DON'T FORGET FLAGSTAFF
If you happen to live in Arizona, drive over for Saturday or Sunday's show.http://johnkstuff.blogspot.com/2010/07/ill-be-at-flagstaff-film-festival.html
Kirby Before Marvel: Anatomical Structure
The Kirby style most people are familiar with is the superflat 70s and 80s Kirby. At least that's the style people generally imitate when they draw in his style.I love his 60s Marvel superheroes, not just because of his iconic surface stylings, but because of how solid his drawings were. You can see that even better in his earlier comics.Kirby is known for making up muscles that don't exist, but
Thanks To Donators
Thanks to all these folks and I hope you are getting something out of it!BTW, I have started my first private and semi private lessons. Rather than having one all-encompassing course that each student has to fit into, I am tailoring classes to the individual's needs and their stage of skill. If you live in the LA area and are interested, put a comment and a link to some of your work.Classes would
Ron Ferdinand Interview 2
b) Who were all his ghosts?The names I recall are Fitzgerald, Al Wiseman, Lee Holley, Bob Bugg and later Frank Hill….there were a few more that escape me at the moment. (Marcus Hamilton - jk)http://www.dennisthemenace.com/marcushamilton.htmlWhen did Ketcham start using assistants?I think he did the whole enchilada for the first year or two.Who did the Sunday pages in the 50s and sixties?Y’know ,
Inked Asses
Here, I added some sick colors like the execs love.Mitch inked these Little Asses for fun and he did a swell job.He also did these.Here's how he did it:http://mitchoo.blogspot.com/2008/09/ink-tricks-tutorial.html
What Do They Eat?
The colorful asses are full of superabundant love energy. Their tails gleam with magic and Ass Power(TM). But where does all this color and energy come from? From nature's generous bounty.My Little Asses eat an all natural organic diet of butterfly wings. The colors in the wings imbue the Ass-Tails with magical properties.Sensitive Ass-nostrils seek out the tastiest wing-colors. Little hungry
Trying To Draw Small
One of my drawing problems that I wish I could solve is that I draw too big.So this morning I tried to do tiny caricatures.It's extra hard for me because I tend to get distracted by details and I magnify them.I'm hoping that drawing small will force me to see the major shapes better. So far I'm sloppy.
The HB I Like
I don't like Tom and Jerry at all. I do like Hanna Barbera's TV cartoons from 1957 to about 1962. Really to about 1960. They are fun cartoons to eat breakfast with.They were on to a great thing for kids and then dumped everything good about it really fast.The color and design in the early HB cartoons is pure candy.I also like the simplicity. Simple, that is but with a method. Not simple without
Walt In The Tabloids
Here it is in this week's Globe magazine.I'm sure it's all made up but it would explain a lot if true.
Do Tabloids Reflect The Tastes and Beliefs Of Most People?
I think they must.After all, they are the biggest selling magazines in existence. They are at every cash register in every supermarket.Even I buy them. I like to draw the celebrities, but I sometimes read the articles and wonder "Do people really care about this stuff?". Even more puzzling to me are the things that the Tabloids sell to the readers: Elvis plates, Dead Babies, The Noble Wolf
Bobby Driscoll's Story
More wacky tabloid lies...Driscoll as rugged "garbage". (his word)Actually I always thought that Walt hired boys who looked like him when he was a kid because all the child stars have a similar look in Disney's films.
In Progress
Still got some details to finish...like another arm for Johnny.Well it's not really a caricature of Kirby's style. it's more of a combination of him, Mad comics and Not Brand Ecchh - and me.
Nice Pencil Work From Assorted Animation Studios
Here are some good animation pencils in various stages of clean up and in assorted styles.What makes them good is not the quality of each individual line itself, but rather the ability of all the lines to contain the forms within them. All these pencils reveal that the artists understand that the characters are made of forms that all make sense and fit into a plan that adds up to instant
Naked Dead Baby With Dangling Parts Cut Off Construction
This has to be the cheapest character design ever.It's just a construction model for a stock 40s baby character.It's such a funny concept to have a character without a design or any details at all. Even ears are too expensive to draw!There are a million characters based on this construction, but this is the only one that is nothing but construction.Here it is with ears and clothes:Here he is with
Kirby Is Killing Me
I know you're dying for an exlanation of that crying tree.It all started with an assignment I have to draw an illustration using some Marvel characters in my style.My idea was to do a cartoony caricature of Kirby. As you can see, this is not an easy task.I'm trying to come up with one good pose of Crystal from the Inhumans.So far, not happy with any.Drawing girls is hard enough.Trying to draw
Pete Emslie Wants To Share
Pete sent me this picture. At first I thought it was an ad for a glass eye manufacturer.Pete: "I'm certainly more the Disney fan than you are, but even I'm getting really bad vibes about this film. "
Kirby Fantastic Four Covers
I was obsessed with these comics when I was a kid.I didn't start buying them until 1966. Before that I thought the drawings were too bizarre.Once I got hooked I wanted to buy all the back issues.Luckily, in those days there was always a garage sale every weekend where some kid would be selling all his comics for a penny each so I went and bought all the issues dating back to the beginning.It was
Your Favorite Comic Titles
Alley Oop had the best dinosaur and jungle drawings.No one can forget Catman.Felix and the bulb-noses - a kid favorite.Henry was once beloved by millions. The "Funniest Living American". He doesn't have a mouth. Is he Popeye's bastard son?.Smokey Stover must be the wackiest comic ever. A big influence on Clampett.I love this Oswald drawing!Comics are for everybodyWalt Kelly Snow WhiteDon't you
Ukrainian Ranger Mating Urges
Yes, every spring the Rangers come out of hibernation to spread their pheromones around the Urals.The garish males perform spectacular displays to impress the blander female of the species.Ranger Horst goes all out, puffing his breast, spreading his feathers and finally extending his perfume bladder which emits a pungent odor - offensive to we civilized folk, but quite pleasant to female Rangers
Look What's Coming
Actual good printsUncropped!No DVNRNo Line ThinningNo Grain RemovalJust the films as they were meant to be seen
I'll Be At the Flagstaff Film Festival
Join me at the Flagstaff Film Festival in Arizona, Saturday August 14th!!!A brand new independent film festival.JOHN K. PRESENTS A KIDDIE MATINEE shows from 1:00 - 2:30 PM at the historic Orpheum Theater in downtown Flagstaff, Arizona.I suggested this event because I remembered that when I was a kid, they used to have Saturday matinees with old cartoons, comedy shorts and dinosaur movies. I
I like this Harvey artist too
This is the other Harvey artist that draws the characters in a really appealing style.http://davekarlenoriginalartblog.blogspot.com/2008/03/steve-muffatti-friends-salute-to-unsung.html
Free: Clampett Frame Grabs To Study
Here are some great frame grabs from Clampett cartoons thanks to Chris Lopez. His site is a wonderful resource for cartoon and comic lovers.Daffy in his absolute prime. Look what an appealing design that is!More teeth in Clampett cartoons.Best eyes.Funniest poses- this is McKimson here! He never drew like that in his own cartoons!This is the best cud chewing scene ever animated. Chris..please put
Beautiful People 25
Important pelvic wrinkle mechanics.The way girls' arms bend backwards always baffles me. I'd like to get a cartoon version of this but I'm struggling to figure out how it works. I toned it down too.
Canada's National Treasures
Did you know that Canada produced both the world's greatest actor and the greatest supermarket?I was molded by these commercials and there are even earlier and more thrilling Shatner/Loblaws commercials. Are there some Canadian commercial collectors out there? Help educate the world and share our cultural heritage. I'd also love to see the old Dominion commercials too. With the "Mainly because
Does All This Human Drawing Help Cartooning?
Honestly, I'm not sure yet.I'm realizing that I use a whole different type of thinking when I copy live humans (or photos of them) than when I draw cartoon characters and I haven't yet figured out how to link the two types of reasoning.Boy I see even more mistakes when I compare the drawings to the photos after I blog them. Like many cartoonists I tend to shrink open spaces when I copy real
Caricaturing The Body
Sure, people have funny heads but doesn't the body deserve some ridicule as well?I remember when I was a caricaturist at a theme park during summer break, my caricature boss told me what I was doing wrong: "You aren't drawing the heads big enough. A 'caricature' is when you draw a really big head and a small body. - oh and you take one feature -like the nose, and you make that really big too. -
Heartaches Stickers Are Here!
Holy crap are you gonna have fun with these.ONLY AT MY STORE___________________________________________SEE A HEARTACHES STORY HERE
Teeth Help People Be Specific
No two people have the same tooth personalities.I've been noticing how important the shape of peoples' teeth are to their individuality. If you don't get the teeth shape right it can lose the likeness.Below is my breakdown of a very famous set of chompers. First I figure out what the whole mess looks like as an overall shape - each person's bar of teeth has its own unique shape. Then I break it
Owen Fitzgerald Dennis Inks
Ron Ferdinand sent me these nice high rez scans of original Dennis pages, so I thought I'd share 'em.
Vintage Comic Ad Copywriters
It must have been a fun job to write the copy for the ads in comic books. I sometimes wonder if they knew who the audience for comic books was.Who are your favorite principal characters in Looney Tunes?Can you imagine your kids comparing their grand comic tales with each other?This copy really speaks in a vernacular every child can identify with.
Incidental Character Designs By Post
As has been pointed out and acknowledged, Warren Kremer created the Harvey comics house style that the other cartoonists followed. This makes it a bit hard to tell the different artists apart. All the main characters are basically the same design. Little Audrey is Casper with ears and clothes and hair. One way to tell the different artists apart is to look at the incidental characters in the
The Picture
This is the photo that inspired the first drawings of Ren.I thought it was funny to see a psychotic chihuahua in a cute sweater and I imagined him doing everything possible to get it off.I also imagined his master putting him outside where the bigger bully dogs would make fun of him.These aren't the first drawings of him, but they were based on my initial doodles. I do have some very early
Pre-Caucasian Rodent and Canine
I wonder who decided to make Mickey flesh colored? Do you think there was a meeting where they debated it hotly? They must have thought that the new colors would be more identifiable to Arians.I like both these cartoons a lot because they look so great. ...and I love the way they move. The style is so different from how we animate today. Much more experimental and tailored to the ideas.Here's how
Beautiful People 22
I'm fascinated by this girl's head. There are so many interesting departures from the ideal generic head shape that I'm having trouble figuring out which feature to focus on.Every time I do something to one, it knocks another out of place.It seems like there is a black hole in the center of her face that is sucking all the features towards the middle. That is very hard for me to capture.I still
Yogi's Ground Game
From 1997, an early tribute I did in honor of the UFC.When I first turned in this scene to CN, they wanted me to cut it because they thought Yogi and Ranger Smith were having "relations". I explained that, no, this was an MMA style of fighting popularized by first, Royce Gracie's Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and then built upon by Mark "the Hammer" Coleman's "Ground and Pound" combination of wrestling
Gnarly Tree Shafts
Here is the dissected anatomy of a tree shaft - it's made of subordinate tubes that cling together to make the bigger form.Here are some good and rude trees to practice hierarchy on.2 CONTRASTING URGES MAKE THE TREE'S FORMHere the sub tubes are wrenched apart. The feeling I get from the form of trees is that they are constructed out of opposing forces. One major force is trying to hold all the
Howie Post Trees, Cottages and Outdoor Scenes
Howie's details - like the leaves and bark on the trees are swell, but they are subservient to the larger shapes in the composition. Post makes sure he arranges the biggest shapes in relationship to each other first: Tree, sky house, character, ground - all these balance really nicely against each other. Once he has that balance, he wraps the details around the larger shapes.In that big fat solid
Swipe File: Howie Post Exteriors
A lot of artists keep "swipe files" for reference. Kirby and Wood used to talk about it. No one knows what everything looks like and an organized swipe file of photos and other artists' interpretations of things is handy reference.I am not good at drawing backgrounds or coming up with interesting camera angles. Howie Post is a great reference for me. He has already done all the work of studying
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