Like what you like!

Between watching old Disney videos on youtube, the CalArts history video, and listening to Brad Bird (who trained under Milt Kahl) on the Spline Doctors Podcast, I've really found a lot of similarities in their approaches and advice. Disney himself had a passion for animation, but it was fueled and influenced by all of his other interests. CalArts approached and still approaches art by trying to give the student a broad view of what is out there by mixing music, with dance, theater, visual arts etc. Also while listening to Brad Bird speak he talked about what he thought animators should do and what he observed the 9 Old Men doing and that was to get inspiration from everything, and feed your outside interests. Don't just stare at your paper and pencil, but watch how your loved ones interact with others, pause to see how the trees blow in the wind or how your little puppies play together outside, play a musical instrument or in Walt Disney and Ward Kimball's case fall in love with trains. All of these unique views, special interests, and outside knowledge will only help inspire and influence your art. Thanks for the inspiration!

Camel Gilligan

Gilligan performing with his sock puppets.

Claude and his turtle going for a ride.


Claude and his turtle having a dance party.


Pirate a Day


Pirate a Day section B


As soon as our little hero got back to town, a crowd began to form around him. Everyone was wondering what had happened to the monster, how did he get back, and most importantly what was in his gigantic gunny sac.


Once our little hero had settled the crowd down just enough, he threw open the bag and out poured the most delicious scent any of the towns people had ever smelled. Right when they started to wonder what that mouth watering aroma was, the skies seemed to rain bacon.

Speaking of Animation (the podcast) put out another fantastic episode this week. They got the extremely talented Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois talking about my favorite film I've seen so far this year, How to Train Your Dragon! I've loved Chris Sanders drawing style for quite a while and it was fascinating to hear about his and Dean's process. From learning about the evolution of their Nightfury design to old stories about Mulan this is a podcast that can't be missed!

Just a couple quick bloggestions

Another fun night of drawing.

Gilligan celebrating Earth Day a little bit early.

Mr Money bags and his turtle, I mean Claude.

Pirate a Day.

Our little hero just wanted to go home, so he got out of the pigs lair as fast as he could. Feeling so relieved to be free, he hummed to himself all the way home. Something akin to what might now sound like Zippity Do Da.

A few nights ago I talked about the trailer for Disney's new animated feature Tangled. John K also posted an entry about the movie this weekend, which has been garnering quite the attention of the animation community. He makes some very valid points, I'm not sure I agree with everything, but no matter what it's well worth the read.

I don't think I have nor can I enough recommend Inspector Cluezo's Blog. Sandro has quite the resume from working as an animator at Don Bluth, Fox and even Disney. Most of all he always has something inspiring to post and he loves Milt Kahl.

Thanks for the inspiration!

Art, like morality, consists of drawing the line somewhere.

So excited! I ordered my Cintiq last night! I had to have Rhys push the purchase button for me though, sheesh that's a lot of money. I'm starting to shy away from my 2H Kimberly pencil in my daily drawings, lately I prefer using a sharpie and just a Dixon Ticonderoga HB. Both of these options seem more permanent so I'm less likely to noodle a line over and over again. Also I find with the mechanical pencil (Dr. Grip) I push way too hard even though I really like the clean line I get. Plus having the lead break just plain sucks. I'm sure I'll change again in 2 weeks what I like, especially once I get the Cintiq! Oh, check out this great article over on smomotion about different pencil types.

Gilligan chasing his tail.


Claude playing a rousing round of flip the turtle.


Our little hero couldn't have asked for a more perfect shot.


Pirate a Day


I stumbled across a new (to me) artist today Dean Yeagle. He grew up loving Disney and wanted to become an animator there. Eventually, he worked with them, but he is most famous, most people would say, for his pinups. The thing that really attracted me to his work is that he can blend cartoon style with real anatomy seamlessly. The expressions and fluidity that his characters portray seem way too over the top for a normal human, yet somehow he makes it all look natural. Treat yourself and take some time to truly admire some his work. The way he draws makes me want to get better, and his body of work makes me want to believe that drawing in a more cartoon way can still be realistic, so much so, that even critics would have a hard time not seeing it for it's true artistic value. Thanks for the inspiration!

Today's quote, "Art, like morality, consists of drawing the line somewhere", comes from G.K. Chesterton, and from this Dean Yeagle drawing.

...for the 10 year olds...

Spent a good portion of the day trying to find a good deal on Maya and I'm continuously contemplating getting a Cintiq. I've been really motivated the last couple of days, and getting a decent amount of time to work on a lot of the projects I have going. At the end of the day I still feel like I should be getting more done. One day at a time!

Gilligan-Man


Claude and his turtle taking a little nap in the comfy chair.


Pirate a Day


Our little hero wondered to himself why he missed the landing and then he realized he had landed square on a rock pile. Seeing a good sized stone close by, our little hero swiftly grabbed it and hurled it towards his foe.


First off, I know most everyone has been talking about it today, but if you missed it, you have to check out the new trailer for Disney's Tangled.


It looks fantastic. Albeit, I wish that they could have kept with the original 2Dish idea, but I love the way they treated the 3d in this movie. It almost looks like a 3d oil painting. Simply Gorgeous!

Last night I put on Spirited Away, which I hadn't watched in quite some time. What a treasure. The first time I watched it, I really thought the story was a little too out there, but watching it again last night, which I think was my second time ever, I really felt like the movie was almost a Alice in Wonderland story for a new generation. I was so energized after watching it last night that I got up early this morning to watch all the behind the scenes featurettes. I wish I spoke Japanese just so I could really understand Miyazaki in his own words. Even through translation and subtitles you can really feel his energy and love for the medium. I hope to keep his ideal true that he had for this movie, in all my work. "For the people who used to be 10 years old, and the people who are going to be 10 years old." Thanks for the inspiration!

Strive to resent the limitations of your imagination!

Got a little bit of a late start today, but really focused and knocked out everything pretty quick. I still have to mess around with the Wacom tablet a bit today *daydreams about a Cintiq*. Also I've been really enjoying Andrew Loomis' Figure Drawing for All It's Worth, so hopefully I'll have some time to spend with that as well.

Gilligan posing for his C&R photo shoot.

A young Claude and his turtle.


Pirate a Day


Our little hero made a remarkable escape attempt but didn't quite stick the landing.


Had some time to read a bit more of Frank and Ollie's Illusion of Life. Wow, they are so full of knowledge, I can see myself rereading this book over and over again. They mainly were talking about the start of animation (mainly Winsor McCay), the foundation of the Disney Animation Studios, and Walt Disney himself. The way they described him was perfectly summed up in a quote they gave of his, "I resent the limitations of my imagination." Wow, I hope I get to that point some day where the only thing I resent is that I can't imagine more. Thanks for the inspiration!

A funny drawing gets funnier when it's animated!

I finished another sketchbook last night! Which means I'm averaging around 100+ pages every 2 weeks. I've heard professionals say 1 good drawing in 10 is a pretty good ratio. I think I'm at least there.

I got a chance to read some more of Walt Stanchfield's Drawn to Life Vol 1, and it got me thinking. I'm sure some one else has felt this before, but you know that feeling you get when you have an idea in your mind and when you go to put it down on paper it doesn't come out quite like you really want it. Well, Mr. Stanchfield was talking about the Six Rules of Perspective, and how he uses them either consciously or subconsciously on every drawing he does and the line from chapter that caught my mind was "Knowing and using these principles when needed is like having a good road map when traveling in unfamiliar places." The rules aren't gonna get you there, but they will definitely guide if know where you're at and where you want to go.

Gilligan taking a snooze.


Claude and his turtle having some good old fashion fun.


Pirate a Day


The enraged monster must not have been aware of his own strength and rage, either that or he wasn't quite using all 2 ounces of his brain power and snapped the skewer in half. Our little hero used the drastic change of circumstances to his benefit.


As I've mentioned in the past I love everything Disney Animation related. So last night after finishing my daily drawing and blog post I hopped over and browsed Cartoon Brew, and came across the Ward Kimball tag. Of course that meant that the next few hours I'd be reading, watching, and drawing all things Kimball. I have to admit at first I wasn't a big fan of Kimball's being a Milt Kahlite his drawings always seemed inferior, but after a decent amount of actual exposure to his work he really can capture an idea. I love his sense of humor and his attitude towards life. It really comes across in his drawings. They are really expressive and every one feels like it's moving on its own. After watching a few great video interviews, really examining some of his images and reading a bunch of articles about him I found this great quote of his. "A cartoon character who is funny to look at before he is animated is going to be made funnier by the movement." Thanks for the inspiration!

Always Tryin' to be a Wild and Wooly Sheep

There are so many different artists I love, and tons of beautiful completely unique styles that just amaze me. On top of that you've got to decide which of the thousands of mediums you want to use. Why is my little eye attracted to so much!

Gilligan stubbed his giraffe toe for the fifth time today!


Claude's turtle's response to finding out Claude ate the last of the Reese's Pieces.


Pirate a Day

Thinking quickly and with even faster reflexes our little hero spotted the flying fork and positioned himself to exactly where he hoped the sharp object would land, and fate being what she is, of course, the pointed utensil stuck in just the right spot.

While out looking for a new shower curtain today (don't ask), I perused the DVD section for any old animated classics that might be on sale. Nothing was really that great of a deal, but I did come across Fox and the Hound which I haven't seen in ages. Between listening to the Animation Podcast and watching the Disney family album I've been absorbed into Disney history lately. Especially the after Walt passed, 9 old men films or the 1967-1985 era. I find it so fascinating to see how the studio struggled, evolved and succeeded during this period. Anyways, on the back of the Fox and the Hound DVD, there was a list of bonus features, and that's when I was reminded of one of my absolute favorite and most memorable Disney shorts, Lambert the Sheepish Lion.



This cartoon is a perfect example of what the appeal of animation is. The characters are aesthetically pleasing and lovable, the story is cute and heartfelt, and the song is catchy as hell. What a great reminder of what makes this medium really shine. Thanks for the inspiration!

Don't be intimidated!

A lot of artists I've read or heard talk about the intimidation of the blank page. For some reason that hasn't effected me yet. Now there are definitely days where I'll sketch a lot of random creations until my brain decides where I want to go with one of the drawings I want to make, but I never would say I'm intimidated by it. Although, I might get frustrated while I'm drawing or after the image is "done". Staring at an empty blog entry though, now that's a different subject.

Gilligan caressing his food baby.


Claude and his turtle doing the hula hula hula.


Pirate a day


Having been without nourishment for what seemed liked weeks, our little hero gulped up as much of the marinade as he could.


Last night I finally got around to starting the Illusion of Life that trekkiebek got me for Christmas (thanks again!).

What a great book! Now don't get me wrong I've poured over the pictures in the book a few hundred times at least in my lifetime, but to be honest, I'm really not that big into reading. That being said it feels like this book was written for me. Every page has such insight, ideas and knowledge that I find myself reading and rereading the same page and I still feel like I haven't gotten everything out of it that's there. On top of that, every other page or half a page has a beautiful image that perfectly depicts the point that they are trying to get across. You can really tell how much Frank and Ollie loved animation and wanted to share their love of the medium with everyone. They took such care with the book, hell they even include flip book style animations in the corner of practically every page. I love this book. If you like animation, Disney, or just want to drool over some of the most beautifully rendered images you've ever seen, buy this books now! Thanks for the inspiration!

Off the Beaten Path

I wish I had more time to draw lately. Hopefully the next few days will a lot me a bit more free time. I'm finding just drawing roughs to be so much more fun and exhilarating, while I still like the look of the cleanup, but that tends to drive my perfectionist side a bit batty.

Gilligan hitting the road.

Claude and his turtle flexing.


Our little hero soon awoke to find him self in an extremely heated situation.


Pirate a day


I've been trying to think recently about why I really get inspired by Milt Kahl. Of course he's a great animator and his drawings are remarkable, but something about his personality and presence really makes me like him above all of the other godfathers of animation. It came to me today while I was listening to Clay Kaytis' Animation Podcast Valt which was a lecture Milt Kahl gave that was recorded and preserved by another great animator Ron Clements. From what I've read about Mr. Kahl and the interviews I've seen by himself and others he never would admit he was any good, yet he always pointed out the flaws and things he didn't like in others work. I believe it was Richard Williams that said in an interview that Milt Kahl was honest maybe a little too honest, and that he always stuck to what he believed in and what he liked. Towards the end of the lecture he talked about The Black Cauldron, which having researched a bit about Disney history was kind of a dividing film. Milt seemed to have left Disney over some disagreements over how the Black Cauldron was being treated vs what he thought it should have been. Tim Burton another one of my art hero's was an animator at Disney at the same time and he presented a lot of story board and concept designs for Cauldron as well, which were eventually thrown out cause they were too out there. Though both of these amazing men have completely different styles, yet they both stuck to what they liked and what they believed in. I really aspire to keep those traits alive in my life and my work. Maybe even one day I'll win a Winsor McCay award like my heroes. Thanks for the Inspiration!