Thursday, October 14, 2010



This exists! My favorite cartoon when I was I child on at 7am every morning!



Wednesday, October 06, 2010

Resizing experiment:

"Loathsome Worlds"
(png) was boosted up to 150 resolution. Wonder if the image will be larger when you click to "Open Large"?


What is a "PNG"?

Portable Network Graphics (PNG) is a bitmapped image format that employs lossless data compression. PNG was created to improve upon and replace GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) as an image-file format not requiring a patent license.

This takes longer to "Open Large" and it is much bigger when you click on the magnification.
I never noticed the other element used to make this poster/drawing more exciting. The shape of the chairs, tongue, shoe and head of Lupo are all the same. The sharp 'teeth-like' shape adds to the volume of sound of this image. For all that's going on in here, it's very simple to unite all these elements and keeps them point your eye in the same direction.

Here's some fantastic late 80's Original 'One-of-A-Kind' Production Art from Ralph Bakshi Productions by John Kricfalusi creator of "Ripping Friends", "Ren and Stimpy" and "George and Jimmy". His extreme cartoon style pushed cartoon history to the edge of the future!
The way the gun is in silhouette makes it very clear who's going to get out alive. Lots of black in all of these.

These images were from "Unfiltered The Complete Ralph Bakshi"
This one was found on the internet. All these are inked line on large cels and rear painted. The attention to detail and excitement of shapes are beyond words.

Saturday, October 02, 2010

Joe Barbara, John Kricfalusi, Bill Hannah, , Friz Freleng taken in 1992.

Thursday, September 09, 2010


Today I saw they have released some retro styled covers of Cap'n Crunch cereal. I absolutely love the lettering and simple graphic. It's not screaming at you to buy it, it's just looks like its saying enjoy your breakfast.
There is also this great one with the Crunchberry Beast. The drawings and lettering are incredible.
This one is an older one. His boat turns into a bowl of cereal. This is the stuff you can do in cartoons that people have forgotten. Get rid of the tatoos and bring back the kazoos.
I think this character is a lot like my Laughin' Larry character. Same enthusiasm!!
so weird how they both have spots
This is a good one too but not the one I saw at the store. The one I saw had Crunchberry Beast going nuts.
These other older cereal box designs are so right on, I had to post them. The fact they thru in realistic fruit for a few letters makes these more tastier already!
Make me a t-shirt of this already. Wait I think I may already have one.

Friday, August 27, 2010


The drawing here was traced off a large blow up about the size of 11 by 17. It's easier to get to the details at a larger size, and then shrinking it down.
The font used is called "Font Diner" the book will look more consistent if the titles are all the same. This was drawn from looking at the picture of the ride it's self. I heard a roomer that they may be remodeling 'Small World'?
This one was drawn while watching the movie. I used some Al Hirshfield to improve my Mary.
Returning back to these and updating them, really does make them look better each time.

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Model Sheets from the then new 'The Beany and Cecil Show'
Rough size mock up of Dishonest John, Uncle Captain and Beany Boy. Looks like a John Kricfalusi creator of 'Ren and Stimpy' but could be Don Shank. These were made 21 years ago in 1989.
The line work on Cecil model is smooth. Looks like a brush but I don't really know. The Cecil on the right to me looks like it's from the original 1960's television show. He's drawn as if it was supposed to a puppet not a cartoon. The one on the left is doing what you can only do in animation . . . squash and stretch.

These were made 21 years ago in 1989.
The first things my eyes went to were the angled on the buttons of the pants. They go right along with the form of the body. The hands here are very expressive and clear. In the drawing above you clearly see the backside of the right hand and the inner palm on the left.

Note the characters cuffs on wrist and ankles always favored to one side. You don't see the inside on both sides. .This detail is important in animation so the extremes "read" well and the shapes are simple. Although these characters are drawn in a 'cartoon style' they have all the "elements" that real -life has. Perspective on forms, emotions, over lapping shapes and spirit.

OLD HAG - "Snow White an the Seven Dwarfs""

Ok I finally found a animation store / museum with vintage animation as good as Van Eaton Galleries. They've got everybody and unlike most everyone one else, they don't have seri-cels as their main sale.
"Alice in Wonderland"
I can not get over the color and detail in this background. One of my most favorite in strange scenes, as the Caterpillar is trying get up, it's back feet are having trouble with the huge leaf it's on. "Alice in Wonderland" (1951).
Marv Newland: International Rocketship

I founds these animation cels online for sale from Marv Newland films from the 1980's. His films are very colorful and have the spirit of animation like the early days of animation. "Sing Beast Sing" was a seen in the Spike and Mike Sick and Twisted Animation festival in the 1980's.
Finding cels like these fro me are like hoping to catch a big fish over many months!

This cel is from the film "Anijam" (1984) and this particuar sequence was animated by Sally Cruikshank (no relation to Don Shank another top animator). She did the weirdest animation I'd ever seen. She is not afraid to take animation to places like the world of early Betty Boop and Koko the Clown. Her sequence from "Twilight Zone the Movie" has creatures stretching in the most bizarro-toon style this side of Never-Never Wonderland.
DISNEY "GREAT AMERICAN INK" AND "VAN EATON GALLERIES"
Mowgli and Baloo Bear from "Jungle Book" (1967). The background has low contrast here. The characters read in silhouette as Baloo is getting a back rub during the song "Bare Necessities" written by the Sherman Brothers. This song was a big hit and is still heard today.

Here is the link to the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcglnY_xGfc&NR=1


Medusa from "The Rescuers" (1977) Milt Kahl animated this villain. This character was one of the last in the great Disney Villains animated by the last of the nine old men. Here Medusa is talking to her partner, Snoops who is working with an Orpan, a little girl named Penny to get "the Devil's Eye", a diamond that is stuck in an underground cavern.

Van Eaton Galleries $400

Brer Fox and Brer Bear from "Song of the South" (1940). Great extreme drawing. Brer Bear really wants to see Brer Rabbit's the laughing place and is expressing it here to the doubtful fox. This may also be Milt Kahl. It's a clean up drawing in pencil, the inkers could trace these drawings on to cells and then paint the colors on back.

I believe the voice acting on the soundtrack inspires the animator to make the visuals exciting and believable.

Tuesday, December 01, 2009


'Flopdoodle X Switcheroo' - 2009 HOLIDAY PARTY
by Eric Stefani

On 11.21 artists Amanda Visell, Tim Biskup and Michelle Valigura teamed up to show new work at an Annual Holiday Party. They asked me if I wanted to play my accordion when they saw me performing at the Farmers Market. When they handed me the invite I was surprised to see that I had owned a book of hers "Popping Through Pictures: Painting by Amanda Visell".
I stopped by their studio ("Switcheroo") a few days before to see many 3D wooden sculptures in the middle of being made. It was the HelperCentaurEphunt a collaboration of Tim and Amanda. Visell mentioned they had done figures for a Simpsons couch gag in puppets, worked with the guys that finished one of Ray Harryhausen's Animated Stop-motion Short Fairytales, "The Tortise and the Hair"and had a hand in making their own line of vinyl characters. I was blown away.

The night of the party Valigura helped me bring in my equipment and showed me where they'd like me to set up my accordion, microphone and iPod speaker. After negotiations, Amanda offered to pay me a handsome $100 which was more than I've ever been offered to play for.
HelperCentaurEphunt

One of Valigura's Mustache Paintings

Michelle Valigura (37)

Tim Biskup (42)

Amanda Visell (32)



This character was two feet from me. He seemed friendly enough until I noticed his axe. I think he's made out of wood with some great colors choices that scream at you, I think this is Visell but could be Biskup.
http://www.myswitcheroo.com/

A switcheroo is a sudden unexpected variation or reversal often associated with a joke (sometimes "the old switcheroo"). I noticed only a few week before meeting them their studio is located very close to a nearby Walt Disney Industrial Building and Amanda Visell's cool paintings are sold at Disneyland and their galleries.



I played for three hours at the entrance to the studio and although I had gotten mostly positive feedback, someone told me that I should be playing Depeche Mode. Never the less I stuck to my handle bar mustache guns and pounded out my Disneyland Carousel Music set and most of book 1-7 from the Palmer and Hughes Accordion course books.

Here is an image by Tim Biskup. Notice the woman's skin is the wood grain. I did not notice this at the show until I found it online.

Perhaps the highlight of the night for me was receiving a paper bag with a Dragon Scout (value $85) and plush dolls including Pistol Pedro (gun), Brass Knuckle Bob and George and Gary Grenade . . . I was so happy and touched.

Thanks guys, your work is on fire and so inspiring! The Dragon Scout Art/Toy and Plush Dolls are awesome!

Images borrowed from Vinyl Pulse and someone at the show.

Lowbrow
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lowbrow_(art_movement)