Model Sheet Monday: Eleanor

 

In honor of New Years Eve I bring you Eleanor from the 1980's version of Alvin and the Chipmunks....yeah I know that doesn't make any sense....Happy New Year Everyone!

 

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas and God Bless Us Everyone!

Model Sheet Monday: The Grinch

Since it's Christmas Eve, todays model sheet is from the Dr. Suess and Chuck Jones Christmas classic How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

 

Artist Spotlight: Thomas Nast

Thomas Nast (September 27, 1840 – December 7, 1902) was an editorial cartoonist who is considered to be the "Father of the American Cartoon". He's credited with creating the Republican Elephant, popularizing the Democratic Donkey and Uncle Sam, and most importantly creating the modern image of Santa Claus. From 1863 to 1886, Nast drew Santa annually for Harper's Weekly, basing his design on Clement Moore's description of the jolly old elf from his poem "A Visit From Saint Nicholas," which would later be known as "The Night Before Christmas." Nast's Santa was a supporter of Lincoln and the Union armies during the Civil War and was often depicted wearing the colors of the American Flag. Beyond the wartime appearances, Nast is credited for some very well know attributes of the Santa lore including his North Pole home, children writing to Santa, the naughty and nice list, and his red and white suit.

 

 

The 75th Anniversary of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

In 1933, there was a letter written that stated that as far as animation is concerned, it should be limited to short subjects with funny animal characters because animating humans properly was beyond understanding. A year later Walt Disney accepted the challenge and began work on the first ever full length animated feature, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs." No one thought it should be done, even Walt's brother Roy and wife Lilian did not think that anyone would sit and watch a full length animated film. But Walt soldiered on insisting he could do it for $250,000. As time passed that number sky rocketed to $1,488,422.74, a massive sum for a feature film in 1937. The news media called it  "Disney's Folly" while it was in production. Walt fought to get it made, mortgaging his house in the process to help finance the film. Walt hired a total of 750 artists to work on the film. Over 2 million sketches were made and the final film featured a whopping 250,000 pictures. The animators most of which had a background in newspaper cartooning were given grueling anatomy courses to be able to animate the human form and live models and dancers were brought in to be studied. All of this resulted in the creation of whats been called the greatest animated film of all time by the American Film Institute.
The film premiered on December 21st, 1937 at the Carthay Circle Theatre in Hollywood to a wildly receptive audience, many of whom that had dubbed the film "Disney's Folly", and received a standing ovation from the audience comprised of the likes of Charlie Chaplin, Shirley Temple, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Judy Garland, Ginger Rogers, and Jack Benny to name just a few. The film became the highest grossing film ever but became displaced by Gone With the Wind in 1940. Walt received an honorary Oscar featuring a full sized statuette and seven tiny ones presented to him by Shirley Temple. So today we honor possibly the greatest achievement in the history of animation, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Happy 75th Anniversary.

Model Sheet Monday: Piglet

Here's a beautiful model sheet of Piglet from 2011's Winnie the Pooh film.

 

Model Sheet Monday: Bucky O'Hare

Here's a bit of an obscure one. Bucky O'Hare from the 1991 animated series of the same name....based on the 1980's comic series of the same name.

 

Model Sheet Monday: Rocko

 

This week I bringing you a sheet from one my favorite Nicktoons of all time. Straight outta the early 90's comes Rocko from Rocko's Modern Life. Here's a bit of animation trivia for you, Dan Povenmire and Jeff Marsh, creators of Phineas and Ferb, met while working on this show.