Hillary Sculpt By Arshak

Jim Smith and I designed this little item for lovers of democracy and despisers of misogyny everywhere.Well, she survived Monica and Bosnia and now is perfectly preserved in a rubber squeaky toy.


This is proof that she's really made it to the big leagues.

She is further honored by having internationally renowned sculptor Arshak Nazarian create a graven image of her. Arshak comes from a long line of Armenian sculptors, each one a revered master.

Arshak left his own body and entered Hillary's home at 3 in the morning to devour her very soul. He sucked it out and transferred it to clay so you and your loved ones could be protected when that hideous phone call comes. (As long as you buy the toy)
So now I have to design the box she comes in.
I need some jokes to put on the box.
If you have any funny ideas you'd like me to steal send 'em along. (Please not dirty!)

Trevor has already stepped ahead of the pack of cartoon writers with a handsome list of gags in the comments. Can you match his pointed wit?
These could be the hips that envelop and succor all us helpless children of the world. Are we ready for so much selfless love?

This is part of an ambitious toy project sponsored by a benevolent Texas Billionaire whose identity must remain secret in order to protect his loved ones. But feel free to thank his secret identity in the comments.

Classico Bunny for Ben

Tom and Jerry Layouts - functional and elegant

I found these beautiful layouts from a Tom and Jerry cartoon. They are probably drawn by Dick Bickenbach. Dick was an animator before he became a layout artist so he knew how to make his poses functional for the animators.

These drawings have everything I always talk about in my lessons.

They not only have all the principles of good cartoon drawings, they do the job they are supposed to. They don't merely work as individual drawings. They work functionally as layouts.

The function of layouts is:

to tell the story in continuity
to show each important change in expression, pose, story, event

To be staged clearly, so that you can easily see what is happening
negative shapes, strong lines of action
with all the details of the characters flowing along the lines of action and construction

to leave enough room in the frame for the characters to move

Poses that compose well together



Now Tom and Jerry is a very conservative cartoon series compared to Clampett's, Avery's and even Jones' cartoons. Bickenbach was a very conservative cartoonist and animator working on very conservative cartoons.But, these drawings and cartoons use the exact same principles, tools and functionality that the more creative cartoons do.

On top of that they are very handsome, stylish in a manly conservative fashion and that is completely admirable and awe inspiring from a standpoint of skill and professionalism.


Ed Benedict made fun of Dick's work sometimes, just on the grounds that it wasn't very imaginative and that shocked me. To someone of my generation who worked in an environment where almost nobody had real drawing skill, or functionality, let alone style, Dick stood out as a giant cartoonist.

I would kill to have artists of this caliber work on my cartoons.

A talented animator that worked for me once has his own series now and he complained to me the other day about how the youngest artists on his team had no drawing chops whatsoever. To say nothing of functionality.

I assume that that is because people in their early 20s grew up accepting the primitive execution of South Park, The Simpsons, Family Guy, Dora and other TV cartoons that have no discernible artistic values or storytelling skills at all.

People of my generation also worked on crap and had no good training either, but we at least grew up watching the great cartoons, so the standards we aimed at were much higher.

Today we have no standards to shoot for. Complete amateurism is considered perfectly acceptable by studios, networks and worst of all, the audience.

Dick here worked in an age of supremely high standards, and among the great cartoonists of the day, he was in the upper echelon.

His drawings are not only functional and expert, he has a real charming and elegant subtle style.

You can buy these drawings by the way here:

http://www.animationartgallery.com/atomandjerryvintage.html


Here are some modern cartoon drawings to compare.Symmetrical cluttered frames, no composition, stiffness, no thought or planning involved.
I'm not picking on this particular show. It's no worse or better than a million other modern cartoons out there.

It's a good example of no skill whatsoever.

No principles
No Composition, no poses, let alone opposing poses
not functional

emotionless

soulless

Dead on every level

It's not the artists' fault that:

Networks don't run classic cartoons on TV anymore

The audience's senses have been dulled by uncreative sensory-absent entertainment

schools don't teach anything concrete

Executives don't know what they are looking at

Cartoonists have to follow bad scripts


No, it's not the artists' fault, but it sure is a damn shame to be entering a dark age so shortly after the brightest time in human history.

What To Do During Important Meetings

I listen carefully to what is being said and turn off my drawing/thinking brain and just let my subconscious mind doodle things I have been recently thinking about.

This way I'm not concerned about perfect construction or control. Instead I'm looking for mindless inspiration and lucky accidents.

The picture above is Rip pushing a bullet slowly into his arch enemy Citracett.

Here is an idea for a costume for Citracett's other identity, Stinky Butt.

The Ripping Friends have a fan club run by their number 1 fan, a crippled boy who can run on his crutches. Li'l Crip sometimes joins them on their dangerous missions.
He has a secret decoder ring. The Ripping Friends communicate with him on the plasma screen in the middle of the ring. They give him secret orders. He must swear to uphold their secrets upon pain of being dunked in refried bacon grease.

I would never have consciously thought of that hand and finger shape. Luckily I was not really concentrating on what fingers are supposed to look like. I wrapped everything instead around the gag of the face in the ring.

The next time your boss or maybe your animation teacher is droning on about how Disney created personality animation, stare at him hard with one eye, and bend an ear toward him (Preferably your left eye and right ear).

Aim your other senses absent mindedly at a scribble pad and hope for some lucky uncensored inspirations. You might come up with some shapes you wouldn't think of while your more disciplined habit-ruled brain is guiding your pencil. Sometimes it's better to let your pencil drag your brain around.

Now you know what to do in your next important meeting.

new toys

Toy Paint Styles I like

Simple Version: Airbrushed on with stencilsOnly painted in front. You can see the airbrush slight overspray at the edge. It's not perfectly clean like today's toys.

Fancy-Ass Knickerbocker painting

stencils and airbrush

+ airbrushed cheeks
Pie-Cut eyes, slightly off register