Phineas the Parrot - Simplicity that Inspires!

...y'know...for such a simple little gag page, there's a LOT of great posing and staging here. And the draftsmanship and inking are first-rate! Look at the clear silhouettes, check out the strong lines of action (even when there's not much going on -- as in the second panel).  Look at the simplicity and economy and readability of the prop designs...the telephone and all the musical instruments. Beautiful!

Check out the depth of staging in panel two, and the way the character is perfectly placed to make him pop out. Look at that great crowd in the last panel...just enough to read "crowd" and "enthusiasm" but not enough to distract from the "gag." This is professionalism a love for the craft of cartooning. This cartoonist was laboring in a disposable medium, in total anonymity, and surely not making very much money. But he poured all his heart and talent into this little throwaway, not-very-funny filler page. That inspires me.

Phineas the Parrot one-page filler
from Happy Comics #34 July 1943

DIY Doodle Wallet

I made myself a Doodle Wallet the other day. I drew on a blank Tyvek DIY MightyWallet using Sharpies. Just straight ahead, too. Had no idea what was gonna come out. This seemms like a good follow-up to my previous post about drawing on scraps and odd surfaces. This pic got a lot of nice comments on FaceBook, so I'm posting here, too. Fun!

I was going to order a Star Trek wallet from the MightyWallet store, but it hasn't come out yet. So then I just decided to make my own. 

Some old SpongeBob doodles on a scrap of illustration board

Click on image for full-size SpongeBob doodle

As much as I hate sketching in sketchbooks, I LOVE doing doodles on oddly-shaped pieces of stuff. Anything with a writing surface. Newspapers are good. I also have an old "Voter Information" publication with a lotta sketches inside. I like doodling on newsprint with a roller-ball pen. My current fave rollerball is the Bic 730R. You can get 'em at Staples. Oh, and I'm also doodling in a copy of the expired TAG union contract. So? I dunno.

I prolly drew this during the third or fourth season of SpongeBob. I've always liked drawing SpongeBob...he really makes me happy ^_^ Sketched with a PITT artists Pen - brush tip. One of my favorite drawing tools.

Hope you like it!

Li’l Tomboy by Frank Johnson

Here’s an extremely well-crafted kids-comic I never heard of before: Li’l Tomboy by Frank Johnson 
Very charming drawings, and great clear storytelling. The mom’s nose is kinda freakin’ me out, but otherwise a delicious-ly drawn comic story ^_^
More on Frank Johnson:
http://lambiek.net/artists/j/johnson_frank_b.htm
http://coa.inducks.org/creator.php?c=Frank+Johnson
…and here’s a little after-comic dessert:

Felix on the Unemployment Line -– Vintage comics by Otto Messmer

A couple days ago I showed off some photos of the awesome new Felix Book…

Here are some Felix the Cat comic book scans from this same era  -- ones that don’t appear in the book! Story and art by the great Otto Messmer!

From Felix the Cat #48 – Toby Press Dec 1953


...and look...there's MORE! Mykal has just posted a classic Otto Messmer Felix comic on his "Big Blog of Kids' Comics!" Click on the images below to go visit or just hop over to: http://www.bigblogcomics.com/2010/08/felix-cat-in-cat-weather-profit.html

 http://www.bigblogcomics.com/2010/08/felix-cat-in-cat-weather-profit.html

Don Bluth Vs. "Man Vs Art" -- a great new interview

I don't always listen to podcasts, but when I do, I prefer Man vs Art. Raul Aguirre's show has been my companion for many late-night drawing sessions.

Raul Aguirre Jr. has been an animator and storyboard artist, writer, producer, etc for 16 years, working for all the big houses like Disney Feature, Nickelodeon and Fox. And he's got a heart as big as Southgate, CA.
His passion and love and humor shine thru with every podcast he puts out. Now Raul has scored a sweet interview with Mr.Animation Renaissance himself: Don Bluth!

Listen HERE: http://bit.ly/ManVsBluth

It's a great listen...not the usual cookie-cutter glad-handing puff piece you usually hear when an industry legend gets interviewed. You get these two guys in a room and start talking about the joys of traditional animation...there's no holding them back! Seriously -- Man vs Art is hands-down my favorite podcast (and not because I've had the honor to be a guest), and this episode is a great way for the show to kick of its second season!

Man vs Art: The Don Bluth Interview
http://bit.ly/ManVsBluth