New storyboards

Seven new storyboards to the cartoon Donald's Nephews has been added to that section of the blog, thanks to the observant Andrea Cara! Thanks!
Click HERE to find the boards.

Alma

It's morning here in Sweden.
I feel a cold coming and it's snowing outside. Just made some coffee and checked Cartoonbrew (as I do every day.)
They just posted a link to Rodrigo Blaas' Alma. Now, this short is definitely on my top ten list of the most beautiful animated shorts ever done!
If Coraline was the best animated feature of 2009 Alma sure is the best short. I love it and it's available in full to see for a limited time during the holidays. If you havn't seen it yet just sit back, relax and press play.
Enjoy!


Make sure to visit the Alma website for more info:
http://almashortfilm.com/

A letter from the studio

Ever wondered what a letter sent out from the Disney Studio in 1951 looked like? Well you don't have to wonder anymore. Here's a sample from May 25, 1951 signed by Madeleine Wheeler. Click to enlarge.

Unfortunately I can't show you what she wrote since it's from a private family collection. But still, it's a nice item.

I hope to see some of you in Angouléme soon. If you spot my name on my nametag don't hesitate to say hello!

Cheers!

/Joakim.

Enchanted etc

Wooha!
That not-by-Barks drawing ended at $153.59. Not too bad for a piece of paper with a badly traced duck on it...
I really hope the buyer bought it because he or she likes the drawing of Scrooge and not because Barks name was on it.

To end the weekend with some fun stuff, I bet you all know that Disney's Enchanted premiered. If you havn't seen the trailer you should. And ta-da here it is. :)


And here's the music video with some animation created especially for it. Enjoy!

David Nethery

Need some weekend internet surf tips? Check out David Netherys two excellent blogs featuring his own work and animation related stuff. Links can be found on his equally excellent website. Enjoy!
http://www.inklingstudios.com/


(I took the liberty of snatching this cute bunny from one of his blogs. Can you draw a bunny more cuddly?)

If you still need more great stuff, just follow the rest of the links in the "Other stuff you'll like" list to the right. :)

Now I'll finish my red bull energy drink and then the "Emma and Sara" page I'm working on. Then I'll just draw for fun the rest of the day. :)

Have a nice weekend!

Donald Duck cell

This cell is for sale on eBay right now. But... isn't there something odd about it?
Donald is dressed like he's working as a blacksmith. But what is he doing in a winterlandscape with two penguins that looks like they've escaped from Mary Poppins?
Strange indeed...

Edit: Donald is taken from "Steel and America" from 1966. Had never heard about that one before Didier posted a sample over at his Disney History blog. See link to the right.

0112 Friar Tuck

Should have been at an Egmont kick-off this evening, but the headache I've had since I woke up this morning told me to stay away from the booze today. Tomorrow there's the big Kolik party so I better be in shape for it!

But since I'm in the studio tonight I might as well post two more model sheets. (I know you'll soon get bored. But since the number of visitors have skyrocketed the past few days I guess that a fair amount of you enjoys them? I do! )
These two are from Robin Hood. The movie lacks anything that can be labeled story or structure. (In my opinion it's one of the worst pictures made by the old team of classic animators.) But even if the story is bad most of the animation is just excellent! Watch it with the sound turned off and with a sketchpad in your lap. :)


Were in Copenhagen yesterday bought some fun stuff, including this collection. "Harley and Ivey" is a must have if you like the art of Ronnie del Carmen, Bruce Timm and Shane Glines. And there are two stories written by Paul Dini too!
To say that I was drooling like a nerd when I found this is an understatement. ;)

0101 Edgar

Here's yet another model sheet from the Disney studios. This one from the Aristocats featuring Edgar the butler.
This one also seems to be by Milt.(?)
Study the actions in these poses, or what's even more important the re-actions. Varied and really expressive expressions. You can see what he's thinking in every one of these drawings! Not exactly the run of the mill stiff saturday morning cartoon faces, if you see what I mean.
He really bends and twists poor Edgars face to squeeze the most out of it when it comes to attitudes. And succeds!

2138 Kay

Continuing with another model sheet from the Sword in the Stone.
These looks like cleaned up Milt Kahl poses to me.
OK'd by Woolie in the upper right corner. (Might be hard to spot. The copies I got varies in quality.)

BTW: If you havn't checked it out already "the Animation Podcast" is a must if you are interested in animation.
There are now 20 free downloads, including a lecture held by Milt Kahl and a long interview with Andreas Deja + loads of interesting interviews with other animators and directors like Burny Mattinson, Ron Clements and John Musker.

Today I'm all alone in the studio. Listening to the radio and will soon get a cup of coffee before I head for the drawingboard. Have a strip to ink and an Emma & Sara page to pencil. So I better get some work done before lunch, otherwise I fear that I won't get any work done at all today...
Tomorrow it's Monday and I'm back to work as an editor for BAMSE again.

2138 "Wolf"

The Wolf from The Sword in the Stone.
OK'd by Wolfgang "Woolie" Reitherman. Sketches by ?

Pinocchio model sheets

Over the next few days I'll post several model-sheets from the Disney studios ranging from the late 30's to the late 70's.
I hope you'll like them. (And spread the word if you do.)
If you know who the artists are or if you have any suggestions I'd be happy to hear from you. Just leave a comment.
Or if you have other unpublished model sheets from Disney that you want to share, I'd be happy to put them on the blog.

First out are two model-sheets from Pinocchio. The first OK'd by Joe Grant on 2-20(?)-39 and the other OK'd by ? on 4-7-39.
Have these been published? (Unfortunately I don't have the thick Pinocchio hardcover, so they might have been used there.)


PS.
Click on the "Disney" label below or scroll down to find a previous entry with two model-sheets from Fantasia.

Seq. 10.2 2004 Hippos

Taking a break in work with a big cup of coffee. Have just lettered the new Emma & Sara page and handed it over to Hedvig for pencilling five minutes ago. With her working speed I wouldn't be surprised if the page is finished when I have finished my coffee...

For todays post I had planned to show you some rare artwork by Heinrich Kley taken both from original art and photos there of. But that will have to wait for a while. Because... this morning we were going through one of my files when we found a stack of Disney model-sheets ranging from the 30's to the 70's. From Fantasia and Pinocchio to Fox and the Hound. So, for todays post I instead of Heinrich Kley artwork selected these two model-sheets from Fantasia.
You can see that the artist behind these sheets had studied Kleys work.
Giving a Hippo all that grace we see in these drawings takes a skilled artist. Beautiful, eh?



For those unfamilar with Kleys work there's a great site featuring his sketchbooks: Coconino World
Images#1 and 8 also features good selections of rare pieces. Those are must haves for the Kley fan! Available directly from the publisher and Bud Plant.com.

Little Nemo 1911

Winsor McCay animation from 1911.
Watch out for the color animation in the end!

Murry model sheet

Found this in the trash a few years ago along with a huge stack of other old model sheets. The only example of something Paul Murry made at the Disney studio that I've seen his name attached to. A fourth grade photocopy, but still better than nothing.


Today I'm having a slight hangover.
Drank rum and coke last evening with David Gerstein, Germund Von Wowern and Hedvig Häggman-Sund while watching old cartoons. We had a fun evening and today is just a lazy sunday. :)