Back to Beauty...

Fantasia completed...
 My next assignment was a revisit to Beauty and the Beast... Advertised as a  'Special  Platinum Edition featuring an all-new musical sequence'.

It was an 'All- new' musical number to the public, but for the crew who worked on the original feature, this musical number had been around from the beginning. This sequence had been story boarded but not taken to the animation stage.

Lesson #1... 

One of the most important things I lerned at Disney over the years is the importance of story telling. How to convey a story or get over a story arch is crucial to the success of any entertainment piece.
As the story of B&B played out throughout production, it became apparent that the musical sequence 'Human Again'  was not a crucial part of the story and cutting it would save time and money.

There was a time at the studio when an animated feature was released and after it had played its time in the theaters, it was back in the 'can' for five years or so then re-released to an audience who were not even born for the pictures' premier.

Today it is only months after a theater run before a feature is made available as a 'two disk set on blue-ray' or available digitally to any number of devices.

But, back then the studio wanted to appeal to people who already owned a copy of Beauty and the Beast...What could be done to get the public to buy it again? Give it a catchy name (Encore Edition) and insert the musical number (though shortened from the original) Human Again. Bring in writers, both story and song to fine tune and add to its success....Bingo!

The studio assembled as many of the original animators as possible.

For me this assignment proved to be challenging but fun.

I originally animated Gaston as part of lead animator and Disney Legend Andreas Deja's crew.

The Human Again sequence required more versatility on my part as there were new characters (mop, broom, pillow, hair pin, perfume bottle, garden tools and plants) and a few old (Lumier, Cogsworth, Mrs. Potts, footstool) that I had not animated before.

As always I started out with thumbnails...

The footstool enters the scene between the suits of armor and sniffs his way to the chair...

I played the situation as the cushion on the chair reacts like a cat that has awakened face to face with a canine.

More thumbnails to 'flesh out' the action...

These are the thumbnail drawings I showed the directors to get approval to take the next step which would be rough animation.

This was a fun scene panning in to the footstool with a load of linen on his back and a chair scurrying by also holding linen. The initial idea was to have the chair walk around the still footstool...

I did not want to loose the silhouette value of either character, so I had the chair jump over the footstool. The idea came to me to have a piece of linen get caught on a leg, adding a little bit more entertainment without detracting from the main point of the scene which was to introduce the audience to the activity of the household objects cleaning house.




The (above) smaller thumbnails for me and the larger ones (below) to show the directors.

Small rough thumbnails to map out a path of action as the footstool/dog chases the throw pillow/cat across a freshly mopped floor.

Again small thumbnails with the camera angle as the mops and brooms chase the footstool and pillow out the door...

This action starts off the scene as a broom swats the footstool's behind...

And these 'thumbs' help me work out the animation of the mops and brooms as they chase the culprits that messed up their floor.

More inanimate objects come to life as the powder puff  joins the dance with a hair pin, perfume bottle and others...

Towards the end of the sequence the inside and outside objects come together from both sides

 to form a line in front of the fountain as they sing the finale of Human Again.

Again thumbnails to the rescue as I work out a multi-character scene.

Sequence completed...

 communication from management confirming it's time to celebrate.

until next time...

Steamboat School...

The road to Steamboat School...

My last assignment before retirement from Disney Publications Worldwide was to illustrate the story "Steamboat School."

Published in New York, Steamboat School is an imprint of Disney Hyperion.

Beautifully written by award winning author, Deborah Hopkinson, this book is based on the true events of Reverend John Berry Meachum (1789-1854).  Born a slave, he bought his freedom and that of his wife, relatives and others.  An educator, he taught school until a law was enacted forbidding African-Americans to be educated in the state of Missouri.


It was my great honor to be able to illustrate this story.

Here's a sneak peak at the Cover!

Steamboat School...

"Sometime courage is an ordinary boy."

                                                 Deborah Hopkinson author, Steamboat School

Meachum built a steamboat and moored it in the Mississippi River in order to continue teaching his students. The river, being federal property was not subject to state laws and no laws were broken.

Deborah and I teamed together to bring this much needed piece of history to life.

Steamboat School will be in print and available summer 2016.

Presently it can be pre-ordered on Amazon here:  Steamboat School

And already it is garnering attention!

Steamboat School has been named a Junior Library Guild selection for 2016.

What does it mean to be a Junior Library Guild (JLG) selection?

One million+ manuscripts are submitted to publishers each year -
     of these:
195,000 manuscripts are published.
     of these:
3,000 +  submissions to JLG
     of these:
756 are named a JLG selection
     of these:
95%+ go on to receive awards or favorable reviews

(information from the JLG website based on U.S. statistics)

I don't know what the future holds for Steamboat School, but it is headed in the right direction.

until next time...

Book and Magazine Illustration...

 Illustration...
  I have been aware of my drawing talent for sixty one of the 65 years of my sojourn on planet earth. Yet, my early years posed a mystery as to how I was going to parlay this talent into a career. In my youth I painted signs and life sized posters, taught myself how to use an airbrush and even did custom car painting (pearl, lace, candy apple etc.) among other artistic endeavors. Not really looking for a means of employment, I just loved the creativity of it all.

 After high school and into junior college, more serious thought was given to how my future was going to unfold artistically.  Drafting and technical illustration was a part of my curriculum and added serious thought toward a career path. The information gained through these classes would prove valuable in my understanding of layout in animation.

 Medical Illustration also seemed interesting as a career option.  However, a course in kinesiology proved too technical for me. Yet the experience of that class would also prove valuable later on in my journey in animation as it helped in my understanding of action analysis.

 An athletic scholarship to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas broadened my horizons not only athletically but artistically. I was exposed to more drawing and painting, stretching my own canvas, ceramics, modeling and photography. I finally settled in on concentrating on becoming a commercial artist.

 At every step of my art journey, from elementary, junior high, high school, college and now university, my talent in art had been and continued to be recognized. I realized early on that my competition was not my fellow students in the class room but the people who were already making a living at what I wanted to do.

 A fair amount of my time was spent in the magazine section of  the UNLV library looking at the illustrations. Great illustrators of the 60's-70's era caught my eye. Robert Riger, Norman Rockwell, LeRoy Neiman, Bob Peak, Bernie Fuchs to name a few.

 Gag cartoons in the Saturday Evening Post and New Yorker laid the ground work for how best to put over a gag in animation.  Playboy magazine too played a part. Once you get by the centerfold, they published some entertaining 'gag cartoons'. The staging and drawing ability of Dedini, Roth, Wilson and others would tribute to my story telling ability in animation.

 Leonardo daVinci, Michelangelo, Picasso, Henry.O.Tanner, Charles White, Wallace Tripp, Heinrich Kley and others filled my cup to overflowing with visual stimuli.

After graduation I headed home to Southern California. There were no jobs for a  commercial artists in CA, especially a novice seeking his first job. Chicago and New York, where there is a lot of publishing,  would have been the ideal places to go but I had a wife two toddlers to think about.
So, I took employment as a draftsman. That job lasted exactly one week. I had multiple job applications out and Honeywell Inc. called and offered me a position in their technical illustration department. Friday  I said "good bye" to drafting and Monday "hello" to technical illustration.  I thought Technical illustration would be a step closer to my goals.

The reality was that in the department of about six of us, one guy, Pat Person by name, got to do all the neat stuff. Exploded views, art work etc. The rest of us did block diagrams and flow charts. I did this about a year and a half before I branched out to do something more creative. Earlier blogs go into the details which led me to a thirty eight year career with the Walt Disney Co.

 Around the mid 1980's, while working at Disney Feature Animation, a fellow animator, Ruben Aquino, brought in to work a home work assignment he was working on. Impressed with his work I asked about the class he was taking. Children's Storybook Illustration was the class, offered at night by Art Center College of Design located in Pasadena. I signed up for the next semester of this class.

(My first homework assignment from Children's Storybook Illustration class)

 I took the information gleaned from the class and pursued an interest I had back in my college days, book and magazine illustration. I submitted some samples of my work to publishers. I soon found out there is no easy path to a commercial art career. Fortunately I had a 'day job', so I could afford to be patient.

I got my share of rejection letters:

A sampling below...

After about two years or more of rejection letters I got my first assignment.

(My first freelance assignment-pen and ink/airbrush)

Over the years I got other assignments. Below is a sampling of some of the projects I worked on...

(pen and ink/watercolor/airbrush)

                                                                                          

(pen and ink/watercolor)

(pen and ink/watercolor)

(pen and ink/watercolor.)

(pen and ink/watercolor)

(pen and ink)

Over the years, animation, other priorities and projects took me down other paths.
Almost 40 years in a different direction, my goal to illustrate books and magazines seems to be back on course.

more to come...

Answer to a question...

One of my faithful blog readers, Sean, after reading Quick Sketching with Ron Husband commented on how I was able to capture the "life and energy of my subjects". 

He inquired, "How do you construct a sketch? Do you start with the head or body...do you use some sort of gesture line to capture movement?"

The answer is that it all depends on the action being drawn.

The majority of my sketching focuses on people and animals in movement. Observation plays a key part in any drawing, more so in true quick sketching (my book gives an in depth definition).

The general rule is to get the head over the weight bearing foot or triangle shape for a balanced sketch. You have to work at this for it to become 'second nature' to you.

Sean, here are a few suggestions with examples...

Examples #1.

I usually start with the head and drop a line (visually) straight down to the foot that is bearing the weight.

As an example, the below man is carrying a weighted object (baby in basket).  You'll see his head is directly over his weight bearing foot and counter balanced by the arm away from the body.

As another example, below is a man holding a small boy- both their heads are above his right foot, yet he feels on balance because the boys torso (weight) is centered over the base of the triangle base formed by the two feet.

Example #2

When sketching sports action the idea of head over weight bearing foot does not apply as most activity is 'in the air' or in an extreme pose. A gesture line or basic shape is what I look for.

For really fast action as in these skateboarders (below), I use whatever it takes to capture the pose. After a period of time spent observing arms, heads, bodies in contorted shapes and all at break neck speed and in constant movement trying to stay balanced upon a small rolling board, I'll begin the sketch.

A gesture line here, foot placement there, deciding what shape this pose represents is about all I can do to put this action on paper in a split second of time.

Below is a Long jump series.  Starting with a backward c shape, into a forward c, and landing as a triangle (my interpretation).

By the time I finish these three sketches, the jumper is walking away from the long jump pit.

Zoo sketches-
Animals also have to feel on balance. Weight over feet (paws, hoofs, claws).

In quick sketching try to choose a subject(s) that is engaged in some activity, that makes your sketches  interesting and fun to look at.

But remember to spend some time observing your subject in action BEFORE you put pen to paper.

For more information and helpful hints on Quick Sketching, check out my book on Amazon.

Until next time...Happy Thanksgiving!  

Canada 2015

Ottawa, Canada
The path that led to this past week's trip to Canada began in June when I was interviewed by Mr. Cory Tibbits and Mr. Myles Rourke, co-hosts of the pod cast, End Credits.

At the end of the discussion they invited me to come up to their territory to do a session before a live audience.  Of course I said,"yes".

A few months passed as Cory and Myles worked out the details and then I got the call, "It's a go.
Pack my bag. The trip is on!"

The itinerary said I needed to be at the airport three hours before my 11am flight.
There were at least a dozen people in line ahead of me. I soon discovered the line was not moving because there is no one at the counter....about forty minutes later, the attendants finally appeared sipping large Starbucks coffees.

Check in completed.

Waiting to board the plane gave me time to do a little sketching....

This guy on the far right had a heavy backpack which allowed him to assume an extreme lean forward...keep your eyes on alert, you never know what unique sketching opportunities await your pen:-)













Oct.1st...

Five and a half hour, smooth flight up and good night's sleep propelled me into my first Canadian adventure.

11 am...
Cory picked me up a my hotel and we headed for the famous Byward Market. Street after street lined with outdoor fruit stands, shops selling all kinds of wares, assorted pubs, eateries and much, much more.

I was assured, "Haven't been to Ottawa if I have not tasted a 'Beavertail'..."
Too good to try to describe. Anyone who has ever eaten one will attest, it is delicious.
If you are ever in the Ottawa, make your way to the BeaverTail stand in Bayward Market.

(Enjoying the Ottawa favorite at the BeaverTail stand)

1:30 pm...
Still in Byward Market, Cory and I split a pizza for lunch, the best I ever had...the 'Carnivore' from Fiazza Fresh Fired on Murray Street.

(above) Canada's Parliament in the background...











 (left) Posing at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier.


3:00 pm...
We walk a few blocks down town to the Canadian Broadcast Corporation (CBC)  for a live radio interview.

We arrived a few minutes early. I see an opportunity to sketch while waiting outside the building.

My view of the happenings on the street.

Waiting inside (CBC) to be interviewed...



3:30 pm...
The interview started off blaring Paula Abdul singing  'Opposites Attract'.   The host and I had a good laugh about it's popularity. Hadn't heard or thought about this slice of my life in a while. Of course, he questioned me about my involvement...

Circa 1990...
 my room mate at the time Jaques Muller said, "Let's go over and pick up some freelance work, after work."

 Chris Bailey was directing the animation for this award winning video. Other Disney animation artists were working on this project after hours, too.

We arrived at an apartment and were handed model sheets, exposure sheets, photo stats (Paula dancing on film) and discussed the business of the scene.

(If you have followed this blog, you know I depend on thumbnails, a lot.)


My thumbnail drawings to work out mouth shapes for MC Skat Kat's dialogue...



More thumbnails working out 'business' of his walk...

and ruff animation of walk.


                                                                                   










Thumbnails of MC Skat Kat dance moves...

Thumbnails of  Kat reaching for PA...

ruff animation of the action...

                                                                                                                                       

                                                                                                                                 

                                                                                                                       














finished animated cell with photostat.

 More ruff stuff...

My jog down memory lane complete, Alan the interviewer turned the discussion to animation, my book and other art related topics...

The short interview ended with an on the air plug for tonight's speaking engagement which I'm sure increased attendance.

7 pm...
Got a chance to encouraged and inspire a few hundred young artists and their teachers.

The end of my presentation brought a short break, followed by an interview with Cory and Myles and  then a Q&A session with the audience.


10 pm...
The session moves to the lobby and I finish answering questions that did not get answered inside and  signed some autographs.

11 pm...
Security is giving us the eye...time to go.

All questions addressed, ticket stubs, backpacks, sketch books, laptop covers and two copies of my book (giveaways) signed, it was time to get back to my room.

It did not take much for me to fall asleep this night .

8 am Oct. 2...

Back to the airport.
And a little sketching in the terminal before my flight to Southern California.

until next time...