ASIFA-Hollywood: The International Animated Film Society
Saturday, October 08, 2005
Report on Kimba 40th Aniversary Goodies:
One of the things discussed at last Wednesday`s ASIFA board meeting was some of the goodies that will be for sale at the November 10th Kimba 40th Anniversary Celebration. We got to look at faxed pages of a full-color book coming to us from Des Moines, Iowa, via Melbourne, Australia. It looks to be a treasure and the only place it will be available in the United States, outside of full 'Kimba' DVD box sets, will be at the Kimba Anniversary Celebration on November 10th. Centerpiece of the colorful book is a meticulously researched chronology called "How Kimba Came To Be", compiled & written by Fred Patten and Robin Leyden, edited by Fred Ladd. "Kimba, The White Lion" was acquired from Mushi Production, Japan, in 1965 and distributed here by NBC Enterprises.
But that book is not the coolest treasure. There is also a complete filmography of Kimba with synopses of every one of the 52 episodes in the Series, synopses written forty years ago by the writers of the English adaptations themselves. This filmography, tucked away since 1966 in NBC archives, will be available only at the ASIFA-Hollywood Kimba 40th Anniversary
All profits from this event will go to the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive project. So dig deep, you will be supporting a good cause.
Tickets are $6 for ASIFA-Hollywood members, $8 for non-members.
Thursday November 10th - 7:00 PM
Glendale Central Library
222 E. Harvard Street
Glendale, CA
Happy Birthday Art Babbit:
Tom Sito has a piece over at the Gang of 7 Blog on Art Babbit. It is Arts Birthday today. You need to get Tom to tell you the Bill Hurtz story from Art`s Funeral. It is one of the true classic stories of animation history. With luck it will be in Tom`s upcoming book on the Animation Strikes.
http://www.g7animation.com/news
Tom Sito has a piece over at the Gang of 7 Blog on Art Babbit. It is Arts Birthday today. You need to get Tom to tell you the Bill Hurtz story from Art`s Funeral. It is one of the true classic stories of animation history. With luck it will be in Tom`s upcoming book on the Animation Strikes.
http://www.g7animation.com/news
Volunteer Call: The Animation Archive Bio Squad!
One of the key resources in our virtual archive will be the biographical database. This will include information on the people who made the films... birth and death info, filmographies, biographical info, etc. This database will form the basic research for the main gallery of our proposed museum... the exhibit that tells the history of animation by the stories of the people, not by studio or character. So you can see that this is very important.
We are forming a team of volunteers to gather information for the biographical database... The ASIFA-Hollywood Bio Squad! The squad will take the names of the people who have won the Winsor McCay award over the years and gather research material related to them. This will involve going to the UCLA Film Library, searching newspapers and trades for references, gathering info from first hand sources through interviews, transcribing the tributes in the Annie Program Books, etc. Eventually, this information will be boiled down into a capsule bio and full bio for the biographical database.
There's no more important aspect of the archive that you can volunteer for. If you are interested in being a part of this, call me at the archive any Tuesday or Thursday during office hours (1pm to 9pm) and I'll put you on the list. The squad will be meeting sometime in November and names and tasks will be divided up at that meeting. Don't miss it.
Thanks
Stephen Worth
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive
We are forming a team of volunteers to gather information for the biographical database... The ASIFA-Hollywood Bio Squad! The squad will take the names of the people who have won the Winsor McCay award over the years and gather research material related to them. This will involve going to the UCLA Film Library, searching newspapers and trades for references, gathering info from first hand sources through interviews, transcribing the tributes in the Annie Program Books, etc. Eventually, this information will be boiled down into a capsule bio and full bio for the biographical database.
There's no more important aspect of the archive that you can volunteer for. If you are interested in being a part of this, call me at the archive any Tuesday or Thursday during office hours (1pm to 9pm) and I'll put you on the list. The squad will be meeting sometime in November and names and tasks will be divided up at that meeting. Don't miss it.
Thanks
Stephen Worth
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive
Friday, October 07, 2005
Were-Review No Spoilers:
Stop whining all the time about how you are spoiled and can`t enjoy a movie unless you watch it with a audience of Hollywood movie lovers that are all respectful, no talking during the film, clap during the credits and then take your ticket out in the lobby and get it punched so you don`t have to pay for parking. said my daughter and then she was immediately fearful that I would quote her on the blog yet again. No daddy, don`t quote me. I`ll be good! I promise. Too late.
I went to see Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit today. I was the first one in the line when the Ciniplex opened at 10:45 AM. It would have been nice to see it with an audience but no Gods, not like the Madagascar audience I got a couple of months back at my local mall. If I have to make the choice of laughing by myself or wanting to kill the people next to me because they are rude talking during my movie then I will laugh by myself thank you all very much.
And did I like Wallace and Gromit? Do I think it is going to kill at the box office? Do I agree with Jerry Beck that it is the best-animated film so far this year? Well yes. It is a wholly remarkable film. It had that Nick Park feel of his earlier shorts.
It is the same pleasant world of his Oscar winner earlier short films. Wallace is wholly Wallace and Gromit is the lovable super intelligent dog we all love so much. The animation is the stop motion hand craft of the earlier Aardman films that warms my heart. As much as I loved Chicken Run there was something a little too slick about its animation for my taste.
Helena Bonham Carter voices a lovely goofball romantic lead who is a strong nutty foil for the bumbling Wallace. Ralph Fiennes plays an okay but one dimensional villain that isn`t quite up to the robo-dog of The Wrong Trousers but that is comparing apples to apples. Comparing Wallace and Gromit to other animations still leaves Nick Park and Steve Box way in the lead.
So do I think that Were-Rabbit is a prefect movie, flawless, without fault of any kind? No. There are one or two very small things and the one that really bothers me the most is an uncomfortable straying from the innocent world view of the earlier films for 2 cheap sexual throw away sight gags one with melons and the other with a nuts sign. But that is small. I can live with that. Most people will not know the boys well enough to even see this as being out of character.
Even if you can`t see this movie at a screening with validated parking you need to go out and see it today. Okay, tomorrow at the latest. Oh, and DreamWorks, you are going to need to do at least one more screening for the ASIFA voting membership and after that the Academy is going to have to see it.
Animation Archive Update
Thursday was a busy day... Lots going on!
Marc Deckter stopped by to volunteer. He started the filmographic database by entering the info on the B&W Popeye cartoons. He'll be back again to help next week. Victoria Schwerin was down from ASIFA-San Francisco along with a friend of hers, and they helped set up the Epson 2400 dpi 11x17 color scanner and the HP color laser printer. Victoria was very excited about the project, and took a stack of brochures up to distribute at Pixar and ASIFA-SF. There are lots of volunteer opportunities, so stop by and take the tour and watch a few rare cartoons. The office hours are Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1pm to 9pm. 2114 Burbank Bl, just east of Buena Vista.
Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive
Marc Deckter stopped by to volunteer. He started the filmographic database by entering the info on the B&W Popeye cartoons. He'll be back again to help next week. Victoria Schwerin was down from ASIFA-San Francisco along with a friend of hers, and they helped set up the Epson 2400 dpi 11x17 color scanner and the HP color laser printer. Victoria was very excited about the project, and took a stack of brochures up to distribute at Pixar and ASIFA-SF. There are lots of volunteer opportunities, so stop by and take the tour and watch a few rare cartoons. The office hours are Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1pm to 9pm. 2114 Burbank Bl, just east of Buena Vista.
Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive
The Works of Raoul Servais:
Benjamin De Schrijver, who is one of the reasons that our readership is so high in Belgium, writes with a look at the work of Raoul Servais
Benjamin De Schrijver, who is one of the reasons that our readership is so high in Belgium, writes with a look at the work of Raoul Servais
Hey Larry,
It just hit me that I forgot to reply to your e-mail. I am a student in character animation - currently enrolled in AnimationMentor.com - and am mostly into the more commercial disney-esque animation. But that`s mainly due to the great animation and, in the ones I like, involving storylines. But I`m also a fan of the fantastic art direction in a lot of alternative animation, that, once again in the ones I like, exceeds the more commercial field by far. Unfortunately, I haven`t seen too much of that, and that`s why I try to keep up with blogs like cartoonbrew.com, which often give links to some of the good alternative shorts.
About Raoul Servais . . . you`re right, he was a quite important animator. I forgot how he actually got into the field, but I believe he had been experimenting with it in his youth, and later got the opportunity to do something with it, instead of decorating rooms. I should check the DVD I`ve bought about him. Or you could also check www.raoulservais.be, which has a long biography on it. In the beginning, his films had more of a comedy feel, but later he went on to do very surreal pieces of art. That might have had something to do with him having worked with Henri Matisse, on a big wall painting project in a Belgian casino. In his career he won many awards, among which Annecy awards, Palme d`Or`s, and many others, and he made one feature film as well, called Taxandria, which was a live-action/animation mix and flopped. In 1963 he founded the first animation school of the European continent at the Royal Acadamy of Fine Arts Ghent, which is only a few miles away from where I live and some of his work has been shown in many museum all over the world, such as the MoMA in NY and the Centre Pompidou in Paris. And, on a minor note, he happened to be President of ASIFA from 1985 till 1994 ;-).
So like I said before, there`s much more information about him at www.raoulservais.be, but maybe it`s even better to check out some of his work. Many of his shorts are available at Atomfilms: Raoul Servais
I urge you to check them out, they`re fantastic. Some of them are a bit slow, but others are just amazing. My personal favorite is To Speak Or Not To Speak, a political satire, which is also one of my favorite animated short films ever.
I hope you`ll enjoy it,
- Benjamin
The Los Angeles Professional Chapter of ACM SIGGRAPH Presents:
A Special Screening of the SIGGRAPH 2005 Electronic Theater
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
(Note: This is a Tuesday not a Thursday as stated in the postcard)
The SIGGRAPH 2005 Electronic Theater showcases the best of the best of computer graphics. Experience the year`s finest achievements in animation, visualization, simulation, visual effects, and technical imagery. This presentation premiered at the SIGGRAPH 2005 Conference in Los Angeles in early August. The Electronic Theater screening also includes a pre-show event: a live graphic performance by J. Walt Adamczyk entitled Autocosm: Gardens of Thuban specially created for SIGGRAPH 2005 & re-created for the Los Angeles Professional Chapter of ACM SIGGRAPH screening. J. Walt Adamcyzk will perform and speak about the performance before the screening of the Electronic Theater.
For a map showing direction and parking information, see etcenter.org/Downloads/DCL_map.pdf
FEES / REGISTRATION:The event is free to LA SIGGRAPH members. The annual membership fee for LA SIGGRAPH is $35 (checks or cash only). We encourage new members. For membership information please visit www.la.siggraph.org. Walk in/one time visitors will be charged $15.
A Special Screening of the SIGGRAPH 2005 Electronic Theater
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
(Note: This is a Tuesday not a Thursday as stated in the postcard)
The SIGGRAPH 2005 Electronic Theater showcases the best of the best of computer graphics. Experience the year`s finest achievements in animation, visualization, simulation, visual effects, and technical imagery. This presentation premiered at the SIGGRAPH 2005 Conference in Los Angeles in early August. The Electronic Theater screening also includes a pre-show event: a live graphic performance by J. Walt Adamczyk entitled Autocosm: Gardens of Thuban specially created for SIGGRAPH 2005 & re-created for the Los Angeles Professional Chapter of ACM SIGGRAPH screening. J. Walt Adamcyzk will perform and speak about the performance before the screening of the Electronic Theater.
PROGRAM:
6:30-7:30 P.M. Social Hour - Free Hors d`oeuvres and beverages
7:10-7:30 P.M. J. Walt Adamcyzk performance of Autocosm: Gardens of Thuban
7:30-9:45 P.M. Screening of SIGGRAPH 2005 Electronic Theater
LOCATION:
Digital Cinema Laboratory
at the Pacific Hollywood Theatre
6433 Hollywood Blvd.
Hollywood, CA 90028
For a map showing direction and parking information, see etcenter.org/Downloads/DCL_map.pdf
FEES / REGISTRATION:The event is free to LA SIGGRAPH members. The annual membership fee for LA SIGGRAPH is $35 (checks or cash only). We encourage new members. For membership information please visit www.la.siggraph.org. Walk in/one time visitors will be charged $15.
Thursday, October 06, 2005
Reminder: The deadline to submit work for the Annie Awards is this Friday, October 7th. http://www.annieawards.com
Hy Eisman talks back. The other night I was feeling strange and wrote out a Blog piece on Hy Eisman my old Kubert School teacher. A Popeye fan (Hy is doing the Popeye daily stripes now) let Hy know that his name had been taken in vain. I got an email from said venerable teacher this morning and I pass it on to you.
So Hy, I got your school wrong. I noticed that you accepted the rest of the story as written. Sorry to hear that you were unable to block it out of your memory. Good to hear from you and my daughter wants to be an artist so you may find that name on your list real soon.
Hi Larry,
A Popeye fan sent me your note on ASIFA--you still don't get anything right!
I went to the Art Career School at the famous Flatiron Building. And Don Adams was older than me--a year ahead in school. Art Student's League stays in your mind because I thought you'd go there and get out of my class.
I still do a triple take every time I think of you and suffer from everlasting whiplash. Glad to hear that you're suffering with students too. I wonder-- do you remember my saying that "if you ever do anything rotten in your past life, you come back as an art school instructor." Repeat that to your students to keep them on the straight and narrow--and they won't end up like you.
I'm still at Kubert once a week and writing and drawing the Sunday Popeye and The Katzenjammer Kids which can be seen in full, blazing color at www.kingfeatures.com
Best regards to your wife who I remember as a wonderful student. (Actually I think of you fondly, yet still breathe a sigh of relief when the new list of students each year is missing one, unique name.)
Hy
Thought for Food:
I saw the promised-land last night or the first promise of that land. Last night at the ASIFA-Hollywood Executive Board meeting I got to see the ways that the ASIFA Animation Center are being transformed into the Animation Archive / Library so long looked for and talked about.
I got there early, as I always do, because of the long commute (it is better to start early, miss the heavy traffic, and then hang out in Burbank then to curse the bumper to bumper). Steve Worth was the next one in because he has been waiting for the archive to happen for half his life and he can`t stay away now that it is.
Steve showed me some of the black and white Popeyes and there was one with an unedited politically incorrect scene that I have never seen. I had never seen! IT IS HAPPENING! The Archive is coming about. And that is so good. We, in the animation industry, need an archive that deals with the animators not the studios.
Each studio tells their own history and that is as it should be but until now no one has tried to tell the story of animation from the level of the people that moved in and out of the studio stories.
One thing that was decided at the Board Meeting, and it is something we have long known would happen, is the banning of food and drive from the archives premises. The Archives and Library are starting to look like an archive and library now and we can no longer afford to treat it as a clubhouse.
Our monthly Volunteer Meeting (last Wednesday of each month) will be the one function that will be most strongly impacted by this long anticipated policy change. For years we have had pizza delivered after the meeting as part of a social / networking event. This will no longer be possible because of the changing nature of the Animation Center.
The social / networking aspect of the event is still an important part of volunteer experience and will continue. But now that it is necessary to move food and drink out of the animation center, the social hour / networking event following the monthly Act of Membership Meeting will be moved down the street to the Coral Cafe. We hope everybody understands the need for this change.
I saw the promised-land last night or the first promise of that land. Last night at the ASIFA-Hollywood Executive Board meeting I got to see the ways that the ASIFA Animation Center are being transformed into the Animation Archive / Library so long looked for and talked about.
I got there early, as I always do, because of the long commute (it is better to start early, miss the heavy traffic, and then hang out in Burbank then to curse the bumper to bumper). Steve Worth was the next one in because he has been waiting for the archive to happen for half his life and he can`t stay away now that it is.
Steve showed me some of the black and white Popeyes and there was one with an unedited politically incorrect scene that I have never seen. I had never seen! IT IS HAPPENING! The Archive is coming about. And that is so good. We, in the animation industry, need an archive that deals with the animators not the studios.
Each studio tells their own history and that is as it should be but until now no one has tried to tell the story of animation from the level of the people that moved in and out of the studio stories.
One thing that was decided at the Board Meeting, and it is something we have long known would happen, is the banning of food and drive from the archives premises. The Archives and Library are starting to look like an archive and library now and we can no longer afford to treat it as a clubhouse.
Our monthly Volunteer Meeting (last Wednesday of each month) will be the one function that will be most strongly impacted by this long anticipated policy change. For years we have had pizza delivered after the meeting as part of a social / networking event. This will no longer be possible because of the changing nature of the Animation Center.
The social / networking aspect of the event is still an important part of volunteer experience and will continue. But now that it is necessary to move food and drink out of the animation center, the social hour / networking event following the monthly Act of Membership Meeting will be moved down the street to the Coral Cafe. We hope everybody understands the need for this change.
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
Update:
So here it is Wednesday and I haven`t been able to animate yet this week. Crazed things going on. Sometimes it is hard to believe that anybody ever has enough time. On a minor note I have been running around looking for judges for the Gaming Annie. Doing pretty good so far. Still have maybe one more slot to fill.
It is in to Burbank tonight for the ASIFA board meeting. Lot is happening there. Annie planning is heating up. Many other things going on at the Board level.
At my Cal State Fullerton History of Animation class I am coming up on Snow White and I can not find my copy of Goddess of Spring so it is into the stacks this weekend. The Animation Strikes are next on the list, then cartoons at war and straight on into television.
Re-watched The Incredibles and this time it was the music that jumped out at me. The music has always been incredible and Michael Giaccino`s score has always been an important part of the movie but this time it just jumped out at me. Maybe it is because I have seen the film enough times to know it well and that lets the music come through.
Working my way through the Legacy Collection of Frankenstein, Son of Frankenstein is currently being viewed in small chunks, not the best way to watch but what can you do.
The Archives will be open tomorrow, Thursday, from 1 PM to 9 PM. Exciting stuff is going on as you can see further down these pages. Stop in and see us and maybe even be part of the happenings.
So here it is Wednesday and I haven`t been able to animate yet this week. Crazed things going on. Sometimes it is hard to believe that anybody ever has enough time. On a minor note I have been running around looking for judges for the Gaming Annie. Doing pretty good so far. Still have maybe one more slot to fill.
It is in to Burbank tonight for the ASIFA board meeting. Lot is happening there. Annie planning is heating up. Many other things going on at the Board level.
At my Cal State Fullerton History of Animation class I am coming up on Snow White and I can not find my copy of Goddess of Spring so it is into the stacks this weekend. The Animation Strikes are next on the list, then cartoons at war and straight on into television.
Re-watched The Incredibles and this time it was the music that jumped out at me. The music has always been incredible and Michael Giaccino`s score has always been an important part of the movie but this time it just jumped out at me. Maybe it is because I have seen the film enough times to know it well and that lets the music come through.
Working my way through the Legacy Collection of Frankenstein, Son of Frankenstein is currently being viewed in small chunks, not the best way to watch but what can you do.
The Archives will be open tomorrow, Thursday, from 1 PM to 9 PM. Exciting stuff is going on as you can see further down these pages. Stop in and see us and maybe even be part of the happenings.
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
Today At The Archive: Mascots and Music
Linda from the Act of Membership meeting was in to lend a hand backing up the B&W Bob Clampett cartoons we are entering into the collection right now. And we had several visitors to take the tour and see what we're doing.
One of those visitors was Dan Goodsell, author of Krazy Kids' Food!, an incredible visual guide to 1950s and 60s food graphics. Dan is a cartoonist and longtime collector of pop culture graphics. His website, The Imaginary World is full of amazing images from his collection.
A friend of mine sent me a link to his site a week ago, and I was impressed with the quality of his collection and the way he generously shared it on the web. In particular, his collection of artwork from the Ray Patin Studios, and the amazing collection of shelf talkers and point of purchase signage caught my eye. One of the main focuses of ASIFA-Hollywood's physical archives is documenting info about the local independent commercial houses that produced the hundreds of cereal mascot and other animated commercials that made such a great impact on baby boomers.
I emailed Dan and invited him to come by and visit the archives. He stopped by today with an amazing collection of artwork under his arm... beautiful drawings from Ray Patin and Playhouse Pictures and original designs for Post cereal boxes. I showed him some of the artwork in ASIFA's archive... the Quartet Films files of Tony the Tiger and Snap Crackle Pop spots and the "hero" boxes... the actual prop cereal boxes used in the live action segments of those spots. Dan was very interested in the archive project, and has agreed to allow ASIFA-Hollywood to scan some of his collection for inclusion in the archive database.
Another visitor to the Archive this week was Daniel Goldmark, author of Tunes For Toons. Daniel is a friend of mine from Spumco, and I showed him the archive and invited him to get involved. He's agreed to provide biographical material on cartoon music directors and scans of cartoon related sheet music. This is another area of research that hasn't been collected in the past, and I'm excited to be able to include it in the archive.
Tomorrow, Antran will be renting a truck and moving things in and out of storage, so the place will be a little better arranged very soon!
Thanks for your support,
Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive
One of those visitors was Dan Goodsell, author of Krazy Kids' Food!, an incredible visual guide to 1950s and 60s food graphics. Dan is a cartoonist and longtime collector of pop culture graphics. His website, The Imaginary World is full of amazing images from his collection.A friend of mine sent me a link to his site a week ago, and I was impressed with the quality of his collection and the way he generously shared it on the web. In particular, his collection of artwork from the Ray Patin Studios, and the amazing collection of shelf talkers and point of purchase signage caught my eye. One of the main focuses of ASIFA-Hollywood's physical archives is documenting info about the local independent commercial houses that produced the hundreds of cereal mascot and other animated commercials that made such a great impact on baby boomers.I emailed Dan and invited him to come by and visit the archives. He stopped by today with an amazing collection of artwork under his arm... beautiful drawings from Ray Patin and Playhouse Pictures and original designs for Post cereal boxes. I showed him some of the artwork in ASIFA's archive... the Quartet Films files of Tony the Tiger and Snap Crackle Pop spots and the "hero" boxes... the actual prop cereal boxes used in the live action segments of those spots. Dan was very interested in the archive project, and has agreed to allow ASIFA-Hollywood to scan some of his collection for inclusion in the archive database.
Another visitor to the Archive this week was Daniel Goldmark, author of Tunes For Toons. Daniel is a friend of mine from Spumco, and I showed him the archive and invited him to get involved. He's agreed to provide biographical material on cartoon music directors and scans of cartoon related sheet music. This is another area of research that hasn't been collected in the past, and I'm excited to be able to include it in the archive.Tomorrow, Antran will be renting a truck and moving things in and out of storage, so the place will be a little better arranged very soon!
Thanks for your support,
Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive
Volunteer Call Answered
Thanks to Daisy Church for providing this amazing bookmark file for the archives...
Animation Bookmarks
Daisy created this list along with her classmate, Sterling Sheehy.
ASIFA's goal has always been to recognize the people who make the animated films, and this bookmarks list is organized perfectly. You can go down the list and see the history of animation in *people*. Amazing!
Thanks, Daisy!
Stephen Worth
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive
Animation Bookmarks
Daisy created this list along with her classmate, Sterling Sheehy.
ASIFA's goal has always been to recognize the people who make the animated films, and this bookmarks list is organized perfectly. You can go down the list and see the history of animation in *people*. Amazing!
Thanks, Daisy!
Stephen Worth
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive
The Eisman Cometh
As of late I have been thinking a lot about my old Kubert School teacher, Hy Eisman. I think it is a combination of belated guilt and the passing of Don Adams (Hy went to The Art Student`s League with Don and always claimed that Don Adams was the hotshot artist in his class). Maybe a little more on the guilt side because I am teaching now and Hy was my teacher and I was not an easy student. And Hy was the teacher I was least easy on.
The Kubert School was insane at the time. All the teacher were not teachers they were professional artists teaching for the first time. All the students were the best of there little worlds now looking at the likes of Totleben and Bissette and wondering if we could compete.
Hy was doing Little Iodine as the time. He was my teacher. He was the master of the prolonged triple take. I was the proud recipient of a two year long version of his best world class triple take. I would walk in a room and he would look at me like he could not believe I was doing what I was doing, i.e. living.
It started like this. Hy gave us a comic stripe assignment early in our first year at QBU. I went all out and did a duo-shade Beowulf based stripe called Prehensile and Grendel very bad pun ending dealing with coffee and a couple of Danish, got great review when I finally got it published a couple of years later. It is crude by my current standard but at the time is was the best thing I had ever done. And I was proud of it.
No, no, no, I wanted Nancy humanoids He crushed me. Now first off I had sweat blood into this piece and secondly Nancy was an old, dull, has been stripe in the eyes of the hip student I felt myself at that time. I was hurt and I took that hurt out on the next Hy assignment, a full-page stripe due after Christmas break.
Rick Grimes had a character called Weird Dick that was the subject on another Hy Eisman triple take. So I did a stripe called Weirder Dick and I will not go into what that character did to the poor Nancy humanoids. Let us just say that I gave Hy Eisman whiplash on the second leg on his triple take.
My parents lived in Sarasota, Florida at the time and Rick Grime, Steve Bissette, and I did the Christmas vacation trip down from Dover, New Jersey in 24 hours straight (or not so) quick family time with tree and packages and watching Jimmy Steward, and then 24 hours back with everything I owned in the car and my cat. Not enough room to have a spare thought, claustrophobic somebody always with the cat on their lap, tight, tight, insane.
One of the things I brought back with me was a shorthaired wig that I had used for job hunting in the early days of my longhaired rebellion. Another item was a Nauru jacket that was my sole formal wear for nigh onto 15 years.
I wore both into school the first day back showing up about 2 hours into Hy`s class. Hy, I just have been driving for 24 hours straight and I`m about to crash out. I left the assignment on your drawing table. I`ve got to get home and to bed. Hy looked strangely at me in my semblance of a suit like garment and my seeming new shorter hair and mumbled okay
Okay, maybe he didn`t mean to throw the first punch. Maybe he was just speaking another language. Maybe when he referred to Nancy humanoids in some sick way he meant a good thing. Maybe I over reacted. Maybe I shouldn`t of had Sluggo do what he did to Nancy. Things just got stranger and stranger between Hy and me when I showed up to the next class with long hair uncut. And that led straight to me convincing Hy Eisman that I had jumped out of a third story window.
I had always been a climber. And because I had grown up in Florida were everything is flat, flat, flat that meant trees and buildings. The Kubert School was in a three story Victorian mansion and I was suffering a heavy case of Acrophilia from day one at the school.
It was in my second year of Hy Eisman`s famed triple take and the battle of wits had fallen out to a pattern where Hy seemed shocked at everything I did, like breath, while deep down not really letting me see him being shocked at all (I told you he was good) and me trying to really get a rise out of him. I think it was friendly. I always enjoyed his classes.
The second year students had been moved up to the third floor, the maid`s quarters of the old Baker Mansion. My class was broken into two groups. The more favored students in the bigger of the 2 classrooms and my group pushed 12 deep into a room that should have fit maybe 4 drawing tables. Hy had to go back and forth between classrooms.
There was one more empty little classroom on our floor and it was right next to our blackhole. At one time it had been part of one large room. A wall had bisected the space at some time in the past splitting a window in two. There was an old style radiator right next to our half of the window. Outside the window was a two and a half foot wide snow gutter.
I was setting on the windowsill with one foot on the radiator and the other out the window on the snow gutter. One hand was holding the window of the empty classroom and I was all set.
Hy, Hy come quick! Larry`s goin ta jump! Hy showed up in the doorway 9 compacted drawing tables between us. I can`t stand it anymore and it is all you fault! I screaming and I pulled hard on the windowsill of the empty classroom next door. I swung out one window and into the other window and into the empty room.
I hit the floor running and was down the short hall before Hy Eisman was halfway across the drawing table and student packed room. As he stuck his head out the window to look for my shattered body I came up behind him, laid an arm across his shoulder and said Did he jump?
Is there a moral here? I don`t know. Maybe never turn your back on a student? Maybe I deserve to be a teacher even if I haven`t run into a student like me? Maybe don`t step on a student`s artwork because you are stepping on their ego? Look what happened when they wouldn`t let Hitler into artschool. Fund the arts becuase you really don`t want us artist going into another business.
As of late I have been thinking a lot about my old Kubert School teacher, Hy Eisman. I think it is a combination of belated guilt and the passing of Don Adams (Hy went to The Art Student`s League with Don and always claimed that Don Adams was the hotshot artist in his class). Maybe a little more on the guilt side because I am teaching now and Hy was my teacher and I was not an easy student. And Hy was the teacher I was least easy on.
The Kubert School was insane at the time. All the teacher were not teachers they were professional artists teaching for the first time. All the students were the best of there little worlds now looking at the likes of Totleben and Bissette and wondering if we could compete.
Hy was doing Little Iodine as the time. He was my teacher. He was the master of the prolonged triple take. I was the proud recipient of a two year long version of his best world class triple take. I would walk in a room and he would look at me like he could not believe I was doing what I was doing, i.e. living.
It started like this. Hy gave us a comic stripe assignment early in our first year at QBU. I went all out and did a duo-shade Beowulf based stripe called Prehensile and Grendel very bad pun ending dealing with coffee and a couple of Danish, got great review when I finally got it published a couple of years later. It is crude by my current standard but at the time is was the best thing I had ever done. And I was proud of it.
No, no, no, I wanted Nancy humanoids He crushed me. Now first off I had sweat blood into this piece and secondly Nancy was an old, dull, has been stripe in the eyes of the hip student I felt myself at that time. I was hurt and I took that hurt out on the next Hy assignment, a full-page stripe due after Christmas break.
Rick Grimes had a character called Weird Dick that was the subject on another Hy Eisman triple take. So I did a stripe called Weirder Dick and I will not go into what that character did to the poor Nancy humanoids. Let us just say that I gave Hy Eisman whiplash on the second leg on his triple take.
My parents lived in Sarasota, Florida at the time and Rick Grime, Steve Bissette, and I did the Christmas vacation trip down from Dover, New Jersey in 24 hours straight (or not so) quick family time with tree and packages and watching Jimmy Steward, and then 24 hours back with everything I owned in the car and my cat. Not enough room to have a spare thought, claustrophobic somebody always with the cat on their lap, tight, tight, insane.
One of the things I brought back with me was a shorthaired wig that I had used for job hunting in the early days of my longhaired rebellion. Another item was a Nauru jacket that was my sole formal wear for nigh onto 15 years.
I wore both into school the first day back showing up about 2 hours into Hy`s class. Hy, I just have been driving for 24 hours straight and I`m about to crash out. I left the assignment on your drawing table. I`ve got to get home and to bed. Hy looked strangely at me in my semblance of a suit like garment and my seeming new shorter hair and mumbled okay
Okay, maybe he didn`t mean to throw the first punch. Maybe he was just speaking another language. Maybe when he referred to Nancy humanoids in some sick way he meant a good thing. Maybe I over reacted. Maybe I shouldn`t of had Sluggo do what he did to Nancy. Things just got stranger and stranger between Hy and me when I showed up to the next class with long hair uncut. And that led straight to me convincing Hy Eisman that I had jumped out of a third story window.
I had always been a climber. And because I had grown up in Florida were everything is flat, flat, flat that meant trees and buildings. The Kubert School was in a three story Victorian mansion and I was suffering a heavy case of Acrophilia from day one at the school.
It was in my second year of Hy Eisman`s famed triple take and the battle of wits had fallen out to a pattern where Hy seemed shocked at everything I did, like breath, while deep down not really letting me see him being shocked at all (I told you he was good) and me trying to really get a rise out of him. I think it was friendly. I always enjoyed his classes.
The second year students had been moved up to the third floor, the maid`s quarters of the old Baker Mansion. My class was broken into two groups. The more favored students in the bigger of the 2 classrooms and my group pushed 12 deep into a room that should have fit maybe 4 drawing tables. Hy had to go back and forth between classrooms.
There was one more empty little classroom on our floor and it was right next to our blackhole. At one time it had been part of one large room. A wall had bisected the space at some time in the past splitting a window in two. There was an old style radiator right next to our half of the window. Outside the window was a two and a half foot wide snow gutter.
I was setting on the windowsill with one foot on the radiator and the other out the window on the snow gutter. One hand was holding the window of the empty classroom and I was all set.
Hy, Hy come quick! Larry`s goin ta jump! Hy showed up in the doorway 9 compacted drawing tables between us. I can`t stand it anymore and it is all you fault! I screaming and I pulled hard on the windowsill of the empty classroom next door. I swung out one window and into the other window and into the empty room.
I hit the floor running and was down the short hall before Hy Eisman was halfway across the drawing table and student packed room. As he stuck his head out the window to look for my shattered body I came up behind him, laid an arm across his shoulder and said Did he jump?
Is there a moral here? I don`t know. Maybe never turn your back on a student? Maybe I deserve to be a teacher even if I haven`t run into a student like me? Maybe don`t step on a student`s artwork because you are stepping on their ego? Look what happened when they wouldn`t let Hitler into artschool. Fund the arts becuase you really don`t want us artist going into another business.
Sunday, October 02, 2005
Don Markstein has just added Scrappy to his very long list of toon reviews at toonopedia.com. If you have not seen his site before you owe it to yourself to visit.
http://www.toonopedia.com/scrappy.htm
Event Reminder:
VES Animation Event Part 2:
The Nuts and Bolts of Animation Producing
THURSDAY - OCT. 6, 2005
7:00PM - 10:00PM
Warner Bros. Screening Room #12
4000 Warner Blvd. Gate 4, Burbank, CA 91522
Cost - $15 VES members and ASIFA members/ $20 non-members
For more info check the First Posting on this event
VES Animation Event Part 2:
The Nuts and Bolts of Animation Producing
THURSDAY - OCT. 6, 2005
7:00PM - 10:00PM
Warner Bros. Screening Room #12
4000 Warner Blvd. Gate 4, Burbank, CA 91522
Cost - $15 VES members and ASIFA members/ $20 non-members
For more info check the First Posting on this event
Are You Game:It seems any more that my life is broken up into getting ready for Comic Con and Getting Ready for the Annies. They are not mutually exclusive because it truth I work on Comic Con all year round and the Board works of the Annies in the same mode. It is just that in half of the year one is in ascendance. And at this time it is the Annies.
This year there is a separate Gaming category and I am looking for Judges for this important new award. Been talking to friends in the industry. If you work in the Gaming industry or related fields drop me an email. larry@agni-animation.com
