Joe's Drawings

[Rodney]

Joe,
Thanks for posting your thoughts on Pinocchio.
It's facinating to see the elements of collaboration and the time and patience involved in arriving at the final model. Sometimes we tend to forget that these masterpieces weren't created overnight. It's also good to be reminded that Walt wasn't afraid to put a project aside for a little while until it was properly refined.

In Pinocchio you've picked a great character to study.

I also read with interest your post about your own character, Suzy the Stork. She already looks like a likeable character we can empathize with. There are times when silhouette isn't as important. Once you capture her character and personality you can work more on perfecting her outline.

A useful concept for silhouetting is to apply an action verb to the pose. If the silhouette reads the same as that verb then we know we've at least captured the pose. In the case of Suzy at the door with the CD the pose might be 'Standing' in which case that would drive a pretty basic pose. If the pose was 'Excited' that might need a little more adjusting. I can see the current pose as a nervous figgeting just before she explodes with excitement... as if she's anticipating telling Harold about her CD just as soon as he opens the door.

At any rate... she looks like a fun character. :)

Added: The thought occurs to me that if a character is hiding something from someone else (and the audience) a deliberate downplaying of the silhoette might be more than appropriate. In such cases it is probably a good thing to have the audience wondering (just a little) what the heck is going on.

[joedorsey]

Thank you Rodney for your comments on silhouette and Susie. I like the idea of attaching a verb to a pose. It makes it easier to see if a drawing reads or not.

[joedorsey]

Here's a quick sketch of a couple of my characters called B.B. (http://donbluthanimation.com/forum/showpost.php?p=13338&postcount=114) and Clem (http://donbluthanimation.com/forum/showpost.php?p=13408&postcount=117). They're sittin' on the back porch of the diner taking a break. B.B. is waxing his usual optimistic view while Clem is not convinced.

http://www.donbluthanimation.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=278&pictureid=1260

[akkushisu]

Hey, Joe!

I really like the atmosphere of this latest picture of yours! The character personalities really come through in their poses and expressions. I really like B.B. too. Amanda and I will have to give drawing him a try sometime. Anyway, great work! Keep it up, my friend! :D

[andrew sharp]

Joe man you are good at telling a story the flies in the trash so cool:)

[joedorsey]

@Seth: I'm glad you like the atmosphere. I've been thinking about this scene for a while now. It's taken me some time to think how I would do the posing. These characters have almost completely opposite looks on life, but they agree to disagree on many things and still stay good friends. Don had said at one of the seminars that my original B.B. looked too much like Bugs Bunny. So I took a different approach this time. You and Amanda are always welcome to draw any character of mine. I would love to see what you come up with. :) I'm working up a female character to break up all the manliness at the diner

@Andrew: Thanks for the compliment on my storytelling. I'm trying to work hard at making characters folks can relate to in interesting situations. I found this great website that Jim Hull (story development instructor at Cal Arts) has called "Story Fanatic (http://storyfanatic.com/)". It's chock full of information on what makes a great story plus he's an animator to boot!

[Rodney]

Joe,
Thanks for posting that link. It deserves a few extra links in my opinion.
The insight an artist will get from Jim Hull's views will be well worth the time spend reading his articles through and through.

...and BTW... I'm happy to see you still working on B.B. and friends! :)

If you don't turn them into an animated film they'd still make a great comic strip.

[joedorsey]

Thanks Rodney! I've still got much reading to do on Jim Hull's site. The idea for B.B.'s Place as a comic strip is cool. Here's a little puppy drawing I did. I found the reference in a magazine. He's rolling around like puppies do.

http://donbluthanimation.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=278&pictureid=1263

[Seth]

Looks like you've been touching the led to paper quite a bit lately. I Like your drawings of Seth's dragons. You have a fun way of drawing them.

[joedorsey]

Thanks Seth! The dragons are fun to draw. Well, since Amanda arrived yesterday in the good ol' U.S of A. from jolly ol' England. I thought I'd draw a picture of her character Remi (http://www.donbluthanimation.com/forum/showpost.php?p=18830&postcount=43) having some breakfast while watching some tube. Welcome Amanda!

http://donbluthanimation.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=278&pictureid=1264

[lavallelee]

lol good morning america.. if i visited america for the first time

i wouldn't watch that! i would watch cartoon network!

[andrew sharp]

cereal and tv the great combo:)

[amandahamster]

Oh wow, thanks Joe! That picture is just great! :D YAY, you drew Remi! :D

A lot of people get her hat wrong for some reason, so I think you did a really good job making her hat look just perfect :D

And I spotted the cactus plant next to the TV... that is SO something she would have. :laughing:

Thanks so much for the warm welcome, Joe!!

[joedorsey]

@Lavalle: Speaking of cartoon network. We don't have it with our current satellite package. I heard they canceled Flapjack and Chowder. Bummer. :(

@Andrew: I hear ya. When I was a kid, I lived for Lucky Charms and Super Friends on Saturday mornings.

@Amanda: I'm glad you're here safe and got some rest. Thanks for the comments on Remi. The hat really adds to her fun personality. :D Of course she had to have some Cacti nearby!

[Richie]

Looking good Joe

[lavallelee]

@Lavalle: Speaking of cartoon network. We don't have it with our current satellite package. I heard they canceled Flapjack and Chowder. Bummer. :(


i don't have cartoon network either, just boomerang (which has all the classics) but really Flapjack?? I would think they would let that go for longer, i liked that show a lot.

[joedorsey]

After viewing Toby Sheldon's blog a while, I got inspired to try some of his work. I like his roughness, it helps me loosen up.


Toby's early toothless
(http://tobyshelton.blogspot.com/2010/08/random-story-sketches-how-to-train-your.html)

http://donbluthanimation.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=278&pictureid=1312

[joedorsey]

Here's a character from my "Freedom Train" project. She's the only daughter of a Quaker family that helps out the dog family in their travels. She's in trouble and getting a talking to. Tell me what you think.

http://donbluthanimation.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=278&pictureid=1313

[joedorsey]

Had a nice vacation this last week in Michigan. I did a little drawing and worked on some Preston Blair studies.

http://donbluthanimation.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=296&pictureid=1348

http://donbluthanimation.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=296&pictureid=1349

[andrew sharp]

Really like your little girl character getting a talking to reminds me of my daughter.Really cool unique design, sounds like an intresting story, good Presto Blair as well, but my favorite is yor character:)

[joedorsey]

Thanks Andrew. I used my daughters as a reference point for the character.

[akkushisu]

Hey, Joe! Man, it's been a while since I posted a comment in your gallery. Awesome roughs, as always! Of your recent stuff, I like your early Toothless sketches and your little girl from Freedom Train the best! Very expressive and nicely posed. Keep it up, man! :D

[JoshSketchInMotion]

Loving your dragon sketch joe! Simple sketches with lots of life and personality! I think it's amazing how we can just take a pencil and lay down some simple lines to make a character who is alive in our minds that we enjoy and care about.

[joedorsey]

Here's a picture I did of Amanda Hamster in disco attire. I was mainly trying to get her into some platform shoes. Fun to draw.

<a href="http://s261.photobucket.com/albums/ii56/dorseytunes/?action=view&amp;current=AmandaBoogie.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii56/dorseytunes/AmandaBoogie.jpg" border="0" alt="Amanda Boogie"></a>

[andrew sharp]

Great silehuette Joe very fun drawing, you always get good emotion into your characters:)

[joedorsey]

Thanks Andrew! That means alot to me. I look at some of my earlier drawings and my characters could have been zombies by their expressions. :D

[Ben Sword]

You have some really good drawings here.

I really like this one you did of rabbit.
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii56/dorseytunes/Rabbit.jpg

He always has the best facial expressions out of all the Disney Winnie The Pooh characters. I tried doing a picture of him from an episode of The New Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh, he had this really creepy expression on his face, my drawing of it was terrible though. Maybe I will try it again sometime.

Nice walking pose of Mickey Mouse.
<a href="http://s261.photobucket.com/albums/ii56/dorseytunes/?action=view&current=Mickey-BraveLittleTailor.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii56/dorseytunes/Mickey-BraveLittleTailor.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

I also really like the pictures of Otto you did from Robin Hood.:)

[joedorsey]

Thanks Ben. You always learn something new when you take a stab at these great drawings. I try to have a balance of learning from life, drawing exercises, then trying some of my own stuff.

[joedorsey]

Here's a little something from Robin Hood. He's balancing an arrow on the tip of his finger. You can't see the arrow because I ran out of room on the paper. Silly me.:rolleyes:

As I was drawing this, I could feel the "rhythm of the line" that Don talks about. Everything flows together so well.

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii56/dorseytunes/RobinHood.jpg

[andrew sharp]

Looks good Joe thankyou for sharing your drawings and your insight:)

[JoshSketchInMotion]

Always loved watching this growing up. This is really cool! Did you use a reference for this? I can really see the line of action which makes for a strong pose. I'm trying to better my line of action myself. Keep it up!

[joedorsey]

Thanks Josh! I got this from the movie. As I was watching I noticed what a strong pose it was then stopped it and drew it. I did it to work on line of action as well.

[akkushisu]

It's been a little while since I checked out your thread, Joe. Not surprisingly, I found you've been improving with each new sketch. Spectacular roughs, my friend! Keep up the good work! :)

[joedorsey]

Thanks for the kind words Seth. You always hope you're improving and not going backwards. ;)

We went as a family to see "The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader" for my son's birthday. I was really moved by the boy turned dragon named Eustace. There's a scene where he cries while the mouse Reepicheep consoles him. I thought I'd draw him feeling very alone as a dragon.

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii56/dorseytunes/EustaceScrubb.jpg

[Juan Maestas]

That's a fun dragon, Joe!

[akkushisu]

I really love how you draw dragons, Joe. I haven't seen the film yet but a friend of mine told me about that scene. It sounds very moving. Excellent work, man! Keep it up! :D

[joedorsey]

@Juan: Thanks! I try to draw something that's fun and appealing. (even if the character doesn't look like they're having fun.)

@Seth: I'm honored that you like my dragons. (since you are the Dragon master! --- bows in respect) This time around I tried to use my whole arm rather than my wrist in getting a flow. It works, but I still haven't got the hang of it yet.

[joedorsey]

Here's a little drawing I did from the Gingerbread Man story where the fox swallow him. I tried to use some simple lines and a cartoony approach.

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii56/dorseytunes/FoxandGingerbreadMan.jpg

[lavallelee]

Thanks for the kind words Seth. You always hope you're improving and not going backwards. ;)

We went as a family to see "The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader" for my son's birthday. I was really moved by the boy turned dragon named Eustace. There's a scene where he cries while the mouse Reepicheep consoles him. I thought I'd draw him feeling very alone as a dragon.

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii56/dorseytunes/EustaceScrubb.jpg

very cool dragon drawing joe! i like :)

[joedorsey]

Thanks Lavalle. Things are clicking one drawing at a time.

[andrew sharp]

cool works Joe great emotions on your characters:D

[Seth]

NOOOO! I always feel bad at the part where the Ginger Bread Man gets eaten! It's like I want to scream at the book, "Don't listen to the Fox! No! Don't do it!" Than I turn the page and it's all over.

Nice work on the Fox, Joe. That drawing made me laugh when I saw it. Now a real interesting story would be if the Ginger Bread Man ate the Fox! :laughing:

[joedorsey]

Here's Daffy from the WB short "Daffy Dilly" (1948). Daffy's saying, "What's Humphrey Bogart got that I ain't got?"

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii56/dorseytunes/DaffyfromDaffyDilly.jpg

Also, check out Thad Komorowski's blog called "What about Thad?". He has a breakdown of the animator's scenes from "Daffy Dilly". The interrogation scene that Ken Harris did was amazing. The scene lasts about 1 minute and 36 seconds. If I did my animation math right and he animated on twos...that's about 996 separate drawings. Wow.

http://www.thadkomorowski.com/2011/01/daffy-dilly/

[andrew sharp]

Hahaha Dafey is my favorite WB character:)

[joedorsey]

I agree Andrew. Daffy represents most of us. Bugs is one of the few who always comes out on top. I've decided to get out of the basement and draw upstairs. It's so freakin' cold this winter, my hands start to feel nothing after a while. So here's a drawing I did of Tom from Preston Blair's book. As I was drawing I was appreciating the line work of Preston. It's being a fan and student all at once. :D

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii56/dorseytunes/CuriousTom.jpg

[andrew sharp]

You have really nice line quality I know what you mean about drawing in the basement. I set up my studio in the garage, I drywalled,and insulated both the walls and floor but its still cold some days, Oh well long live the man cave. Ogga Boogga :D

[OwenWelsh]

Nice drawing of Tom Joe! It has good line of action.

[joedorsey]

Thanks guys. It feels good to see some progress.

[arif]

welcome back Joe....glad you are posting again.......:D

[joedorsey]

Thanks Arif. Here's my attempt at a scene from the "Small One". I used a cell drawing (http://www.flickr.com/photos/nemoacademy/5080944254/) from Nemo Academy's (http://www.flickr.com/photos/nemoacademy/) flikr photos as reference.

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii56/dorseytunes/SmallOne.jpg

[jeremyhopkins]

Nice improvements Joe! I'm always impressed by how much you grow with every drawing. Your small one drawing is pretty good but if you can leave in the construction lines and try to draw through your character more, it'll help with the solidity. Just feels a tad flat right now. Again, great improvements!

[joedorsey]

Thank you Jeremy for the kind words and suggestions. Here are a few doodles trying to work on construction and general goofiness.

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii56/dorseytunes/Doodles.jpg

[andrew sharp]

funny drawings:)

[joedorsey]

Thanks Andrew. I saw this picture of a wolf bearing it's teeth. I had to give it a shot. My life drawing needs work, so it was a good exercise. The title of the photo was called "back off". :D

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii56/dorseytunes/Wolfbaringteeth.jpg

[andrew sharp]

Great expression on his face

[joedorsey]

Here's one of my favorite WB characters. Good ol' Punkinhead Martin from "Hillbilly Hare". He's checking out the footy prints that Bugs left behind. I was trying to draw through the character to get more of his anatomy figured out. Check out that durn rifle!

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii56/dorseytunes/PunkinHeadMartin.jpg

[andrew sharp]

Very nice Joe solidd construction

[lavallelee]

really good drawing of Martin! his face the most, very on model

good job

[joedorsey]

Thanks guys! Trying to stay on model is a challenge. Here's a picture I drew of Little Pedro (http://www.cartoonbrew.com/disney/disneys-planes.html) that Cartoon Brew posted. The design has so much appeal. I had to give it a shot.

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii56/dorseytunes/LittlePedro.jpg

[Rodney]

The design has so much appeal.


I agree!
He's a fun character.

Well done. :)

[joedorsey]

Thanks Rodney. Got a little inspired and did a quick drawing of an elephant trying to make amends with a mouse who keeps scaring him (unintentionally).

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii56/dorseytunes/ElephantAndMouse.jpg

[joedorsey]

Here's Mouse trying to have fun with Elephant. But, Elephant is having a hard time dealing with his fear instincts. He's giving it his best though.

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii56/dorseytunes/ElephantandMouse2.jpg

[JoshSketchInMotion]

Nice drawings of the elephant and mouse! Poor elephant I hope he can over come this fear and have a good time with his friend. I would love to be the mouse swinging from the trunk! Weeeee!

[lavallelee]

very cool characters joe! i can see a series!

[joedorsey]

Thank you. Here's a rough life drawing. I don't know about the rest of you. But, life drawing is intimidating to me. It's essential though, so I've got to overcome my fears. She's wearing a lace bustier that was very rumply. I had a hard time getting it right. Anyway, here you go.

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii56/dorseytunes/Ladylooking.jpg

[joedorsey]

Beatrice inspired me by her raccoons, so I gave one a shot. He's having trouble getting into his favorite trash can.

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii56/dorseytunes/Raccoon.jpg

[Seth]

Wow! These last two drawings are just......Wow! The ladies face is great. And you really have good form and pose with the Racoon! "Hey! Get outta my trash!" :)

Your hard work is paying off, Joe. You should be proud!

[lavallelee]

i agree with seth, that raccoon looks great joe

his tail is full of life, face, hair all of it

great job joe

[joedorsey]

Thanks Lavalle and Seth. Keep moving forward eh? Here's a Rooster suitor who finally got up the nerve to visit the girl of his dreams. He's not at all comfortable while waiting for her to answer the door. At least he brought flowers.

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii56/dorseytunes/RoosterComeToCall.jpg

[Josh Lokan]

Great emotions on the elephants. Those are my favs!

[zanekohler]

I like the rooster drawing. I get the expression that he is nervous.

[joedorsey]

Thanks Josh. My youngest daughter loves elephants and she requested a drawing of one holding a peanut. Well, this is not just any peanut. It's this little guys all time favorite. He will never eat this one. I give you "peanut love".

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii56/dorseytunes/PeanutLove.jpg

[joedorsey]

Since Lavalle was so kind to try one of my creations. I thought I'd give his Gator Dragon (http://www.donbluthanimation.com/forum/showpost.php?p=23835&postcount=697)a try. I don't know why, but I imagined him being a very kind-hearted creature who likes to collect butterflies. So here he is trying to capture one. I hope you like Lavalle!

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii56/dorseytunes/LavallesDragonGator.jpg

[lavallelee]

Very awesome! I am loving the eyes! 1 thing though, you forgot to cut a small piece of his tail off. :laughing:

[Rodney]

Thanks Josh. My youngest daughter loves elephants and she requested a drawing of one holding a peanut. Well, this is not just any peanut. It's this little guys all time favorite. He will never eat this one. I give you "peanut love".

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii56/dorseytunes/PeanutLove.jpg

This guy may just be my favorite of your characters thus far. I see lots of character in this character Joe! I really like how you've created interest through the use of constraints, namely that he wouldn't eat this particular peanut because it's so special. That really sets the stage for the show.

Ah, the possibilities!!!

Very nice!

[joedorsey]

Thanks! Here's a quick drawing of Junyer Bear from "A Bear For Punishment (http://www.jogyjogy.com/watch.php?id=196ef)". One of my favorite Chuck Jones shorts.

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii56/dorseytunes/JunyerBear.jpg

[zanekohler]

haha a classic cartoon. Very cool drawing. I get the feel of his mass with the squash in the head and shoulders.

[OwenWelsh]

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii56/dorseytunes/LavallesDragonGator.jpg

Joe, great drawing and great pose! His silhouette is strong and I can picture this little guy running or hopping. He would be a really fun character to animate.

[joedorsey]

Thank you! Elephant lost his peanut, but found a friend.

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii56/dorseytunes/TheLostPeanut.jpg

[joedorsey]

Some more Preston Blair studies with Jerry Mouse....

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii56/dorseytunes/JerryExpressions.jpg

[3ddrew]

I really enjoy the dynamics between the elephant and his friend - I can feel the sadness that he's experiencing - nice job! Keep posting! :)

[lavallelee]

Some more Preston Blair studies with Jerry Mouse....

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii56/dorseytunes/JerryExpressions.jpg

great jerrys, keep it up

try some tom and jerry together!

[joedorsey]

Thanks guys! Yeah, I should try some Tom and Jerry action. I was on my lunch break today and thought of the new movie "Hop (http://www.iwantcandy.com/)" that's coming this Friday. So I drew my version of the Easter Bunny. Then I thought..."Why not make up my own story?" So here it is.

The idea is called "The Egg". The Easter Bunny is delivering eggs to a small town in the mid-west and notices a little boy who's crying. The neighborhood folks calm him down and find out that his Mom and Dad were swept away by the twister that blew through town. So the Bunny decides to give him a special egg every year to cheer him up.

One year a huge tornado rips through town and destroys all the year's crops. Most everybody in town is destitute and the boy does what he can to help his neighbors out. The Easter Bunny knows what's going on and has an extra special egg to give to the boy and it will change the town forever. Anyway, this is the bunny making a stop to deliver "the egg".

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii56/dorseytunes/EasterBunny.jpg

[arif]

i like the face very much Joe...it has so nice feeling....just think about his hands little more....but...face is great:D

[joedorsey]

Thanks Arif. Yep. Them hands still need work.

[3ddrew]

I'm with Arif - he's got such a wonderful expression and I really like those huge feet! I'd focus a bit more on the hands - what could they be doing, perhaps, instead of holding the basket? Maybe he could be handing out marshmallow peeps... actually, scratch that, passing out Easter eggs to passerby! Or maybe waving - he's such a friendly looking fellow. There's a lot of potential with this guy - I say go for it! :D

[joedorsey]

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. My family is moving to Salt Lake City area. Here are a few studies I've been working on.

http://donbluthanimation.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=296&pictureid=1573

http://donbluthanimation.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=339&pictureid=1574

http://donbluthanimation.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=339&pictureid=1575

[akkushisu]

Lookin' good, Joe! I was waiting for you to post more of your sketches. I really like the last one, lots of emotion in the face! Keep it up, man! :D

[andrew sharp]

Great job Joe,I agree with Akkushisu very expressive and good use of straight s in there:D

[Tanya]

I agree as well; love that drawing of Skippy! =]

[joedorsey]

Thanks guys! I was digging through the "Illusion Of Life" book and found this picture.


Robin Hood Kids
(http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lco6ll6ja31qe5p1no1_500.png)

The bewildered look is what got me. The placement of the pupils in the eye and his half open mouth works so well. It was a great study. I've wondered who drew this scene. It has a softness like Ollie Johnson and the straights against curves of Milt Kahl. Beautiful.

[akkushisu]

Thanks for sharing that, Joe! That's a very cool picture indeed. I see what you mean about the softness, the emotion, and the overall beauty. It's definitely a good scene to study from. :)

[joedorsey]

Here's some drawing studies from "Character Animation Crash Course" by Mr. Goldberg. The second and third head drawings are my experiments.

http://donbluthanimation.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=339&pictureid=1585

http://donbluthanimation.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=339&pictureid=1584

[lavallelee]

#2 looks really nice, #3 looks like he could use another ear :)

keep drawing joe!

[joedorsey]

Here's a little quick doodle I did for fun.

http://donbluthanimation.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=343&pictureid=1597

[Seth]

Nice, Joe! XD I feel like that all the time! Am I the only one who isn't that impressed by the whole "seeing movies in 3D" thing?

[joedorsey]

Doing some studies from the Looney Tunes model sheets. Here's the Barnyard Dog (http://www.onanimation.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/looney_tunes_model_sheet_Page_01.jpg) from the Foghorn Leghorn shows. I love his surprised look.

http://www.donbluthanimation.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=343&pictureid=1613

[joedorsey]

Since my daughter and I are going to see "Winnie The Pooh" this week, I thought I'd give Rabbit a try. These are poses from "Winnie The Pooh and Tigger too!" Rabbit is looking around to make sure Tigger is nowhere in sight and then he says, "My splendid idea worked (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m25UrmTG53M&feature=player_detailpage#t=48s)!"

http://donbluthanimation.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=343&pictureid=1625

[joedorsey]

Here's Piglet!

http://donbluthanimation.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=343&pictureid=1628

[chrisd]

Nice, Joe. These last few drawings have great expression in them. They make me smile. :)

[lavallelee]

more Winnie the Pooh!! you are doing great Joe :D

[joedorsey]

I watched some Robin Hood today and got in the mood to draw Maid Marion. Here she is after Skippy says, "Are you gonna have kids?" I like the scenes with the kids. It's a nice break in the movie.

My daughter and I watched some of the show with no sound just to focus on the animation. It was wonderful.

http://donbluthanimation.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=343&pictureid=1639

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii56/dorseytunes/Disney%20Reference/MaidMarion1.jpg

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii56/dorseytunes/Disney%20Reference/MaidMarion2.jpg

Here's the scene I got the screen shots from...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tym0dATUd2Y&feature=player_detailpage#t=590s

[Rodney]

That was such a great scene. Those characters were alive and breathing... they were freakin' real I tell ya!

Makes me want to pop everyone on the head with a dumbstick every time they suggest 'Robin Hood' was not a great film. Of course then I remember Don Bluth had some pretty direct criticisms of the film and so I back off of that stance just a wee little bit. ;)

You my friend have found a way to capture my attention and with these drawings have done so very beautifully. You have me wanting to go back and study 'Robin Hood' frame by frame.

I wonder if it wouldn't be a good idea to post the images you were using as reference for these drawings (if any). The thought being that through comparing and contrasting we might be better able to determine the strengths and weaknesses of both the original and the interpretation and then give feedback. What we tend to get (even in the weekly seminars) is confirmation that the image is liked or not liked. I think we can delve deeper. This is just an idea thrown at you and where reference is used I will try to do the same.

In comparing the image on the right to my memory of the scene I find it particularly capturing the essence of her inner thoughts and feelings. Not just in words but in her actions she demonstrates her love for that ol' scoundrel Robin Hood of Loxley.

People tend to poo poo the idea of sequels and spin off but I would practically kill someone to be involved in an animated (weekly?) 'Robin Hood' series. I believe such adventuring could not only be very entertaining but be extremely educational. Get Don Bluth to return to Disney to executive produce and supervise it and it'd remake history.

[joedorsey]

Thanks Rodney! I put the reference screen shots in my original post to compare. Plus, the video I found on youtube.

When I compare the drawings, I find that I've made her head squashed in both drawings. (next time I need to use a rounder circle to start with) Also, her eyes are not exact on the "smiling" pose. But, they do give her that "kids will be kids look" I was trying for. Great idea to post reference with drawings.

Monica Evans did such a wonderful job doing the voice of Marion. She has a kind of "Julie Andrews" quality that's so appealing. Very sweet and innocent.

[arif]

you are doing great Joe....keep going on.....

[Rodney]

Thanks Joe. You've really captured the essence there.

My longer term goal is to do likewise with the references but then be able to take it to the next level which would be to visualize the drawing/references in my head and then be able to draw and/or interpret that from other perspectives. This is a tough assignment but I think a natural and logical progression. For me the objective isn't to exactly match the reference but that is a great measuring tool. Without seeing the reference there is no way we can use it as that kind of analytical tool.

In watching the video you linked to I am reminded not only of the outstanding animation but the writing of dialogue as well. The change of expression on the little rabbits face just near the scene you drew from demonstrates he has heard what Maid Marion and Plucky are communicating but goes beyond that and we get a visual representation through his expression of what he thinking internally. This is character animation at its best and the audience, while not necessarily recognizing it, really appreciates these moments.

It's wrong to isolate just this one expression (there are so many) but the change of expression I'm talking about is this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tym0dATUd2Y&feature=player_detailpage#t=8m39s

Robin Hood is one of those movies often taken to task for reuse of animation and budgetary constraints but I find the Disney crew's execution highly innovative and entertaining. They did what they could do with what was available to them. Any animator wanting to self-produce their own short film would do very well to study Disney's 'Robin Hood'.

[Rodney]

The sequence you selected has an excellent example of innovative and economical use of dialogue that isn't just a shortcut but pluses up the story AND delivers a funny joke as well. During the dialogue Maid Marion and Plucky react but they aren't just reacting to the joke... they do that momentarily... but Maid Marion is reacting to her memory of Robin Hood and Plucky is supporting that. (a wonderful use of Secondary Action there)

The point of dialogue though is that some in the audience will catch this joke and laugh which is an excellent emotional release that further increases the effect of Maid Marion's recollection. There is really powerful stuff going on here!

Here is that little piece of off screen (throwaway) dialogue "My Mamma gots a lot of kids" that adds yet another wonderful layer of humor to an already enjoyable sequence:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tym0dATUd2Y&feature=player_detailpage#t=9m56s

The point: There was no need to animate this particular piece of dialogue yet it supports the sequence so well.

This is this the stuff that when I see quotes from Don saying 'Robin Hood' was lacking that has me seriously scratching my head. If I understand him correctly his critique is largely focused on the details and quality he wishes the artists could have been allowed to put into the film but couldn't due to the restricted budget. Certainly a fair critique and I expect many a war was raged trying to up the quality as well as get what each artist thought was worthy into the final film.

[joedorsey]

Robin Hood makes me glad and sad all at once. I'm glad we have an archive of the veteran Disney animators showing some excellent work. I'm sad because the story had it's ups and downs. Personally, some of the goofiness in some of the scenes had an almost Saturday morning cartoon vibe to it. There were quite a few voice talents used from other productions that made the movie a bit too familiar.

Phil Harris
Little John, Baloo, Thomas O'Malley

Sterling Holloway
Church Mouse, Roquefort, Winnie The Pooh, Kaa, Stork from Dumbo

J. Pat O'Malley
Otto The Blacksmith, Colonel Hathi, Jasper, Buzzie The Vulture

George Lindsay
Trigger, Lafayette,

Pat Buttram
Sheriff of Nottingham, Napoleon

Monica Evans
Abigail the Goose

It seems the production was rehashed in voice and animation to some degree. I still enjoy the animation and there are some great moments in Robin Hood that are overlooked.

[Rodney]

You raise some excellent points Joe.
You've really got me thinking.

Personally, some of the goofiness in some of the scenes had an almost Saturday morning cartoon vibe to it.

I know of the scenes you speak of but it might be good to remember that when Saturday Morning cartoons were at the height of their day. So our view here is mostly in retrospect. The vibe you speak of is the effect of limited animation reverberating through not only 'Robin Hood' but most of the films of it's day and it is but one of Disney's experiments with perfecting limited animation for use in feature films.

The biggest criticism I might make would be that the ubrupt changes momentarily took you out of the movie (Plucky's football scene with the modern day football score for instance). Someone thought it was funny enough to remain in the film and helped tell the story so BAM... it stayed. It's a memorable scene that I'll bet most remember well.

Sterling Holloway as the mouse... now that whole section with the song "Every town... has it's ups and downs." Wow. Did that leave an everlasting impression on me. On a dreary rainy day... after what... 35 years... I can still be heard singing that song today.

I should also say that I didn't see 'Aristocats' and 'Bednobs and Broomsticks' until my late twenties so the effect of similar voices might not have been as intense with me. There didn't seem to be anything of interest for me there. I boil this down to themes and titles more than anything. Cats? No way. Bednobs and Broomsticks? What the Heck??? Herbie the Love bug at least had cars and racing. 'Mary Poppins'... okay... she snuck in under the radar... but she was very pretty and what kid could resist singing Supercalifragilisticexbialidocious??? Even if you can say it... how the heck would you even begin to spell it!?

Folks like Sterling Holloway were practically on salary at Disney and that is how they regularly earned their pay. I'd guess breaking away from the cast members who knew how to work with directors and animators and perfectly deliver their lines were perhaps a bit more rare.

It is interesting to note that the reuse of Mel Blanc isn't seen the same way and perhaps we can use this as a comparison. Of course that he tried (and usually succeeded) in altering his voice to suit each character. But if you watch these shorts again... there's Mel. While debatable, more than anything Disney characters were considered 'more real' than Warners characters and therefore raised our expectations.

I recall recognizing Sterling Holloway's voice in the various characters and it bugged me as a kid and perhaps helped lead me away from Disney in my teenage years. It is interesting to note that in the case of Winnie the Pooh I did not make the same association. For Pooh (and I would say Kaa the snake as well) Sterling's voice seemed to so perfectly fit the character I readily suspended my belief that underneath them both was the same voice actor.

It should be noted that I have similar feelings with John Goodman. As soon as I heard John Goodman's voice in 'Emperor's New Groove' it initiated a series of events that made me really hate that film. It was only later when I viewed the movie on it's own merits without those biases that I discovered how much I enjoyed the film. Interestingly, I consider 'Emperor's New Groove' to be right up there with the other great Disney films. When I first saw it though it seemed too different (what the heck... this is not Disney!)... and too similar (John Goodman... again!!!)... in too many ways.

I guess I'm not as picky as I once was. Nowadays I don't think everything needs to be innovative.

Sorry for the lengthy post. I'll try to reign it in.
Thanks for the listing of voice actors.
That is an area I haven't studied at length.

[Ben Sword]

Although the reused animation somewhat bothered me as a kid, the reused characters with the same voice actors never did. I always viewed them as animated actors. Directors often cast the same actors in many of their films so why cant animators reuse an animated actor who is already popular? Personally I think all the films from One Hundred and One Dalmatians to The Fox And The Hound had the best developed characters. After these movies it seems like the characters became more one dimensional and the "comic relief" characters became more annoying to the point where they ruined the movies many times for me.

[Rodney]

It's interesting how the mind connects things...

Seeing Sandro's post of Milt Kahl's early version of Robin Hood running while changing clothes made me think of you Joe. ;)

I haven't had the time to do any comparing but it'd be a lot of fun to compare the early version with the final version to see where Milt improved upon and enhanced his earlier work.

My immediate impression (without comparing) is that Milt didn't just bring the drawings up to date on the model but really worked with the push/pull of the arms to exploit the act of putting on the clothes. Don has mentioned this sequence several times as an example of Milt Kah's virtuosity in animation... the hopping... while running... while putting on the clothes... the early drawings only hint at that and suggest to me that Milt was still refining Robin's performance at this point.

While other Disney animators do it as well I see in the pushing and pulling in opposing directions to be a classic Milt Kahl signature which he seems to work into almost all of his performances. Milt is the king of exploiting maximum screen real estate and this sequence... character running from right to left while hopping up and down and pulling and pushing... is a great example of his work.

http://inspectorcleuzo.blogspot.com/2011/08/milt-kahl-day.html

[OwenWelsh]

Joe those are some great studies on Maid Marion. I always thought the drawings in that film were some of Milt's best.

[andrew sharp]

Great work Joe it always shows how much thought you put into your characters.

[joedorsey]

Thanks for all the encouragement guys. I appreciate it. Here's some more studies. The first one is Claude the Cat from the Chuck Jones short "Cheese Chasers". It has some great expressions from Claude. Here's the vid to see the fun. The expression is around 3:49.

http://donbluthanimation.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=355&pictureid=1657

<object style="height: 390px; width: 640px"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/QbXEEeC5GnU?version=3"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/QbXEEeC5GnU?version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="640" height="390"></object>

These two are from Preston Blair's book "Advanced Animation".

http://donbluthanimation.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=355&pictureid=1658

http://donbluthanimation.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=355&pictureid=1659

[KayMartha12]

Oh my, thanks for posting the video! I have not seen these types of cartoons since 4th grade! Seeing them as an adult now, its fun because I'm sensitive to the line of action and comic timing. I see the line of action in your drawings, too!

[lavallelee]

"an average mouse eats 12 pounds a cheese in a lifetime, i figure tonight we lived two thousand years"

classic cartoon thanks for posting and nice study!

[chrisd]

Nice job, Joe.
I always felt sorry for Claude. He never seemed to do anything wrong, but those mice insist on bullying him.

[OwenWelsh]

I really like that drawing you did of the squirrel. He has a very strong line of action and his pose is very appealing.

[joedorsey]

Thanks for the comments guys. "Cheese Chasers" is one of my all time favorite animated shorts. Messing with the order of things and see how it works out psychologically was what really hooked me into this one.

Michael Maltese at this point was writing really funny and interesting concepts that went beyond the slapstick cartoon model. The animation was top notch and inventive. The animators came up with so many great expressions for Claude. It's a great exercise in trying not to repeat yourself artistically. Anyway...I'll stop gushing. :D

[andrew sharp]

Claude the cat very funny:)

[joedorsey]

I'm excited that Lion King is doing so well. Here's a little pose from the film where Zazu is wondering what Mufasa and Simba are up to. He's asking..."Mufasa? What are you telling him?" Poor little guy.

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii56/dorseytunes/Zazu1001.jpg

[Rodney]

Zazoo is perhaps my favorite character from Lion King and I was disappointed when he wasn't given a very good treatment in the sequel/prequel. He added so much to every scene he was in and was a great character for the others to play off of. I remember the scene you've drawn quite well. What a wonderful character. I believe he also generated pure sympathy which is pretty rare in a secondary character.

[joedorsey]

Here's some studies from Eric Goldberg's book "Character Animation Crash Course". It felt good to get loose and draw.

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii56/dorseytunes/Character%20Animation%20Crash%20Course/Goldbergdrawings001.jpg

[joedorsey]

I was checking out Lauren Faust's designs (http://fyre-flye.deviantart.com/gallery/) for My Little Pony. So I thought I'd try to draw myself as a pony. What came out is more donkey. I think I like being a donkey. :)

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii56/dorseytunes/DonkeyJoe.jpg

[andrew sharp]

Cool sketches Joe youyr little donkey character has alot of personality my parents live down the road from two minature donkeys they are sweat and like to eat:)

[joedorsey]

Thanks Andrew! I'm not always sweet, but I definitely like to eat. ;)

[lavallelee]

Not a bad design Joe, at first I thought it was a sheep or goat