Category: Art: Animation

A Mouse, a Duck, and a Dog

Post author By Chad Frye
Post date October 16, 2015

I am a longtime member of the National Cartoonists Society (NCS), and recently the NCS has partnered with the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital to help and volunteer where possible. What goes better with cartoons than children? NCS members around the country have been volunteering to draw for the kids at various hospitals in the St. Jude network, and they lend a hand with fundraisers.

If you aren’t aware, the folks at St. Jude are dedicated to the medical care of children, particularly of those facing terrible diseases such as cancer. They take these kids in regardless of whether or not the families can afford to pay, so fundraising for this organization helps them maintain their ability to help these kids through their toughest battles.

A fundraiser local to the Los Angeles area where I live will be taking place on October 24 at the Ritz-Carlton in Dana Point, CA. (Click on that last sentence to see details!) It is a black tie affair with dinner, entertainment, and an auction. That’s where I come in.

As a former artist on Disney’s Mickey Mouse Clubhouse show, I came to love drawing the characters. Who wouldn’t?! Of all the things I have worked on, these guys are most often what kids ask me to draw for them. So to help the kids, I created this 11 x 14″ watercolor and colored pencil piece for the auction they will have for St. Jude’s.

Some lucky bidder will go home in their tux or swanky dress full, happy, and with Mickey and the boys under their arm. Perhaps it will be you!

Mickey, Donald & Goofy are ready to help some sick kids!

P.S. – If you’d like to see the rough drawing that was created in preparation for this final piece, come visit my public Facebook page by CLICKING HERE!

Animal Crackers Movie

Post author By Chad Frye
Post date April 20, 2015

This year has just been flying by. For the past two months, I have been working on storyboards for an independent animated film called Animal Crackers. No, it has no connection to the old Shirley Temple song, it is not a remake of a Marx Bros. movie, nor is it related in any way to the comic strip of the same name. It is, however, a pretty fun circus story being directed by Tony Bancroft (co-director of Disney’s Mulan) and Scott Christian Sava.

With terrific character designs by famed illustrator Carter Goodrich, the voice cast for Animal Crackers is equally fantastic! John Krasinski, Emily Blunt, Sylvester Stallone, Ian McKellen, Danny DeVito, Gilbert Gottfried, Patrick Warburton, Harvey Fierstein, and Raven-Symonè lead the way thus far.

This is development art of Owen and his wife Zoe, voiced by real-life husband and wife John Krasinski & Emily Blunt.

This is a current work-in-progress shot created by the animation studio from a scene I helped storyboard.

Well, there isn’t much I can say about the story, or much about any other details since this is still early on in the production process. However, there is an official Animal Crackers Facebook page that you can follow where other art updates are posted, along with photos of our cast from their recording sessions.

What I CAN tell you, though, is that just this past Friday was my last day on the film. My work here is done. I had a swell time working with the very small full-time in-house crew here in Los Angeles. So small that we were a grand total of five people! The gang genuinely surprised me with a little farewell cake that was big enough to feed a crew twice our size! That just meant we had to have seconds.

My little farewell party with assistant editor Mayume, editor Mark Rosenbaum, director Tony Bancroft, yours truly, and production assistant Scott Kimball. — My little farewell party with assistant editor Mayume Fujimoto, editor Mark Rosenbaum, director Tony Bancroft, yours truly, and production coordinator Scott Kimball.

So what is next? I don’t know. Looking forward to the next animation adventure. Until then, I shall keep busy with more illustration projects brewing here in my studio!

Art: Animation

Ronald McDonald House Event

Post author By Chad Frye
Post date December 11, 2014

This past Saturday, December 6, approximately forty professional artists from the world of comics and animation descended upon the Warner Bros. Ranch studio in Burbank, California, to draw pictures for the kids and families coming to a holiday party sponsored by the Ronald McDonald House organization. It was such a blast to spend three hours of our day putting smiles on the faces of these kids.

It was hard to to draw with some clown looking over my shoulder, so I stood up to pose for a picture with the boss man himself!

You see, throughout the year Ronald McDonald House helps out families that have kids with some serious health problems. Each December Warner Bros. graciously opens their property to a wonderful party for those families who have needed Ronald McDonald House that year. They come and can ride on carnival rides, they are fed all kinds of goodies, they can meet Santa, they meet Ronald McDonald, there is face painting, free Christmas hats made by a senior citizens group, they can meet child actors that come, and they get lots of toys all for free.

The best part is, they come to the artists for free drawings of whatever they would like, or whatever the artist is able to draw. Sometimes the two don’t exactly match. I’m not afraid to tell folks I don’t know how to draw a particular character, but sometimes they pull up an image on their phones which makes me obliged to accommodate their requests.

Enough chit-chat. How about I let some photos do the talking…

I had a few requests for Baymax from “Big Hero 6”. This customer was satisfied with his drawing.

Chris Hubbard, a story artist for Disney drawing a Sulley and Mike for a child.

A trio of ladies with their Disney sketches from yours truly.

This was my view from the end of the table. Next to me there in the hat is storyboard artist Dan Kubat with whom I worked last year.

After I finished this Jack Skellington, Hannah informed me that I had drawn one for her last year, too. She eased my mind by letting me know I drew him differently this year. Whew!

Artists Rafael Navarro & Geoffrey Wheeler.

The crowds around the artist’s tables were enthusiastic, and very polite. You didn’t mind one bit drawing for these folks.

I had quite a few requests for Olaf from Disney’s “Frozen.” Hadn’t drawn him before that day. Olaf would have enjoyed the summery weather we had.

Yes, the kids could get free drawings from the great Dean Yeagle!

Storyboard artist Gavin Freitas working feverishly to meet the demands of his clients!

Art Leonardi (at right), known for his work on the classic Pink Panther cartoons, always organizes the artists for this event together with his daughter Lisa Leonardi-Knight.

More happy customers!

Here is a group shot of all the artists that came to draw for the kids!

And my very last drawing of the day had to be the most challenging. Elsa from Disney’s “Frozen”. Since I had never drawn Elsa before, I had been turning down requests for her all day, until that very last one when this girl’s mother pulled up a picture on her phone.

So, that was the great event! Looking forward to joining the group again next year with the hope that we won’t see some of these same kids again because they healed!

Animals Art: Animation Art: Drawings Chad About Town Disney Random Doodles

Bancroft Bros. Interview Glen Keane!

Post author By Chad Frye
Post date December 6, 2014

My friends, the wonder twins Tom & Tony Bancroft, have been doing a series of podcasts over recent months that deal with art, comics, animation, and all of the above! Often they interview fascinating colleagues like Aaron Blaise, Don Hahn, and most recently – Glen Keane!

First, Tony & Tom are terrific cartoonists & animation guys themselves. Both worked at Disney for many years where they were animators on films like Beauty & the Beast, Aladdin, Lion King, Mulan, Emperor’s New Groove, and Brother Bear to name a few. Tony was even the co-director of Mulan. While they live on opposite coasts today, the Bancrofts utilize the wonders of technology to create their various podcasts.

Glen Keane is regarded by many to be the greatest animator working in the business today. His career has included bringing to life many Disney favorites such as Arial, the Beast, Aladdin, Pocahontas, Tarzan, John Silver, and more recently was the driving force behind Disney’s Tangled. His latest effort is the glorious short called Duet that played theatrically, but also has an interactive version for Motorola phones.

I encourage you to listen to the approximately hour long interview where the Bancrofts talk a bit about Glen’s career, and talk to Glen about some real concepts, philosophies about the approach to animation and storytelling. Oh, and towards the end, they ask Glen a goofball question of mine. Just click on the image above to go to the podcast! And down below, please watch Glen’s Duet if you have not already seen it!

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From the Flat File: 2009 – Thinking About Pooh

Post author By Chad Frye
Post date November 18, 2014

This past weekend my mind wandered to a show I started working on for Disney about seven or eight years ago. It was the CG animated My Friends Tigger & Pooh. It was such a delight to draw Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Piglet, Eeyore, Rabbit, Kanga, Roo, Lumpy, and anyone else who came to the 100 Acre Wood during those two and a half seasons that we created their adventures. You, however, only were able to watch two of those seasons. We actually were halfway through planning the third season before the network decided that the first two were enough.

We did something in our show that seemed to polarize the Pooh fans, though. Christopher Robin was not included. Instead, we introduced a little girl named Darby to the stories. Darby was voiced by Chloë Grace Moretz when she was just a wee lass. She has gone on to bigger things working in movies with directors like Tim Burton and Martin Scorsese, but once upon a time she delivered great enthusiasm in her conversations with Pooh and Tigger.

Despite all of Darby’s cuteness and charm, fans missed Christopher Robin, including Queen Elizabeth who purportedly had an aide call the Disney Channel suggesting that Christopher Robin be returned to the Wood. Regarding the young boy’s absence, “the Queen is not amused,” was the rumor floating around the studio. So, while Darby remained, Christopher Robin did return for a few episodes, though one time the gang spent an episode calling a frog “Christopher Robin” thinking that the boy had turned into the amphibian, naturally.

Another element of this series was that Darby led Tigger and Pooh as the “Super Sleuths.” It was a fun device where something would happen, and the residents of the woods needed help solving the problem. Every episode they would don their Super Sleuth outfits, then go off to “think, think, think” in an attempt to find the answer, often causing more chaos in the process.

After my work on the show ended in 2008, I created a series of watercolor sketches (such as this one) based on the show just for the fun of it.

You know, while working on the show, my mother sent me a drawing that I did at the age of 5 of Disney’s Winnie the Pooh. It was so surreal to see I had an interest in him all those years ago, and then was making a living drawing him. I tease you with that, however. Little Chad’s art is not available to share with you here at this time, but eventually it will find its way here on the ol’ blog.

My Friends Tigger & Pooh really was a delightful show, and had some really wonderful scripts by our writers led by Brian Hohlfeld and Nicole Dubuc. It was a treat working with everyone, and especially getting to see the great Jim Cummings work his magic as Pooh, Tigger, and the Beaver, Peter Cullen (Optimus Prime) who was Eeyore, Ken Sansom who (though now deceased) was Rabbit for many years, Rob Paulson (famous for Pinky from Pinky & the Brain) who did a raccoon, Max Burkholder (from TV’s Parenthood) as Roo, Dee Bradley Baker who was an amazing dog (Buster), as well as even Mark Hamill (yes, Luke Skywalker himself) who did a recurring character of a turtle.

It is available on DVD. Settle down with your little ones, put on your thinking caps and watch all the charming adventures of Darby, Tigger, Pooh and the gang!

Animals Art: Animation Art: Colored Pencil Art: Painting Art: Watercolor Disney Flat File Archives Illustrations

And Now Here’s Something You’ll REALLY Like!

Post author By Chad Frye
Post date February 26, 2014

A few months back, I was invited to create a fresh and tasty piece of art for an art show to be held at Van Eaton Galleries. The show opens this coming Saturday in Sherman Oaks, California. Naturally, I put it off until the last minute and finished my painting just this past weekend.

The show’s theme is “the Jay Ward Studio”. Ward was known for television shows such as “The Bullwinkle Show”, “Mr. Peabody & Sherman”, “George of the Jungle”, “Crusader Rabbit”, “Dudley Do-right” and many more. They even were responsible for television commercials and character designs for Capt. Crunch and Quisp cereals.

While I shan’t reveal the whole 13×17″ gouache and colored pencil painting today (although it IS pretty epic), I will share a snippet…

This Rocket J. Squirrel is just a smidge of my original painting in the show.

The show features the work of over 100 of my entertainment business colleagues, and promises to be memorable. All are invited to come to the opening reception THIS SATURDAY!!! Along with all the great art, they will also be hosting TWO book signings that night: Darrell Van Citters will be signing his great new book The Art of Jay Ward Productions, and Jerry Beck will be signing his new tome The Art of Dreamworks’ Mr. Peabody & Sherman.

So if you are in the Los Angeles area and want to have a good time and meet a LOT of cartoonists, come on out to the show! Details are on the poster below!

Jay Ward group show

Animals Art: Animation Art: Painting Chad About Town

The Hanna-Barbera Art Show

Post author By Chad Frye
Post date April 8, 2013

This past Saturday night, April 6, Van Eaton Galleries in Sherman Oaks, California hosted a group art show where over 100 artists created a piece of art within the theme of cartoons from the Hanna-Barbera Studio. This was the first group show of which I have ever been a part, and WHAT A SHOW!

The opening night reception was attended by a staggering amount of people. When I first inched my way into the gallery, the first person I said “hello” to was Janet Waldo, the original voice of Judy Jetson. Even Rose Marie from “The Dick Van Dyke Show” was in attendance. You couldn’t see the art because of the sea of people! You almost needed to take some Dramamine as you waded through.

Below are some highlights of the show:

This was the scene on the sidewalk outside of Van Eaton Galleries where folks were trying to get some air while the inside was shoulder to shoulder with art enthusiasts.

The crowd continued indoors! On the extreme left is the great character actor Ed Lauter (“The Artist”, “The Rocketeer”) whose mother-in-law was Bill Hanna’s secretary.

Yours truly posing under my Yogi Bear painting with friends James Lopez (Disney animator) and Chris Bailey (former Disney animator/director who now supervises animation for live action films and recently the “Despicable Me” ride in Universal Studios FL).

The “Pull My Finger Fred” – naw, I’m kidding. It’s “The Viewmaster Fred” by Lance Smith that was one of the pieces sold on opening night.

Here is my friend David Derks standing by his piece that wins for most obscure Hanna-Barbera show reference based on “Wait Till Your Father Gets Home” that aired in the early 1970s.

Here’s a shot of contributing artists all posing with Gerald Mendez at his terrific Droopy Dog piece. From L to R: Psycho James, Javier Soto, Enrique Pita, Gerald Mendez, A.R. and yours truly.

The crowd was whipped into a frenzy.

The gallery had this gentleman (on the left) building some of the most elaborate balloon sculptures I have ever seen. This one is of Shaggy and Scooby Doo being frightened by a monster.

This woman acquired a Huckleberry Hound from the balloon artist.

Dave Nimitz with a balloon version of “The Flintstones” Dino. Dave loaned a selection of his H&B toy collection for display at the show.

Orful Octopus from Hanna-Barbera’s “Laff-A-Lympics” made by Matthew Dutton topped by Alan Bodner’s charming Yakky Doodle painting.

The delightful Margaret Kerry (Walt Disney’s live-action Tinkerbell model for the original “Peter Pan” film) was also on hand to take in some of the evening’s fine art.

So, if you are in the Los Angeles area, please come see the show! You actually will have an easier time viewing the art without the opening night crowd blocking your view. This unique show will be hanging at the Van Eaton Galleries until April 20, and ALL ART IS FOR SALE!

CLICK HERE to see all the art and its availability.

Artwork is on display until April 20, 2013

Van Eaton Galleries

13613 Ventura Boulevard

Sherman Oaks, CA

Please come back tomorrow when I will begin to show a step-by-step progression of my Yogi Bear painting!

Animals Art: Animation Chad About Town

40th Annual Annie Awards – 2013 (part 2)

Post author By Chad Frye
Post date February 7, 2013

Earlier this week I shared with you some of my photos taken from the balcony during the 2013 Annie Awards held at Royce Hall on the campus of UCLA in Los Angeles. What made the evening a little more special is that it happened to be the 40th anniversary of the Annies.

Never to miss an opportunity to be a support to an industry that has supported her for most of her 95 years, the First Lady of Animation June Foray was in attendance. June is legendary for her many vocal roles in film and television. You know her as Rocky from Rocky & Bullwinkle, Witch Hazel from Bugs Bunny and Donald Duck cartoons, she was the meowing cat Lucifer in Disney’s Cinderella, Cindy-Lou Who from the Grinch cartoon, the creepy Talky Tina from The Twilight Zone, and Granny from Tweety & Sylvester cartoons among many, many others. She is one of a handful of voice actors to have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

June Foray is an ASIFA-Hollywood founding member. She and a few other folks founded the organization because they felt that there wasn’t much support for animation here in Los Angeles. In 1972, she thought there should be awards for the industry, and an idea was born that carries on to this day.

Below is a short film that was shown during the recent awards ceremony. Filmed in a documentary style, the short shows June and others (including Margaret Kerry, the live action model for the animated Tinkerbell in Disney’s Peter Pan) recounting the early days of ASIFA-Hollywood and the founding of the Annie Awards. My good friend Brian Joseph Ochab directed the piece. If you follow my blog, you might recognize Brian’s name from when he and I were trying to get a short Tim Burton tribute film off the ground. This piece was also produced by our friend and ASIFA-Hollywood board member David Derks, with an original music score by Peter Deneff.

Enjoy, and please check out ASIFA-Hollywood’s website when you have a moment!

Annie Awards: The First Forty Years Montage from ASIFA Hollywood on Vimeo.

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