For the past three Octobers, I posted a new monster drawing almost daily in what I called “Monster Month”. Here we are in the middle of October, and only one person has asked me where my creatures that go bump in the night are this year. One person.
Well, Mom, it has been an extremely busy year for me working on a new television show, the occasional illustration here and there, and trying to work on a new children’s book. What it boils down to is that there has been a whole lotta art goin’ on that I can’t share on the blog for now, and the monsters I love to draw in my spare time haven’t had room to roam and groan.
That being said, yesterday I got the itch and sketched out this beleaguered beast. It was just one of those things that came out of my stylus without a plan in my head. I began with the mouth, and the rest just fell into place. Background is courtesy of Canson paper, and the art was all done in Photoshop.
It’s a hard-knocked life for him.
So, perhaps I’ll get another monster or two up on the blog before October is over for the fan who asked. The rest of you can take a look at them as well if you’d like.
A couple of months ago I discovered a page on Facebook called Humans of New York (also known as HONY). The page features multiple portraits of New Yorkers as seen through the keen eye of photographer Brandon Stanton. With over 300,000 followers, I was a little late to the party.
Brandon does what I like to do – he people watches. I tend to sit in public places and covertly try to capture someone in a sketch. He takes a much bolder approach by asking his subjects to quickly pose for a photo wherever he happens to see them. The result is a fascinating cross-section of humanity sharing the streets of the Big Apple.
One of Brandon’s shots a few weeks ago really snagged the attention of the character designer in me. He got this shot of an old weathered Greek man who, despite having been in this new country he now loves for fifty-two years, still looked as though he was from his homeland.
The whole Old Country immigrant in America thing really struck me when I saw the photo. Not only did this gentleman have a great look, but it triggered the personal remembrance that I am only a few generations away from immigrants in my own family. My great grandparents came here from Europe for a new life, and I have a relative that passed through Ellis Island. Like this gentleman, they held a soft spot for home, but were intensely proud to become Americans.
Recently I was going through some old digital files of mine and came across an ad I created at Disney Feature Animation for an employee screening of the classic John Wayne film The Searchers. I always really liked this caricature of Wayne and thought it deserved to get dusted off and shared here on the blog.
Brush and ink art of the Duke.
John was drawn entirely with brush and ink. You can see that I kept the line work thick and rugged which suited the subject matter well. Not only did John Wayne have a thick and rugged face, but I was going to be taking this art into Photoshop to try to make it look like it was cut into a piece of wood. The thickness was going to be an asset in that process.
Here’s a close-up of the line drawing after being given the woodcut treatment in Photoshop.
Those years I spent at Disney Feature Animation were with the Artist Development department. It was our job to make sure the staff as a whole at the studio were up on the latest computer programs, inspire them with special guest speakers and screenings, and to keep the artists sharp by providing drawing classes whether that be life drawing or special classes with animals.
For a time we were regularly screening classic films, and for each screening I created the flyers that were posted around the building. This one for The Searchers was my favorite. I even made that “cowhide” from a wrinkled up piece of paper rubbed in coffee and pencil shavings. Notice the date on the flyer? I thought it would be fun to post it here twelve years to the day of the screening at Disney.
Here is the whole flyer never before seen outside the walls of Disney until now.
The drawing of John Wayne had one more day in the sun (not counting sharing it with you here today). Disney would allow folks who worked at Feature Animation to have art shows of their personal work. The Animation Research Library folks (you should visit their Facebook page) would help us post our art in a hallway in the Southside building where it would hang for a month, then move it to another building across town that we also used (called “Northside”) where it would hang for another month. There would be a nice reception on opening night where colleagues and friends from outside could come see the work. I put John Wayne in a frame and included him in the show.
William Sanderson and Chad Frye in the halls of Disney Feature Animation’s “hat” building in Burbank, CA.
Thought it might be fun to show you the above photo of the Duke flanked on either side by yours truly and actor William Sanderson who came to see my work that night with his lovely wife Sharon. While he has been in many television shows and movies, Bill is often remembered for being on Newhart where he would always enter a scene by saying, “Hi, my name is Larry. This is my brother Darryl. This is my other brother Darryl.” I keep that photo taped up next to my drafting table where it reminds me of some good times twelve years ago.
Thanks for letting me share the art, memories and good times with YOU today!
I don’t know why. I got to doodling the other day and my mind wandered to the chiseled-chinned science fiction heroes from yesteryear. So, before you knew it, this Space Cadet came forth. It was just one of those doodles that started with the face, and without a plan in my head, it grew into this guy. Even the space gun was an afterthought. I had originally roughed in a pointing hand, but thought the point would be more authoritative with a retro spiffy space gun.
Enjoy this Space Cadet. He may be the only thing standing between you and the destruction of the planet.
Infinity and beyond doesn’t have a fighting chance with THIS guy!
I wanted to say a few words about the great Stan Freberg today. Do you know who he is? He has been a gold record selling comedian, cartoon voice actor, movie and television actor, radio show host, a puppeteer, an author and a pioneer of using humor in advertising. He even came up with the name “Grammy” for the recording industry’s highest award. And if you are in the Los Angeles area this weekend (August 4-5, 2012), you have a chance to shake his hand and get an autograph. (DETAILS HERE!)
Stan Freberg as he looked in the 1950s during his Capitol Records comedy days.
Stan Freberg got his start in the entertainment business as a teenager. He literally got off the bus in Hollywood and immediately landed a job doing voices for the classic Warner Bros. cartoons. That’s right, despite all the title cards saying Mel Blanc did all the voices, Stan was right there doing many voices as well along with folks like June Foray, Arthur Q. Bryan and others.
Perhaps Stan’s most iconic Warner Bros. character was Pete Puma, the mountain lion who Bugs Bunny tricked into getting many lumps pounded into his head in several cartoons. Stan also did the hilarious Junyer Bear who was far too big for his diaper. He was also one half (the other half being Mel Blanc) of the mice Hubie & Bertie and half of the Goofy Gophers. The list of other characters is quite long including being the voice of a cat in the first Speedy Gonzales cartoon.
Pete Puma after asking Bugs Bunny for “A lotta lumps”.
Junyer Bear who always loves his paw.
The one time Stan got screen credit was when he was the ONLY voice in an entire Warner Bros. cartoon. Friz Freleng directed Stan in The Three Little Bops that was a zoot suited version of the story of the Three Little Pigs. Stan sang the song and voiced every character.
The Three Little Bops
Stan did cartoon vocal work for other studios, too. Disney was one. He sang a song about the Jabberwocky for Alice In Wonderland that Walt ultimately cut from the movie, but he also memorably did the voice of the beaver in Lady and the Tramp. As you recall, the beaver helps get the muzzle off of Lady when she and Tramp come to see him at the zoo. Walt Disney himself directed Stan in that performance.
This beautiful pencil drawing of Stan Freberg’s character of the beaver from Disney’s “Lady and the Tramp” is on an 8×10 that Stan has available at public appearances.
Out of a pure indulgence of mine, I also want to mention Stan’s role as the Yawning Man in the 1958 movie Tom Thumb. Tom Thumb was a wonderful fantasy movie directed by the great George Pal who loved incorporating stop-motion animation into his movies. He did it the hard way, too. The characters faces would all be sculpted in wood. George had Stan play a small but memorable role of a toy that helps put Tom Thumb (played by Russ Tamblyn from West Side Story) to sleep. Here’s the scene for you to see. I dare you to not yawn during this wonderful vocal performance by Freberg:
I first learned of Stan’s name when I was in high school. I was working at a summer camp on an island in the Delaware River sharing a cabin with several other staff guys. My friend Kevin Wertz had a copy of Freberg’s The United States of America album on a cassette tape that we listened to over and over after our long day’s work. That just might be the funniest album by any comedian I have ever heard, and am thrilled to have my own signed copy on LP framed on the wall in my studio. Later I discovered that Stan had made MANY records, most of which were song parodies of the day. His cover of Harry Bellefonte’s Banana Boat Song put me in stitches. It is no surprise that “Weird” Al Yankovic counts Stan as one of his inspirations.
This is perhaps the best of Stan’s hilarious records with Capitol Records.
Another guy inspired by Stan was the late Jim Henson. Stan, along with Daws Butler, were the guys who brought Bob Clampett’s creations of Beany & Cecil to life as a live television puppet show called Time For Beany. Stan was the original Cecil the Seasick Sea Serpent as well as Dishonest John. Stan once told me how he showed a young Jim Henson how to make Kermit the Frog seem as though he was smiling.
Stan Freberg with puppets of Dishonest John and Cecil from “Time For Beany.”
Freberg’s later career as an advertising man broke new ground for that industry. He broke away from the fake testimonial ads common in the day, and from the ads that made all kinds of promises to make ads that made people laugh. He was wildly successful and we have had funny ads ever since. One of the big accounts Stan had was doing all the TV and radio ads for the movie It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World in which he also had a silent cameo (he’s the sheriff’s deputy sitting in the background of Andy Divine’s scenes), but he also did funny ads for Sunsweet Prunes, Geno’s Pizza and many others.
As you can tell, I love the guy. I could go on and on about his career, but you would be better served if you could find a copy of his out-of-print autobiography titled It Only Hurts When I Laugh so that you can read his funny tales about all of the above and more in his own words. If you come see Stan this weekend at The Hollywood Show in Burbank, you might be lucky enough to score one of the few copies he has left.
That’s right, so if you would like to come see Stan, shake his hand, and get an autograph he is appearing at the Burbank Marriott by the airport along with many other Hollywood celebrities. To see more details about The Hollywood Show and who will be there, CLICK HERE! Stan will have photos of Pete Puma, the beaver and other shots of himself for sale. He has a couple of books, and some record albums and CDs from his own collection that he will be selling, along with a few copies of Warner Bros. Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 2 that has cartoons of Junyer Bear, Pete Puma and The Three Little Bops on it (Stan even provides voice commentary on that set)!
Oh, and if you drop by, be sure to wish Stan a Happy Birthday! He will be 86 years old on August 7!
This is a great casual shot of Capitol Records stars all together. You might recognize Frank Sinatra, Danny Kaye, Nat “King” Cole, Dean Martin and Stan Freberg.
Today on the Chad Frye • Illustration Guyfan page on Facebook I launched a new special feature for those who “LIKE” the page – EXCLUSIVE ART!
That’s right! Beginning today, my public Facebook fan page has a photo album that will be the exclusive home of some of my drawings. They won’t be posted here on the blog or on my regular website. It’s a little “thank you” to those of you who come spend a little time on my Facebook page.
If you haven’t “liked” my Facebook page yet, come join the fun! I post weird random thoughts that pop into my head during the day while I’m drawing, I post links to all my blog posts, sometimes I hold contests where you can win art and books, and now exclusive drawings!
So, to come see what all the fuss is about, click on the mysterious eyes above and you’ll be whisked away to the Chad Frye • Illustration Guyfan page!
“Some luck lies in not getting what you thought you wanted, but getting what you have, which once you have got it you may be smart enough to see is what you would have wanted had you known.”
– Garrison Keillor (1942 – )
A Prairie Home Companion came to Los Angeles this past weekend. Lake Wobegon was a long way from home when Garrison Keillor brought his well known NPR show to the famed Hollywood Bowl. Regrettably, I let the opportunity slip by to get my tickets to see the rare recording of an actual radio show – a true dwindling art in the world of entertainment.
However, I did have the good fortune to be able to meet Mr. Keillor when he did a book signing the next day at the wonderful Vroman’s Bookstore in Pasadena. Vroman’s has been a Pasadena staple for over 100 years. It is a beautiful locally owned two-story book store that really understands its community far better than Amazon ever will. They host countless author chats and signings, and champion local community events and causes.
Garrison Keillor, in his white summer suit and trademark red sneakers, was so charming and affable to each and every customer who came out to buy his new Guy Noir and the Straight Skinny book. He exhibited every bit the gentle, down-home persona that you hear on the radio. I was so intrigued by his unique face, that when I came home from the signing, I felt the urge to draw him.
So, enjoy the drawing, and if you aren’t familiar with Garrison Keillor’s work, take a listen any weekend on NPR to his tales of Lake Wobegon “where all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average.”
Every now and then I get asked by a kid to draw something that is completely out of my repertoire. This past weekend a young second cousin of mine was out here in California with his dad on a father/son sightseeing trip, and he asked if I could draw a Tazmanian Devil for his friend. I’ve never drawn Taz professionally, and it had even been years since I tried it just as a self-amusement exercise.
I remember reading once that the great Charles Schulz was at a public signing event drawing his Peanuts characters for children. He looked down and asked a little boy what he would like to have. The boy replied, “I want a drawing of Popeye.” Schulz said that from then on he learned to draw a few other characters in case a moment like that should come up again!
I, however had the luxury to do my Taz drawing in my studio where I have access to reference materials. So, I did this pencil sketch of Warner Bros.’ popular Looney Tunes character The Tazmanian Devil for young cousin Jason – or his friend, and did a second one so they both could have a drawing.
He shouldn’t have been too hard to draw. I wake every morning looking at a molded Taz alarm clock complete with moveable menacing arms!
Drawing Taz was really fun. Bugs Bunny and his pals were the few cartoons I was allowed to watch while growing up. They instilled in me my love for animation. Unfortunately, I have only had the opportunity to work on one Warner Bros. project – a Michigan J. Frog coloring book. Not long after finishing that book, I moved to California where I became a Disney guy for almost ten years. In hindsight, it is kind of ironic that my one WB project spoofed a Disney movie. It was titled Croakahontas.
Well, enjoy Taz, although I’m sure a Popeye drawing by Charles Schulz would have been much more interesting!
