We all know that Tinker Bell is primarily the creation of Marc Davis. But several other artists explored her character's design as well, including story men like J.P.Miller and Joe Rinaldi.
Milt Kahl drew these poses based on earlier research, and the only differences to the final model I can detect have to do with her hair style and the length of her legs. They are drawn a little shorter in this version.
Marc's definitive model sheet of Tinker Bell shows perfect proportions in her figure as well as her face. By drawing the mouth so low she instantly looks younger and less realistic. The round cheeks add to her pixie appearance, and the lines defining her legs are elegant s-curves.
A mute character, but so full of life.
Marc's clean up assistant on Tinker Bell was Claire Weeks. He was able to maintain the delicate accuracy found in Marc's rough animation drawings, as you can see in these clean ups.
Milt Kahl's assistant Stan Green told me once that he (Stan) considered Weeks' work too perfect, almost sterile. I don't know about Stan's statement, after all his boss wouldn't pass anything that wasn't perfection. Professional jealousy, I guess.
A beautiful cel set up with Think at the window sill.
More on Tinker Bell here:
and here:
http://andreasdeja.blogspot.com/2013/10/tinker-bell-gets-her-own-book.html
Thank you for this! Milt's pass at Tink looks interesting. A little more "textured" in the wings but I think Marc Davis' tapered lines keep the eye moving. Especially in the hair design. Thank you so much. You're an animation / Disney history mentor for the whole community. Your efforts are SO appreciated.
ReplyDeleteOdd remark about the clean-up being "too perfect". Especially since after the clean up stage the drawing would again be re-drawn by a cel tracer. Surely the more accurate the better.
ReplyDeleteExactly what I needed to see this morning!
ReplyDeleteThank you for being so kind to add the link to your previous posts that relate to the most recent post you shared with us. We can maintain continuity and see all the art work which relate to each other. Thank you for your attention!
ReplyDeleteI love the expressiveness in every version of Tink. :D
ReplyDeleteBeautiful work!!
ReplyDeleteDo you think it is inevitable to loose some of the liveliness in rough animation when it is cleaned up?
It's the nature of the thing. A clean line is less lively than a sketchy one.
DeleteThat was an odd comment from Milt concerning Claire's clean-ups. Having working for Kahl I know Milt only wanted perfection.
ReplyDeleteThat comment came from Stan Green, Floyd. I should have worded that better.
DeleteSorry I misunderstood. Both Claire and Stan were exceptional assistant animators.
ReplyDeleteDid you happen to know or meet Claire Weeks at any point? He was my great uncle, and i'm interested in finding out more about him
Delete- Allie Weeks