Wednesday, June 10, 2020

Nightingale



Marc Davis animated this beautiful scene at the beginning of the "Sweet Nightingale" song sequence.
No doubt based on live action reference performed by Helen Stanley. But it is the way Marc analyzed her movement and the way he drew it that is simply stunning. These are not Marc's drawings, his animation keys would have a more constructive, rough feel about them.
In those days it was common for in-betweeners and clean up artists to study the work of the animator by tracing the roughs. This is one of those sheets.
It shows Marc's thorough understanding for what's going on here. First of all the camera angle is a bit tricky to draw, a slight down shot. And it's a rear view with foreshortening challenges. How do you draw that and make it look fascinating?
To begin with there is anatomical accuracy. The first drawing shows clearly that Cinderella's weight is on her right hip. The left leg is relaxed.
By contrast the last drawing indicates the opposite. The weight has shifted to her left hip.
Feet and shoes can be tricky when drawn from a perspective like this one, but they do look nice and simple here.
All pencil lines just flow through her body. Simplifying human anatomy to this degree is NOT EASY.
What I am trying to say is that this could have been an ordinary continuity scene...but not in the hands of Marc Davis!!