Wednesday, June 6, 2012

One Year Anniversary


I can't believe I have been blogging for a whole year. It doesn't seem that long.
Actually the blog format is perfect for what I wanted to communicate with you. A post is instant and interactive. I have enjoyed reading your comments, and it's always interesting to see which post gets more responses than others.

For this anniversary I wanted to show you something special. I have screened and elaborated on these two animated clips before during various presentations.
The two close up scenes (in pencil test) were animated by two of the greatest animators.
What they have in common is a similar situation. Tramp reacts to Lady, as she finds out that Tramp has a past with other "ladies".


Frank Thomas animated the first section, just before the famous spaghetti dinner. 
"Settle down with This One?" Lady asks. Tramp is caught off guard by Tony's remark, he explains this is a misunderstanding because of the cook's bad English.
There is embarrassment, a clearing of his throat and a sigh of relief, when he feels Lady sort of buys his explanation.
So much stuff going on in that one Tramp close up. Frank Thomas is AMAZING! 





Milt Kahl animated the next sequence.
Lady found out at the pound about Tramp's past with all these other girls.  Tramp realizes she knows the truth. His reaction also shows embarrassment, he is faking a smile, but deep inside he knows he is in trouble. This is very complex character acting, rich and insightful.
So yes, Milt Kahl is AMAZING, too. But you knew that already.

39 comments:

  1. love reading your blog for a year now, you are such an inspiration! Hope I could get to go to an animation class someday... come to Peru!

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  2. Thank you for a year of wonderful information and inspiration!

    The acting on this is just incredible! So believable and real. What always amazes me about the animation and tests you show from these guys is that their drawings are so clean! Were these pencil tests run through clean up first? Or did they just always draw so perfectly? I personally always kind of loved to see a few stray lines. For example Madame Bonfamille, you could see her hair moving and her boa shifting because those pencil lines weren't erased. I loved watching that.

    The other thing that's great about the tests is you can see the page numbers and notes. They showed a lot of that in the new archive series on Animation, which is such a treasure. I read you also contributed a great deal of your personal collection too it as well, so thank you.

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    1. These two pencil animation scenes contain clean up drawings.
      They were done by assistants based on the animator's rough drawings.

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    2. This is a very interesting question Andreas.

      We can see all those great line-tests from the 9 old men but we never know what exactly the animators did, mostly about the line.
      I've heard that on the 70s movies, because of the xerox, the assistants were only doing touch-up on the animators drawings (and perhaps adding few inbetweens?), but it's very difficult to understand how those guys were working with their assistants: did they change on every productions? was is very different from one animator to another?...

      It would be very nice of you if you could tell us more about that. And by the way, thanks a lot for everything you post and congrats for this aniversary !

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  3. Congratulations Andreas. I have enjoyed every one of your posts. The wealth of information that you have given us over the last 365 days has been great, I have learnt so much and I'm sure everyone else has too. I'm sure your going to keep blogging so I, like everyone else, look forward to your posts for many years to come. Keep up the good work and thanks for everything. Tom

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  4. Also what are your thoughts on Disney's new Wreck-It-Ralph film? Would be great to get your opinion.

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  5. I don't know much about animations but I just loved going through your blog!
    Congratulations for being a blogger for an entire year :D

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  6. Without a doubt, Frank Thomas and Milt Kahl made quite a team when they shared a character, and I love studying their individual approach when animating. King Louie and Madam Mim are other great examples of their teamwork.

    Congrats on your one year anniversary with the blog. It's been a real pleasure reading and studying up on what you've posted. Looking forward to many more! :)

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  7. thank U for blogging for this whole year! It's been amazing. But thank you most for your work in animation, you're such an inspiration! :)
    Love from Brazil!

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  9. Thank you, once more, for highlighting my MOST FAVORITE animated feature of all times! My love for it is endless... I've never seen anything like it again, not any other dog film ever had reached this level of character animation, softness and feeling of love. Every bit of pencil test and rough work from this film is priceless for me, I've been gathering them for years. I just wish we had a chance to see a whole film as pencil originals. Thank you for making my dream coming true. I'd be grateful for every new post you will be making, Andreas, but each one about Lady and the Tramp is exceptionally special for my heart.
    Thank you for being with us.

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  10. Congratulations! Thank you so much, Andreas, for sharing with us all these amazing things, both the old guys' and your own.
    I really love everything you have ever done and I really appreciate you as an artist. I wish you will keep expressing yourself as an artist and sharing your knowledge and collections with us.

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  11. Congratulations on a years worth of blog posts! It's been fun reading them, and seeing your pencil tests.

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  12. This is amazing! The clean lines, the details. Thank you for sharing this! I am sitting in awe at my desk. You can especially see all the hard work that is put into animation when you see the pencil test.

    Thank you for blogging for the past year! You are a true inspiration!

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  13. Congratulations on your first year blogging, Andreas! I am so glad you started this blog and share all these amazing artwork and pencil tests to keep us all inspired. You just created my favorite blog ever.
    Best.

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  15. Yay! Happy One Year Andreas. Your generosity of your knowledge and time are very appreciated. I woke up to this post this morning, to those two "masterpieces". Really so inspiring and something to strive for. I love that last "phew" that Tramp does in the end of clip one, the life and gears in subtext acting you can see in the drawings. Truly time behind it.

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  16. Your sharing fosters inspiration, collaboration and appreciation and keeps our artform, our craft, in the forefront of an everchanging field of entertainment. Thank you so much for your insight and all the masterpieces you post. Congratulations and Happy one year anniversary!

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  17. These two clips were amazing to see at the Masterclass event in Montreal, and it's nice to have them here to study in more detail! :)

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  18. Congratulations Andreas.....0ne year blogging!!....it has been quit a ride!!

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  19. Thank you for a year of inspiration! I've learned some great & fascinating lessons from your blog. Keep posting!

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  20. Andreas
    Milt definitely animated Tramp in that scene but I seem to remember the draft saying Hal King animated Lady in that scene.
    Grayson

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    1. No, Milt animated both here, for sure.

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    2. Yah I thought that was odd. Do you know what scenes Ollie Johnston animated in the movie? Also I was curious what characters do you think would have gone to Bill Tytla if he stayed during the 50s movies?

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    3. BTW What do you think of Hal King's work?

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  21. Congrats Andreas!!! you´re such an inspiration for all of us, there are no words to describe how wonderful your work is, as an animator, as an artist and as a knowledge provider.

    Thanks a lot for your exceptional labour, it´s very kind, generous and admiring of you.

    Hope we can enjoy many years more of your entries in this amazing blog.

    I love animation, love the nine old man and love Lady and the Tramp, so today is a great day

    THANKS A LOT!

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  22. thanks again for your generosity andreas!! Your blog keeps me inspired each week*

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  23. Thanks so much for a great year of blog treasure! Here's to many more! :D

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  24. awesome post! congrats on the 1 yr anny! :) look forward to any more to come!

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  25. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! This blog has been one of the best things for me as an animator and as a life long student of art and animation. Your blog has been extremely useful, informative, and inspirational. I have learned so much and I am truly thankful! Please keep it up for as long as possible.

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  26. Dear Mr. Deja! Thank you so much for this blog. It is a daily event for me to run to this page and enjoy the wonders that you display here. I am always appreciative of the details you bring out in the art work and your comments of either insight or simply appreciation for the work you showcase. Thanks again. This is such an amazing opportunity that you've given us to see this work that is often (at least in the past) hidden in storage from the public. The best to you and I can't wait to see your future work and the films you are making now.

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  27. A belated Congratu;ations on your first anniversary of the blog, Andreas

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  28. Thank you for sharing so much with us! There isn't enough time to say just how much you have opened my eyesB)

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  29. Lady & the Tramp is my favorite Disney feature from the 'classic' era, and this is my favorite animation blog!

    Happy one year anniversary, and thanks so much for creating this wonderful blog.

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  30. Great work!!! It has been a wonderful year with all these great posts.

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  31. I thought it was Hal King too, but hard to say if it's Milt because it's hard to identify Disney animators since they're all on-model.

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  32. Thank you so much for an year of endless wonders. Even if I'm becoming a 3D animator I know very well that 3D, in order to survive as an art form needs 2D animations to. It's the commingly and mutual support of these two arts that will ensure a future to animation itself. I always looked at 2D as a form of inspiration. Your generosity allow us all to share what the great animators of the past have given to you. This blog truly is a bridge between generations of animator worldwide. I think that you'll never be able to see where you're going until you know where you came from a so many times traditional Masters beat us for quality and dedication to work, we'll never stop learning from them until culture will continue to be trasmitted. Concerning this post I can say that surely this is one of the most mature piece of classic animation. There so much adult themes here, as betrayal, poligamy, broken heart, arranged marriage to save the lady's honor, themes too mature for humans, but apparently suited for dogs. Maybe the very first Disney love story, no princes, no princesses, nothing given for granted, two mature characters with their past, willing to sacrify something like liberty to live a life of love and devotion to each other, to the humans and to the family. Butch and Lady are tridimensional. No wonder Barbara Luddy made a character as deep as Merryweather (not just silly or soft, but capable to deal with death).

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  33. Congrats on the first year. It's awesome for people like me who grew up watching movies you animated, to see all the interesting things and wonderful animation that goes into making animated movies! Hopefully we continue to see the blog for many more years!

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  34. Celebrating One Year as My Favorite Blog!!Please Keep em Coming...This is the kind of stuff Ollie used to tell me about...Passing down the knowledge to the current and next generation. He would be very proud of you.

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