Garald Scarfe and Hercules

In last year's published book Hercules, The Art of Gerald Scarfe, Gerald explains some of the difficulties he and I had coming up with the final design for the character of Hercules.

I remember Hercules being the last character design to be approved for animation. Gerald had tried a stylized version as well as a realistic approach. In the end the two of us worked things out together on a few sheets of animation paper, as you can see in the sketches below.

I think you'll find his notes and observations interesting, and I found Gerald lovely to work with.

Gerald Scarfe is on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/officialgeraldscarfe/?hl=en

Walt Peregoy and Al Dempster

Walt Disney was very firm when it came to choosing a background style for The Jungle Book. He made it clear that the was displeased with the look of the previous film The Sword in the Stone. Those backgrounds were too bright and colorful as far as Walt was concerned. For the Jungle Book he asked for a more monochromatic and realistic approach to the color palette.

Walt Peregoy had just styled The Sword in the Stone, and he was ready to continue painting in his somewhat abstract manner.

Peregoy left the studio after Disney's decision, and retired background artist Al Dempster came back to the studio to take over The Jungle Book.

Here you see the different approaches of both men. 

If you ask me, I absolutely adore the way The Jungle Book turned out. Spending time in Dempster's beautiful jungle sceneries is a real treat. But I also know that Peregoy would have created a fascinating forest for this film as well.

Peregoy

 

Dempster

Another TS Sullivant Original

While the cowboy's action is not very nice, this Sullivant illustration is gorgeous. Remember, even though most of his art was published in Time Magazine (and others) in small size, the originals are quite large.

I recently found this one online, and I hope that the owner doesn't mind that I am posting his drawing here.

The caption: "Ye say ye lost yer powder-puffs, Miss? Jest a minute and I'll fix ye up with a new one."

TS Sullivant Animals

A reminder of how glorious Sullivant's animals are. Inventive and unparalleled in their design. And a joy to study!