Friday, January 15, 2016

Robin Hood Scene II

Here is part two of Milt Kahl's Robin Hood scene, which required many key drawings. Lots going on, there is a walk, and the acting is very lively. The more motion on the screen, the more drawings the animator needs to put in.
Part III to follow.





















Thursday, January 14, 2016

Brian Bedford




Tony award winning actor Brian Bedford, who provided the voice for Disney's Robin Hood has died.
Bedford was a classical Tony award winning actor, who performed on stages in the UK, the US and Canada. His film roles include The Grand Prix, 1966, and Nixon, 1995.
A few years ago, during an interview, he admitted that to audiences he is mostly known for Robin Hood.
Milt Kahl, who struggled with the design for the character, nevertheless liked the debonair quality in Bedford's voice. (The studio originally had cast Tommy Steele for the part, but for some reason it didn't work out.)
Someone tweeted today about Robin Hood: The only cartoon character many people admit to having a crush on.
I so wished Milt was still alive to comment on this phenomenon. I can hear his boisterous laugh.
But when you think of it, what an achievement...

This scene shows an early, long nosed version of the character. Only a few scenes like this one were re-drawn and altered to represent a shorter nosed fox. But as usual, Milt's strive for superior graphic design is incredible. The way paws function as hands, the feeling for loose fabric and the ability to draw the head from any angle beautifully.
This is part one of a long scene. Robin is reacting to a comment from Little John: Why don't you stop moaning and moping around...just marry the girl!
His response in this scene:
Marry her? You just don't walk up to a girl, hand her a bouquet and say: Hey, remember me, we were kids together, will you marry me? No...it just isn't done that way.

I'll post the rest of the scene if you are interested.




















Here are some of Milt's thumbnail sketches in preparation for the scene




If you'd like to see Milt talk about Robin Hood, go to this previous post, which includes a strange interview.

http://andreasdeja.blogspot.com/2012/11/milt-kahl-talks-robin-hood.html

Tuesday, January 12, 2016

Fritz Hug Prints




More art from Swiss animal artist extraordinaire, Fritz Hug. I love his stuff.
His compositions are always great, and each sketch or illustration showcases a pose that is so typical and unique for this particular animal. Look at the skin flap on these elephants that starts at the knee and stretches all the way to the rib cage. Amazing observation.
Most of these drawings are actually high end prints offered on ebay. They are not cheap for a good reason, this guy is amazing!
He always pushes the contrast between thick and thin body parts, but more importantly, his love for all animals comes through in every image.






















Here is the link to my first post on Fritz Hug, but if you type his name on my blog search, there is plenty more:

http://andreasdeja.blogspot.com/2011/11/fritz-hug.html