I've been upfront, quite often, since I was very, very, young that the artist I'd idolized the most was Disney animator:
Glenn Keane.
But, there have been so many very talented animators, and artists which have worked for Disney.
Often when you think of what a "Disney" style is, which I'm often commented upon as resembling is often credited to the work of (but not limited to) artists like
Fred Moore.
If you read the thick text-book-like book called "
The Illusion of Life" they make much mention, and give quite a bit of credit of this lovely artist.
He is most known for his "girls".
I've read many many accounts of people talking about how "everyone wanted 1 of his girls" meaning a sketch by him, and I've even heard/read that he had his own fan club.
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If you look at his work, often times you might notice how often some of his "girls" look very similar to Hollywood Movie Star,
Veronica Lake.
Altho' I personally don't care to draw the way Moore did, I very much enjoy his work. He was VERY expressive in his style & gestures, and was very good at capturing & expressing a very
fem vibe in his work.
I think most often when I mention Moore, people think of his work in the Masterpiece film
"Fantasia".
Fantasia, in my opinion as an artist, is 1 of the finest works of animated cinematic art EVER CREATED.
It was ground breaking at it's time, and used many techniques, and technologies that no other work nor art & cinema had ever used before, and REALLY stretched, pushed, and pulled the VERY best of of the artists of that time. It's a gem for the entire human race in creativity, imagination, and beauty.
It blends cultural ideas such as mythology, fantasy, classical music, and musical pieces that were themselves ground-shaking & groundbreaking when they'd 1st come out.
It is SO good, that it makes me cry sometimes, because I truly can appreciate it, being that I myself am an artist. Of all the old original classics created when Walt was alive, the 2 films which stand out to me THE MOST in it's INCREDIBLE skills of artistry, Fantasia is 1, and the other is "
Pinocchio".
Moore's body-types for his girls altho' I do like, sometimes are a bit
too adolescent yet
sexy for my own personal tastes. Altho' sometimes they often resemble
Veronica and her body type, they also have a very 12-13 year old baby-fat plumpness which isn't my thing... But, I supposed back then, that is what was considered beautiful to either men, or at least Fred Moore.
The body-types of his "girls" are often more demure in the upper body half, with baby-faced facial looks, and similar poses to "pin-ups" at the time, but the bottom halves of the female figures are often very plump, and more adult-like.
I like very expressive art. Typical animators generally do. But, I also like realism, exaggeration, and stylization as well.
My style is still very influenced by artists from the 80ss & 90s in American comics, and
Katzenberg Disney films.
If you've NEVER even seen the book "
The Illusion of Life", I would recommend you to at least try and find it in your local library, or book-store. It's QUITE expensive, and I'm sill astounded that I even have a coppy of it myself, because I almost didn't get it.
In 1999, I was living in
Center City/Fairmount Park area Philadelphia, down the street from the
Art Museum at a place called "
Parktown Place" (
Ben Franklin Parkway). I had somehow gotten some money, but I don't recall how. I'd often come in and out of money whether finding some way to sell something, do some kind of work, or job, or people would give me something saying that college students need some cash, so here's my contribution... etc...
I went to classes at The Art Institute on Chestnut St. and often went to
Liberty Place which is a set of skyscrapers with neon lights lining it at night (
the most beautiful ones in my opinion) that are connected at the bottom by a small 2 floor mall. On the 2nd floor,
was a small bookstore. Maybe
Walden Books...
I'd had an evening class, which I'd discovered early on were a waste of money since the night teachers were lazy, and left class early, yet you still had to pay the full price like any day class.
So, when the teacher went to break, and NEVER returned, I left the class, saw the computer labs were full, and decided to walk back to my apartment... But, when I left the building, I'd noticed that the Mall was still
open, because it usually closed at around 7-7:30.
Why? I don't know... So, I went into the mall, and I was hungry... I saw the food court was open, and there were still patrons inside shopping... but, not much... I wasn't sure when the mall would close... and, most of the food from the food court vendors looked to old, and not very fresh... so, I decided to go to the bookstore...
I entered the bookstore, and saw no one there...
I thought that was
very odd...
Was I being watched? Or, was whoever was supposed to be working just being lazy & taking a nap? Don't they worry about being robbed?
So, I went to the back of the store, and I saw all the books about animation... I'd already gotten a copy of
Preston Blair's animation book, so I didn't think I needed any other books. And, I also had 2 "
Dynamic" books by
Burne Hogarth. So, I thought I was pretty set. As for as the "reading list" or the "book list" of recommended materials were concerned, I was pretty set, none were required, and most instructors made copies from these books as hand-outs anyway... so, I was rather pleased with myself, and felt I was somewhat ahead of everyone else for the most part, in the new students.
As I went to the back, and overlooked the books, I was well aware in a number of expensive books, and the cash "
burning a hole in my pocket". So, I wanted to
invest in something... but which book?
At the time, 3D was very new, and VERY HOT, and I was seriously considering a career as 3D (CGI), even tho' most of my peers were more Traditional, and I ALSO favored Traditional 2D animation.... So, I focused my attention on some 3D books...
Finally, I pulled out 3 books, and wanted to choose 1 of those, and I leafed through them.
Which one?
Which one??
Which one???
I stood there undecided...so, I compared the prices...
Hmmm....
Not sure...
Then, I removed 1 book, and had 2 to choose from....
Until, I'd decided on 1 of them... I stood a moment and pondered about whether I'd really wanted it or not, and determined that I did.
So, I went back to return the other book, as
still no one was in the store...
As I laid it down, and was about to go pay for the book in my hand/arm, a young man (older than me) just randomly appeared. He wasn't there, and then suddenly HE WAS!
I gasped.
He looked Milato. He had blue-ish gray eyes, and light African textured hair that was growing very long in dreadlocks, with adornments in it, tied back, wearing the bookstore logo baseball cap that most stores back then required workers to wear, and an apron, with a logo of the store. He was slightly tall, slim, and muscular, with a very multi-etchnic look, with very handsome features, and almost breathtaking good looks. His voice was both calm, casual and laid back, but you could tell he was highly intelligent, had a high vocabulary, and was very articulate.
He looked me in the eye, and began talking. He told me:
"Oh, no. You don't want that one."
I was taken aback.
Who the heck was this guy? What does he mean I don't want this one? I'd just spent that whole time desiding which book I wanted, and I'd finally decided. I definately wanted this book. Who was
he to tell
me?
I was really
perplexed.
So, I spoke back to him: "Excuse me.
What?"
And, he said it again. "You don't want that one."
"What do you
mean?" I asked.
Then, he walked over to me, clutched the book, and talked some more...
He said, "
Trust me. You don't want that one. That's
the wrong book." and he flipped through it commenting on the pages as to how cheesy, cheap, and overpriced it was, and all it was was glossy paper.... "See? I'm
telling you, you really
don't want to waste your money on this junk."
I told him, of course I wanted this book, and that it was new, cutting edge, showed new examples of work in 3D and so on... but, he stopped me from talking, and he said, "You're in
Animation, right?"
So, strange! HOW DID HE KNOW THAT?
I'd NEVER seen him before! I was shocked... and before I could answer, he said "At the Art Institute, right?" I was stunned... did he go there too? I wasn't even in
Animation 1 class yet, just the starting classes... and I'd NEVER seen him before. I
knew the upperclassmen, their names, and I'd NEVER seen him among them either...I'm quite sure I would've recognized someone that looked the way he did.
Extra big baggy pants, and all...
So, I asked him if he went there too.... he told me he did, even knew the names of the teachers, my teachers, which classes I was in, and even the names of my friends, like Shan (my roommate) & Kyle, and their close friends. So, he kept talking, and I kept listening... He also told me he was often in the animation room working on his reel & portfolio, and invited me to talk to him there anytime.
Since he'd seemed so knowledgeable and friendly. I just relaxed and listened to him... He laid down the book, and said he would show me which book I
actually should get.
He lead me to a different shelf near the ground, in a different section, bent down and pulled the heavy, hard covered book "
The Illusion of Life".
I was NOT happy about that. So I protested. I said, "No, I don't want that." But, he kept insisting.
"I'm TELLING you, THIS is the book you want! This is
THE book. It's on the top of the recommended reading list for a reason."
He told me it was the best animation book. I told him I'd already gotten the Preston Blair book, and even books by Burne Hogarth, but he wouldn't waver in how adamant he was. He took off the plastic wrapping on the book, and began showing me the pages in the book. He went on, and on, about it.
Then, I turned it over and saw the price, and I freaked out. It was nearly ALL the money I had. And, I was upset. I told him it was too expensive, and I didn't want to spend all my money. He told me to calm down, and he would give me a discount... and talked to me for a long time, about several other things, even made jokes, and so on... he was very nice, and very likable...
So, I wasn't sure whether he was just being a very convincing salesman, and I was just some sucker, or whether he was just being a friendly fellow student artist/animator...
He took me to the front, rang up the book, bagged it, and talked a little bit more...
He told me he'd see me in school, and that he worked again the next day.... then, I decided I should go back to my apartment (a long walk) and said good-bye.
When I left the Mall, I looked back at the mall as I was leaving and saw all the lights were off... that was strange... but, I shrugged it off... I've seen
stranger things... so,
whatever...
So, I went home, with this very heavy, VERY expensive book.. and put it on the table... I leafed through it. It was very good... but, none of my classmates had the book, and I wasn't sure I even wanted it... But, I was
hungry, so I put it down and ate...
then forgot about it...
My roommate Shan hadn't been back a in while, since she was mostly w/her boyfriend (also my friend) and the other roommate was so lazy that she'd gotten kicked out of school. So, I was by myself... and the book just lay there... I put my name on it, sketched in my sketchbook, and went to bed...
That was it...
The nest day, I went to school, and I went to the animation room to see if that guy was there. I had many questions, and I'm a curious person... but, I didn't see him in there... I checked several times that day, but he wasn't there...
So, I went to the Mall again (Liberty Place) and went to the bookstore, and found that he wasn't there... On my breaks from class I would either check the animation room/floor, or the bookstore... and I never found him...
The following day, the same thing. The weekend, the same thing... during the week, the same thing...
So, I gave up, after about a month, and was about to forget about it...
Then, my roommate came back... and she was hanging out with me, when she noticed the book.
And, she gasped and freaked out!
"Oh-my-gosh! When did you get '
The Illusion of Life'?"
Her reaction was strange to me... I knew of no one else that wanted that book, no one that had it, and no one that ever wanted it...
So, I told her about that guy, and and told her he pushed me to get it. Then, I asked her if she knew the guy.
She was perplexed and asked "Who?". So, I described him. I told her he knew her, and all her other friends, including Kyle.
She just drew a blank...
So, she asked me if she could look at the book, or borrow it, and I said she could. And, being a nice as she was, she gave it back one day. (Shan was always so nice to me. Very supportive, friendly, kind. I liked her lots.)
Then, even Kyle came over and the SAME reaction: OMG! You have
The Illusion of Life!!!!
Kyle had more in depth knowledge of animation, and animation history than anyone else I knew. SO, I very much respected whatever he said. Both he & Shan were AMAZING artists too. Shan had great tastes in art like I did too, like 80s stuff, and they both had the BEST sense of humor!
I asked my teachers, and other students about
that guy, and NOT A SINGLE PERSON knew who it was. I also NEVER saw him at the bookstore. I even met a girl who worked there and asked her about him, and she looked perplexed. "Who?" Nope. never heard of him...
It's not the kind of face you could EVER forget. The hair, the eyes, the tan skin, the voice.... There was a kind of almost
powerfully angelic quality to the guy.
After September 11th (2001), one day, I'd found the book in my portfolio case in storage... I was trying desperately to get work in my field,
with no luck... and, there was some kind of storm, or something in Lewes Delaware, where my Mom lived.
So, I pulled it out, and had several times, sort of, hated myself for purchasing such an expensively decedent book, when I probably should've brought groceries... the only other book I'd ever bought like that was the hard-cover book about
the making of Pocahontas, which was FILLED with the artwork of my idol,
Glenn Keane. But,
this was something I knew very little about...
But, oh "
this is the book you really want"... well.... I got no career to show for it... didn't help me at all... should I sell it?
So, I sat on the sofa, petting Mom's dog, Tonka, on the head... and opened it... I looked through it, page after page, after page.... then back...
Then, I turned to the front and ACTUALLY started to
READ it...
What an idiot I was!
It REALLY was the book I needed.
Page 13:
1. An Art Form Is Born (read it)
....and they even cite
Glenn in the book (Page 11/Acknowledgements).
It's 1 of those "in the know" books. People who KNOW what it is
freak out when they see it! It's so expensive that it's practically a
luxury item, or even a
status symbol to own one...
There were a number of people whom told me they'd tried
in vain to get their own copy, but today, I believe you can find them online easily.
I have the version with the golden foil stamping on the glossy paper "jacket", hard covered in blue with an golden foil stamped image of Gepetto Painting Pinocchio.
First Edition, Printed in Italy Copyright © 1981.
But, if I recommend it to others whom didn't know of it, they are very nonchalant about it, like
whatever...
oh... that's nice...
If you read the 1st 3 chapters, it really gives you some interesting content (so keep reading), and also ideas into looking up what they're discussing. In some ways the book is intended for instructional purposes, but it's also a historical reporting item of reading material, with LOADS of graphics. They even discuss science, anthropology, philosophy, film, and more.
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