THOUGHT

I might do a cartooning manual if I live to be 80.

TOBY DAMMIT IN ACTION

A Great Leap Forward: Panels from NEVER BET THE DEVIL YOUR HEAD, my Edgar Allan Poe adaptation for a Graphic Classics volume.

This and others in this boss series are available directly from http://www.graphicclassics.com

Damnably Yours, MK

COPYRIGHT 2013 BY MILTON KNIGHT

HUGO'S ANCESTORS

Some of you are familiar with a mediaeval humor series I have had published occasionally, HUGO. I've been working out that cast of characters for most of my life.

Age 13, year 1975, wasn't a happy time for me; it was downright harrowing. It was at that age that I did these drawings of various precursors. Like many budding cartoonists, I was more into "concept" and "publicity" sketches than actually finishing stories or films.

A major, major influence of the time was the Van Beuren cartoon PIANO TOONERS (1931), which my friend had a Super 8 print of. And I was obsessed with the name "Shamus". Here they are, sans apologies:

 



And here's the pic to click to see PIANO TOONERS.

Primitively Yours, MK

COPYRIGHT 2013 BY MILTON KNIGHT

ANNOUNCEMENT

Friends: For some reason, folks are more comfortable leaving their comments on my FB page than on this blog, so I'm gonna start REposting the FB comments here. Any objections?

Sleepily Yours, MK

NORMAN LINDSAY, EROTIC FORCE (1879-1969)

A huge inspiration to many cartoonists and illustrators, Roy Krenkel among them. The reasons are obvious.

I first encountered the Australian writer/illustrator/etcher/painter/cartoonist through a cheap edition of LYSISTRATA (from which these images are taken). Opinions on his opulent women (and men) differed during his time; he was prone to harassment by prudes, and in fact had a railroad car of his original art torched by them. No doubt, his women are erotically charged, but without pin-up streamlining. They are supple, strong forces of nature.

There are several online galleries devoted to Lindsay's work, and quite a few videos. Here's one. Enjoy!  http://youtu.be/c27f0VyMAco

Sensually Yours, MK

SECOND HAND SOUNDS

 

Favorite Record Covers...

...and there's more where this came from! (*groan...*)

In my early twenties, I was on a quest for good instrumental music. I didn't know what kind or what artists I was searching for. But I experimentally searched NY garage sales & flea markets. I was a weekly visitor of a rather skuzzy weekly one near Canal St., and another uptown with my girlfriend. But the pickings were ‘collectables’, slim and variable in price compared to what I found after moving to LA. LPs were plentiful and cheap as a quarter. Record Surplus, Santa Monica…Canterbury, Pasadena. The crowded, dusty bins were my first stop in thrift shops.

 Things have changed, and the shops have apparently held up on the good stuff to charge more money. No more “white spine” record covers for that little in LA. I should complain; I have more than I can handle now!!

 

 

 

Acoustically Yours, MK

THUNDERBEAN DVD COVERS!

Here are my DVD covers, all spun off from 1930s cartoons produced by the infamous Van Beuren Studios. Steve Stanchfield is the enterprising man who continues to produce wonderful DVDs, a well-preserved, rare and dazzling array from animation's past. A good friend for over 20 years, Steve's early collections introduced me to many obscure cartoons, thus influencing my work mightily.

 

Drawn for MAKING 'EM MOVE, a disc of 'how-they-do-it' documentaries, used as spot illo on back cover.

 

 

 

You can find out more about Thunderbean's fine, fine, super-fine products at: http://www.thunderbeananimation.com/

 

Now, the cartoon THE NUT FACTORY, starring their would-be Mickey, Cubby Bear. One of the rarities of the time; a linear (somewhat) storyline brought to a satisfying conclusion. Featured on Thunderbean's CUBBY BEAR collection. A little sophistication from Van Beuren. (Click pic.)

 

 

Chaotically Yours, MK

 

COPYRIGHT 2013 BY MILTON KNIGHT

SPOOFIN' TV

Done for CRACKED, mid-1980s.

Sketchbook.

A sketch done in "tribute" to the material I felt surrounded by working in TV cartoons in the early 1990s. 

Cantankerously Yours, MK

COPYRIGHT 2013 BY MILTON KNIGHT

I'VE BEEN BOOTLEGGED!

 

Remember this T-shirt design I did for a British rock group seen in an earlier post?

Well..

What's more, This drawing I pencilled originally for MIGHTY MOUSE #6...

...was used for the cover of this psychobiology book (Scribners, 1997)!

How do I feel? OK, I guess...I haven't decided yet...

Bemusedly Yours, MK

COPYRIGHT 2013 BY MILTON KNIGHT

SKETCHES & STARS

Charlie and Eric Campbell.

The Giant Rascals.

MM in SOME LIKE IT HOT.

Cinematically Yours, MK

COPYRIGHT 2013 BY MILTON KNIGHT

CARTOONING LESSON #2

Continuing my lesson on making characters more flexible:

3) Another trick to keep the figure a subject of interest was used heavily by artists and sculptors during the Italian Renaissance: contrapposto. While the top part of the body faces one direction, the hips are twisted in another. This is especially effective in sculpture, because the figure forms a beautiful 'picture' from whichever direction the spectator views it. In drawings, the technique is rather snake-like in appearance, creating an unpredictability; one never knows how the figure will 'end up' from head to toe.

 

4) One can also occasionally strive to indicate that the viewer's POV is slightly above or below all or part of the figure, as in my attached glenda.jpeg, where the POV is definitely from below, giving a unique, foreshortened angle to the shoulders, breasts and skirt.

 

This gives your audience a surprise, keeping its interest. The quality I aim for in my own cartooning is surprise; in composition; in figures; in content.

 

 It should be remembered that as we discuss all this twisting and turning, a stiff, doll-like approach to the figure can still be used to great effect. I use it  in the sketch below. This type of stance provide a bald expose of the character's essentials. "Here I am, now what are you gonna do about it?"

 

After these words, I apply comments, hints, and quick sketches to three of the student's own drawings: "The legs of the figure in the foreground lack construction, bulging in a way that suggests improvisation[---]wonderful in itself, but in my quick-n-dirty jotting, I've gone a bit literal and indicated more definite shapes & joints to them. They are unrealistic, but supple because they are constructed in pieces with joints connecting them. A more definite illusion of walking could be achieved by indicating the slightest swing to the arms. The head is cast slightly downward, and there's more of a lean to the body. The waist is bent forward, and therefore, the line indicating division of shirt& pants is curved as if seen from above."

"For my sketch addressing your pedestrian [---], I've employed a lower POV as mentioned in the lesson. The man's shoulder closest to us is higher than the other. Arms and legs are all given slight inward curves to indicate that they have weight and are being lifted. The cuffs of his shirt and pants resist slightly, and hang down, also being of matter, and therefore, weight."

If you are interested in lessons from an affable 30+ year cartooning veteran, please PM me at miltonknight@earthlink.net; $25 per lesson/subject.



Bill Tytla's showy, mobile, comedic drawings were a heavy influence on the Terrytoons 'style' from the early 1930s thru to the late 1950s. It can be observed in Jim Tyer's work in particular. Sequence from BLUEBEARD'S BROTHER. (Click pic.)

 

Twistingly Yours, MK

COPYRIGHT 2013 BY MILTON KNIGHT

I'LL EAT YOU FOR CHRISTMAS



New Upload on my YouTube channel: MERRY DOG; Lantz 1933. Possibly the most sardonic Christmas cartoon ever. (Click pic.)
Happy Holidaze!