Waiting period.

It's not really over til the fat lady sings. Or until someone reads the book.
First the disc has to reach the readers. One got his disc sometime yesterday afternoon. What do you know...I discovered that by changing one drawing in Chapter six I had a new theme that added about three hundred words and a second illustration to the chapter. Getting away from this thing for a week has cleared my mind slightly, though not enough to take the whole megillah objectively.

Anyway, I rewrote parts of Chapter Six, drew the two new illustrations, and sent them out by email to my readers and to the editor in England. The American editor tried calling and I will see if he needs one too.

It was a rather trying weekend...my Fax machine has decided to go on every time there is a phone call (it has since been set to Manual), my bicycle was stolen sometime during the weekend, a crooked banker 'forgot' to roll over an IRA fund so I had to go for the second time in two years to personally retrieve the money, and Gizmo the cat uttered loud cries and barfed up lots of kitty food.

The upstairs neighbor came back from Africa with malaria and I've been running some errands for her. With the bike gone I had to walk two miles to the shop to get another. Surprise. Nothing in women's bikes in the entire store. Oh, but 'they're getting more on Monday. Su-u-u-u-ure they were. I took a taxi to another shop and bought a different bicycle.
Now for the good news: the insurance will pay for the missing bike, Gizmo just ate her food too fast, and I did get the money away from the crooks at Chase (NEVER work with this bank!)

It remains to be seen how the readers judge the book and how the freelance work goes. I'm waiting for a package from them, too.

So this is sort of a meaningless update, but it brings people up to date on the sort of excitement I could really live without. It's also not much fun having a bicycle in the animation studio all the time--this new one is NOT going to be left outside overnight. But that means I have a new roommate. I've already informed the cat that she should not make it fall on her and kill her.

It's been sent in

It's sort of done.
I have done just about everything I can do to the book and am too close to it to see if anything else needs to be done.
The publisher asked for 'technical readers' to go over it to make possible suggestions for changes. This is a good idea as long as I get to pick the readers.
I wound up with one in the USA, one in Canada and one in England, so there's a nice sort of internationalism to it. There is also a little money in it for the reviewers.
When and if they recommend changes it is up to me whether or not I do them. The book will then go into production.
Still waiting to hear about a few odd illustrations but I can go ahead without them if they do not come through.

The Hoest Mansion with Guests

Hoest Toasties: A visit to a cartoon Castle

I have just returned from a trip to LonGuyland for a meeting of the "Berndt Toast Society". This is a subset of the National Cartoonists Society that meets at the home of (Bill and) Bunny Hoest.
Bill died in 1988, six years after designing and building his dream house out of cobbles taken from two New York Streets. The archaeological details, capstones and other decorative bits came from wrecked Brooklyn buildings. Bill was into building recycling years before it became popular.

Bill drew THE LOCKHORNS and AGATHA CRUMM and HOWARD HUGE. Bunny continues to write the strip with artist John Reiner drawing LOCKHORNS and HOWARD HUGE and LAUGH PARADE. Sadly, Agatha has gone to stock market heaven (I thought this one of the most original strips I'd ever seen.)

Bunny's probably the most successful cartoonist wife carrying on her husband's strip. Usually it is a son or daughter who continues the comic ( Dik Browne's son Chris drawing HAGAR THE HORRIBLE) or lends their name to the comic after the creator dies, (Dean Young for Chic Young's BLONDIE) or other artists are hired to keep it going (BRENDA STARR continues with a female team after creator Dale (Delia) Messick died recently). Bunny was writing the strips with Bill anyway, and John keeps the style consistent, so the more popular comics continue successfully 'under new management'.
There are relatively few women drawing comic strips although their situation is still better than that of female animators.

Bunny let me stay at the house overnight because of my transportation difficulties. She actually owns two houses; Bill's mansion is now mainly used as a studio. It runs '24/7' with Bunny doing the writing in the mornings and John doing the artwork at night. Bill built a marvellous studio on the top floor, complete with a crenelated tower containing the drawing board. Large as it was, all the important art materials were within arms' reach.
Bill Hoest was a remarkable man and I am proud to have known him. I think Bunny has done an incredible job keeping the comics going though I am still sad to lose Agatha Crumm.

Ten years ago Bunny married "Doccie" Carpenter, her physician. It turned out to be their tenth anniversary so I had a nice housewarming/anniversary bottle with me. Dr. Carpenter is a world famous pediatrician. He owns an early 19th century mansion of his own complete with horse boarding facilities and a herd of sheep. (The sheep are there to train border collies. I tell no lie.)

About 150 other cartoonists were invited. Bunny has this party every June and insisted that I come. I figured, why not? since I had no plans for the Fourth, I'd celebrate a little early.
I flew from Rochester to La Guardia airport and she sent a limo to pick me up and get me back there.

The mansion is on Lloyd Neck in LonGuyland. This is a place, not a person. Mr. Lloyd's 18th century mansion is now an historic museum that is not far from the Hoest's house. The scenery is lovely along the Sound, with sheltered coves and lots of sailboats. It is not a poor or even middle class community, to be sure. Oddly enough there were some very modest houses, definitely not selling for modest prices, scattered along the area. (One house was listed by Sotheby's auction house so I got the idea that this was definitely a silk stocking district.) The newer houses are of the McMansion variety. The Hoest castle is on land formerly owned by the Colgate family; the Hoests own one of the smaller parcels. The people there must have a minimum of 2 acres of land to build there but the nextdoor neighbor is, Bunny said, building a McMansion that almost fills the plot.
Lots of old NCS friends were there. It had been a while since I attended a function.

Bunny asked me to 'bring along what I was working on' so I printed out a few illustrations.

I was supremely chuffed to find that they made a big hit. Mort Drucker of MAD magazine really liked my caricatures of Humphrey Bogart and Laurel and Hardy (not together; though I did have Bogart with Woody Allen.)

So I won't worry so much about how well the book will be received. It's almost done. Really. I have about fifteen more illustrations to do and I wish to rework a few more. A few young cartoonists at the party agreed to let me use one or two examples of their work. I

There were even a few globetrotters present from the Australian Cartoonists Association there (nice work too).
Australians always travel big; they figure that since they have already travelled several thousand miles before they get anywhere, they might as well keep going. This couple was from Perth. It is the most isolated city in the world so ANYWHERE else is thousands of miles away!

Bunny's husband is 95 years old but did not look it. I brought along a fine bottle of whisky that Bunny said he was sure to enjoy. (it's one way to get old, I guess.)

Dean Yeagle was there; his wife Barbara is still packing so did not come. They leave for L.A. for good on the 7th (only coming back when the sale of their house is final, hopefully soon.) He's doing some interesting work, one of which is a comic that was formerly drawn by Walt Kelly! on the Gremlins (remember the Gremlin in the Bugs Bunny cartoon?) Of course he was delighted to be so honored and get paid too.

I stayed in a guest bedroom, helped Bunny pick up the stuff the next day (she is having another party on the Fourth but I was not able to attend). I shall have to send her a bunny picture. The house has stone, tile, and ceramic bunnies (in the best of taste) in many rooms. Bunny got her nickname as a baby since apparently she was said to resemble one.

I've got a children's book to illustrate. I took it on since the concept was very nice (it is for charity). I figured I am going to be done early with my own book. This referral came through a Disney source and I need to keep my professional chops up. Taking on the second assignment oddly enough broke through several illustrator's 'blocks' for me on my own book and I turned out some of my best illustrations. It's kind of like taking sorbet to clear the palate after the meat course.
The freelance assignment will be done before the end of the summer and Bunny invited me to Doccie's horse farm to draw the animals if I wanted to come for a few days. If I can get the upstairs neighbor to look after Gizmo I will take her up on it.

I'm still catsitting for the Three Beach Balls (the very overweight kitties.) The owners are in Africa studying bonobo chimps. Eric comes back a week before Monique since he's not the scientist; he arrives tomorrow. I have been the main support for these cats. The couple had an elaborate life support system set up with daily assignments for some people but it had one weakness: it relied too heavily on one person who never showed, so without me the cats would have certainly lost weight and possibly trashed the house. I tried calling people to tell them I was away on Thursday and Friday and no one showed up. Fortunately the cats have enough padding and enough food to get by for one day, unlike Gizmo who ate all her food and was very hungry when I got home.

The biggest, fattest one (a 26 pound turkey named Jacques) constantly mews in falsetto for his daddy. He'd make three of Gizmo. I think he wants to be picked up and petted but after one disastrous try I said no way, Jacques.
A cat that size sounds like a human being when it runs around upstairs, so several times I thought there was someone there but when I went up it was obvious that no one else came to take care of the creatures.
Considering their owners have been away for three weeks the cats are remarkably well behaved; there was only one accident on a rug and no claw marks where they should not be, unless you count Jacques' nose. (one of the smaller, fatter girls got him.) If I owned that cat I'd call him Fatty Arbuckle.

The flight home was horrendous. The plane probably walked from Manchester since it was two hours late. When it got there we were taxiied out and about to take off when A Politician allegedly was passing through and the entire airport was ordered shut down. I think the entire plane was sending waves of concentrated hate by then. after twenty minutes they let us go and I had a bumpy ride home. propeller planes are not my dish of tea though I know they are actually safer than jets.

so that was my holiday party. I have no plans for the Fourth though since Eric is back from Uganda I hope he is over his jet lag by then and can tell me how it was. Monique arrives in another week. She celebrated her thirtieth birthday in the outback and it was probably joyous for her--she has pictures of chimps framed on the apartment wall the way other people would have movie stars. (she has worked with some of the famous chimps and speaks of them by name with reverence. It is so cute.)


She also has a bumper sticker that says MY MONKEY IS SMARTER THAN YOUR HONOR STUDENT.

A picture of the Hoest Mansion is attached.

Redneck Cheese, Mother In Law's Mustard, and a Chair Named Charlie Chaplin

I've purchased a share in a local organic farm. This means I have to find something to do with eleven pounds of organic vegetables every week. First pickup is today, and I'm expecting to put all the beets into the juicer. Funny how I never liked beets until they were juiced--or made into Ukrainian borscht. That is really yummy.

Of course Ukrainian borscht is not really do-able if you are a vegetarian. I've decided to forego the meat this summer for ethical as well as practical reasons. One: It is easy to eat vegetables in the summer. B. You don't need to cook as much,and I have neither the time nor the inclination to cook in summer. C. Maybe it makes you thinner. Did you ever see a fat vegetable?

Now there is a problem with eleven pounds of veg per week; it's a lot for one person to eat. Well, I decided (being a Socialist at heart) to approach my upstairs neighbors and suggest that if I bought the vegetables and they cooked them, we could split the dinners. It saves me the problem of cooking and them the problem of buying the veg. All of this produce is organic and it's going to be about fifty per cent cheaper than going to the market. Even I could do the math.

Well the neighbors are currently in Uganda looking at bonobo chimps, also known as the "Horniest Apes on Earth". (excepting humans?) I call them the apes that would rather Make Love than War. They are the original Party Animals. People in zoos complain about their behaviour and ask the zoos to make them stop (they don't come with a parental approval button, though they have tried literally all the others). Monique is studying aggressive behaviour in bonobos. This is like studying the popularity of McDonald's Burgers in a Hindu community, I told her. No, it seems that there is aggression in bonobo populations; else why would they need to prevent it, or apologize for it, with hot monkey love?

So they're in Africa for another week and a half. I have been catsitting for Jacques, Soleil and Luna, aka the Three Beach Balls, upstairs. The big one would make three of Gizmo; the smaller ones easily weigh fifty per cent more than she does.

But when they're back we'll have the world's smallest food co-op here. Everyone seems to think it is a good idea. Monique is a good cook with vegetables. I can do it too but would rather just keep working on my drawings...especially since I may be doing a lot more of them.

Anyway, this farm share doesn't include fruit, so I went to the market today to see what was there. Lo and behold, amidst all the imported California stuff was genuine New York state strawberries, asparagus, and apples. You have to be very careful at this particular market since a lot of people are not local farmers, just truckers selling stuff outside the supermarket venues.

But the local people are great. There are lots of Amish people selling cheese and cake and bread and honey. One boy asked me whether my bicycle was expensive. I said no, it just was a nice looking machine. Amish kids cannot ride them.

There are lots of surprises at this market...I found a Russian man selling halavah and bought a block. Halavah, when fresh, is a delight. When it is stale it is like eating a stack of old newspapers covered with sugar. This was fresh.

The Russian also had mustard in a jar with a sour-looking old babushka on the label. "What does the lettering say?" I asked. "Is strong--like mother-in law!" the man replied. I bought the mustard for the label and will see if I can scan it--it's hilarious.

Then there was the farmer selling Red Neck Cheese. This is not cheese with a poor education. The cheese rind is a reddish color since it is 'washed'. I don't know what that is, but I know that it is delicious. This was the best American cheese I've had in a great many years; quite as good as anything from Europe.

For breakfast I went to the large cheese shop that sells European cheese. They have a special breakfast with goat cheese and egg and ham on a bagel. I get it with goat cheese and tapenade instead (My own invention, and it's a lot easier to eat; they charge less as well, probably out of pity.) The chair I sat in had the name CHARLIE CHAPLIN printed boldly on the back. Next time I shall have to ask why.

Simple pleasures are geniuine ones. I'd rather mess around in the farmer's market and play with my cat than go to the multiplex to see most of the new movies today.

Revenge of the Cartoons

It's been announced on Jerry Beck's Cartoon Brew that John Musker and Ron Clements' THE FROG PRINCESS has been greenlit. It will be produced in hand drawn cartoon animation.

I'm happy that the guys are back at Disney. That's really 'home' for them. It should be fun to hear about the development on the project (it's THE FROG PRINCESS, but the setting is highly unusual.)

Meanwhile I'm still staggering along on the book illustrations. Coming down the home stretch and something else possibly will need to be done in the same time period so I need more stamina or perhaps an extra 'me'. It is a busy summer.

It's Got One More D

I was just sent a link to an online site that posted an article on why drawn storyboards were obsolete.
A second article countered the argument. Very well, too.

The mindset that 'everything can be done with a computer' is not correct. It's not even something that is worth arguing about. It's a lot cheaper to work out ideas on paper before using an expensive machine to work it up in three dimensions. Why is it necessary to keep restating the obvious?

My colleague John Van Vliet once drew a cartoon showing a ponytailed producer talking to an artist at a computer terminal. The producer says, "And I want my entire project in 3D! It's much better than 2D!"

The artist replies, "Why is it better?"

The producer responds with a beatific smile. "It's got ONE MORE 'D'!"

the artist thinks "Cheer up. Someday geeks will inherit the earth."

John swears that this conversation actually occurred.

Hopefully, the truth will out.

tribute to thomas nast

This image of skyrocketing interest rates and 'credit card mountains' pays tribute to Thomas Nast's caricature 'THE BRAINS'.

The first image shows 'credit card addiction' with varying interest rates on the bottles. I had to ask my friends the value of the 'most expensive poker chip!' The idea of gambling with the house was my own.

The second cartoon shows the different rates of interest on three classes: rich, middle class and poor. The idea was Dr. Manning's. He also suggested the brilliant touch of having the refrigerator crushing the poor woman. I added the silly name on the diaper bag.

IN DEBT WE TRUST

RIT is 12 miles from my house and the public transportation is erratic (I usually take it to go home since it's more important to 'be there on time' than to get home at a certain time, though Gizmo might disagree with me here.)

I found a lady from the Business school who lived nearby and who was willing to carpool. We would commute each morning and return most evenings.

One day there were bags of popcorn--big ones--piled in the back seat. "Party?" I asked. "Screening," she replied. "It's a new documentary on credit card debt based on a book by Doctor Manning; we are viewing a work in progress."

I asked if I could attend this screening. My class couhad lab work that afternoon so I took off and viewed the work print IN DEBT WE TRUST , a film by Daniel Schechter.

Before I get to the rest of the article, let me tell you to GO SEE THIS MOVIE. It was one of the most important documentaries I've seen in years. There's no distributor yet but there will be a screening somewhere in Upstate New York (Rochester?) on July 4. The response in Nantucket (where it premiered at the veddy veddy tony film fest there) was outstanding, with two sold-out screenings.)

anyway when I saw the work pic I noticed that there were slugs inserted for 'animation'. I also noticed that my good friend Nenad Bach was doing the background music!

I spoke with Dr. Robert Manning after the screening and asked whether he was looking for an animator. He was. When was his wrap date? Two weeks from now. "You will never get animation finished in this amount of time, but you WILL be able to use illustrations!" I told him. I then volunteered to do them myself. after writing to Nenad, who told me that it was a great picture and he'd recommend me to his friend Daniel Schechter.

The upshot of the deal was that I spoke with Daniel Schechter about what sort of illustrations he wanted; explained that it was really too late for animation; drew up a bunch of roughs and showed them to Mr. Schechter and Doctor Manning ; both suggested changes and so I drew up a mess of political cartoons for this film and for the upcoming website--my first in years and the only ones published. I always wanted to be a political cartoonist but never had the fire in the belly that a Thomas Nast or a C. D. Batchelor or Vaughn Shoemaker did. I am not a devotee of the 'ha ha funny' school of political cartooning that is popular today; I prefer the older guys to just about everyone working today. There is nothing funny about politics today!

Since I've spent my entire career doing 'funny stuff' there is an element of comedy in these drawings. But I was never more serious in my life.

Two of the drawings are in the film, the rest are to be used on the upcoming website, and two more will appear as illustrations in PREPARE TO BOARD.

Book News

MEANWHILE BACK AT THE RANCH: The school year ended with a terrific show from the RIT animation students. Focal Press editor Paul Temme made a special trip to Rochester to see the program and it did not disappoint him. I like to show that my 'methods' actually work, and so student work illustrates some of the exercises.
All the negative examples are mine. I'm having a lot of fun messing with storybook characters such as the Three Bears and the Three Little Pigs.

Summer arrived this week; it's well over ninety outside though a nice breeze from the lake makes it not too intolerable. Worse weather will arrive later. The apartment has special curtains that help reflect the heat, so I'm prepared for the inevitable brownouts.

My own student film showed at the Museum of Modern art at the beginning of the month. I also invited friends, spent too much money, and showed the RIT seniors' work to a number of people and also to the curator of the new Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art in SoHo. Their current show, SHE DRAWS COMICS, is curated by noted historian Trina Robbins. It features original comic art by women cartoonists such as Edwina Dumm, Grace Drayton, and Dale Messick who were famous in their day and are not given their proper due in most comic histories. This museum has no shingle or sign outside and it's a must-see in lower Manhattan. Go to see this show!
A new book on the female NEW YORKER cartoonists, FUNNY LADIES, has just been published. I had no idea that "Sher Mund" was shorthand for Barbara Shermund. It's also a crying shame that there were many female cartoonists in the original New Yorker but their number greatly declined in the Sixties.
I've decided that there should be a certain percentage of female artists in my book since I'm fed up to the back teeth with the guy-centrism that is even more apparent in animation than it is in comics; a comic artist can publish her own book, but a female animator must work on a project with other artists, the vast majority of whom are male. Quick, name a female animation director. --Thought so. (Yvette Kaplan and Jun Falkenstein come to mind in the USA. Europe does better; Joanna Quinn makes wonderful films and there are other female directors on the Continent.

So I have a few artistic contributions from Nina Paley, Nina Haley (no relation), and RIT students Brittney Lee, Kimberly Miner and Sarah Kropiewnicki. And of course there's my stuff all over the place.

The Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art will host RIT in a special animation show this fall! The curator was impressed enough with the works I showed to suggest that a student make a presentation; and I believe we can arrange to get one of this year's seniors who has to come back for one more class (for some reason) in the fall term. I'm going to recommend showing maquettes and color work as well; we can 'have wall space' which means it might not be a one day's presentation. This will be excellent publicity for the school's animation program and the museum. I'll write more about it when it actually gets scheduled.

I don't know if we'll be able to have a book signing there too in January when PREPARE TO BOARD is published, but I wouldn't mind it. Right now it's more important to get the student work in front of the public. There are some excellent films to choose from and by no means all are senior projects.

Extreme Materials

You'd never know it to read this blog but I actually live near three of Rochester's four large museums. And the fourth is a short walk away.
The most famous museum here is of course the George Eastman House, home of Kodak's founder and one of the best repositories of historic photographic and motion picture materials in the world.
Eastman's house is on East Avenue. I live on Park Avenue. East Avenue is the 'Park Avenue' of Rochester. It boasts literally dozens of magnificent houses from 1890-1920, most of them either broken up into offices or condos. A few, thankfully only a few, were demolished in the Depression. I am talking about seriously large mansions and Eastman House is definitely the largest.
Mr. Eastman was so rich that that when he didn't like the proportions of his new conservatory room he asked that the house be sawed in half and moved back nine feet. He also insisted that the water and electricity keep running while this was being done. The year was 1904. When told this could not be done, Mr. Eastman said, 'Of course it can', paid what was necessary, had it done and kept his hot tea and reading lights going at the same time. It is difficult to think of someone being able to move half of a mansion intact with 'modern' technology. Most likely in 1904 it was moved with horses! The conservatory is well proportioned and a slightly different hue to one section of the marble floor is the only sign of the surgery that survives.
The biggest elephant head I've ever seen looks down at you from the high wall. Unfortunately Mr. Eastman was into that Guy Thing of the early 20th century that had people killing stuff Because They Could. One of his desks is covered in hippopotamus hide from an animal he killed, and he used to joke that 'I shot the desk'.
The Dryden Theatre is part of Eastman House and it shows the best movies in town. I'm a member but what with one thing and the other do not get there much because of ...well, the book, and work.
I literally live right next door to the Science Museum, which boasts a nice telescope on the roof which is always open free to the public on Saturday nights. It dates from the 1960s but is still serviceable, and in the nice weather I go next door to literally see what is up after 9 PM.
I'm not enough of a geek to do it when the weather is NOT nice (they call it on account of rain or cloud, but are out in the cold winter weather).
The third close museum is the Memorial Art Gallery which is owned by RIT'S rival college, University of Rochester. My next door neighbor is the publicist there and I finally joined the museum last week. It's about three blocks away and their latest show is called EXTREME MATERIALS. WHAT a show this is!
Just go and see it. I won't spend time talking about something that already has a nice website showing just how beautiful garbage and 'found objects' can be made to be. I always maintained that the artists would be the ones who really solved the problems of the disposable society. And most of them had a lot of fun while doing it. My favorite is the zipper sculpture on the opening page.
So take a virtual visit there today! The fourth Rochester museum, the Margaret Woodbury Strong Toy Museum, deserves an entry to itself and will have to wait. I have to go play Mouse with Gizmo so will close now.

You've been away too long, had your say too long...(Fats Waller)


Wow, it's been three months. Honestly, I wanted to post more often, but I've spent just about every waking hour doing three things: Working (which is still defined as 'teaching at RIT' at least til someone tells me different); writing my book, which is now about 80 per cent done; and playing Mouse Chase with Gizmo, pretty much in that order.


There are some excellent senior projects I'm supervising and the students have been kind enough to let me use some of their artwork in PREPARE TO BOARD! I've never worked so hard for so little money but I'm pleased to say that I think the book may just be worth it. Perhaps someone may buy it. I would like to think so.


The main problem so many animation how-to books have is that the authors do all the artwork themselves. I did not want to make this a one woman show so got some really super people to help me on this...and so I've got a little variety here. Some stuff from my collection goes in as well but the most important part of this book will probably be two things: my reworking of a famous 1940 production chart for animated films, since it's about time someone brought this into the 21st century; and my interview with Ken Anderson, the art director of 101 DALMATIANS, THE JUNGLE BOOK, and isn't that enough to know for now?


This is easily one of the best interviews I ever got. I often thank my (much) younger self for asking the right questions in these old interviews, amazing really considering how inexperienced I was (I was 21 and just about to leave school for my first job with Jack Zander.) But somehow, the right things got asked and answered. It's amazing to see how Ken sums up the entire book I took a year to write in just one session. (I edited out irrelevant or dated information since he went on for four hours with us. I'm going to donate the full tape to the new Cartoon Museum in New York if they'll take it.) I should just print his interview and the illustrations to save time...


Ken's got the last word in the book, and it's pretty devastating. Roy Disney kindly allowed me to quote him for the 'opener' and it's equally devastating. Grand stuff. Grand people.

The cat has been useful. She's here to distract me by asking to play Mouse when I've been at the computer too long. Gizmo has a very important job. No, she won't get a credit in the book, but she will appear in some of the illustrations.

I'm on track to finish at the end of August and the book should be out in January 2007.
I had to pinch myself at the beginning to think yes, finally, I REALLY have a book this time that won't disappear and prove to be some sort of dream or joke.

I hope it's not a joke. I've got a lot of humour in it though. I quote everyone from Georgia O'Keefe to Jack Handey (Deep Thoughts) and Louise Brooks in the opening quotes to each chapter.

Dad says it can't be a good textbook since it is readable. That's his way of paying a compliment.

I've also got a great art director vetting my chapters on design and two pro writers proofing other chapters. One corrected an historical error I made when speaking of a certain 'wabbit'.

Gonna do this right the first time since there will most likely be no other. Dad asked about a 'second edition with updates.' I had to explain that I'm talking about storyboard and character design...these things don't NEED updates. I think former classmate Darrell Van Citters said it best: the only program you need to use for it is Pentel 2.0 (a pencil)
And of course, imagination.

The Plaster Cat

Yesterday I was working at home and the maintenance man came to plaster a wall that had paint peeling. He sanded the plaster after it dried and then asked me what I did. I got a little vain when he said he'd seen HERCULES and took him in the studio and showed him the Fates cel on the wall. I then fired up the computer to show some of the illustrations for the book.

Just then a pure white cat ran into the room and leaped gracefully onto my lap, landing in a cloud of white smoke, and said "MEOW", very clearly.

It actually took me a minute to realize what she had done. Ryan said my face was a study. I wish I had seen it.

I took Gizmo into the living room, held her on my lap, and beat her with the flat of my hand like a carpet, raising a large cloud of dust each time. (She didn't mind this since it did not hurt her.)
I then held her and brushed both sides more than she'd been used to. Fortunately she is not an aggressive animal and did not try to fight me.
I have something called Pet Wipes. I used them.
Meanwhile Ryan vacuumed up what was left of the plaster powder.

Gizmo had another wheezing attack later that evening, but at least now I know what it is from.

So I am calling her the Plaster Cat.

Back to back

I sent off the first third of my book to the editor two weeks ago. A recent email stated that he likes the illustrations. He will write about the text later. Dad (who has no contact with the industry) read an early draft and typically enough stated that I am not writing a real textbook, since it is actually readable. Mom corrected a few typos. (Spellcheckers? We don't need no steenkin' spellcheckers!)
I am polishing the prose as I go along, working in sections (as I do when I animate) and using humourous examples when possible since the method works when I teach. There are comical illustrations as well as negative examples , some of which were given to me by a very helpful student. Examples of his much better recent work will be published right alongside the weaker work to make sure that people don't get the wrong impression.
My writing style can be verbose so I edit out repetitions and keep the text short and sweet. The first eleven chapters please me and got a good and fair crit from Greg Ford and Ronnie Scheib, who are acting as unofficial editors. Chapter 12 is underway but a sudden health emergency with Gizmo has slowed me down a bit. Poor cat has to go to the vet since meds made her sicker than before. I do this on the weekends and so this takes time out from the writing, but one must prioritize things. Student work will be used for some of the illustrations and this should give a nice mixed flavour to the proceedings. Many animation books only contain drawings by the author, and this leads to a one-way mentality (as in 'only one way to do this'.) It's important to show the way other artists handled their projects. Particularly students. When considering a faculty hire, I want to see a reel of students' work rather than their own showreel. Good student work is the best advertisement for a good professor.
Weather here was bright and very cold and we had the first snowfall in a week and I was never gladder to see it. There is something desperately wrong with sixty degree temperatures in Rochester in January.
The new computer is chugging along beautifully though I no longer have the picture publishing program. Oh well, must find another. This is a double drive monster that effortlessly handles very large files. I got it just in time, the other one was dying fast. Dad claims he has resuscitated it, but the repairman claimed the disc was skipping. Anyway, Dad is welcome to use the old laptop if he can keep it alive.
And I registered with Tina Price's new company, the Creative Talent Network for a very reasonable fee. It was amazing to see all my old Disney colleagues there, even those who are still there have a site. Tina was always a real self starter and this could be an interesting association.
I've got to send her a disc of some of my artwork. She's kind enough to set up a page for me onsite. There's no way I can do it with all the other stuff that is going on.
The Academy dvds are a royal pain to deliver here since they all have to be signed for and the deliveryman has an irritating habit of coming when I am at work. Fortunately I have someone who will sign for them for me when I'm not here.
The best films I've seen so far have been GOOD NIGHT AND GOOD LUCK and BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN (both sure nominees for Best Photography and probably a couple of others as well.)
My main objectives: get the cat well, get some more writing done, and get ready for classes next week.

Winter Break

I've been busy writing my new book during the Winter break. The topic: storyboard and character design for animated features and shorts. The publisher: Focal/Elsevier, a well known textbook publisher. The deadline: next summer, all inclusive.
After that nice long Canadian trip I figured I'd settle down and get this thing going on all subsequent breaks.
I figured getting a cat at this time would be a good idea, since I'm spending so much time in front of the computer that I get a little distracted from things like eating and housekeeping. Gizmo is doing a superb job at reminding me that I have to get away from the machine every now and then. Every few hours she pokes me in the bum and insists that I get up and play with her. Sometimes she has jumped on my shoulder and sat there like a parrot. This has not been as popular with me but it is funny to see. She refrains from kitty editing or messing with the computer in any way. This girl was the ideal recruit for the job.
My old computer fainted and trembled at the size of the graphics files I must use, so I went out and got a double barrelled, double disc, hypercharged Ferrari of a machine that effortlessly handles all the materials in a fraction of the time.
And what materials! Hundreds of illustrations must be drawn, and I am a little angry that I seem to only be able to do eight or nine a day. The writing's about one third done. Thankfully I have writer friends who have been advising me on technical and literary matters. My writing style is direct and they made me changed it when it started to wander. I'm grateful and they will be suitably credited in the dedication.
Several students at RIT have given me permission to use their work. This will, I think make the book unique, since some of the projects are advancing at the same time that I'm writing the book; so we'll have progressive developments in three media (I am working with cartoonists, CGI animators and one stop motion student.)
There are a lot of topics to cover. Every storyboard book I've seen has been aimed at either comic book artists, live action filmmakers, or television animators. This book will contain notes and storyboard materials that I assembled over a thirty year period, including interviews with Tex Avery, Ken O'Connor, and a variety of other animators and writers.
And who knows, maybe someone will buy it. I haven't though ahead that far, to tell you the truth. Right now I just want to get it done.
School starts next week and so I'll take care of student issues first, then go on with the writing.
And, of course, play with the cat.

Gizmo. 

Peaches, my first pet. The picture was taken in 1969. 

I know it's been a while since my last post. I've not been writing since most of my time has been spent t at work teaching, or at home writing a textbook on animation design and storyboard which will be published in 2007 by Focal Press. The rest of my not-so-copious free time has been spent with Gizmo, a small black and white cat whom I adopted on Guy Fawkes' Day, 2005.
I'd never owned a cat before but since my building does not allow dogs, a cat became necessary. It is nice to have someone greet you when you come home, and I figured that 23 years is a long time to carry a torch for a (very late) pet. Peaches was the family dog who died in 1982. I'd not had a fuzzy friend since.
Now, when you are in the market for a cat, people are as eager to fix you up with one as they once were to fix you up for a date. Except that it is far easier to find a good cat.
Emails came in from all over. Someone died and left fifteen cats orphaned. I was interested in one little girl but she went elsewhere.
There is an excellent Humane society farm here called Lollipop, but it was way out in the country and I have no car. A neighbor promised to take me there. We planned to go during the Thanksgiving break.
Then came an email at work, referred by one of the Student Services people, stating that an 'active, small, female cat' aged four, who had been spayed and declawed, was available.
Whatever one may think of the morality of declawing it is absolutely necessary if one has a houseful of Victorian antique furniture, and so I insited that prospective cat friends have this feature.
I auditioned Gizmo on the weekend of the 5th and she got the part. She is charming, well trained, very fuzzy and afectionate and generally a very good kitty. Why did the other people give her away? Well, they wanted a dog and Gizmo didn't. Their loss.
I don't know a lot about cats. Whoever said they were more independent than dogs was nuts. Gizmo is incredibly affectionate and she needs a lot of attention. She makes the late dog Peaches look like a Stoic by comparison. Then again, Peaches had four people to spoil her rotten.
Fortunately Gizmo adjusted very well to the new house and new owner; there was no problem getting her to use her (same) litterbox. After some trials in which either she or I hated the brands, I found a clumping brand of litter that did not give me allergies which she sort of liked which was biodegradable. Cleaning the box is sort of like panning for gold with less salubrious results, but the 'clumps' (which look distressingly like breaded veal cutlets) go right in the toilet and that's the end of that. There's no smell and little mess, which could have been a problem in a small bathroom.
Gizzy sleeps in my bed so there was no need for a cat bed. She's nice, fuzzy and purrs a lot.
I had trouble understanding cat language. As far as I am concerned all cats speak the same language that Grundoon the baby groundhog spoke in the POGO comic strip.
"Mxrp?"
"Gizmo, want a kitty treat?"
"Mrowppmmprrummmmmmrrrrr!"
It took a while to understand that the short, sharp. "murpp" sounds that she made were approving remarks. A dog making those noises is distinctly pissed off. Cat and dog really do speak different languages.
I am greeted each day with a a loud, long MEEEEEEOOOOOWWWWW when I come home from work. I interpret this as "Where the hell have YOU been?"
Early on it became necessary to inform Gizmo that we do not play Mouse at three o'clock in the morning. Not even if she has to.
Gizmo would first put her paw on my face at three a.m. Then she bit my nose.
When I objected to this she would set up an almighty howl outside the bedroom door. This was assuaged by the liberal dispersal of toilet paper rolls (empty) in the hallway. Kitty loves to clutch them to her bosom and wallop them with her hind feet to kill them and the sounds of 'scrabble scrabble scrabble' hopefully do not wake up Downstairs Neighbor in the dead of night.
Gizzy likes to 'knead'. This means she massages my right shoulder as often as she gets a chance to. She doesn't care if I have a sweater on or not. It's moderately painful without sweaters but if she could be trained to do this move on my back, I could hire her out as a Swedish masseuse. She's pretty strong for such a little thing. (she weighs about eight pounds and thankfully is not overweight.)
Gizzy has accomodated me on the choice of cat litter. But. She. Will. Not. Eat. Anything. But. One. Brand.Of. Cat. Food. Period.
I have tried more wholesome brands and she won't eat it even if she has no other choice. I have written to Paul Newman asking if he could market his cat food with Pizza Pie flavouring. Gizzy likes cheese and adores pizza. Since she is an adopted cat once owned by a guy I guess she grew up eating Guy Food. I haven't tried to give her any beer.
I don't eat pizza much but during a recent visit from a guest the revalation came. I had no time to cook that night so we ordered a 'white pizza'. Gizzy made noise til we gave her the box, and then she fished out a small piece of cheese which she seeemd to enjoy.
Actually most cats like cheese. I have written to Paul Newman asking him to please market his more wholesome cat food in Pizza flavour, and maybe Gizzy would eat it. Right now, she won't. The cat simply is not PC. She likes her kitty junk food and since she seems to be perfectly healthy, that is what she will continue to eat.
Cat toys are like women's fashions. They are cheaply made, overpriced for what you get, and are easily disposed of. Poor Gizzy cried when her mouse toys disintegrated after five minutes of play. I should point out that Gizzy does not play in a ladylike fashion, batting the toys delicately as cats are shown doing in the ads. Gizzy sinks her teeth into the thing and hauls backward as hard as she can, like a dog, playing tug of war with the 'fishing lines' that I use to cast the mouses around the furniture. Most of the mice don't survive a day or so of this, and some of the toys were actually dangerously made.
After the third destroyed mouse I went to the junk store, got a piece of fur from an old mink coat for a buck, wrapped it around a notebook ring that had been firmly attached to the fishing line FIRST, and tied the remaining tail in a knot. The resulting 'minky' is a great success and she can eat the fur with little hardship. Heaven knows what some of the other toys were made of. Her favorite toy was quickly destroyed and it's not possible to replace it. The remains of its fur are tied to a chenille pull in the bathtub (where Miss Kitty takes her catnip). She was heartbroken to have these toys taken away and has not shown as much enthusiasm for anything else. I have my suspicions as to the composition of the fur since she likes to try and eat the coyote fur trim on my best parka.
Sir Paul McCartney and his wife Heather are very active in urging a ban on the use of dog and cat fur for these toys, and I am wholly in agreement, even if the cat seems to like eating dog.

Anyway, Gizmo is a very, very nice cat. I feel better now that she's here.

I'll post a picture. She's also going to be on my holiday card this year, naturally!