Archive for the ‘course’ Category

Thursday, September 7th, 2023

Education: W L Evans Cartooning Course

W L Evans Cartooning Course Brochure

In the teens and twenties, cartooning was a burgeoning field. Every newspaper and magazine employed a crew of artists to fill their pages with topical one panel cartoons and comic strips. Schools were not yet teaching the trade, so several artists took it upon themselves to create mail order cartooning courses.

Here a promotional brochure advertising the W. L. Evans Course in Caricature and Cartooning. Shaped like a miniature artist’s portfolio, and packed with great vintage cartoons and sales information, this brochure outlines why students should take up the noble art of cartooning.

THE W. L. EVANS COURSE (1913)
Promotional Brochure

W L Evans Cartooning Course Brochure
W L Evans Cartooning Course Brochure
W L Evans Cartooning Course Brochure
W L Evans Cartooning Course Brochure
W L Evans Cartooning Course Brochure
W L Evans Cartooning Course Brochure

A cartoonist is a power. His audience is the boundless public. He is talked about. His work is admired in society. He meets the most prominent people, and becomes personally acquainted with them. He is a critic of the world’s happenings.

And he receives a large salary for his work.

W L Evans Cartooning Course Brochure
W L Evans Cartooning Course Brochure
W L Evans Cartooning Course Brochure
W L Evans Cartooning Course Brochure
W L Evans Cartooning Course Brochure
W L Evans Cartooning Course Brochure
W L Evans Cartooning Course Brochure
W L Evans Cartooning Course Brochure
W L Evans Cartooning Course Brochure
W L Evans Cartooning Course Brochure

W L Evans Cartooning Course

In 1913, Elzie Segar, aged 18 began a correspondence course headed up by the Cleveland Leader cartoonist, W. L. Evans. The course cost a dollar per lesson and it took Segar a year and a half to complete the 20 lessons. By 1917, he had landed a job penning the "Charlie Chaplin Comic Capers" and "Looping the Loop" strips. In the ad above, Segar is quoted as saying, "I’m getting along fine, and it’s all your fault."

W L Evans Cartooning CourseW L Evans Cartooning CourseDecades later, Segar made mention of his early education in his strip, Thimble Theater. In 1934, his character, Sappo took the W. L. Evans Cartooning Course and delighted readers with cartoon drawings made from letters of the alphabet. Segar wasn’t the only cartoonist who got his start with this course. Chester Gould of Dick Tracy fame was a graduate of the W. L. Evans course, as was Dennis the Menace creator, Hank Ketcham.

Here are the first two lessons that got these great cartoonists started on their career path. If there is interest, I will post more of this landmark course.

W L Evans Cartooning Course
W L Evans Cartooning CourseW L Evans Cartooning Course
W L Evans Cartooning CourseW L Evans Cartooning Course
W L Evans Cartooning CourseW L Evans Cartooning Course
W L Evans Cartooning CourseW L Evans Cartooning Course
W L Evans Cartooning CourseW L Evans Cartooning Course

THE PLATES
W L Evans Cartooning Course
W L Evans Cartooning Course
W L Evans Cartooning Course

THE W. L. EVANS COURSE (1916)
Lesson Two

W L Evans Cartooning Course Lesson Two
W L Evans Cartooning Course Lesson TwoW L Evans Cartooning Course Lesson Two
W L Evans Cartooning Course Lesson TwoW L Evans Cartooning Course Lesson Two
W L Evans Cartooning Course Lesson TwoW L Evans Cartooning Course Lesson Two
W L Evans Cartooning Course Lesson TwoW L Evans Cartooning Course Lesson Two
W L Evans Cartooning Course Lesson Two
W L Evans Cartooning Course Lesson Two

STUDENTS: Print this stuff out and USE IT!

Stephen Worth
Director
Animation Resources

INSTRUCTIONINSTRUCTION

This posting is part of an online series of articles dealing with Instruction.


Fall is time to save when you join Animation Resources as a student member! For the month of October our Student Membership will be discounted to only $50/year! Best of all, you will continue to get that savings every year you renew as a student for up to three years! Yes, this applies to full time educators too! Why should you join? Each week we’ll be highlighting more reasons why you should be a member of Animation Resources!

$60Reference PacksSTUDENT MEMBERSHIP

DURING THE MONTH OF OCTOBER ONLY!
$60/year $50/year (recurring)

Animation Resources membership is offered at a discounted rate for full time students and educators. After sign-up you will be required to email a photo of your current student ID card or proof of educational employment to verify your status. Renewals at the student rate is limited to three years. Invest in yourself by becoming a member of Animation Resources.


JOIN NOW Before This Offer Ends!
https://animationresources.org/membership/levels/


FREE SAMPLES!

Not Convinced Yet? Check out this SAMPLE REFERENCE PACK! It will give you a taste of what Animation Resources members get to download every other month!
Sample RefPack

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Monday, May 18th, 2015

Exhibit: The Zim Course in Cartooning, Comic Art and Caricature Vol 2

Every other month, members of Animation Resources are given access to an exclusive Members Only Reference Pack. In May 2016, they were able to download Volume 2 of the classic Zim Cartooning Course. Our Reference Packs change every two months, so if you weren’t a member back then, you missed out on it. But you can still buy a copy of this great e-book in our E-Book and Video Store. Our downloadable PDF files are packed with high resolution images on a variety of educational subjects, and we also offer rare animated cartoons from the collection of Animation Resources as downloadable DVD quality video files. If you aren’t a member yet, please consider JOINING ANIMATION RESOURCES. It’s well worth it.


CLICK to Buy This E-Book


The Zim Cartooning and Caricature Correspondence Course

Animation Resources is proud to present exclusively to our membership the first of four volumes of Eugene Zimmerman’s landmark correspondence course in cartooning as a 200 page high resolution e-book. Members, to download a copy, login to the Members Only Download Page. This download will only be available during the months of May and June 2015 and might never be available again.

If you have not joined Animation Resources yet, see the Membership Signup Page. Over the next year, Animation Resources members will be receiving the entire Zim course, consisting of four volumes and nearly 1000 pages packed with incredible drawings and creative advice!

The Zim Cartooning and Caricature Correspondence Course

A couple of years ago ago, I stumbled across a "how to" book on cartooning by Eugene “Zim” Zimmerman. It was titled Zim’s Cartoons & Caricatures, Or Making The World Laugh. I happened to be speaking on the phone to Ralph Bakshi, and I mentioned the book. "Ooooohh! So you’ve discovered ZIM now! He’s one of my secrets…"

In 1967, right after he had resigned as the head of the Paramount cartoon studio, Ralph and his wife Liz were walking through Brooklyn when they saw a sign on an old house advertising an estate sale. They went inside, but it was late in the day and there wasn’t much left. Ralph glanced up at a tall bookcase and saw a pile of pamphlets stacked up on a high shelf. It was too high to reach, so he didn’t bother to look at them. As they were walking out the door, he got the feeling that he needed to go back and look at the pamphlets. It was a good hunch. The stack contained a nearly complete set of Zim’s correspondence course in cartooning. He asked the estate agent how much they cost, and was told $50. That was more than he and his wife had in their pockets, so Liz volunteered to run home and get the money. The Zim books were on his desk every day throughout the production of Fritz the Cat, Heavy Traffic and especially Coonskin. This set is Ralph’s most prized possession, and now he is sharing them with Animation Resources.

The Zim Book on Cartooning

Zim’s correspondence course was the most highly regarded cartooning course of its day. Spanning 20 volumes, it covered a wide range of subjects, from practical homespun advice to lofty philosophy. Here are some examples of Zim’s genius from the pages of the four volumes we completed digitizing today…

The course was published in two different editions… 1914 and 1920. We have been able to find an earlier edition of the course to supplement and complete Ralph Bakshi’s set. There are no chapters or specific assignments. The books consist of page after page of individual nuggets of wisdom. Each book and each page stands on its own.

The Zim Cartooning and Caricature Correspondence Course
The Zim Cartooning and Caricature Correspondence Course

Ralph also helped Animation Resources obtain vintage copies of the magazine Judge’s Library containing dozens of full page color examples of Zim’s work. These have been included in our exclusive online e-books.

Zim’s course is much more than just a "how to draw" course. In short anecdotal paragraphs, Zim succeeds in conveying what it means to be a cartoonist… the history behind the artform… how to deal with everyday problems and setbacks… and how to live the life of an artist.

The Zim Cartooning and Caricature Correspondence Course

The Zim Cartooning and Caricature Correspondence Course

Zim was the founder of the "grotesque" school of caricature, which formed the basis of what we now call "cartoony drawing". He provides lots of examples of caricatures drawn from life, with photos of his subjects alongside his caricature of the person.


CLICK to Buy This E-Book


There’s plenty of traditional drawing lessons too. Zim’s masterful expressive line fills every page with perfect examples of the principles he is discussing.

The Zim Cartooning and Caricature Correspondence Course
The Zim Cartooning and Caricature Correspondence Course

The book is full of amusing observation. Just look at the shoes and the way the clothing hangs on these bums. Zim is able to pack personality into every detail of the character.

The Zim Cartooning and Caricature Correspondence Course

If you aren’t convinced yet that Zim is a drop dead genius, just click on this image!

The Zim Cartooning and Caricature Correspondence Course

The most impressive illustrations in the course are the examples of Zim’s rough sketches. He had an uncanny knack for being able to express every nuance of his subject with a free flowing and loose pencil technique.

The Zim Cartooning and Caricature Correspondence Course

He was capable of extreme exaggeration that captured the essence of the unique qualities of the personalities he chose to caricature.

The Zim Cartooning and Caricature Correspondence Course

But the most amazing thing about Zim’s artistry was his ability to draw the viewer into his world and make them feel the way the characters in the drawings feel. Wouldn’t you love to live in a cartoony world like this? You can, and Zim can teach you to THINK like a cartoonist.


CLICK to Buy This E-Book


Not A Member Yet? Want A Free Sample?

Check out this SAMPLE REFERENCE PACK! It will give you a taste of what Animation Resources members get to download every other month!

Sample RefPack


JOIN TODAY To Access Members Only Content


Eugene Zim ZimmermanEugene Zim Zimmerman

This posting is part of a series of articles comprising an online exhibit devoted to Eugene “Zim” Zimmerman.

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Monday, October 22nd, 2012

Instruction: Preston Blair’s Advanced Animation Lesson 00

Preston Blair

Animation Resources has created a lesson plan based on Preston Blair’s classic book, “Advanced Animation”. The course is designed to teach students the fundamental skills that animation professionals use in their jobs each and every day. The course covers volumetric drawing, construction, clear silhouettes, line of action, posing, expression and much more. This course is valuable for other types of artists as well. Cartooning and illustration require the same fundamental skills. It’s never too late to brush up on the fundamentals.

Apply To Join This FREE Online Course!

Submissions are being accepted to join this free online self-study course. If you are interested, Lesson 00 is your entry test. Work on the lesson until you feel you have completely mastered it, and submit a clear image of your BEST bear head for review to our Discord “Get Critique” channel. (Only one drawing- your BEST!) The professional animators representing Animation Resources on Discord (Davey Jarrell, Taber Dunipace and David “Pez” Hofmann) will be reviewing the submissions and providing critique so you can complete the first lesson. If you qualify, you will be assigned a private mentor to continue the course.

There is no charge for these lessons, but keep in mind that this is SELF-STUDY, not a school where teachers supervise you as you work. You will be expected to be self-motivated and work hard on your own to solve the problems in each lesson. We will provide instructions and occasional guidance, but advancing to the next step in the course is up to you. This may be the most difficult skill to learn that you have ever worked to acquire. It generally takes students two or three months, just to complete the bear head lesson. To complete the rest of the lessons, it may take you a year or more. Dedication and perseverance are essential to your success.

INTRODUCTION

Animation Resources’ course begins with the construction of a simple head and builds upon that, adding new challenges with each lesson. Practice each lesson until you master it and it becomes second nature. If you get impatient and skip forward, you won’t get anything out of your studies.

Preston BlairPreston BlairAs you may have already noticed, the examples provided in these lessons are drawn in an old fashioned funny animal style. You may have no interest in learing to draw in this style. We understand completely that you might want to work in a more contemporary style of drawing, and we encourage that. But the underlying principles Preston Blair’s drawings illustrate are invaluable and they apply to many different styles, old and new. The principle advantage of learning using these particular designs is their simplicity. It’s important to learn the basics using simple volumetric shapes before venturing into more complex forms.


Lesson O: The Bear Head
Lesson Supervised by JoJo Baptista


In this lesson you are learning volumetric construction, hierarchy of forms, and proportions.

This exercise is a qualifying round. It’s learning to draw a volumetric shape composed of one simple form- the bear head.

Preston Blair

Follow these steps:

  • Start with the largest shapes first, and work your way down to the details. The first step is to draw a perfect circle, however you’ll see that it’s not a flat shape. It’s a sphere.
  • Next add the guidelines on the sphere following the curvature of the sphere vertically. The guide lines will help you visualize the head as a volume, not a flat shape on your paper. They will also help you judge the proportions so your features fall in the same place on the sphere each time.
  • Now wrap a guideline around the form horizontally. You have created a volumetric sphere.
  • When the basic volume of the head is clearly defined, you can move on to the secondary forms. Attach the muzzle to the sphere. The muzzle is volumetric and wraps around the surface of the sphere. It’s not floating in space and it isn’t a flat shape on top of the form. When you have constructed the muzzle properly, you can begin to wrap the eyes around the form. Use the guide lines as an aid to turn the eyes around the shape.
  • The last step is to anchor the details to the forms you’ve just constructed. For example, the pupils follow the form of the eyes, and the mask around the bear head’s eyes and mouth wrap along the surface of the form. The eyebrows do as well. Even the small bits of fur are anchored to the main shape of the ear. Can you guess what the basic shape of the ears looks like without the details?
  • Remember: Nothing is floating in space. It all wraps around the form.

SOME TIPS:

When you animate, it’s important to start with the largest forms first. An animator designs the basic rough pass of the movement using just the primary shapes. If you start with details first, it’ll be a lot more difficult to manage your drawings. Features will tend to slide around as the character moves because they aren’t anchored to the forms first.

If you’re having trouble controlling the volumetric wrapping, I suggest drawing just the first few steps as many times as possible until you feel comfortable enough to proceed to the next steps.

Accuracy is also important in animation. If your drawings fluctuate from drawing to drawing, your animation will shimmer and shake. In order to get your drawings to flow from one to the next, you have to have complete control. You have to aspire to being able to draw the bear *perfectly*. This isn’t about interpreting the bear in your style. It’s about being able to precisely construct it so it comes out exactly the same every time.

Don’t draw just one bear head. Draw it many times. Note your mistakes and correct them the next time. With each attempt the process will be ingrained deeper and deeper into your mind. It will take hundreds of carefully drawn bear heads to get to where you need to be to advance to the next lesson. Get to work! –JoJo Baptista, Supervisor of the Course

WHEN YOU ARE DONE

When you have completed this exercise and you’re satisfied that you have perfectly mastered the concepts in this lesson, log in to the Animation Resources Discord “Get Critique” channel. Post a clear image of your BEST bear head, and ask the staff to review it for you. Don’t post your work until you are confident that it perfectly satisfies the instructions in this lesson.


Preston Blair’s Advanced Animation
(First Edition)


Preston BlairPreston BlairPreston Blair was one of the finest draftsmen to have ever worked in the field of animation. He animated Mickey Mouse in "Sorcerer’s Apprentice", and he was one of the top animators at MGM, where he animated the legendary Red Hot Riding Hood. His book, titled simply "Animation" crystalized the basic principles of cartoon animation, and profoundly influenced a whole generation of young animators. He passed away in 1995.

Preston Blair’s book “Advanced Animation” is one of the best books on the subject. It is the text Animation Resources’ drawing course is based upon. When Blair put the book together in 1947, he used the characters he had animated at Disney and MGM to illustrate the various basic principles of animation. Apparently, the rights to use some of the characters were revoked after the book was already in the stores. Publication was halted for a time, and he was forced to redraw most of the MGM characters, replacing them with generic characters of his own design. The revised edition went on to become a classic, and the first edition was forgotten.

Preston Blair BookPreston Blair BookTo participate in this online drawing course, you will need to get a copy of Preston Blair’s Animation (Book 1).You can order the revised edition through this Amazon link, or you should be able to find it at your local art store. Below is a link to a PDF of the rare first edition we will be using for our examples in this course. This PDF is set up so you can take it to your local copy shop and have them print it out on 11 x 17 paper. You should have a paper copy of the book to work with. Below the link to the PDF are JPEGS of all of the pages from the first edition of Advanced Animation.


Preston Blair’s Advanced Animation PDF
Download Page
PDF File / 26 Pages / 22.5 MB Download
To download, RIGHT CLICK on the link (Mac users OPTION CLICK)
and select SAVE TO DISK.

Preston Blair
Preston Blair
Preston Blair
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Preston Blair

Here are a couple of comments about Preston Blair’s book from animation professionals…

"I began making animated films while I was a student at Santa Barbara Junior High School many, many years ago. The only text book I had was Preston Blair’s animation book. Honestly, it was all I needed to get started. I can’t remember how many copies of this book I’ve purchased over the years to give to young kids with an interest in animation. The book is pure gold." Floyd Norman

"A lot of young artists look at the Preston Blair book as some sort of archaic and old-fashioned irrelevant text. Almost as though learning these lessons will ruin their “style”. This of course is the folly of youth. The ability to draw like Preston Blair, using all the tips in the book gives you the strength to do ANYTHING." Nick Cross

"Many thanks on your posting of the original version of the Preston Blair animation book. If that’s not worth a contribution to your cause, nothing is. Keep up the good work." Paul Dini

If you don’t have Preston Blair’s book yet,

ORDER IT NOW!

No cartoonist should be without it.

Stephen Worth
Director
Animation Resources

INSTRUCTIONINSTRUCTION

This posting is part of an online series of articles dealing with Instruction.

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