Archive for the ‘t. s. sullivant’ Category

Friday, February 3rd, 2023

Magazine Cartoons: The Father of the Disney Style- T. S. Sullivant

T S Sullivant

T S SullivantT S SullivantT. S. Sullivant is one of the most important cartoonists in the history of the medium. He pioneered many of the elements of anthropomorphism that we now take for granted. The general public may not be familiar with his name, but animators sure appreciate his work. (See Eddie Fitzgerald’s first article on Sullivant and his second. Also see, Andreas Deja’s blog… T.S. Sullivant Part One and Part Two) The influence of Sullivant’s animals (along with the work of Heinrich Kley…) can be seen in many of the Disney features.

Sullivant was born in 1854, and didn’t begin cartooning professionally until the age of 32. His cartoons appeared in Life and Puck during the 1890s, and in Judge around the turn of the century. William Randolph Hearst signed him to an exclusive contract in 1904, and his mastheads populated by cartoony animals appeared on the top of the Hearst comics pages until 1907. Sullivant returned to Life magazine in 1911, and remained there until his death in 1926.

Sullivant’s pen and ink style doesn’t really suit itself for reproduction on a computer screen, but I have made large versions available of all of these images. Just click on the picture to see it larger.

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Thursday, December 16th, 2010

Biography: T. S. Sullivant

This posting is a stub. You can contribute to this entry by providing information through the comments link at the bottom of this post. Please organize your information following the main category headers below….

Birth/Death

Birth: 1854, Columbus, Ohio ?Death: 1926

Occupation/Title

Caricaturist/Cartoonist/Illustrator

Bio Summary

Sullivant did not seriously pursue his art until the age of 33. His work appeared in periodicals such as Truth, Puck, Judge, Harper’s Weekly and Bazar, Texas Siftings and Time. He is known primarily for his work in Life.

Early Life/Family

His father was William Starling Sullivant, renowned bryologist. T.S. Sullivant left Columbus at age 18, and lived for several years in Europe. After this time, he lived in Philadelphia.

Education/Training

In 1887, Sullivant studied briefly at the Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts. Sullivant apprenticed himself to E.B. Bensell “an illustrator of the old school, who drew on the wooden block” according to V. Robard author of “The Caricatures of T.S. Sullivant” from Godey’s Magazine
Vol. CXXXV, No. 807, Sept. 1897 (http://john-adcock.blogspot.com/2008/03/t-s-sullivant.html)
Career Outline

1896 – “Fables for the Times” in Life (published afterward as a book)?Worked for Puck during the 1890’s?Worked for Judge around 1900?Worked for William Randolph Hearst: 1904- 1907?Continued working for Life: 1911-1926

Comments On Style

Sullivant emphasized the features or traits he intended to ridicule through enlargement of such parts, which Robard described Sullivant accomplished though “a manner most modern and most individual.” Beyond Sullivant’s exaggeration of parts, Robard further described Sullivant’s style as having “great simplicity of line, an infrequency of cross-hatching, and a general openness of treatment. His lines are direct, strongly black…and rarely broken up…Sullivant always takes some unexpected view-point.”?According to director Stephen Worth, “He pioneered many of the elements of caricature and anthropomorphism that we now take for granted.”?(http://www.animationarchive.org/2007/03/biography-father-of-cartooning-t-s.html)?According to animator Andreas Deja, “Sullivant had a truly unique style of animal and human caricature, incorporating an element of surprise into every one of his drawings. To emphasize certain personality traits, he used the most amazing methods of distortion which makes it seem as if we’re looking at his creations through a fish eye lens. He also demonstrates a very keen understanding of lighting, with a rendering technique that gives his characters a quite believable presence. His style remains unique; he never lapses into formulas. He maintains a brilliant originality in all of his mature work.” ?(http://www.cartoonbrew.com/old-brew/ts-sullivant-and-andreas-deja)

Influences

Sullivant admired John Leech’s drawings since childhood.

Personality

Anecdotes

Miscellaneous

Filmography

Honors

Related Links


http://john-adcock.blogspot.com/2008/03/t-s-sullivant.html?

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