Natural Artists - Swinnerton and Rabier's Style Of Success

 

I was looking into a Silly Symphony cartoon recently called Elmer Elephant (1936) It's a really cute and well-told cartoon, but I seem to love alot of the designs the most.

They remind me of a certain artist I've been admiring lately. He seems to fit my drawing style really well. This kinda relates to James Swinnerton especially in his Near To Nature Babies illustrations.

Swinnerton is a truly magnificent and influential artist. He's made a ton of cute and relaxing paintings and characters throughout the 20th century. These were specifically made in the late 20s and they still look refreshing and beautiful a near hundred years later.

He had alot of passion with animals because I can't really tell what their actual species are. They just seem really interesting and unique to look at.

I love when cartoonists draw something quite appealing to viewers because it actually helps to be inspired or enjoyed by something your actually seeing.

He has a great sense of modeling with these type of characters. Disney and other studios must've easily been inspired by these drawings, and not only McCay and Herriman's drawings. 

Like I was saying about Disney's Elmer Elephant, it uses alot of animals and has these cute and natural designs you rarely get to see in cartoons. Their anthropomorphic and wear clothes humans wear. 

He was truly iconic and my favorite cartoonists. 

I recently tried drawing some of Swinnerton's characters and giving off a Ward Kimball charm to them, the flappy shoes, the round heads. Kimball is among those animators I genuinely feel inspired.

Kimball's animation especially in the early 40s were one of Disney's best. There was something unique about his animation style that was different to the others. The character's lip syncing was really unique and freshly drawn. His movements felt cartoony and witty as well. It really catched me and it was kinda easy for me to imitate it.

Today I was exploring more comic artists and the one that stood out to me the most from what I saw was Benjamin Rabier, a french artist who rarely gets the treatment nowadays. Just look at his info.

I realized that this legendary man was really iconic and drawn to me as well. I do have to say his early starts weren't as great as what came later his comics like this one were kinda boring and uninteresting.

 

To me his illustrations were by far better and more appealing. Look at how gorgeous this illustration is! This is easily impeccable and worth appreciating.

I literally knew about this guy at first glance recently and loving him already. I rarely get to talk about people from other states but it's quite amusing for me to talk about them. 

I've been trying to freely explore almost every old illustrated artist I see on the internet and while yes, almost all of them I looked at have fairly well drawn images, I can't say they all left an impact on me. Some of them have messy color prints on the strips or have the most hard to look at characters in all of comic publishing history. It's no surprise that these actually have potential and while they are rare and quite lost in terms of newspaper issuing, these are still timeless and worth the recommendation.

You can really tell that all Rabier wanted to do was make something simple yet engaged, no story, no words just art that speaks for itself. 

It's kinda rare seeing artists back in the 20th century go on for a more cute aspect since every cartoonist was wanting the viewers to take on a more serious approach to art, which is amazing but you can't say no to appealing character designs like these. 

Likewise, it's fair to give a small amount of necessary and straightforward images like this one to keep you invested.

You may want to know what this means, just by looking at what's selling or what's advertising, but I have no idea either. That's not what artists like Rabier are telling you. They are simply crafted and proud people and want to put everything on stuff for shear fun.

The color choices are also original and pleasing. The outlines are really well constructed and professionally drawn. Art was basically at it's golden age since people didn't know what to except out there whether it was something hilariously silly like Looney Tunes or Tom and Jerry or a fancy fashioned magazine cover that'll keep you amused every week, the 20th century was full of creativity and unexpected reality.

Both Swinnerton and Rabier are artists that have amazing and fascinating details to one of their drawings that makes it more of an adventure rather than remaining it's political state which is what people seem to like nowadays. 

It's a good collection and if you wanna experience more 20th century madness, then check out what I have to say about J.C Leyendecker and Winsor McCay and more on James Swinnerton.

It won't take you too long to find out about them on my blog. So stay tuned because tomorrow I'll be on another journey to exploring more artists and gems from the past. 

Renassiance Disney Movies (1989-1999) RANKED!

 

I officially watched every Renaissance Disney movie. Holy cow, not only is this one of the most famous and kinda overhyped eras I ever witnessed in Disney but it was also hard to get through too. There is 10 movies in this entire selection and the characters all felt more human and grounded, also note there's more disney princess films than the other previous eras.

But this is only a matter of opinion, what did I have to say about all of these?

I'll rank em Worst To Best. 

Let's get started.

10

Tarzan (1999)

This is one of the weaker Disney movies so far in my opinion. Not to say that it's bad, but it could've left more of an impression on me because most of what I said with the Silver Era, Tarzan feels a little too jumbled, and has alot of annoying characters, they don't feel special or feel structured to the plot whatsoever, the villain fight was also pretty tasteless and was expecting it to be more mature and longer. The animation is still nice and complex at times and shows you how this era, the entire movements feel like magic and looks almost impossible to animate right, and I do have to give it this it does have some likeable characters but this to me felt standard and noisy at times.

7/10

9

Hercules (1997)

Now here's a film that has more likeable characters and a decently handled plot. Hercules is something I never truly expect Disney to make into a movie since they mostly use their own versions of fairytales from books. This film also has some gorgeous character designs. They all look unique and stylish, Hercules himself is a likeable protagonist and the songs are mostly good too, but yeah, that's all I have to truly say that's anything positive about it. While I like the story and some of the characters especially in the design department, not all of them left me on a good impression, for one thing Hades is probably hands down the most irritating, most boring villains I seen so far in Disney's films. He's way too talkative and socially inclined for him being the god of the underworld. Seriously why did the crew make him like this? I preferred Pain and Panic over him. I also didn't really much care for Hercules and Meg as a couple, they were fine but not that big or impactful. 

But I still find this to be a watchable, decent gem from the renaissance. 

8/10

8

Beauty and The Beast (1991)

This is a film I truly loved at first, but now have a downgrade opinion on. Maybe what I enjoyed alot about it at first viewing was how beautiful and elegant the story was handled and the ending was just magnificent and outstanding in every sense of the word, and while I do stand corrected about most of this, I didn't love all of it. Belle is kinda bland but I do like her design and sense of realism. Beast is such a fantastic and menacing character as well, but I don't have any impression on the utensils, Lumiere and Cogsworth. While I do like the concept, they were part of the non-exceptional moments. Be Our Guest is also not really that good either and the amount of unnecessary things happening are what made this a little too overhyped. But I still like it and would highly recommend you to give this a watch, but after watching it again, yeah I was kinda too exaggerated.

8.5/10

7

The Lion King (1994)

Here it is, the legendary, most iconic, most critically acclaimed animated movies of all time. Only to be at #7 on the list. Yeah, I don't understand why people consider this to be Disney's magnum-opus. It's just your usual adventurous, well animated adventure film, but that being said I do like alot of moments in here. I just don't think all of it is worth my time. Some of this reminds of me of Bambi not to help having the same ending as that film. Also you can sense some controversy with this film and Kimba, but I'm not going into further notes talking about it. I have to give alot of points to the death of Mufasa, because it's really heartbroken and easily challenging to watch. It's also got some really memorable songs, including Can You Feel The Love Tonight which honestly is probably one of my favorites from that movie, I know it doesn't entirely fit the mood, but it's calm and likeable. I also love Scar's gentle but evil personality. I honestly thought he was going to be another Shere Khan, but he's more intimidating. But yeah you can tell when I watched Bambi, this felt similar to the story in this movie, so yeah this is obviously not perfect but I'm still one of those people that likes this film and gives it a fair praise.

9/10

6

 

The Hunchback Of Notre Dame (1996)

Here's another surprisingly dark Disney movie that not only mentions the word "hell" in it, but has some fantastic and unique backgrounds and characters. This film doesn't get too much recognition and that's kinda sad because I almost loved everything about this one. I thought the villain was threatening and amusing and I'm sorry, The Gargoyles were useful and funny characters. There might be moments that I consider too obnoxious or too loud but it's brief. This one's a classic.

9.5/10

5

Mulan (1998)

Probably the most ferocious, fun, and powerful movies I have seen so far. Seriously, this was awesome. If you want to experience a truly tough and exciting story then this is the movie for you. I was certainly awake throughout all of it. Each character has a strong sense of strength and power, and the entire buildup this holds is outstanding. Usually I'm not that fond of comic relief characters but Mushu was fun, the villain was really good and the humor elements work. Just comes to show you that women can have wealthy abilities as well as men do.

9.5/10

4

The Little Mermaid (1989)

It's been quite a long time since we gotten another Disney princess movie, last time it was Sleeping Beauty. This my friends is how to make a more interesting couple. While Snow White was an awesome protagonist, her prince Florian was just standard, and Aurora and Phillip was just there. Ariel and Eric are well meaning and really expressive characters, Ursula is also an amazing villain and the energy is on point. You can tell that this is where the renassiance truly began and the animation is just blooming in all aspects that makes the movie more appealing and amusing. This was excellent and really well-told. Definitely one of Disney's best.

10/10

3

Aladdin (1992)

The movie that brought you The Genie and a fantastic duo, Aladdin himself and Jasmine. This is a film I grew up with just because of The Genie. He's still one of my favorite characters concept-wise. He transforms into multiple celebrities and it always makes me laugh even in the movie King Of Thieves. Rest in peace Robin Williams. Anyways let's get onto my actual thoughts. It's just fantastic. All of these characters I truly love best. They are all easy to like and they feel timeless. The action scenes are also really good too and the songs are some of Disney's finest. This is like Looney Tunes mixed with the professional animation together to make this film a near masterpiece. 

10/10

2

The Rescuers Down Under (1990)

The original Rescuers definitely felt like it needed a sequel because I absolutely adored the first one. Bernard and Bianca are one of my favorite duos in animation and just seeing them going on another adventure is already more enjoyable and timeless more than anything else. This time, they go on a desert and meet with new friends. Wilbur in particular is more interesting and funnier than Orville and Jack was also really interesting too. The villain is also way more manly and vicious than Medusa who just seemed like Cruella but more greedy. That being said, alot of fun moments happen in this movie and the animation is definitely an improvement over the original and seeing Bernard proposing to Bianca is also really fascinating. This fits my style of film perfectly, helping somebody, sharp action and hilarious and iconic characters. A genuine masterpiece.

10/10

And now, the best renaissance disney movie is...

1 🏆 

Pocahontas (1995)

Yep.

This film is regarded as one of the most controversial Disney movies of all time. Let me explain, I know that this film's story element doesn't have a similar approach to the original story, but when it comes to Disney's version, my goodness, this goes hard. This by far has the most mature messages I ever seen in film. The relationship between Pocahontas and John Smith is in my personal opinion, the best couple I ever seen. A native meeting with a English explorer is more of an accomplishment to put into a film that was made in the 90s when everyone was not pleased with aspects of native americans being on film. The natives themselves are also inoffensive and strong characters. They aren't as stereotypical as in the 40s-50s. They are really reliable here. Pocahontas's singing voice is also just beautiful. Colors Of The Wind is probably my favorite Disney song of all time. It's deep, emotional but also really joyful to listen to. Now this all goes down to the more uncomfortable moments of the movie. Yes, the savages song is not really that easy to listen to but I can see why it was added. The reason is that the English settlers are so sensitive and hateful that they literally have no soul to care about them whatsoever, they think that the native settlers are their biggest enemy and try to stay away from them. But seeing a very sustainable relationship in both Pocahontas and John Smith and them actually getting along in the end, makes this such a powerful and meaningful movie, that it left me feeling chills. Now if this went downhill completely this would've easily lost it's grace but since both the english and natives have stopped their fighting once and for all, it seems rather slow but reasonable to let them feel and respect both one another. This is such a unforgettable final ending that cannot be taken too seriously. I also love how beautiful the backgrounds are and Meeko and Flit are funny. You may not agree with me at all with this one, but I truly think it's one of Disney's best movies they ever created. Whether you like it or not this will absolutely be a guilty pleasure and what the world is missing out there, peace, respect and faith for all humanity.

10/10

Now that this is over, what are my initial final thoughts on Disney's Renaissance?

This was very interesting. That being said one movie I didn't enjoy as much as the others but in terms of characters, story and of course animation, everything about this era was really good. I could understand why people make this era one of Disney's best but I'm not on the minority of saying it's my favorite. 

Four 10/10s is certainly saying something though.

Next, I'm going to be experiencing Disney's Experimental Era. There's another name to this, Post-Renassiance but I like the experimental name more. It feels more accurate since what I'm seeing is a few 3D movies and a sequel to Fantasia so this is going to be interesting.

This week I'll begin to watch Fantasia 2000. Hopefully it'll be as great as the original but who knows? I can't wait.

That's it for now. If you want to see the previous era rankings then click on these links. 

Golden Age (1937-1942)

Silver Age (1950-1967)

Bronze Age (1970-1988)

March Madness 3

 

Well it's spring and in my land it's been pretty hot at least this week I suppose.

It's a good thing it's here because just like with autumn, it's one of the only safest seasons.

Even Barney Bear says it like it's true. 

How bout we end off March with the last March Madness?

Of course that means art, and other stuff.

While things are taken more seriously, I don't think it stops me from one of the easiest hobbies of mine. 

I went to an antique shop today and it was priceless. Yeah excuse the pun there.

If you want to see rare stuff and somewhat buy it, why care for Ebay, it's the king of all greed. And besides you can experience all this stuff in person. 

This is apparently a pocket mirror. Ey. You learn something new every day.

I seen alot of old stuff even some of my favorites like porcelain dolls and old magazine covers, I drew these three fine men for all of you.

I love drawing new characters even if I never want to draw them again.

Phillips Bear and Dredd The Moose in spring clothing. I'll talk about this in another post. This is supposed to be one of their acts vaudeville style.

The red fuzzy monster is Rabra. I made her on the same exact day I drew Dredd The Moose which was in July of 2021. Unfortunately the first design I have is lost so as Dredd, but I was impressed with this creature so I revamped her to make her more fuzzy and full of personality.

I rarely buy bobbleheads, they make me nervous, whenever hell breaks loose, they're done for, that being they're existent moving heads. 

I doubt anyone is going to rightfully use my characters as merchandising. Dutcher and Ben Obvious might be it's first contender.

SCHOOL DRAWINGS 

I'm still studying on how to draw hard and very detailed animated shots. This coming from Hare Conditioned. I grew up with this one and has an amazing scene with Bugs walking backwards as the manager gets closer and closer, feeling heated. That must've took a few days for that 30 second scene to work. This drawing took about 30 minutes to make. While also still keeping track of schoolwork of course.

This is my big boy chicken, Mr. Cockedee. You can't beat a farm environment when it works so perfectly with my personal viewing of life.

I made Mr. Cockedee into a working-class eccentric jerk but with a good heart. He's potentially a realist and laid-back for severe reasons. He's like Foghorn Leghorn but has more of an ego.

Characters I perfected so far were Dutcher and Ben Obvious, but Mr. Cockedee is close. You can immediately draw your mind with a battle between Foghorn and this guy and they both be winning. Unless if you consider who's more popular and more recognized then yeah....

Ox Fisher is more than a strong man, he's honest reliable and wants to yell at you miles away. He's awesome if you sense your mind to him. He also has a cute innocent little kitty who believes in more little things than big things like Ox himself.

Apparently a few sketches I drew the dated design of Ox before I gave him a final finish just a few days later.

Yeesh.

Here's some more randomness. I copied some of the MGM characters. 

Flora The Forest Queen is my own princess I made for the past few months. Prince Raymond is the best human I created so far. He's totally masculine but also has beauty in his facial proportions. 

Do you think rotoscoping animated characters like Snow White, Aurora and The Old Glory characters are hard to animate? To be honest, it's unique for classic animation to do that. It's more elegant but also faces heavy problems. It's kinda uncanny at times.

If you want my full opinion, I think it's more harder to make a prince have a personality. I like Snow White's prince and so does them in Sleeping Beauty, and Little Mermaid but have you ever sense them being funny? Sorta Bob Hope style, where he's normal and natural of a character, but likes to send funny one-liners once in a while in a film. 

Bugs Bunny is really hard to draw because there is one thing you must master, EVERYTHING. Draw a normal bunny, doesn't even come close to Bugs true self. There is at least 3 heads that resemble him decently and they came from some of Robert McKimson's version of the character. 

This is easily the best one.

I can't believe it, drawing a devil is actually more easier than drawing an angel. That doesn't mean I have to like it more. I drew inspiration from Ward Kimball's mouth movements alongside Rod Scribner.

Speaking of Ward Kimball, I tried drawing one of my favorite old comics, Mr. Jack, this was my first attempt at drawing him so his design isn't really accurate but you can see some influence here. 

Remember when I said I wanted to go to another shop yesterday after I posted the DVDs? Well I claim all my hard work to getting some more items. 

These designs are appropriate and adorable in every sense of the word. 

I heard this poor pork has been locked with the rest of the gang for at least a year, maybe? I finally got a chance to have him because he's truly one of the best and most original characters to succeed in the Warner Bros brand. 

Both Porky and Mickey are simple and easy personality traits making them both admirable and iconic.

TY plush toys are always a pleasure even in today's generation. These are easy to collect and appreciate.

Well that's it for now, here's Ox Fisher again.