My Experiences With Classics

 

When I started my blog I always wanted to talk about what inspired me to make artmania in the first place. 

These are my characters. You can tell they're appealing to classic animation fans alike. 

My style of drawing is mostly characters. I like the designs to be simple and memorable for audiences. Outlines are firmly smooth and well-drawn, the colors are not too bright but not too dark either, overall average and decent for kids and adults to enjoy.

What I love to draw most is cats and dogs. It's probably because they are more or so pets. Pets are by far the easiest to draw. Even Looney Tunes knows it.

I was so drawn to cartoon characters, old fashion and attractive expressions. I definitely wanted to make my art my personal likes in life. 

These are my two most popular characters, Szac and Dredd The Moose.

Szac's name is weird when you first know it but it sounds memorable a few days later. I wouldn't want to name him Zachary or other lame boy names.

When I first drew Szac, he sorta related to the style of The Muppets. He also had sorta an abstract design. What is he? Is he a bird? Who knows?

Dredd The Moose was the dimwitted type like Bullwinkle. His facial expressions takes likes from Daffy Duck, and my own young self. I remember when I was 10 I was doing a dimwitted Patrick Star voice and it has drawn to me ever since and I wanted Dredd to sound like him.

I was instantly influenced by classic animation like Warner Bros, MGM, Disney and Fleischer. 

Out of all the 4 I admired, Warner Bros. impacted me the most. My favorite Warner Bros. Cartoons were mostly the ones starring Bugs, Porky and Daffy. I also like the musical ones like Coal Black, Three Bops, and Katnip Kollege. 

My favorite one is The Great Piggy Bank Robbery. Daffy Duck's expressions had influence on my drawing and it had such a fantastic plot and good color schemes.

I think what I secretly loved about Disney animation back then was just how vibrant and lively it was. Looney Tunes and MGM were just comedic funny cartoons, Disney was huge with stuff like musicals and environment.

You can look at The Three Caballeros and admire it for it's dancing, and Fantasia for it's masterful backgrounds.

I grew up having a passion for art and movement that I mostly day-dream about it all the time. Even when I'm at school or waiting for an appointment, I think about cartoons, and dancing and what I plan to do with my drawings. I also look into certain aesthetics that peak my interest.

Something like this can hit me immediately.

When it comes to characters and acting, that's what I'm going for. I want my characters to be alive and relate to the audience. 

For instance, take Donald Duck (at least the classic era) His personality is timeless and relatable to audiences. You can feel something with him but also like his short-tempered but sensible environment. He's real and doesn't come off as bland or extremely annoying. I love his cartoons with Pluto, Pete, and his nephews. Something like Chip and Dale is bad but everything else about him is wonderful and aim to pretty much everyone. 

Bugs Bunny is also my favorite characters of all time for his cleverness and wise voice. I like almost every single one of his cartoons. Someone like Daffy can be a little annoying, but I never get sick of Bugs Bunny. His personality is so easy to capture.

These types of cartoons are my favorites and by far better than the modern stuff we get today. But I don't think all of it is bad. I like how the modern cartoons go for a more deep story and emotional characters but that seriously doesn't fit my style. I'm glad animation is becoming more important in history and people can do whatever they want with it.

I know there are some cases you can't make a cartoon like the classics anymore, but for it's aesthetic and simplicity, I want this style of animation to come back. 

I seriously don't want to make a cartoon that is about bland as a piece of white bread. 

Buildings are growing nowadays and businesses are being too greedy nowadays.

We can still get good talent and entertainment in our lives, we've been doing it since prehistoric times with seeing the wonderful nature and dinosaurs. I know the world can care about people somehow. 

Alright, let's move on to more classics I was influenced by. Now with animation being talked about. What are my inspirations from the real world like?

Classic movies from the 30s-50s are my favorites. I also love the actors too. There's something more unique about them than today. 

When I look at the modern actors, they may be talented, and work perfectly for Hollywood today, but in my opinion, something about Classic Hollywood hits more with me. The names of the people are more recognizable.

I don't know maybe in 2090, the modern actors will be remembered and recognized just like the classics.

The classic actors I was influenced by the most were The Three Stooges. These guys were legends and became an immediate inspiration. I love how they were a three-men team. When I see them on screen, they instantly distract me. I especially like Moe's poses in these classic shorts. My character, Szac is inspired by him.

I think what I loved about The Three Stooges shorts the most were the starts. Sometimes in the beginning, they would show people besides the stooges in it. I love these types of films where in a film, they don't just screen the main characters.

That's what Abbott And Costello does for the most part, and I love Abbott And Costello. I really like their simple and funny dialogue. I started watching their 50s television show about a month ago and it is hilarious. There's something about shows my great grandparents grew up with that have more spirit than the comedy shows today.

Laurel And Hardy are also my favorite comedy duo. I love Hardy's personality and Laurel is absolutely funny. When I was watching The Music Box (1932) I really liked some of the pauses. Some people might not like it but for this type of old comedy, it's really watchable. 

I love the comedy stuff. I like when it's smart and clever. But I'm not only drawn to comedy. I also love the more normal stuff and music involved. 

When it comes to personality, voice, and movies, I have a soft feeling for musicians. 

Bing Crosby for example, he's had a huge influence on my art for almost 2 years. His personality is timeless and relatable to alot of people including me. 

Before I first experienced him, I was laid-back, and loved doing these quirky expressions and when I finally saw one of his movies, I was drawn to it immediately.

His voice was also extremely pleasent. I started listening to his songs a few months after I watched his films for the first time. 

Seriously, I love everything about him. His fashion is memorable, his songs are surprisingly catchy and his facial expressions fit my personality so well.

I can show you some drawings I made that resemble Bing's expressions. 

He was the first classic hollywood actor I admired. Which makes sense because he's really underrated nowadays. He was one of the most successful actors and singers of the 20th century.

Next, I experienced Billy Gilbert. He was important. His acting was absolutely chaos. He could yell at anything and it would still sound perfect. 

When I watched The Music Box (1932), it was just pleasant and peaceful until he came and his voice saved the entire short.

When I heard him saying his full name and a bunch of letters, especially "FFF and F" it immediately exploded my mind. I was laughing so hard. He was one of the most powerful actors in entertainment history.

I also loved his cameos in the Three Stooges shorts. He was such an overlooked forcible human-being. 

Do you know who else was powerful like Billy Gilbert?

Cab Calloway.

This person was a genius. He was really the coolest black musician out there. He could dance, and jump for joy. He was fearless and enthusiastic. His voice is also so much fun too. His singing is unique, and full of personality.

He could hire the best people to play instruments and he would dance along with it. 

Man, what a legend.

The Andrews Sisters are also one of my favorite musicians. They were popular in the 40s. They were energetic just like Cab. You may be proud with one person being so passionate with great music, but what about 3 people? You get The Andrews Sisters. 

But then, we get the very best...

Glenn Miller was magnificent. One of the magnum-opuses of music. He was the guy that paved the way for energetic songs. He made In The Mood, his more iconic ones. But also made Chattanooga Choo Choo, my #1 best songs, as well as I've Got A Gal In Kalamazoo, American Patrol, and Moonlight Serenade. 

All of his music is either chill or will awaken your soul. 

Just like with Cab, he was powerful, and had fantastic band members, but he never could record his singing. But whenever he tries to hire a vocalist, it always sounds awesome.

One of the singers I love the most is Tex Beneke. He's one of the best singers in music history. His singing is so catchy and memorable it sounds natural. 

The music videos as well also inspired me. I have a passion for people dancing especially in a 4:3 aspect ratio. It's really comfortable.

Lastly, I want to talk about Gene Kelly. Because he's easily the best dancers in cinema history. I remember seeing a clip of him in rolling skates and it felt like a miracle to watch.

I watched Singin' In The Rain and it was a masterpiece. The songs were all impressive. Just watching Gene Kelly, makes me appreciate entertainment and life even more.

I'm planning to watch his movies with him and Sinatra next. I seen him dancing with Jerry Mouse and it was absolutely fantastic. 

Even if I don't make Artmania a successful piece of art, I still have my drawings and my blog to make people happy. 

Now have this immortal living poster.