Breaking out!

Released:  October 1994

Hello Everyone!  After a "longer than I would have liked" hiatus due to a number of competing issues for my time, I am back to writing about Disney animation again.  A true passion of mine and something that I have sorely missed over the past year.  I plan to pick up where I left off and include a story a week to share my thoughts on the subject and the journey I have had with animation art over the last 27 years!  It is hard to believe that I have been collecting animation art that long already.

So to begin, I wanted to share a short story on my first visit to a live animation auction which ultimately led to the creation of my Animation Artshop website.  It has never been the same since.  The piece that I am sharing today includes multiple cel setups (in progression) and drawings of Goliath from Disney's Gargoyles.  Originally produced as a movie with very limited release in theaters, Gargoyles was the pretext for Disney's foray into a dramatic animated television series.   The cel setup below is fitting for how I feel about getting back into sharing my animation journey.  Sort of a visual for breaking the bonds that binded me over the last year.

Here are the cel setups that show the progression of Goliath turning from stone into a live Gargoyle.  With multiple cel levels in some shots, the colorful background plays against the neutral grey-tones for Goliath's character to make him stand out.

           Original production cel setups, gouache on celluloid

                Artist:  Studio Artist, Unknown

                Acquired:  June, 1999

And to add more, later..... I was able to find some of the in-between drawings from the sequence.

           Original production drawings, graphite and colored pencil on 16 field animation paper

                Artist:  Studio Artist, Unknown

                Acquired:  June, 1999

The television series aired from October 1994 through February 1997 and was moderately successful.  My first exposure to the series came through a chance encounter during my first attendance to a live animation auction at Sotheby's in New York in the summer of 1995.  Up to that point in my collecting adventure, I had never attended a live animation auction before and it just so happened that Disney had selected 42 key master setups most with matching production drawings and layouts to be sold by Sotheby's.   It was an exciting show to see and it was a first for the Disney Television unit to sell artwork through this channel.   All of the pieces were very colorful and large and were displayed at Sotheby's York Avenue headquarters without really very much fanfare.  I was not interested in picking up these pieces as I had my eye some vintage drawings of Goofy instead (more on this in another post).  But I found them interesting.  Overall the auction did okay with the majority of lots selling (37 out of 42) and the choice lots selling for a premium.  Total proceeds from the sold lots equaled approximately $45,000 (over $1200 per lot).  

Later when I returned to my family home in Ohio on the way back to Alaska, it wasn't until my oldest nephew clued me in on the interesting nature of the Gargoyles.  He was in love with the series and being all of 5 years old he WAS the expert.  I learned that his favorite character was Brooklyn and about how cool it must be to be a Gargoyle that was stone by day and would come alive at night.  He filled me in on the what this was all about and piqued my interest about acquiring one of the better lots that did not sell.  As luck would have it I called Sotheby's on the phone and purchased lot 558 which included a number of the main characters including Cameron's favorite, Brooklyn.  It is amazing what you can learn from a 5 year old!

           Original key master setup, gouache on crescent board, gouache on celluloid, 16 field setup

                Artist:  Studio Artist, Unknown

                Acquired:  June, 1999

This lot was large, colorful and came with all of the drawings that were used to create the camera shot.  I remember it being very cool to open up an "official" Disney file folder to discover additional art not listed in the catalog that showed the production process.

Overall, I had a great trip.  I was successful with acquiring some new vintage artwork, learned something new about Disney animation and had an incredible time in New York City for the first time.