Media: Reluctant Dragon and Pinocchio Model Sheets

This post is just the tip of the iceberg... see the bonus reason on our The Top Ten Reasons To Support The A-HAA for links to more great posts featuring animation art.

Today, I'd like to introduce you to our latest Archive Alliance member, Van Eaton Galleries. Mike Van Eaton has been an ASIFA-Hollywood supporter for some time, and he has hosted several fundraisers for the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive at his storefront gallery in Sherman Oaks, CA. His walls are jam packed with wonderful animation art, and he has generously agreed to allow ASIFA-Hollywood to digitize material in his inventory for inclusion in the archive database.

Earlier this week, Mike brought in a box full of Disney model sheets. The Disney Studios was probably the best organized operation ever to produce animated cartoons, and the heart of their production process was the Model Department run by Joe Grant. Concept designs were quickly duplicated and distributed as preliminary models, allowing development at the studio to proceed at a rapid pace. Once designs were approved, they were distilled into sheets full of drawings that captured a full range of angles and expressions. These detailed instructions on how the characters were to be constructed and posed were provided to every artist working on the film.

Here are a few samples of the model sheets Mike Van Eaton generously allowed us to digitize today...

The Reluctant Dragon (1941)






Pinocchio (1940)






These original production photostatic model sheets are available for sale by Van Eaton Galleries for $50 apiece. If you decide to add any of them to your collection, tell the folks at the Van Eaton Galleries that ASIFA-Hollywood referred you, and they will donate a portion of your purchase price to the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive.

Thanks to the Van Eaton Galleries for their support of the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive.

Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive

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