Drawing the Body with Shapes

Here's something I studied when I was about 13--a way to draw the body using circles, ovals, triangles and straight lines. I made hundreds of drawings like these, trying to understand and get this simple idea into my drawing and into my head. I destroyed all those first drawings, which is a good thing, because they were just terrible!  I'm happy to say that my drawing ability is a little better now--but there's always room for improvement.

Go West, Young Man

I (Animan) have finally pinned down the characters for our next movie. Here's a scene where they all appear in the saloon of the old Hotel, as seen in my animation software interface.

Will there be some more characters, other than these? I'm planning on it!
To design a big background like this, it usually takes me a day or a day and a half. It's a lot of drawing, but I like it because putting the characters in the finished scene is so much fun!

It's like a theater stage, and I'm giving the actors their directions, and they're in their different places, acting for the camera.  When I reach this point, I start to feel that the characters are real.

The Truth Cums Out

Hello Friends. Animan here.

Today, I received this very nice e-mail and I though I'd share it with everyone.

Hi Animan,
Let me say again how much I enjoy your movies and your blog. Keep up the great work!
I totally agree that John Bromfield is a total hunk! However in the section on him, I think one of the photos identified as him (in a nice, skimpy swimsuit, foot on a rope above a spar, holding onto some rigging) is actually Ed Fury (real name: Edmond Holovchik), a widely photographed model and sometimes actor. I'm including the one I'm talking about from your site as well as several of him apparently from the same shoot, in this case by Bob Mizer of Athletic Model Guild fame. He was photographed by dozens of photographers and studios.

This is in no way to throw a mistake in your face or say "you're wrong", or to encourage you to change the posting on your blog. I doubt anyone else would notice. I thought you might be interested in learning this guy's name. 

Your photo:

Ed Fury as per Tim in Vermont (http://timinvermont.com/) attribute to Bob Mizer, Athletic Model Guild. (Posted and identified as Ed Fury on Vintage Physique Photography, search "Ed Fury".

P.S., If you enjoy vintage physique photography, check out Tim's site, (http://timinvermont.com/), probably the most comprehensive site of vintage physique photography I've ever seen. He charges a very modest subscription fee, but has thousands upon thousands of pics, from the earliest days of physique photography from studios/photographers such as Roy Dean, Bruce of LA, Champion, Bob Mizer (Athletic Model Guild) and Rip Colt, as near to the present as possible without infringing on copyright laws. And the site includes full magazines such as Physique Pictorial, Men, Advocate Men, Honcho, Inches, etc., with a search engine for models, and lists of thousands of studios and photographers; really more material than I can comprehend. I respect him so much for his cataloguing and preservation efforts that I've instructed the executor of my estate to donate any vintage books and magazines to him to use as he sees fit. He said that after he scans them, he donates the hard copy to a preservation society in LA. Not to advertise him, and I get nothing from it, but just to share a wonderful site I've enjoyed for years with others who might appreciate his expensive work and conservation efforts. JF

Animan: Thanks JF for the correct information. I have seen photos of Ed Fury before, so it's strange that I didn't recognize him. A face and body like that should never be forgotten! 

I'll check out Tim's site--sounds like a treasure trove of amazing stuff! And, thanks JF for your support for Animan!

Howdy, Pardner!

Animan is making the next video now. Here's a hint. ^_^