Another Animan video clip on Tumblr

Click these words to go to Animan's Tumblr blog.

Advertising Art--the Good and the Bad

I have an old copy of Playboy magazine from 1966, and it's filled with all sorts of interesting art. Here's a nicely-drawn sketch of Dad parading around in his tighty-whities, and as you can see, good manners insist that he keep his "unmentionable body parts" strapped in to the max--the flatter, the better.

This next picture is really something. The image of the all-American man with slim, long legs is understandable, but this is just stretching things all out of proportion!

Centaurettes

Some drawings of the female centaurs ("centaurettes") in Disney's Fantasia.

Animan Drawings and Clips on Tumblr

You can see some of my other Animan art on my Tumblr blog, here!

Fantasia in Brazil

When I was in the hospital,  my only pleasure was playing with my iPad. During the few times that I could get my wi-fi to work, I was able to find some great pictures.

Here's my favorite. In 1941, Walt Disney and his group of about 20 artists, composers and technicians went to South America to gather material to make the animated films Saludos Amigos and The Three Caballeros.  They visited Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Peru.

Disney's visit in Rio de Janeiro Brazil coincided exactly with the Brazilian premiere of Disney's 2 hour color spectacle FANTASIA. I find this theatre billboard for the film absolutely amazing! ("Fantasia will amaze-ya!") The display is truly a work of art and a magnificent example of the Brazilian flair for showmanship.

The next picture suggests that the artists must have given a demonstration of their drawing and cartooning skill for the audience. It may or may not be in the theatre shown above.

This is the third photo of the set, and seems to be a scene in a Brazilian nightclub, and it's possible that the Disney artists were there that night enjoying the show!

Hercules!

Greek mythology tells us that Hercules was a big, beautiful guy with muscles of steel and a heart of gold. The Disney film version also confirms this.  It's Hercules' goodness that sometimes gets him into trouble, since his enemies try to manipulate his emotions to their benefit.

The Animan version will not be sufficiently long to feature these virtuous character traits, but it will focus more on the hero's physical ASSets. I realize that I'm animating a true mythological hero, and so I must try to convey that, somehow. 

I get inspired by this statue of the big guy--he looks good from any angle (I wonder what the back view is like?!) :D

Animan Goes to Tumblr.

I have been informed that blogspot will be eliminating many adult-themed blogs in the coming month. There's a very good chance that Animan's World will not survive the change, so I have started a new blog at:
http://mraniman.tumblr.com/

I've always used blogger, so I'm used to it. Unfortunately, Tumblr is set up in a different way, so I have to spend time experimenting with it. At the moment, the Animania page is very plain-looking. But it's a start!

Getting Back to Normal

After my long hospital stay, I came home and turned on my computer. It was like coming back to an old friend. At first, I felt a little bit lost, but soon I got back on the track. There are so many scenes in the Hercules video, and so many characters to draw, but I have the final plan all sketched out and completed. All I have to do is follow the plan.

Scene by scene, I turn each still sketch into a completed, animated color scene, and put it into the timeline. There are lots and lots of actions to animate,  so it's a real challenge.

Working on animation is very good therapy for me--it takes my mind off of any physical discomfort I may still feel after my operation.

I found a nice painting of Hercules, so I'd like to share it here. 

Animan is Home!

I have just returned from my 16-day stay in the hospital. As you can see, I'm able to sit at my computer now.

I was mistaken about the location of the cancer. This is the correct place.

When I came back from the operating room, I was a bundle of pain. I had a tube in my throat which caused me to keep my mouth open during the operation--my tongue became swollen, and completely dry, so I could barely talk. My abdomen was all stitched up, and had that awful feeling--like doing ab crunches to the point of exhaustion, and then doing a hundred more! For a moment, I wanted to escape from my painful prison.

My partner of many years was there to watch over me. He would bring my water to me so I could sip through a straw. I wasn't allowed to drink---just enough to wet my mouth. I was so afraid of the walls of my throat sticking together--I had to be careful during the first hours, to keep my throat moist, somehow. I had to watch out for myself.

My partner asked if I wanted him to stay all night--I hesitated, because he had work the next morning (until 2 in the afternoon). But when I saw how weak I had become, I had no choice. He said he didn't mind at all. So all evening long, and all night long, he watched over me, giving me water, raising or lowering the bed angle, etc. From the corner of my eye, I could see him. That whole night long, his bed was the little folding chair in the corner.

All through the night, I had access to morphine, but it was never enough to block out the pain.

At 7 in the morning, my partner left for work. It was just the time that the nurses started regularly coming into my room, so I could ask them to help me. 2 hours later, they forced me to stand up, so I could go over to weigh myself. But the morphine had made me dizzy and nauseous, and every step was torture--my empty stomach was trying to regurgitate, but it couldn't. I broke out in an ice-cold sweat. I felt as if I were in hell!

After that, I began to improve, and that afternoon, I started slowly walking through the corridors of the hospital. And they removed the tube from my throat. But my throat is still rough and dry, even now. I guess it will take time to heal.

At about 5:30, my partner came back for another visit. At 6:30, I sent him home to get the good night's sleep he was lacking.

My wi-fi was still working, so I was always checking my e-mail. Words of encouragement, love and help were pouring into my address from Friends of Animan from all over the world! And the words were filled with love and goodness; they were healing me.

I will always be very thankful and grateful to those kind friends who took a moment from their busy day, to send Animan (me) a word of encouragement and healing. And I'll be forever thankful to the guy who uncomplainingly spent that first long, angst-ridden night in the little folding chair in the corner.

I'm Hanging in There

Thank you everyone, for your wonderful get-well messages. They work on me like a powerful tonic!

With all the time I suddenly have for thinking, it dawned on me that there has been a lot of cancer on my mother's side. She passed away from it about 2 years ago. 12 years before that, her little sister died from breast cancer. Grandma also died of cancer, if I'm not mistaken, as did her older sister. On my dad's side,  none of that. Doctors insist the disease isn't hereditary. Hmmmm.

My stitched-up abdomen isn't as painful as it was. The tube in my nose was removed the 2nd day. And they removed that nasty old catheter from my weiner the next day. Piece by piece, I'm being restored.

My impression of receiving an operation is that it's very much like being struck and almost killed by lightning. One's equilibrium is almost destroyed--standing up or walking become impossible. The doctors have perfected about 300 steps which must be followed in order to correct what has been temporarily lost. Some steps are for the doctor or nurse to carry out exactly--some are for the patient to do. Healing is a natural process, but since this is directed, maximised healing, there's a lot of discipline involved. For example, I don't dare cough, because it hurts like hell. If I need to cough, I'll do it, but as little as possible. I'm sure this will make me stronger than I was. I know that this whole surgical adventure made me a bigger man, but that was only until the swelling went down.

I'll continue the updates until I'm back to Animan-ness once again!

ALL IS WELL:)

I survived the operation and am undergoing some slightly painful rehabilitation.

Hospital Update

I met with 3 doctors today and found that my sickness is worse than I thought: it's cancer. I have been put on the semi-emergency list, and surgery will be at 6:00am on Thursday February 5, New York time.

The cancer is in the top corner of the colon, just under the stomach. The diseased portion of the colon will be removed, and the ends sewn together. 

The 2 days of bland food are over--I am now on an IV. The idea of being cut open does not delight me, but it's the only option at this time. I still have a lot of things I want to do in this lifetime.

Many thanks to those of you who have helped support me as Animan these past few years. You will never know how much I appreciate every bit of it!

If I can get my wi-fi to work, I hope to write another update before the operation. If I can't, then please know: everything's going to be all right!

Lots of love, Animan.

In the Hospital

Hi, Friends. I'm writing this in my hospital room. 

I checked into this medical institution yesterday, and was promptly put on a strict diet of nothing! Oh, but I can have water if I'm thirsty. Yippee.

So far, I've had x-rays, an electrodardiogram, a CAT scan (meow), and this afternoon, the doctors are scheduled to go probing with a camera into my 'nether regions' "Where no man has ever ventured before!"  (that would be a lie)--so that they can decide the next step. There's a lot of waiting and I'm hungry, Hungry, HUNGRY! Even a crust of bread would be welcome...

I've been receiving lots of nice e-mails from my fans, through my Selz address. If you have a very personal message, please send it there. If you'd like to send a message to me that I can share with the world, then please send it here.

All messages will be read (and cherished!)

Thanks.:)

Whatever Happened to Animan?

Questioner--Animan! What's the new Animan video going to be called?

Animan--"Animan's Hercules".

Q--Oh boy! When will it be done?

A--Not for a long while yet.

Q--But I want to see it NOW! What's causing the delay?

A--Health issues. Influenza flattened me all through December. And now, I have been scheduled for surgery on January 29. You see, there's a rather large tumour inside my colon and I have to have the operation as soon as possible.  The doctor said it was probably the result of too much stress---I think he's right.

Q--That's too bad, Animan. I hope you get well soon! What will happen to Hercules?

A--Well, I won't be working on it while I'm in the hospital of course, but before and after that, when I'm home I will. 

Q--Can we see some pictures from the video now?

A--Sure.This is Hercules.

His first labour is to fight the Nemean Lion, shown here:

His last labour is to fight the Cretan Bull:

Q--Why are the first 2 pictures in color, but the last 2 are grey?
A--They haven't been animated yet. These are scenes #72 and #73, in still drawings. I have the whole video planned out like this. The drawing is pretty bad! All I have to do is go in and redraw and animate them, scene by scene. 
Q--How many scenes are there all together?
A--There are exactly 150. Most of the men will be big and musclebound; there will be some wrestling scenes and lots and lots of naughty Animan cartoon scenes.
Q--I'm looking forward to it.

An Amazing Newspaper Picture

What better place than my blog, for sharing interesting pictures?  And what better picture to share with you this week, than this one? I don't know what newspaper it came from, but it's obviously from a few decades ago, when people were much more conservative. That's why it's so amazing that this picture was even published at all! The caption below the picture reads, "Cheering Manager Bucky Harris in the clubhouse."

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE COPYRIGHTED PICTURE

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2015!

A new year is upon us, Friends. First I must give a heartfelt "thank you" to all friends of Animan all over the globe. I never dreamed that my work would ever be known by so many.

As for the new year, it's my hope to break new ground as I animate more of the fantasies and dreams we all have in common. 

I found this interesting lobby card---for a scene from an old movie called "The Desperadoes". A woman comes into the bedroom and finds two handsome men by the bed, and one of them is partially undressed!  What a situation!

Randolph Scott is one of the actors. If you're not familiar with him, then I suggest Googling: Cary Grant & Randolph Scott. You'll find a lot of interesting information.

Merry Christmas 2014

As 2014 draws to a close, I remember all the wonderful friends who have been so loyal and supportive ever since Animan's World began. It's my sincere wish that the Animan ideal continue improving, and growing. I appreciate all the helpful suggestions and ideas, positive and not-so-positive, sent to me or posted on other blogs during the past few years. Thanks, Guys. 

Today, Animan's World posts a photo that pays homage to both the world of classic animation and the world of gay culture: "Variety Shop Popeye Group"!  I'm pretty sure that Elzie Crisler Segar never dreamed that his comic strip creation would one day grace the billboard of a snazzy gay porn shop located somewhere in Tokyo.

Important Message For Animan's Customers in the EU

As most of you know, I sell my videos through Selz and they informed me that from January of next year, all Animan digital goods sold in the EU will be subject to the sales tax rate of that country, and customers pay that tax to me when they make a purchase. Then, I must report and pay those taxes back to the EU. 

I feel as if I were sleeping and somebody poured cold water in my ear!

Read more about this situation here:

And here:

Animan is Under the Weather :(

I'm sorry Friends, that I have not been talking much about the next cartoon. I have been very sick for the past 3 weeks. It happens when I have to commute long distances on crowded trains all week, and then deal with roomfuls of people, many of whom are coughing and sneezing. I end up coughing and sneezing myself, and I come home totally exhausted!

Today is my day off--I am home all day, and I'm feeling much better now--so I can work on the cartoon. I just wanted my friends to know what's happening in Animan's World.

The other day, I managed to snap this picture of a little girl wearing an unusual coat.

Of course, the character on the coat is Olaf, from Disney's "Frozen".

                                                                                                              

                                          Copyright Walt Disney Pictures

The design of this snowman reminds me of this picture of Milton Berle, who was a popular television comedian of the 1950's and 1960's..

Here's a picture of Milton Berle with Marilyn Monroe and Yves Montand during the filming of "Let's Make Love".

Animan's World Salutes Jack LaLanne

Jack LaLanne was an American fitness, exercise and nutrional expert who is sometimes called "the godfather of fitness" and "the first fitness superhero".

Perhaps he is best-known for his early morning excercise programs which started in the early 1960's. Some of them can be seen on YouTube.  He makes the program fun and he keeps it interesting. The most impressive thing about him is his enthusiasm and positive outlook. Here's the first show on YouTube:

I found some other photographs of Jack LaLanne, which will probably be of interest to fans of Animan's World. These are his physique photos, probably taken during the 1950's. They are beautiful!