Storybook Dream

Even advertising used to be like a storybook dream . . .

Gustaf Tenggren —Dromedary Dates — 1929

Inspiration

Let's do one more go-round with Disney Pinocchio pre-production art, with all of these being Gustaf Tenggren's fantastic creations. Tenggren had been hired solely to create watercolor art for the purpose of inspiring the animators and background artists.

Geez.

As great as the final film is, imagine if Tenggren's art was strictly adhered to for characterization, composition, color, mood and atmosphere. Perhaps in some parallel universe . . .

And mayhaps we see some primary inspiration for Peter DeSeve (?).

Dark and Moody

Continuing with the superlative production art from Disney's Pinocchio, we look at layouts for a film that was dark and moody—suPERB effects for visual storytelling.

The first one below is a back alley panorama by the great Gustaf Tenggren, created to put the animators in the right mood. Holy cow, I love this piece — evoking the setting of dreams and nightmares that I've had over the years.

Below is a resulting layout of action through the alley.

Below is the foggy street where Geppetto looks for his boy.

Below is one of the attractions on Pleasure Island, a nightmarish place that I think I would enjoy, except that I don' wanna be turned inna no jack-ass donkey!!!

Below, did I say this film was dark? I meant it was DARK! Yay!

Tenggren's D'aulnoy

Here's a book that has survived by the skin of it's binding, sharing its treasure of Gustaf Tenggren's 1923 fairy tale illustrations. With shades of Rackham and Dulac, Tenggren still brings his own vision to the art.

Tenggren's D'aulnoy

Hidden Away from the Light of Day

I've had the sad experience of emptying out my mom's household of 20 years after moving her to a nursing home. One of her framed pictures was this cover of Better Homes and Gardens that I believe she and her mother owned since it was published in 1927. When I took it down, the frame fell apart, because lo, it was an entire magazine stuffed in there. 

Nice cover, but on the back cover was one of Gustaf Tenggren's pirate gals that I've not seen before. Tenggren was, of course, key stylist for Pinnochio, but he did some illustrations of lady pirates for a silver plate company. This one was hidden away from the light of day for probably 80 years.

Collector of Images

At the ridiculous age of ten I was becoming a collector of images. I'm afraid I had little respect for archiving at that point. I would cut and clip shamelessly from periodicals—probably again ultimately saving images from total destruction. No one seemed to care back then what happened to printed material. It was all slated for the incinerator.

I was not a packrat. I was quite precise in my determination. Rather than keep entire bulky magazines, I judiciously selected the best pieces for salvation, and kept them neatly filed within a cardboard box. I was in love with Leyendecker's images, but they were few and far between. I found plenty of Norman Rockwell though.

I admit that then, even as now, a female presence in illustrations and comics makes an image more interesting to me than otherwise. Rather than being sexual in nature, I really think it is more of a sensual quality. An image feels warmer and entices aesthetic appreciation when an artist or photographer has delineated their appreciation of the female mystique. Even as a child, I would linger and contemplate over such material, not leering or salacious, but delving into the mysterious and exotic. A female presence certainly wasn't necessary for me to enjoy an image. An odd combination of strength and sensitivity appealed to me, whatever the subject. Somehow, even at the age of ten, I knew good art when I saw it.

J.C. Leyendecker—1929

Gustaf Tenggren—1930

Mead Schaeffer?—1936

Carre

Baumgartner—1923

Not that a lot of people would say that illustration in general was 'good art'. Illustration was, and still is in many quarters, the bastard of the arts, comic art in particular. I don't care, it doesn't matter one whit what people think, as long as it still gets published, labels of good or bad don't matter. Let each person decide for themselves.

But imagine this young boy that I was, searching always searching for images, not greedily, but adventurously. Constantly perusing them, to step into their frame of reference to let his imagination wander. I was a reader, as well, don't get me wrong. It was the combination of word and image that I fed on. But the image called for me, so that even with my eyes closed I could envision not just what the artist portrayed, but to the left of it or the right of it, or before or after. In the comics, that is what is termed 'between the panels'. It is up to the viewer to fill in the missing details. Obviously I was not the only person to do so.

These years later, I find it funny to think of myself, so young, and so dedicated to the pursuit of this particular happiness. And it was not a passive indulgence. From it, I learned to draw and paint and illustrate and cartoon, and it became my life's career. I have not had a job since I was twenty that was not art related, and for the last 30 years I have been a full-time freelance artist.