WACKY RACES

The other day, I mentioned that I would post the two WACKY RACES character illustrations that I did for Brian Mariotti's book on classic HANNA-BARBERA merchandise. Brian is President of FUNKO. Here's PROFESSOR PAT PENDING and RUFUS RUFFCUT. Check my October 2006 archive for the DICK DASTARDLY and PETER PERFECT book illustrations. I believe the late, great Iwao Takamoto designed these characters for the HANNA-BARBERA Saturday morning TV show. E-mail your thoughts and comments about my blog to me at powsley@flash.net .

IWAO TAKAMOTO - 1925-2007

Legendary HANNA-BARBERA Production Designer IWAO TAKAMOTO passed away today at the age of 81. Iwao was best known for designing SCOOBY-DOO, SHAGGY and the rest of the gang. He was also very instrumental with designing many of the classic HANNA-BARBERA characters of the mid-1960s. I had the great privilege to work with Iwao on the current JETSONS style guide. Iwao pencilled all of the JETSONS character art and I had the wonderful task of inking his pencil art. I also had the great pleasure of visiting Iwao in his HANNA-BARBERA office. He graciously showed me many of his sensational HANNA-BARBERA production drawings. It was also interesting to listen to his thoughts about SCOOBY-DOO licensing. Iwao was an incredible talent.

The above blue pencil drawing of SCOOBY holding SHAGGY was drawn by Iwao. I inked the drawing, which is also shown above, for SCOOBY-DOO licensing at Warner Bros. Consumer Products. I'm also posting a photocopy of a TOP CAT "cast" drawing that Iwao did. I asked Iwao to sign the photocopy for me that day I visited him. Thanks, Iwao!

SLATE and SPACELY

Back in October, I posted many portrait-style illustrations of various classic HANNA-BARBERA characters. The illustrations were to be included in a book on classic HANNA-BARBERA merchandise by Brian Mariotti, the President of FUNKO. Brian informs me that my illustrations are not going to be included in the book. Warner Bros., who approved the book's content, didn't want the illustrations included due to the fact that the illustrations were not licensed by Warner Bros. It's too bad...the illustrations only promote their characters, plus I'm sure the fans of classic HANNA-BARBERA would have had fun seeing the art in the book. On a good note, Brian told me that he was able to have Joe Barbera write the book's foreword earlier this year. Mr. Barbera passed away last month. Despite WB's omissions, I'm sure we all are looking forward to seeing this book on classic HANNA-BARBERA merchandise!

Here's the illustrations of MR. SLATE (from THE FLINTSTONES) and MR. SPACELY (from THE JETSONS) that I did for Brian's book. As you know, MR. SLATE was FRED FLINTSTONE's boss and MR. SPACELY was GEORGE JETSON's employer. I've got a couple of WACKY RACES character illustrations that I did for the book. I'll post those soon. Hope you enjoy seeing these! Click on each image to enlarge. Keep your comments about my blog coming...e-mail me at powsley@flash.net . Thanks! - Patrick Owsley

FOGHORN LEGHORN - LOONEY TUNES licensing art

Here's more licensing art that I inked for Warner Bros. Consumer Products. It's FOGHORN LEGHORN and the BARNYARD DOG. The blue pencil art is by Mike Fontanelli. I inked Mike's pencil art with a #3 Winsor & Newton Series 7 brush on duralene, which was placed directly over a photocopy of the pencil art.

YOGI BEAR & TOUCHE TURTLE licensing art

Here's more examples of the licensing art that I inked at Warner Bros. Consumer Products. It's YOGI BEAR with his pals BOO BOO, CINDY BEAR and RANGER SMITH...and TOUCHE TURTLE. Again, I've posted the pencil art with the finished inked art so you can see the "before and after" process. YOGI & PALS and TOUCHE were inked with a Winsor & Newton Series 7 #3 brush. The pencil art for both pieces was done by Mark Christiansen. It was a great pleasure inking Mark's Hanna-Barbera character pencil art! Let me know what you think of my blog...you can e-mail me at powsley@flash.net . Click on each image for a larger view.

HAPPY 2007!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! Leslie and I began our new year celebration by having a wonderful dinner at YAMATO, a Japanese restaurant in Encino, CA. We then returned home and continued to celebrate New Year's Eve with our good friends, Lauren and Paul DiCocco. Here's a MR. MAGOO piece that I did as a supplement to Classic Media's current MR. MAGOO style guide. Have a great 2007!! -- Patrick Owsley

LOONEY TUNES licensing art - BUGS, ELMER, SYLVESTER inking samples

Here are a couple of LOONEY TUNES licensing character art pieces that I inked for Warner Bros. Consumer Products. The pencil art for both pieces was done by the very talented Mike Fontanelli. I used a Winsor & Newton Series 7 #3 brush with Ultradraw black india ink. I did the inkings on duralene that was placed over photocopies of Mike's drawings. These pieces were done for the Looney Tunes style guide, THE JOKE'S ON YOU! I wanted to show you the pencil art next to the finished inked art so you can see the "before and after" process. Remember to click on each image for a larger view. I've got a lot of licensing character art inkings that I am going to be posting on my blog in the near future. You're going to see HANNA-BARBERA, RANKIN/BASS and more LOONEY TUNES licensing character art inkings. I enjoy hearing your thoughts and comments about my blog! You can e-mail me at powsley@flash.net . Thanks!

SIMON SAYS...HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Here's a few of the SIMON BAR SINISTER pieces that I did for the current UNDERDOG style guide. Feel free to e-mail me any questions or comments about my blog at powsley@flash.net. My wife, Leslie and I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year! -- Patrick Owsley

MICKEY MOUSE licensing art

Here's a few of the MICKEY MOUSE inkings that I did for Disney Consumer Products in London. I'm not sure who did the pencil art, but I used a Winsor & Newton Series 7 #3 brush with Ultradraw black india ink on duralene. I touched up the inkings with white opaque watercolor. I'll post more of the MICKEY MOUSE inkings later. Click on each image for a larger view!

SEASON'S GREETINGS!

Season's Greetings everyone!! From Leslie and Patrick Owsley!

Here's a SANTA that's brush, pen & ink with colored pencils on a textured blue paper.

CHARLIE-IN-THE-BOX

Here's a piece I did a few years ago for the book, RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER: THE MAKING OF THE RANKIN/BASS HOLIDAY CLASSIC by Rick Goldschmidt. It's CHARLIE-IN-THE-BOX from the Island of Misfit Toys. The book is a must-have for any fan of RANKIN/BASS Productions. Rick's a good friend and has always helped promote my cartoon art through his various projects. You can order a copy of the book directly from Rick through his website http://www.rankinbass.com/. Be sure to check out Rick's Rankin/Bass blog at http://www.enchantedworldofrankinbass.blogspot.com/.

IN MAGOO WE TRUST

If you haven't already, you should pick up the DVD, UNCLE SAM MAGOO. It's a nicely written and animated MAGOO special from 1970. JIM BACKUS voices UNCLE SAM MAGOO as he meets America's real and folk heroes from the founding of the new world to the landing on the moon! Classic Media produced this DVD with Sony Wonder. Incidentally, Classic Media was recently purchased by Entertainment Rights of the UK. Perhaps ER will release THE MR. MAGOO SHOW, the complete DVD collection of the 1960s TV show. The set was produced by Classic Media but has yet to be released.

I created the above art of UNCLE SAM MAGOO for the DVD cover. I'm also posting a very cool 1960s advertisement for MR. MAGOO on WGN-TV Chicago. It's from a Chicago regional TV guide.

JOE BARBERA - 1911-2006

JOE BARBERA passed away today from natural causes. He was 95. THANKS for all of the great cartoon fun, Mr. Barbera! The above photo is from the front page of THE HANNA-BARBERA EXPOSURE SHEET, the Hanna-Barbera studio's newsletter. The July 1967 newsletter was announcing the studio's 10th anniversary. I think we all feel a little like the above FRED FLINTSTONE does. Check my December 7 posting "REAL TV CARTOON PRODUCERS!" about BILL HANNA and JOE BARBERA. Be sure to click on the images to enlarge.

SHOESHINE BOY and UNDERDOG

The other day, I saw this posting about the upcoming live-action UNDERDOG movie here, http://www.aintitcool.com/node/30961. I'll let you make up your own mind about this treatment of a sensational 1960s TV cartoon hero, but it looks awful to me! Aside from being live-action, the dog doesn't even look like UNDERDOG. I'm posting a piece of SHOESHINE BOY and UNDERDOG that I did for the current UNDERDOG style guide. I think a lot of UNDERDOG fans will agree with me when I say that THIS is how UNDERDOG should appear on the big screen. Wouldn't it be great to see an animated movie that looks (and sounds) like the classic 1960s UNDERDOG TV show?

THE THREE STOOGES - 1960s TV CARTOON

Here's a few of my recent cartoon illustrations of THE THREE STOOGES. It's MOE HOWARD, LARRY FINE and CURLY JOE DeRITA...the 1960s TV and MOVIE trio. Most people say that their favorite "third Stooge" is CURLY HOWARD. I love the comedy of CURLY HOWARD and he is certainly the definitive "third Stooge", but I also have an admiration for the other "third Stooges"...SHEMP HOWARD, JOE BESSER and JOE DeRITA. I've always enjoyed the TV cartoon THREE STOOGES and have illustrated them for DVD covers. The illustration of the STOOGES flying away with a balloon, is the front cover of a recent East West DVD release...THE NEW THREE STOOGES is also an East West release. THE THREE STOOGES heads with the gold stars and colorful logo is a piece that I did for fun.

MORE CARTOON DVD COVERS

Here's a couple of cartoon DVD covers that I recently did for East West DVD of Brooklyn, NY and North Hollywood, CA. The art is for cartoon collections that are in public domain. It's DODO, THE KID FROM OUTER SPACE and HECKLE & JECKLE! The elephant with Heckle & Jeckle is SILLY SIDNEY. Steve Banes is the guy at East West who assigns me these fun jobs. Thanks, Steve! Click on each image to enlarge!

THE JETSONS comic covers

Back in the late 1990s, DC Comics was publishing comic books that featured classic HANNA-BARBERA characters. Here's a couple of THE JETSONS covers that I did for then-Editors Bronwyn Taggart and Kevin Dooley. It's a BIZARRO world for ELROY and a METROPOLIS movie poster-style cover of ROSEY THE ROBOT! Click on each image to enlarge!

PIXIE & DIXIE and MR. JINKS

Along with their classic cartoon title card, I'm posting a couple pieces of PIXIE & DIXIE and MR. JINKS character art. I inked both pieces at Warner Bros. Consumer Products. The art was used for HANNA-BARBERA licensing. I gave the characters color for this posting, as the characters were originally created as black and white line art. I inked PIXIE & DIXIE and MR. JINKS with a Winsor Newton Series 7 #3 brush over pencil art by the talented Mark Christiansen. As with all of the images on my blog, just click on each image for a larger view!

OUR TV PAL, HUCK HOUND!

Here's HUCKLEBERRY HOUND looking a bit red...just as he did in some of his early merchandise produced in the late 1950s. I love the red version of HUCKLEBERRY HOUND! This image of HUCK is actually a piece produced for HUCKLEBERRY HOUND licensing. I inked the art while at Warner Bros. Consumer Products a few years back. I also did the coloring. Mark Christiansen did the pencil art. Also...here's a classic HUCKLEBERRY HOUND cartoon title card!

REAL TV CARTOON PRODUCERS!

Yes, it's BILL HANNA and JOE BARBERA! These guys were pretty much responsible for saving animation in the late 1950s. At that time, all of the major motion picture studio's cartoon departments were closing down. Hanna and Barbera, who were at MGM, decided to open their own cartoon studio to produce cartoons for TV. They went on to produce some of the all-time great TV cartoon entertainment ever to be done and to be a tremendous inspiration to all of us cartoon illustrators and animators! The above image is a piece I did based on caricatures by legendary Hanna-Barbera Production Designer, Iwao Takamoto. The faces are inked with a brush while the classic Hanna-Barbera logo is hand-lettered. THANKS, HANNA and BARBERA!!

SID RAYMOND - 1909-2006

SID RAYMOND, who was the voice of BABY HUEY and KATNIP in the Famous Studios cartoons of the 1950s, has passed away. He was 97.

It's DECEMBER!

December is upon us and the holidays are coming soon! Leslie and I were out today and got started on our holiday shopping. Last week, we put up our tree and decorated our place with Christmas and Hanukkah decorations. Leslie and I both really enjoy this time of year! I'm posting a piece that I inked a few years ago at Warner Bros. Consumer Products. It's YOGI BEAR, BOO BOO, CINDY BEAR and RANGER SMITH signing Christmas carols. I used a Winsor & Newton Series 7 #3 brush with Ultradraw black india ink over pencil art by Mike Fontanelli.