Thursday, March 30, 2006

Spring Postcard Promo

It's that time again. Pictured is each side of the latest postcard promotional for my illustration biz. Just waiting to get them back from the printer, hopefully by end of next week. Then its off to the post office...



Monday, March 27, 2006

Storybook Ad Art from the 50s

Each day this week, Leif Peng at Today's Inspriation blog is featuring vintage ads from the 1950s with illustration stylistically influenced by children's story books. He's invited various guests to write the posts to go with these images. Monday's guest blogger is Dan Goodsell of A Sampler of Things blog with a very informative commentary on a lushly illustrated ad for Del Monte. I've written a post that Leif will run later this week, so be sure to check back again and again, you'll be glad you did.

Tuesday, March 21, 2006

John Parr Miller, part 3

Little Peewee (1948), written by Dorothy Kunhardt, was J. P. Miller's first in the Little Golden Book series, followed by Tommy's Wonderful Rides (not pictured).











(click on image for larger view)

Monday, March 13, 2006

John Parr Miller, part 2

The below excerpt is from J. P. Miller's N.Y. Times obituary...
... the illustrator of several incredible Little Golden Books, Miller's art is still influential to a new generation of animators artists. His "Little Red Hen" is still in print and considered a classic. "Lucky Mrs. Ticklefeather," "Little Pee Wee" "The Little Golden Funny Book", "The Marvelous Merry-Go-Round", "Tommy's Wonderful Rides", "The Circus ABC" and many others, define the Little Golden Book style. These books, all done in the late 1940s and early 50s, are prime examples of the stylized modern commercial art of the era - and a huge influence on many of today's best animators (including Spumco), leading cartoonists and commercial designers.
Also, be sure to read A Remebrance of John Parr Miller by his brother George Miller at Cartoon Brew. It details his beginnings as an animator at Disney during the depression.

These samples are from the Little Golden Book version of the Brothers Grimm classic The Musicians of Bremen, 1954.











(click on images for larger view)

Tuesday, March 07, 2006

John Parr Miller (1913-2004) What If?

This is the first in a series of posts on J. P. Miller. Of the classic Little Golden Book illustrators, J. P. Miller is probably my favorite. The following are from the his Little Golden Book, What If? written by Helen and Henry Tanous, first published in 1951.

(click on images for large view)