A look at one of the most significant figures in the history of both illustration and animation. And one of the reasons I wanted to be an illustrator in the first place.
McKay is one of my all time greats. I wanted to compliment you on your musical choices throughout the series, matching and complimenting the subject amazingly well. Your balance of music with voice is so clean, technically and in the narration. I am impressed.
Hello Michael and I'm glad you appreciated this profile. And a particular thanks regarding the music. It's one of the most time consuming aspects of making the videos, finding something that fits and is hopefully out of copyright.
I stumbled across McCay's work in a book on comics in the High School library about 1974. Yes, I knew some of this stuff but I'd happily watch it again and again in a dimly-lit damp cave with the laptop powered only by my charging it by pedaling a bicycle plugged to a generator! And there was plenty in this video I hadn't heard!
Absolutely wonderful. Winsor McCay is my illustration hero. When I first saw Little Nemo in Slumberland it was as if a door had been unlocked in my brain. He was and continues to be a huge influence on my own work. Great tribute/documentary.
McCay's just a master of so many things: characterization, composition, gesture, movement, fantasy architecture, caricature. He can draw the most fantastic things (animal, mineral or vegetable) but gives it a heft that makes whatever it is believable. He creates from a seemingly endless well of imagination, and never seems to make a wrong mark. I'm always blown away by his work! Thanks for the wonderful video…
Hello and thanks for your appreciation. A talent as pronounced and versatile as McCay's is a very rare thing. And I struggle to think of anyone in that regard who might even come close to what he was capable of.
Pete, you have excelled yourself with this fantastic presentation! McCay is a true genius - his "Lusitania" animation is breathtaking (light years ahead of Disney). That you have dedicated a single presentation to lovingly showcase his talent for everyone to appreciate, deserves a massive "Thanks". Thanks Pete.
@@petebeard thank you for all you do Sr Pete. Seriously top notch content and the only channel of its kind. Thank you a thousand times thank you. Stay rad and keep being you 😆
Your research, and presentations of the subjects is beyond exceptional. You are the scholars scholar. Thank you for this episode. Winsor McCay was one of the best. Quite possibly the best ever.
Hello and I'm very grateful for your appreciation of the channel. I'm not too comfortable with the 'scholar' tag, though. My years in higher education led me to conclude that most scholars were self serving narcissists who used their knowledge as a blunt instrument. Nevertheless I really am glad you enjoy the content, and hope you will continue to do so.
Its amazing that his mortal body and mind could contain such God-like talent and imagination. Windsor's perception of human nature that he instilled in his work is a phenomenal as his artwork.
Another spectacular video Mr Beard! Once again, you've opened my eyes to yet another wonderful artist who's work I had seen previously, but had never grasped the magnitude or significance of before! Mr McCay's political satire and commentaries about society, mankind, and the way the country is run by it's leaders is so poignant, and so right on the money. Sadly, nothing seems to have changed even since the days he penned these. (Will man ever learn and grow from his past mistakes?? Doubtful in the least.) As for his art, his layouts and perspective angles are outstanding! It takes a great illustrator to draw your eye into and around your illustrations so effortlessly. And to do this while making an in depth comment on a subject matter is truly the gift of a master. Such a shame that much of his work was lost!
Hello again and I'm pretty floored and delighted by your appreciation of this video. McCay was undoubtedly one of the better known figures of his age but I still thought I could shed a bit more light on just how great his achievements were. And I'm very glad you think so too.
I'm so glad I found your channel Pete! It's very inspiring to learn about all these illustrators and see their skill presented with admiration and respect!
Thanks for shining a light on this particular talent, Pete! Exemplary. I first became aware of McCay in the early seventies in college. Like so many others I was transported!
Hello again and I'm glad you enjoyed it.me too, regarding college and finding his work. I thought Nemo was just about the greatest strip I'd ever seen, and at the time I was heavily into Crumb and the other Zap artists.
You can definitely see his influence in the story boards for the star wars movies. The same grand scale. Once I had to lead a tour of magazine writers at skywalker ranch (Still not sure why I got the gig.). I was allowed to explore lucas's library. I found a coffee table book of mccay's Nemo in slumberland.
There is no other animator above Windsor McCay in any era, in the world. No rough sketches, no inbetweening, no key animating, no assistance. He went right into it directly. ✍🏻
Thanks Pete! Astounding as always. I knew the little Nemo works, but the Political Cartoons are truly gorgeous- is there a good anthology or other collected works book you would recommend?
Hello and thanks for your positive response. In the case of McCay there are actually loads of books around. And because such a lot is known about him some only cover one aspect in detail. The best general collection covering all aspects is John Canemaker's Winsor McCay - His life and Art. You can get it quite cheap on Amazon. There's probably at least one book just about his political stuff but I don't have a name for that. It'll feature on Amazon if there is.
Hello Pete! Sorry it has taken me so long to watch this video. You asked me to reply back to this video about your audio issues. Sounds great now! I no longer hear the high-pitched noise. Thanks again for the quality content!
Hi again. I must admit I was dreading you saying the noise was still there but it sounds like fiddling with this lowpass stuff has fixed it. I'm deaf enough not to hear any difference so thanks for letting me know. I'll set all future videos the same way.
One of my all time favorite illustrators! A good friend of mine gifted me and my wife with a 1:1 scale reproduction of one of Nemo's strips and it's very inspiring just by looking at it. Next to Jean Giraud, his work has strongly influenced my linework and composition style. Thanks Mr. Beard for your amazing videos!
Hello and thanks a lot for your appreciation. Of course Giraud made no secret of his admiration for McCay and you can see the influence in much of his work.
Thank you for this video. It's a wonderful resource! I've been doing my own McCay-based project and had not seen the footage of Flip's Circus. Wonderful!
Great, great stuff, you are my favourite channel! Just wonderful, I have been watching all your episodes. If I wanted to learn more or see more of these artists work how would I search it, through the publisher, magazine, newspaper or simply by artist name? Thanks again for this fantastic education.
Hello and thanks a lot. In terms of finding out more you can alays do a book search, either by the name of the individual illustrator, There are several about McCay for instance. Or just google the name or topic e.g. 'early comics' or whatever subject you are interested in. And I guarantee you will find many hours' worth of material to keep your interest.
Hello and many thanks for your appreciation of this video. I've loved McCay's work for half a century and I still find new things to admire in his drawing.
McCay awes me. I'm a man of some talent myself - been drawing for near half a century now - but I believe I would give up all the books in my (considerable) personal library for the opportunity to study under him. (Pity the man couldn't write snappy dialogue to save his life.) And now, my congratulations to you, sir. A goodly summary among many others. I candidly envy your access to your source material; you must have a rather extensive collection of books yourself, I'll wager. 🎨🖌️😉
Hello to you, and many thanks for your appreciation. I worked as an illustrator for almost half a century and McCay was among those who inspired me to pursue that bumpy ride. You're right about the dialogue though. And you will undoubtedly be surprised - and possibly alarmed - to hear I did have a pretty large collection of books but I gave most of them away to students when I retired. I very much wanted the latter part of my journey to be free of physical baggage, and most of my current sources are from the internet.
@@petebeard Hello back. Surprised indeed - and greatly impressed rather than alarmed; 'tis a deed worthy of awe and inspiration in itself. I hope one day to have as many beneficiaries of my own largesse. 🤓 (BTW: I'm glad you agree about the dialogue - I feared I was being unfair.) 😁
Hello and he's definitely one of the true giants. I've been in awe of his talent for more than half a century. I wish some had rubbed off on me though...
The man was a master artist. Those full page Sunday comics have died out like the dinosaurs. Fortunately, there are many reprint volumes of Little Nemo and other strips. I really enjoy your channel for its content and presentation.
Hello and thanks for the comment. And it's a great blessing that so much of his work is still available in print. I wish I could say the same about many others I've covered in the series.
@@petebeard Have you every heard of Sambo and his Funny Noises by William Marriner? These full page Sundays spanned 1905-1914 and aren't even mentioned as one of the first black comic strip characters. Lotar from Mandrake the Magician comes up. I'm currently collecting as many as I can find and at some point will digitally photograph the collection. I don't understand why ALL those early strips aren't available digitally. The only comic strip collections I seen sold are black and white microfilm copies. If you can make your email address, I'd gladly make the images when available.
@@richardlisiura3025 Hello again and no, I hadn't previously encountered that strip. It looks very nicely styled, and quite contemporary to me. The only series I'm aware of from that period featuring a black character of significance is James Swinnerton's Sam and his Laugh strip. And your offer to send images is immensely generous, but I wouldn't be comfortable putting an e-mail address out in such a public arena. There are some weird people out there (as some of the comments I get on youtube will bear out). A great pity.
@@petebeard I understand. If you are interesting in seeing more pages on the net, I'm providing a link below. There are 316 pages (0001-0316). This website is a very popular seller of comic strips. If you google Sambo and his funny noises the site will come up. I'll delete this message after a day or so. www.oldsundaycomics.com/pics8/S1250-0316.jpg
@@richardlisiura3025 Hello again and many thanks for the link. I've just checked and it looks like something that'll keep me amused for quite some time to come. Ah the wonders of the internet...
Hello Pete.... this one was a good one.... sounds like the artist made a ton of money in his lifetime and I really do enjoy his style of pen and ink. I remember seeing the dinosaur animation somewhere, a long time ago. I do enjoy a good political satire cartoon! Thanks.
Hello John - The equivalent of 14000 dollars a week on top of his salary from the Hearst Empire? Those were the days when illustrators - even in Britain - were given some respect and reward for what they did even if not quite as much as McCay.
A year later, you've drawn (pun intended!) me back for another viewing. This is probably one of my faves with McCay's art. And your story telling... Tnx!
Hi again and I'm grateful for that. McCay hasn't had anything like the number of views I thought he deserved. Funny what's popular and what's not so much...
I am surprised that you did not mention the film Little Nemo that was done. This brought his characters out for one last fling and for me at least was a tribute to Windsor McCay.
Hello and I'm sorry if this sounds sniffy of me, but my opinion of that film is considerably less admiring than your own. I have a significant bee in my bonnet about stylistically insensitive animated adaptations of classics. And dont get me started on Disney's Winnie the Pooh...
I’ve often wondered what he would create today if he was alive in our era with access to google. He did great for something back in the late 1800s/early 1900s. Amazing talent
Thank you for this video, I am a university student with an interest in comics who just discovered McCay's work today after coming across a volume of Little Nemo in a bookshop. I am shocked I didn't learn about his work before it is simply stunning. Thank you for the video, very informative.
Hello and how glad I am that you have discovered the work of the remarkable McCay. One of the reasonsfor making these videos is to try to make up for the poor standards of teaching now taking place on art and illustration courses.
Hi and thanks for the feedback. The Moebius connection isn't one I'd previously made (not that familiar with his work) but the influence is obviously strong.
@@petebeard Moebius contributed heavily to the 1989 Japanese/American film Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland. My toddler daughter and I watched it at least twice a week for months (having graduated from watching My Neighbor Totoro daily for 4+ months!) ....
I knew Moebius had great admiration for McCay - and how could you not? But I didn't know about the film. I'll see what I can find on youtube, but I hope it fares better than Shepard's Pooh illustrations did with Disney...
@@petebeard I would give it a 3 out of 5 ... the quality of the animation is mixed, some sections very good, others feeling rushed and corners cut, the script is awkward in some places (as is the editing, but then having watched it over 50 times certain things become more pronounced) and the choice of voice actors, well, some good, some not so much ....
1:39 The first hagenbeck excursion to cincinnati. Looks like this might be the place where he drew animals from life. His animal likenesses and sense of anatomy is incredible. Still to this day it’s best to draw from life
4:40 to 5:37 *fractal* page design done purposely by McCay. 7:12 amazing detail of the smoke texture contrasted against the black & white line drawing of the smokestack on the head. Still fresh a hundred years later. (Ralph Steadman eat your heart out 😁 ) Thanks for the video
Hi again and thanks for the comments as usual. I had to look up fractal and even with the definition I can't understand what it means. I'm the same with algorithm. But your comment sent me to lok at the video and I realised its at low definition and fuzzy. This is unforgivable especially given the precision of McCay's work so I will upload a new version soon in higher definition to make amends.
@@petebeard Hello Pete. A fractal is a never ending repeating pattern as each part of the whole has the same pattern, shape, to the whole. While not a good example, each piece of a cracked mirror will reflect the same image. In MaCay's illustrations *prismatic* would have more descriptive word as each frame of the cartoon is drawn similar to the whole page like a jewel or, a fun-house mirror pavilion. Believe that was his intent. Aaaah, the psychedelic MaCay ahead of his time. (May be in left field but different drugs have different design imagery?) Resolution was good. Images were not pixeled. No need to make amends as we all are very appreciative of your body of work. Thanks again. Possible, if feasible, a Moebius/Gir/Giraud video in the future?
Hello again and thanks for that, and your explanation makes a lot more sense than the online dictionary. And you aren't the first to suggest Moebius as a subject. But I don't really feel his work connects with me all that well. These single illustrator features I've been doing are really an excuse for me to pay homage to those who constitute personal favourites. I'm not saying he won't feature but I wouldn't hold your breath. There are still a load of others in the queue ahead of him.
P.s. Excusa, yet another comment. In reference to the Moebius suggestion I'm not familiar with his graphic novels as I am amazed by his influence on the movie "The Fifth Element" and illustrations such as Jimi Hendrix at a restaurant (with a bank robbery in the background). His more surrealistic desert scenes echo 'Krazy Cat'. Another illustrator/artist with ties to movies is Mike Mignola creator of "Hellboy" which germinated from a simple one, two line doodle. If one had all the time available the idea of showing artists/illustrators' scribbles (while talking on a phone) and handwriting as their 'signature' design nucleus that developes into to their larger more complex work would be interesting. * 5:58 McCay drawing a character Whelter that is typical of his method dunno but notable he starts with the top of the 🎩 hat then the head and then the torso followed by the shorter legs all done symmetrically, not stretching an axis line divided into porportional segments. His starting point being the highest chakra where he's centered. The hat prestige and perhaps money? * One of Pablo Picasso quotes in reply to why he showed his drawings and smaller stretches on either side of a large painting, paraphased, "Without these there wouldn't be that." Saw a simple line profile of a head of his. One straight vertical line then another at a right angle followed by two other straight lines at right angles to each other. Almost in the progression of 1:1:2:3:5 ... Add two consecutive numbers to get the third, 1+1=2 then 1+2=3 and so on. That would be a 'signature' doodle.
Reading Maurice Sendak's 'In the Night Kitchen' is like listening to John Williams' 'Star Wars' themes. Good artists copy, great artists steal -- Picasso.
