Setting the Stage: Where the Toons Live!

Animations backgrounds create the world where cartoons come to life. In traditional, classic animation, the backgrounds are often masterpieces in and of themselves. In this new blog I'd like to share backgrounds I've re-created, so animation enthusiasts can enjoy their incredible beauty.

As a serious collector of animation art, I recognized early on that the setup is everything. Sure, a colorful cel with lots of personality is wonderful. But pair it with a matching background and it becomes something spectacular.

The simple truth is: I started this process to create key master backgrounds for my cel collection.

But the more I worked at these, the greater my admiration grew for the art, and the artists who created them.

By using screen captures and Photoshop, as a character moves in a scene, I composite multiple layers of the areas where the character is not. The sections are then assembled, patchwork style, to create an entire background. On rare occasions, a background appears for a frame or two before a character pops into the scene. What a joy! Usually, though, it's a complex process to re-create these backgrounds, section by section. Not only do the component pieces have to be assembled, but color saturation, hues, intensity, brightness and other factors change, sometimes frame to frame. All these have to be precisely matched so the pieces blend together as a seamless whole. I try keep the art entirely original, as much as possible. Often, though, brush tool blending is required to smooth edges where the sections are pieced together. Some pieces take an hour or two. Some take a day, or more!

Recently, I discovered Hans Bacher's "Animation Treasures." I was enthralled by his work, and completely jazzed to find another person who has re-created classic backgrounds. I check his wonderful blog daily. If you like animation art, you'll love his blog at: http://animation-treasures1.blogspot.com/

Knowing how much I enjoy Hans' site, I hope some of you in blogland might enjoy a peek at some of my humble efforts.

It is with great joy that I will share these background re-creations with you. This is a labor of love. But my passion for animation art has always been a love affair, anyway, plain and simple!

As my art collection is primarily Disney, my posts will focus on Disney backgrounds. However, from time to time, I'll surprise you with a visual treat from another studio.

Please visit often. I'd love to hear from you. Feel free to comment on the art, and share any information you might have about the artists who created it.

I hope you enjoy seeing animation art from the background brought forward into the spotlight.

Sincerely,

Rob Richards