This is a follow-up to a story that we first mentioned here a couple months ago about the decrepit state of cartoon legend and animation pioneer Winsor McCay’s home in Brooklyn. Animation director Bill Plympton recently visited the home to see it for himself. He has a report on his blog Scribble Junkies and it’s not pretty:

What a dump. Unfortunately the 3 storied mansion has long been abandoned so it now houses 8 families of hispanic descent. And as we entered the front door the spanish families hurriedly scattered to their respective apartments in fear. Apparently the famed animator’s home is now a multifamily squatters shelter.

Plympton is optimistic and thinks there’s hope: “You can imagine the glory that it once was back in the early 1900’s. All the architectural details are still there and with a lot of work it can be restored to its former glory.”

Don’t hold your breath though. Cartoons and animation, and by extension cartoonists and animators, have never merited respect in the United States as they have in other parts of the world. Yesterday I was reading about the Hergé Museum near Brussels and marveling at how they have preserved his legacy and art. It is befitting of a part of the world that considers cartoons the “ninth art.” American cartoon fans have to make do with McCay’s hell house at 1811 Voorhies Ave in Brooklyn. Let us know in the comments if you visit too.

Walker is an arresting seventeen-second traffic safety spot created with a painterly feel by Danish artist Carl Krull. Also eye-catching from a graphic standpoint is Head #1 (below); the animation was broken up onto seven screens as an installation project.

Headless Productions is a small independent animation studio founded by Adrian Garcia, Victor Maldonado and Alfredo Torres (directors/production designer of Nocturna) in Barcelona. These guys are good.

(Thanks, DeK)

Leif Jeffers, an animator at DreamWorks, wrote in to tell us of an auction that went live on ebay today. It’s called Beautiful Grim. Here is the the description of the auction from the website:

“My name is Daarken and I am a concept artist and illustrator working for Mythic Entertainment. My friend Leif Jeffers, an animator at DreamWorks, and I are organizing an art auction fundraiser.

Earlier this year my girlfriend, Cat, was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 25. On November 3rd, 2009, she had a bilateral mastectomy after going through 16 weeks of chemotherapy. As you can imagine it has been hard for her, not only mentally and physically, but financially. In order to help alleviate some of her medical bills Leif and I wanted to throw an art auction. The proceeds that are left over after her medical bills have been paid will go to a breast cancer related charity.

We currently have artists contributing that hail from all regions of the industry: concept artists, animators, photographers, sculptors, fine artists, illustrators, you name it. The theme for the auction is “Beautiful Grim.” The interpretation of “Beautiful Grim” has been left up to the artists.”

Here is the most recent info on the first group of artwork that went on sale today. Over 200 professional artists and animators, including Nico Marlet (above) and Emmanuel Shiu (below), have contributed to this cause with some amazing work – and you can check it all out here. And here’s a direct link to the ebay page. Help spread the word.

No one admires the work of Mary, Lee and Preston Blair more than we do. Now Mary’s nieces, Maggie and Jeanne, have just sent word of their new Mary Blair website that does the family proud. The site features photos, stories, merchandise and news about Mary, along with a few other surprises. Loads of gorgeous, inspiration pieces. Bookmark.

(Thanks, Andrew Farago)

Cleanse thine eyes, brave animation lover. As if anticipating the eyesore that was unveiled yesterday, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences just announced “Chuck Jones: An Animator’s Life From A to Z-Z-Z-Z.” The show will open May 14 at the Academy’s headquarters (8949 Wilshire Blvd) and will run through August 22. On display will be more than 150 drawings, cels, storyboards and other materials related to Jones’ animated shorts, features and TV specials. Gallery hours are listed on the their website, and best of all, admission is FREE!