IATSE & MPMO

He did the drawing for the Animation Union, right?

Awww, man, Amid! What a contest! I can’t believe how long that ad’s been in place. It began sometime in 1995 when the ever adorable Tom Sito (we were both working on Prince of Egypt) asked me if I wanted to help him out with a union ad. I said yes, of course. He hands me his pencil thumbnail of what appears to be a beatnik horse (why a horse? I never asked. Let’s ask Tom). I did the best beatnik horse drawing I could and even hand-lettered the headline, “Fight for your rights!” Then added Zip-a-tone I had left over from my boarding days at Batman.

I had no idea that this same ad would appear in the inside back cover of Animation Magazine for over a decade?! I mean, I thought that after a few years they’d upgrade it. What with the roster of amazing talent in the union somebody was bound to take on the horse! But no oooooo!

I’m even willing to do the drawing myself–soon as somebody explains to me what’s the deal with the horse. We have to retire this furshluginner horse! Maybe the Brew can make a contest of it! That’s right, let’s make it another contest! Best beatnik horse drawing for the next decade. Get the union on the horn!

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My thanks to all who participated and to Amid for this hilarious and dubious bit of celebrity. Enrico and I had a good laugh.

RdC

I’d love to see this drawing - any chance it can be scanned?

As for a beatnik horse, I suppose the beatnik is the image one has of a cartoonist and the horse is a parody on the Teamster’s logo.

Beautiful book, by the way. I’ll be sure to get my copy!

You know, I feel kind of embarassed right now. Tom talked to me literally 4 or 5 years ago (not long after I became prez) about putting together a new Animation Guild ad. He even worked up about 10 rough samples for inspiration. I picked one out, one that would allow a variety of animaton artists to jam together on a new, fun illustration . . . and then other, more pressing matters intervened, and I never got back to it.

So, with this all as additional motivation, I’ll get back to it. And Ronnie, you’ll definitely be asked to participate.

I would have loved to see the cover text as a belly band and the picture on the front to have a full bleed… i guess that might be a bit too Chip Kidd though… hmmm… yeah, nevermind. it’s crazy/beautiful.