One of the rarest children’s books illustrated by an animation artist is Philippe Halsman’s Piccoli (1953), with illustrations by Paul Julian. It’s rare no longer as Michael Sporn has scanned in John Canemaker’s copy of the book, and has made available all of Julian’s stunning artwork from the book. The painting of the boy hiding under the sheets reminds me of a similar scene in UPA’s The Tell-Tale Heart, which shouldn’t be surprising because Julian was creating his exquisite paintings for that film right around the time he illustrated this book. For more Julian animation art, check out these Warner Bros. backgrounds; Pete Alvarado told me that Julian set the WB house style (and the standard) that all the other painters followed at WB in the 1940s.

Too Art for TV, the annual exhibit of fine art by animation artists, returns to Brooklyn tonight for its 4th edition. Masterminded by Liz Artinian, the color supervisor on The Venture Bros., the show offers a solid line-up of animation artists displaying their personal art—most of them from the New York area, but from other parts of the world as well. Opening reception is from 6-9:30pm at Erebuni (158 Roebling St. Williamsburg, NY). The show will remain up through October 17.

2009 appears to be the year of illustrated books by animation artists. It’s hard to keep track there are so many of them. Below are some of the latest offerings. None of the artists wrote these books, with the exception of Carter Goodrich, who illustrated his own story.

Being a Pig is Nice: A Child’s-Eye View of Manners illustrated by Dan Krall

The Hermit Crab illustrated by Carter Goodrich

How to Train with a T.Rex and Win 8 Gold Medals illustrated by Ward Jenkins

How to Potty Train Your Monster illustrated by Mike Moon

And one that comes out in a couple months: Toy Story: Ride ‘em, Cowboy! illustrated by Lorelay Bove. More details on Lorelay’s blog.

The Art of the Title Sequence interviews director Jim Capobianco and animator Alex Woo about the thoughtful end credit sequence of WALL·E. From the article intro:

Jim Capobianco’s end credits to Andrew Stanton’s “WALL·E” are essential; they are the actual ending of the film, a perfect and fantastically optimistic conclusion to a grand, if imperfect idea. Humanity’s past and future evolution viewed through unspooling schools of art. Frame after frame sinks in as you smile self-consciously. It isn’t supposed to be this good but there it is. This is art in its own right. Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman’s song, “Down to Earth” indulges you with some incredibly thoughtful lyrics and, from the Stone Age to the Impressionists to the wonderful 8-bit pixel sprites, you are in the midst of something special

Come October, I know I’ll definitely be adding two new books to my bookshelf:

South of the Border with Disney: Walt Disney and the Good Neighbor Program 1941-1948 by J.B. Kaufman. The topic is fascinating, the historian is impeccably qualified. This should be incredible!

The Duchess of Whimsy is the first time that Ice Age designer and New Yorker cover artist Peter de Sève has created original illustrations for a children’s book. I’ve seen it and can say that this isn’t your average children’s book. Every page is a work of art.

It’s a special day when the quality of fan art exceeds the artistry of its animated source material. Then again, with Scooby-Doo, the bar was never set that high to begin with. The entire image — possibly NSFW — is after the jump. If you know who the artist is, please share the info in the comments.

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Paint is a trippy live-action short from 1968 directed by West Coast advertising art director Norman Gollin. Why post it here on Cartoon Brew? Not only because it has the mesmerizing voice of Paul Frees, but because it was produced at the Haboush Company, which was the commercial production studio of animation legend Victor Haboush. I’ve known Vic for quite a few years and I’m always amazed by how many cool projects and people he’s been involved with throughout his career, from studying with Lorser Feitelson at Art Center, apprenticing under Tom Oreb for much of the 1950s on Disney films like Toot Whistle Plunk and Boom and Sleeping Beauty, art directing Gay Purr-ee, starting a commercial studio with the inimitable John Dunn, and later directing hundreds of live-action commercials and producing experimental animated shorts at his own company. Oh yeah, he also worked on The Iron Giant. Somehow it’s not surprising that he’d be involved with a film as wild as this.

The painter in Paint is Charlie White III, a veteran airbrush artist who is one of four people featured in the new book Overspray: Riding High with the Kings of California Airbrush Art. White notes that Gollin shot the entire film without any re-takes. No paint-overs or practice; it was all painterly improv.

(Warning: This film might be considered NSFW, though most people would consider it art.)

A few nice collections of holiday-themed cartoon artwork to keep you entertained during the cold weather…

Beautiful drawings by “Walt Disney Staff” illustrating a short story by Pearl S. Buck that appeared in a 1956 issue of Family Circle.

Illustrations from Jingle Bells, a Little Golden Book by the great J.P. Miller.

An incredible collection of Disney Studio holiday cards from the 1930s-’50s.

Delightful and humorous holiday imagery from the early-20th century published in Life magazine.

Holiday comic art including some great Frosty comics, as well as the creepy Littlest Snowman cover above.