Simple Graphics with Pleasing Styles

Uncle Remus by Mary Blair

They should have made some cartoons in this style.

and more Disney Friendssuch a happy style!

random fun

Corbett sent me this picture of a store across the street from George Liquor. I imagine Fred Market is George Liquor's arch rival.
I love these early designs of the Flintstones. That has to have been done by one of the layout artists- probably Dick Bickenbach.
Mary Blair, of course. Don't try to steal this style. No one but she can do it. She has enough bad imitations already.

More Don Martin later and maybe a couple more critiques.

Uncle Remus Golden Book composition 19

Here is some great staging and painting!

How to tell if your staging and composition is clear

Look at the pictures small. If there is an obvious shape to the overall page, and you can still see what the composition is focusing on, then you probably have good staging.

Color and BG Painting Reference-Old Golden Books

Old Golden Books from the 1940s to the early 1960s are great painting reference.
There are tons of artists with different styles and approaches.

Many of the artists were Disney BG painters and they did more personal work for Golden Books. I'll put down some thoughts about 3 of them in a bit.

J.P. Miller

(J.P.MILLER'S "THE LITTLE RED HEN" ON AMAZON)

Dick Kelsey

Mary Blair

(Little Verses Part 1)
(Little Verses Part 2)

All three of these artists use the theories and techniques that I have been talking about in the last few color posts.

The result is a wide variety of color combinations and looks and very cartoony fun styles.

The defenders of the pink and purple style keep saying stuff like "Well I LIKE bright colors!" as if those are the only bright colors.

These paintings are far more "colorful" "bright" and candy like than seeing the same old cheesy corporate color stylings over and over again.

The people who made Golden Books back then understood kids and seemed to have liked them. Not only the artists, but the publishers themselves to have allowed the artists to be kind to our eyes and minds.