Honestly, I'd rather take that over artists who seem to be constantly working from model sheets (Maximino, I'm looking at you). At least they're copying/"borrowing" from great artists.
Maximino constantly working from model sheets? What do you mean? That the characters keep doing the same poses? Like Mickey winking towards the reader while extending an arm clenched in a fist? Small-eyed eyebrow-less Mickey?
Exactly. I find his drawings incredibly sterile. Always the same open beaks (Donald), always the same character models for side characters...
I'm not saying I know about him working from model sheets, but it's just that feeling I get... which amounts to no feeling or personality at all.
Can't say the same about Panarese (who, despite your evidence of his borrowings from De Vita, does have a rather recognizable style with the eyelids and all)...
I noticed Carlos Mota does this... I suspect it's deadlines.
But when you're as experienced an artist as Mota and others who indulge in this practice, I'm not sure how much time one saves by simply copying a pre-existing drawing ... I would think creating a new background character from scratch would be fairly quick (as opposed to having to draw an existing, identifiable character). Maybe some of the artists on this forum can chime in with their personal experiences about that, but other than for beginners, I find it hard to believe time constraints would cause this behavior among seasoned artists.
I noticed Carlos Mota does this... I suspect it's deadlines.
But when you're as experienced an artist as Mota and others who indulge in this practice, I'm not sure how much time one saves by simply copying a pre-existing drawing ... I would think creating a new background character from scratch would be fairly quick (as opposed to having to draw an existing, identifiable character). Maybe some of the artists on this forum can chime in with their personal experiences about that, but other than for beginners, I find it hard to believe time constraints would cause this behavior among seasoned artists.
The pics I oticed him doing it was with Glomgold, a character he might not have drawn as much so that might be a factor.
But when you're as experienced an artist as Mota and others who indulge in this practice, I'm not sure how much time one saves by simply copying a pre-existing drawing ... I would think creating a new background character from scratch would be fairly quick (as opposed to having to draw an existing, identifiable character). Maybe some of the artists on this forum can chime in with their personal experiences about that, but other than for beginners, I find it hard to believe time constraints would cause this behavior among seasoned artists.
The pics I oticed him doing it was with Glomgold, a character he might not have drawn as much so that might be a factor.
That may be true, but it doesn't explain the other examples on this thread, which are mainly background characters. If you gave me five minutes to fill in a panel with background characters, I could more easily create my own than copy someone else's. On the other hand, if you told me to draw an existing character that I was unfamiliar with in five minutes, I'd probably copy like the artists on this thread.
Oh, I've got a severe example. Awhile ago I did a rather lengthy review/analysis of this wonderful story (which really deserves a new colouring and English translation btw). In the same vein I have been working on a review of Gottfredson's classic "The Monarch of Medioka". Looking at the Inducks entry I saw that there are not one but two sequels - one of which I actually have but completely forgotten about:
Now let me make this clear: It is not a bad story at all. It obviously draws heavily from "Monarch of Medioka", slightly varying its pattern with mostly the same cast of characters. But the art was done by an artist named Raffaele Della Monica (who I've never heard of). And when I saw Minnie for the first time, I had this nagging feeling of "somehow that looks familiar". The plot then switches back to Mickey and King Michael XIV. But then we get to see Minnie again... and then it dawned on me: Most of Minnie's poses were pretty much copied from Carpi's art in the "Robbery of the Crown Jewels" story! Not completely (there are some minor differences) but mostly.
But it gets worse - not just the art is copied, but parts of the *story* as well! The "Mickey dresses up in disguise and gives Minnie a fright" sequence is almost completely copied, with slightly varied poses (although it is King Michael instead of Mickey, but you get the gist). And at one point Minnie's facial expression really doesn't fit the plot...
Oh - and only when I went on reading the rest of the book I realised that it *also* contains the Panarese comic that Orora posted at the beginning of the thread!! Speak of strange coincidences...
There is an infamous 1990 Mickey Mouse story by Giorgio Cavazzano where Mickey breaks off with Minnie and marries another woman, Samantha. Topolino in: Ho sposato una strega ("Mickey in: I Married A Witch").
It was only published once due to this. (aside from a yearly anthology)
A specific panel was used in some news to refer to the story.
In 1993, in the French "Journal de Mickey" magazine, a one-page riddle comic drawn by Rachid Nawa has Mickey and Goofy investigating the disappearance of a necklace belonging to a Maharani (Maharadjah's wife):
Well, well, well...
The French riddle comics were usually cheaply made and often had characters awkwardly traced from other comics... but it was usually traced from French artist Claude Marin's art. (I will show examples later)
This one is by Rachid Nawa who usually doesn't do that!
Is that Cavazzano story any good? I'm asking because I've thought about suggesting it to the German editors for one of the MM anniversary releases soon due...
I just noticed that Mickey also looks a LOT like a Cavazzano Mickey in that panel. Maybe further investigation is needed? ;-)
There is an infamous 1990 Mickey Mouse story by Giorgio Cavazzano where Mickey breaks off with Minnie and marries another woman, Samantha. Topolino in: Ho sposato una strega ("Mickey in: I Married A Witch").
It was only published once due to this. (aside from a yearly anthology)
A specific panel was used in some news to refer to the story.
In 1993, in the French "Journal de Mickey" magazine, a one-page riddle comic drawn by Rachid Nawa has Mickey and Goofy investigating the disappearance of a necklace belonging to a Maharani (Maharadjah's wife):
Well, well, well...
The French riddle comics were usually cheaply made and often had characters awkwardly traced from other comics... but it was usually traced from French artist Claude Marin's art. (I will show examples later)
This one is by Rachid Nawa who usually doesn't do that!
Is that Cavazzano story any good? I'm asking because I've thought about suggesting it to the German editors for one of the MM anniversary releases soon due...
I just noticed that Mickey also looks a LOT like a Cavazzano Mickey in that panel. Maybe further investigation is needed? ;-)
Quite a good story!
I am guessing Nawa either traced this Mickey as well, or he was very influenced by Cavazzano at the time.
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So... I was reading "The Spell Seller" for the first time (as it was published in the French Picsou Magazine #545), and I immediately recognized the proportions and poses of this Brunhilde character... It's clearly based on the character of Crismus Cactus disguised as a nursemaid in Asterix and Son.
Now, maybe you could construe it as a tribute of some sort to Albert Uderzo... or maybe I'm being a little too charitable towards Mota, because I think he is highly skilled and I can't figure why he'd resort to tracing.
I noticed Carlos Mota does this... I suspect it's deadlines.
But when you're as experienced an artist as Mota and others who indulge in this practice, I'm not sure how much time one saves by simply copying a pre-existing drawing ... I would think creating a new background character from scratch would be fairly quick (as opposed to having to draw an existing, identifiable character). Maybe some of the artists on this forum can chime in with their personal experiences about that, but other than for beginners, I find it hard to believe time constraints would cause this behavior among seasoned artists.
You are correct. An experienced artist knows how to draw his/her character in ANY posing, doing any activity or action desired. He or she would only look at other character to get inspired to think of a character type. Looking carefully at an existing character, and then copying that pose would take very much more time an effort than drawing a scribble of a character one already has in mind in any pose desired. The only reason for a somewhat experienced artist to copy a pose is when the character would be contorting his/her body in an extremely unusual way, with body parts covering up other areas of the body, and copying a known similar pose drawn by a master artist, who knows human anatomy very well, and that pose is exactly what is needed. I can't imagine Carlos Mota copying other artists poses regularly when under pressure of heavy deadlines.
Probably not Barks, but it seems like a stock Donald pose coming from somewhere, one animated short, perhaps.
I see a slightly similar pose on the Going Quackers video game cover:
I doubt if that is a copied pose. It is the standard Taliaferro and animation 1940s Donald mixed anger and determination expression and pose. Most artists don't have to go look for poses to copy. Thety already have that standard expression and pose in their mind from years of watching Donald cartoons, and reading the Donald Duck comic strip and comic books.