Jack Davis is a fantastic cartoonist who is an inspiration to all cartoonists who have come after him, especially those who work at MAD Magazine. His influence can be seen in the above illustration is done by Tom Richmond, a caricaturist in the same vein as Davis and Mort Drucker. The use of thick lines to define form and cross-hatching to define mass and shadow is definitely a Jack Davis trait. If used correctly, it is absolutely stunning to look at. You can also see his influence on R. Crumb, with his caricatured looking people with cross-hatched shadows.
A big part of what I love about his work is that it's full of personality and life. The drawings suggest constant movement and emotion. The exaggeration of movement and expression gives the stories he draws an extra dimension of appeal. Al Feldstein is quoted as saying, "He gave a lighter touch to some pretty grisly stories."
His drawing style could be very well adapted for animated cartoons, whether it'd be for a more dramatic feature or a wild, laugh-out comedy.
Last, but not least, is his mastery of watercolors. All of the colors in the above image are so well blended, and no primary or secondary colors. If only modern designers could recognize the use of these type of colors. I hope to find these comic books so I can study his work and improve my own. Jack Davis, thank you for all of the wonderful things you've drawn. We are much obliged.
See You Later
8 comments:
Dear Sir, I don't know if you have seen it before, but I found a Ward Kimball directed Disney documentary on the internet. Clips from this film were shown as part of The Animation Show.
Those are very beautiful colors. I like the black and white panels he drew too. Is there a collection of his work you would recommend?
PS. I already have my wallet on a few MAD collections, so if you know collections of his EC horror work or other non-MAD work I would spend my cash as soon as possible.
Dear Sir, Thank You for the advice! Mr. Davis is certainly a highly capable comics artist.
I recently watched a German animated film called Felidae on YouTube. It is odd (and suffers from a very bad english dub), but I enjoyed it. There is a link on my blog.
Weirdo,that Yak Yak watercolor is fantastic. I don't remember seeing that before. Have you seen the animated Jack Davis Commercials? I think they were about shaving.
Hello, my name is John Pope and I am writing an article about cartoonist Jack Davis. I was hoping to gather some professional opinions or commentary on his work, style, personality, or influence that I might find useful. Anything in the form of a quote will do. Thank you for your time, please respond today, as I am under strict deadline!
Thanks again!
John Pope
George Street Observer
Great post, man--Jack Davis is amazing!
Just found your blog. Yep, Jack is the greatest!
wow, nice cartoon sketch, I also want to be cartoonist, So pleas check out my sketches and tell me how much I am good in drawing sketches...
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