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Browse this page to learn about the lives and careers of dozens of Animazing's signature artists, including: Daniel Merriam, Dr. Seuss, Charles M. Schulz, Eyvind Earle, Ralph Bakshi, Tim Burton, Tom Everhart, David Willardson, Maurice Sendak, Chuck Jones, Bill Melendez, The Ellenshaws, Alex Ross, Bob Singer, Gris Grimly, Joe Stanton, David Kracov, Carl Barks, Mary GrandPre, Victoria Fuller, Barry Rockwell, Ron Campbell, Dick Duerrstein, and Joe Giella.
Or click here to skip to brief biographies of Animation's Legends
Daniel Merriam
This astonishing watercolorist has captured the world's attention with his whimsical and immensly detailed works of profound art...
Dr. Seuss
You may think you're familiar with the work of the man who delighted millions as "Dr. Seuss, but the wildly imaginative creations included in the Secret Art Collection show a previously unseen dimension of Theodor Seuss Geisel's art...
Charles Schulz
Explore the work of the most widely syndicated cartoonist in history. Schulz published more than 1,400 books, won Peabody and Emmy awards for his animated specials, and is responsible for the most-produced musical in American theatre.
Eyvind Earle
Designer Eyvind Earle transformed Walt Disney Studios, bringing to life the the stylized forest backgrounds and details of Sleeping Beauty. His passion for 15th-century French manuscripts & paintings greatly impacted Earle's creations during his luminous career.
Ralph Bakshi
Maverick animation director Ralph Bakshi is best known for his wild and cutting edge cartoons, and most people do not know that his fine art is also unique, shocking and filled with complex emotion.
Tim Burton
The macabre figures that the ingenious Tim Burton brought to life in The Nightmare Before Christmas & Corpse Bride have become the basis of the most unique love stories of our generation...
Tom Everhart
The only fine artist authorized to artistically render the PEANUTS™ characters, Everhart had the vision of taking the lovable PEANUTS™ gang to a new level of art - what one commentator would later dub "Expresstoonism."
David Willardson
Caught up in the make-believe world of animation, the creativity and whimsy of the characters and the early execution of the cartoon art all were factors in directing the professional path chosen by David Willardson...
Maurice Sendak
Maurice Sendak received the Caldecott Medal for Where the Wild Things Are. He has also received the Hans Christian Andersen Medal, the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, the National Medal of Arts, and the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award...
Full Bio coming soon!
Chuck Jones
Jones brought to life many of Warner Bros. most famous characters—Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd, & Porky Pig. He himself created Road Runner, Wile E. Coyote, Marvin Martian, Pepe le Pew, Michigan J. Frog, and others. He also produced, directed & wrote the screenplay for Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas...
Bill Melendez
Bill Melendez worked as an animator on such classics as Dumbo, Fantasia, A Charlie Brown Christmas, Babar, Pinocchio, Bambi, The Wind in the Willows, It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!, many Mickey Mouse & Donald Duck cartoons, and much more...
The Ellenshaws
Peter Ellenshaw is a Disney legend, and one of the most respected landscape artists of all time. He created the first full-color painting envisioning Disneyland Park, won an Academy Award for his work on Mary Poppins, and was involved in 34 Disney films. Harrison, his son, is a special effects designer who has memorable credits to his name, such as Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back...
Alex Ross
Alex Ross was born in Portland and raised in Lubbock, Texas. He made his artistic debut at three when, according to his mother, he grabbed a piece of paper and drew the contents of a television commercial he’d seen just moments earlier.
Alex began to draw comics when he was a boy, inspired by illustrators George Perez and Berni Wrightson. At 17, Alex went to Chicago’s American Academy of Art to study classic surrealists such as Dali, who influenced Alex’s comic book style. Alex’s “photorealist” style has also been influenced by Norman Rockwell and J.C. Leyendecker. After graduating, Alex collaborated with Marvel Comics editor Kurt Busiek to create Marvels,a graphic novel examining the Marvel superheroes from the perspective of ordinary men. The book’s critical success demonstrated Alex’s extraordinary ability to capture the characters in a fresh stylized fashion that was both unique and dramatic.
Warner Bros. Galleries promoted Alex’s work with prints on paper & canvas. On the 60th anniversaries of Superman, Batman, Captain Marvel, & Wonder Woman, Alex completed fully painted, tabloid-sized books celebrating the birthday of each superhero. Alex’s talents have also been evident in other projects, such as his poster for the 2002 Oscars.
Bob Singer
"Experienced" does not begin to describe the breadth of exposure Bob Singer has had within the animation community. A native of Santa Paula, California, Bob has worked with virtually every animation studio in Southern California. His career, however, began in advertising, and not until that market jumped ship for the East Coast, did Bob truly imbibe in the world of drawn movement.
Hired for on his power to give animated animals human-like characteristics, his stints as a character & background artists have taken him everywhere from Warner Bros. and Disney to companies such as U.P.A. It wasn't until Bob reached Hanna-Barbera that his layout ability truly shined. He has been credited with such shows as Flintstones, The Jetsons, Jonny Quest, Scooby Doo, Space Ghost, and many other Hanna-Barbera classics. He became the head of the Hanna-Barbera character design department in 1973.
Bob continues to devote his talent to Hanna-Barbera today, creating freelance book & merchandise illustrations for the studio.
Gris Grimly
Born in the Midwest, Gris Grimly, like so many creative children, was drawn to the exciting and scary world of monsters and goblins. Young Gris observed and absorbed the darker sides of creative geniuses like Dr. Seuss and Jim Henson, the latter for whom he had hoped to work one day, which explains why he cut up his mother’s sheets to make his own puppets. Grimly understands instinctively, the innocent attraction that the child in all of us has for the sinister land of ghosts and ghouls and things that go bump in the night.
After graduating from college, where he studied art, Gris brought his remarkable talent to LA where he started working for Universal.During his spare time he produced a series of original miniature books, which helped his reputation take form. Harper Collins and Hyperion Press, a division of the Walt Disney Company, hired him to paint the covers for best selling works and to illustrate original children’s books like Pinocchio, Monster Museum and Creature Carnival. This work was instantly hailed by his peers, themselves leaders in the field of fantasy, horror illustration and fine art.
Joe Stanton
Joe Stanton has been a working artist drawing comic books for more than thirty years. DC Comics hired Joe in the 70’s, and since then Joe has been one of their top artists, breathing life into many American heroes like The All-Star Squadron, Green Lantern, Guy Gardner, The Legion, two different incarnations of The Huntress, The New Guardians, Action Comics, and Batman in various versions. For World's Finest: The Superman-Batman Adventure, Joe received an Eisner Award in '98, which was done in the animated style.
He is currently the chief artist on Scooby Doo. Joe has worked on Johnny Quest, Gargoyles, The Rugrats and the Wild Thornberrys. Joe has worked as an independent artist for about 30 publishers and for almost 100 different editors. He drew the Classics Illustrated adaptation of The Christmas Carol and has illustrated educational texts and workbooks. Joe has also storyboarded ads and animated websites. He has been a guest speaker at MoCCA, (New York’s Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art) and has been a guest of honor at New York’s Comic Festival.
David Kracov
David Kracov was born in Boston in 1968, and was one of the youngest artists in the world to have his paintings displayed in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. He received his degree from the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design. After graduating, David moved to LA where he began his animation career for the Ralph Bakshi & Brad Pitt feature, Cool World. Within 2 months David became head of the Special Effects Department.
David soon went on to work with Disney, Don Bluth and Rich Animation, working on such features as The Lion King, Aladdin and Thumbelina. David simultaneously worked for several Special Effects studios, creating visual effects for features. David simultaneously discovered that he had a passion for sculpting. Warner Bros. and Disney observed David's talent, and began commissioning his work.
David is the exclusive licensed sculptor of Looney Tunes, Hanna-Barbera, & Corpse Bride characters. He was commissioned by the National Holocaust Museum to create a tribute sculpture for the children who lost their lives in the Holocaust. Recently, he has become the licensed sculptor of the PEANUTS characters-- available exclusively at Animazing Gallery.
Carl Barks
Carl Barks was one of the world's legendary comic artists, and was the father of the Donald Duck and Uncle Scrooge comics. Beginning his career at Disney in the thirties, his talent was soon recognized by his employer and colleagues. He soon made solo albums, including the entire 'Uncle Scrooge' series. From 1943 to 1966 Carl Barks wrote and drew hundreds of Disney's Donald Duck comics. He created Duckburg and several new characters for the comics (Uncle Scrooge McDuck, Gyro Gearloose, Gladstone Gander) and gave 'the Duck family' real human feelings. His stories are masterpieces of escalating storylines, and are great entertainment for all ages. The 'Old Duck Man', as Barks affectionately was called, stopped working for Disney in 1968 and started painting for his own pleasure. Barks became a successful painter, selling many of his works. Sadly, he died from leukemia at his home in Grants Pass, Oregon in August 2000, at the age of 99.
Mary GrandPre
Educated at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Mary GrandPre began her career as a conceptual illustrator for local editorial clients. Her concerns for light, color, drawing, and design came together in evocative, ethereal pastel paintings evolving toward a style she now calls "soft geometry".
Mary's new work attracted corporate advertising and editorial clients. Some of the include: Ogilvy & Mather, BBD&O, Whittle Communications, The Richards Group, Neenah Paper, Atlantic Monthly Magazine, Random House, Berkley, Penguin, Dell and McGraw Hill publishers. Recently, she was featured on the cover of Time Magazine for her work with the Harry Potter Series and also worked as a visionary in the environment/scenery development in Dreamworks animated film Antz
Mary's work has received national recognition through awards received from: The Society of Illustrators, Communication Arts, Graphis, Print and Art Direction. Her book illustration possesses higly personalized lyrical story interpretations and has received very favorable reviews in the national press.
Victoria Fuller
Victoria's artistic life began early. Coming from three generations of artists on each side of her family, her artistic future was destined. Her great, great grandfather exhibited art in Glasgow Institute of Fine Art and the Royal Academy, just to name a few. Victoria's mother noticed her talents early on. When Victoria was only two years old she shocked her parents when she started sketching Snoopy cartoons right off the funny page with crayons. She could draw before she could talk.
Playboy discovered Victoria on a modeling shoot and quickly signed her on as a Playmate Centerfold. The theme of the pictorial was none other then art and becoming an artist. Since her centerfold she has traveled the world modeling and making appearances.
As if being one of Playboy's most popular Playmates, Victoria made history by being the only artist to receive permission from Playboy to use their famous trademarks in artwork. She has been granted a licensing contract from Playboy to feature the Playboy name, Rabbit Head logo and Bunny costumes as the subjects of her paintings and limited edition artwork prints.
Barry Rockwell
Barry Rockwell's wry and witty view of the world casts friendly illuminations upon a culture whose historic past is oddly attached to the current marketplace. And yes, he's one of THOSE Rockwells...
Predominately known for his humorous American portraits, Barry received his formal training in Fine Arts from the Boston Museum School and in Illustration from New York’s School of Visual Arts. His primary work over the past two decades has been in creating art for such major advertisers as Mobil Oil, Quaker Oats, Uniroyal and the Long Island Railroad. His illustrations have appeared in many publications and he has won awards for fine art, advertising and animation pieces.
Barry’s commercial success has given him a great range of opportunity. His interest in and acquisition of American Folk Art has greatly influenced his present work. The people and products of his paintings – joined and juxtaposed – are friendly illuminations of a culture whose historic past is oddly attached to the current marketplace.
Barry currently resides in Long Island. His studio, a reconstructed barn, is located in Brookhaven Hamlet.
Barry Rockwell’s particular gift is an ability to translate visual reality into a language of wry, witty, wiry lines… The world comes through this process smiling at itself – and it would be a far better place were it to exchange itself Rockwell’s version of it, and throw the original away.
Ron Campbell
Mr. Campbell is the only animator in America to have directed & animated on both The Beatles Yellow Submarine and the ABC television 78-episode series The Saturday Morning Beatles ('65 - '69).
Each show featured a Ringo Sing-Along. In 1986 and 1987, the series was re-broadcast on MTV. The animation for the series was done in Australia, England and Canada.
Born in 1939 in Seymore, Victoria, Australia, Mr, Campbell has been a force in animation for the past 4 decades. Still working today, he is currently directing episodes of Ed, Edd and Eddy for Cartoon Network. Recent works include storyboarding for Stuart Little II.
Mr. Campbell began his animation career in the early 1960s animating on Beetle Bailey, Krazy Kat and Cool McCool for King Features. He went on to write and produce cartoons for the Children's Television Workshop for the early Sesame Street show. In the early 1980's, he drew a majority of the storyboards for Hanna-Barbera's hit series The Smurfs, including the Emmy-award winning Smurfolympics special. He also storyboarded for The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
The 1990's took Ron Campbell to Disney TV Animation where he was responsible for animation direction on Bonkers, Goof Troop and Darkwing Duck. He also did storyboarding for Klasky-Csupo's Nickelodeon shows, The Rugrats, Rocket Power and Duckman. During that time, he was nominated for an Emmy.
Dick Duerrstein
Dick Duerrstein has the innate ability to capture the essence of the character while playfully (and respectfully) reinventing the energy of the original. Working with drawings gathered from the archives of Chuck Jones, he has re-interpreted the sauciness and droll draftsmanship of one of the most iconic animation directors and character creators of the last century.
His life-long passion for art, along with his love of Disney comics and movies, fostered in him the dream of someday working for the Walt Disney Studio. In 1976 he began his career at Disney as Creative Director for their Consumer Products Division. For the next 22 years, Dick had the opportunity to use his talent in many diverse ways, developing his own unique style that is prevalent in his paintings today.
His artwork has adorned everything from record album covers and clothing to fine collectible items such as cel portfolios, art glass and furniture. Some of his published works include a series of three children’s books that he illustrated, and a fine art serigraph series of Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse and Donald Duck.
The vibrant colors and bold brushwork of Duerrstein's art create a sense of movement, excitement and reverence for the creative process.
Joe Giella
Joe Giella was born June 27, 1928, in Manhattan. As a teenager, his imagination was fueled by the newspaper strips and comic books of the time. At age 17, Joe broke into comic books inking one story for Hillman Publications, and then inking for the Beck-Costanza studio on Fawcett Publications’ Captain Marvel series. In 1947, Joe became a staff inker for Timely Comics (now known as Marvel), working primarily on humor and teenage comics, though he also did some adventure work. Timely was Joe’s training ground.
In 1950, Joe left Timely and began a 40 year association with DC Comics, primarily as an inker. Joe left no genre untouched; westerns, war, romance, horror, humor, crime, science fiction, and superheroes, including most of the company’s top characters, like The Flash, Green Lantern, Batman, Superman, etc. He also drew the Batman newspaper strip for four years in the mid-1960s, worked on The Phantom newspaper strip, and turned out volumes of pages for Marvel Comics.
Currently, Joe is enjoying a long running stint as the artist on the Mary Worth newspaper strip, in addition to various freelance endeavors, which include recent work for his long-time employer, DC Comics.
