"Will You Wear A Mask? I Ask" performed by Mark Hamill

Check out the video of my rhyming picture book "Will You Wear A Mask?  I Ask"...a fun 4-minute video for the whole family! 

Narrated by Mark Hamill!   

And please wear a mask!  

You can find the video here:  

https://youtu.be/60lF1bLAWYA 

 

"WILL YOU WEAR A MASK? I ASK" -- Book at Amazon

 

 

 

Hey folks!  Just published a fun little rhyming picture book about wearing a mask during this COVID-19 pandemic.  It's entitled "Will You Wear A Mask?  I Ask" and it's fun for the entire family.   

You can find it for sale at Amazon... 

https://www.amazon.com/Will-You-Wear-Mask-Ask-ebook/dp/B08GF1JH2Y/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=ruegger+kindle&qid=1598139340&sr=8-1 

 

  

 

Clip from "The Premiere of Platypus Duck"

Here's a clip from the first cartoon I made -- "The Premiere of Platypus Duck."   Made it in college.  The music is composed and performed by Parker MacDonell, and that's Parker singing as well.   The entire cartoon is 11 minutes long.  

This 50-second clip was drawn mainly in colored pencil, with some inked lines on paper.  This sequence covers evolution from the dawn of time to the present day, as we see the platypus evolve.

The clip is below these images.  

 

Images from the Platypus Duck Storyboard -- 1975

Back in 1975-76, I made my first animated cartoon, "The Premiere of Platypus Duck," with the help of a lot of people like Parker MacDonell, Barry Braverman, Maury Rapf, Blair Watson, Tom Ropelewski, Willy Small, Gigi Jones, Glo Ruegger, Sara Hoagland, Chuck Reach, Robert G. "Boris" Fisher and the Arthur and Lillie Mayer Foundation.   Below are a few random storyboard panels from the pre-production.  Recently I transferred my best copy of the final film to digital and I hope to get that online sometime soon.  

Cartoonatics' 2nd Anniversary: July 9, 2010-July 9, 2012

Thanks for stopping by over the past two years.  

Gnu with the Gnews.

Platypus Duck, checkerboard, incoming.

Red Zebra in shades.

Rex at dinnertime.

The Alps.

The Premiere of Platypus Duck -- Part 7

A thirty-five-year-old pencil sketch of the title character, Platypus Duck, reflecting on the beach at sunset.  

More to come...

The Premiere of Platypus Duck -- Part 6

More artwork from "The Premiere of Platypus Duck."  Preliminary design for the platypus home and pond.  Pen and ink and watercolor.

More to come...

The Premiere of Platypus Duck -- Part 5

"The Premiere of Platypus Duck" had a lot of cel animation in it, but I hand drew, inked and colored some  sequences completely on paper.  This image is from one of those paper sequences.  After the platypi reunite, they do a song and dance routine on the stage of the Sydney Opera House.   And, once again, the little platypus kid upstages his brother.  

Parker MacDonell provided the music, lyrics and performance of the song.  

More to come...

The Premiere of Platypus Duck -- Part 4

Some cel set-ups from "The Premiere of Platypus Duck":  The three platypi approach the Sydney Opera House and enter, in hopes of tracking down the missing platypus duchess.

The third platypi is the little guy on top...He's always the last in, and the one who always acts a little bit nutty.

More to come...

The Premiere of Platypus Duck -- Part 3

In "The Premiere of Platypus Duck," the search for the platypus duchess takes the platypus trio to the big city, where they find the duchess performing at the Sydney Opera House.  (The platypi's home burrow is modeled after Jorn Utzon's design of the Sydney Opera House.)  College pal Brian Fuld provided the voice for the stage manager and announcer at the opera house.  

Below, a painted background of the Sydney Opera House used in the cartoon, plus the preliminary rough sketch.  These were based on photos provided by Kenny Altorfer, one of my parents' very best friends from Metuchen. 

More to come...

The Premiere of Platypus Duck -- Part 2

In "The Premier of Platypus Duck" cartoon, after the duck-billed platypus family is established, a flood comes along and carries off the platypus mom.  Thus begins the search for the missing "platypus duchess" by the dad and two sons.  

 

The image above is taken from the POV of a drain pipe which proves to be the method by which the three platypi find a path to the big city.  This particular scene was one of the most complicated to execute and shoot.  The circle matte moved across the screen from right to left, while the platypi walked through the wooded scenery from left to right.  

I particularly like the woodcut look of this background.  

The Premiere of Platypus Duck -- Part 1

Back in 1974, I received a grant from my college's film department to make an animated film.   The result was an eleven minute cartoon called...

The story follows the evolution of the duck-billed platypus from pre-history to modern day.  

The cartoon took almost two years to complete...and I sure learned a lot about the labor-intensive process of animation.  While I drew all the animation and hand-inked the cels, I managed to persuade many friends and relatives to pitch in on coloring some of the animation-on-paper, and talked others into painting some of the hundreds of cels.  

My best pal Parker MacDonell, an extraordinary singer/songwriter and musician, composed, performed and recorded the score -- which was wall-to-wall!  Eleven minutes of music!  Much of the animation moves to the score, and the edits are hooked into the rhythm of the evocative music.   

The two cell set-ups re-produced here are from the opening scene.  

As we hear the strains of an orchestra tuning up, we find the duck-billed platypus floating in the pond next to his burrow.  (The burrow has a shape similar to the Sydney Opera House, which is a motif throughout the film.)  The platypus looks up at the stars as the music begins, and a fanfare accompanies the sudden appearance of a marquee up in the sky.  The platypus seems slightly impressed with himself, since his name is on the marquee.

MORE TO COME... 

My First Cartoon

Coming this week:  images from my first cartoon, "The Premiere of Platypus Duck."   Original cels and drawings were preserved for the past 35 years by my mom in a trunk in the basement of her Metuchen, New Jersey home.  (The animation cels look brand new!)

The "Flashback" image above is from the eleven-minute cartoon, which tells the story of the evolution of the duck-billed platypus from 250 million years ago to the present...and to the future.    

Gone to the Dogs #21: Holiday Greetings!

Platypus Duck

I have been drawing cartoon versions of duck-billed platypi since 1975, when I started working on my first animated film.  It was called "The Premiere of Platypus Duck."  

The playtpi pictured below are among the absentminded "Platypus Duck" doodles that I've drawn over the years.  

Birds of a Feather #2