Anastos Blogspot: Animator Profile

Winsor McCay was an American cartoonist and animator. He is well known for his short animation work. He pioneered in animation and especially with “Gertie the Dinosaur”, “The Sinking of Lusitania” and “Little Nemo in Slumberland”.

Figure 1: Winsor McCay.

Winsor McCay was born in Michigan in 1871. From his young age Winsor was interested in drawing. His father was a real estate agent and encouraged him to become a businessman. During his life he did many jobs. ”He got paid for showing his observational skills in public, making sketches, large-sized posters and billboards for freaky traveling circuses and dime museums.” (Keller, Unknown) He also did comic strips for newspapers and vaudeville acts.

Figure 2: Winsor McCay during a vaudeville act.

Before moving to New York Winsor worked due to economic difficulties as cartoonist/reporter for the Cincinnati Commercial Tribune. There he learned and tuned his talent as a draftsman. Winsor McCay used the alias Silas instead of his name in his comic strips. In 1905 Winsor McCay began producing “Little Nemo in Slumberland”. “Little Nemo in Slumberland”. has been considered by many people as Winsor’s McCay’s masterpiece and has been made a musical in Broadway. Winsor McCay used amazing effects in “Little Nemo in Slumberland”. “And that gorgeous drawing... if you want acres of palaces, or house-sized monsters, or funhouse-mirror distortions, McCay's your man. And he has tricks that few have deployed since, such as printing the main lines of the drawing in blue or red for special effects”. (Bob, 1996)

Figure 3: "Little Nemo in Slumberland" poster.

The setup of the comic strip was about the dream of a little boy called Nemo. Even the fact it was comic strip for little children it was far from a simple children's fantasy, it was often dark, surreal, threatening, and even violent. McCay’s popularity increased and after eight years of making comic strips for newspapers left and went to New York to work for William Randolph Hearst. As he was working for Hearst he experimented with the idea of using animated pictures for his vaudeville acts. After some years and some attempts in 1914 he created “Gertie the Dinosaur”. McCay rather than showing the film he interacted with Gertie.

Figure 4: Picture from "Gertie the Dinosaur".

“Gertie the Dinosaur” became very popular. It was an instant success and it was McCay’s first animated cartoon that wasn't based on a comic strip. “The 1914 “Gertie the Dinosaur” can still charm with its gentle humor and McCay’s wonderfully sincere depiction of the oversized yet playful creature.” (Hall, 2004) McCay was working heavily on animated films. Resulting in 1918 the "The Sinking Of The Lusitania".

Figure 5: Picture from "The Sinking Of The Lusitania".

It features a short 12-minute explanation of the sinking of the RMS Lusitania after it was struck by two torpedoes. “In The Sinking of the Lusitania, McCay continues to ground his animation within a realist framework, but in this case he wants to efface the superreal aspects of the medium as much as possible”. (North, 2009) Winsor McCay died in 1934 from a heart stroke. Some of his drawings are on the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He pioneered in the industry of animation and his work was an inspiration for other artists.

Illustration List:

Figure 1: Winsor McCay. [online]

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglKjPcRHB9fWUmEaxtE9l1LjyjDmha7L3z86CzYzjtQToHDqBHW6caPu0QBo7t9FuImbqrzOu0SzjHt6eFh5GQ7Rxu0r2nkzvwlpsE-vup2m85CpgS-1WG539o0Ej4L15E7wZ-N34_YpqS/s1600/McCay1.jpg

(Accessed: 19/6/2012)

Figure 2: Winsor McCay performing a vaudeville act. [online]

http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Tt-tti2zsB8/0.jpg

(Accessed: 19/6/2012)

Figure 3: Little Nemo in Slumberland poster. [online]

http://s3.amazonaws.com/bonanzleimages/afu/images/2487/3767/little_nemo.jpg

(Accessed: 19/6/2012)

Figure 4: Gertie the Dinosaur. [online]

http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~aland/notes/images/lect1yr/gert.gif