Category Archives: Animation

February 10, 2012 · 11:59 AM

G.I. Joe PSA #34 kid model sheets

Prose recollections of my life as a G.I. Joe fan continue next week.  In the meantime, to celebrate Jim Sorenson’s announcement about his book of G.I. Joe animation model sheets (I helped out a little bit), today’s post features the model sheets for the two boys in PSA #34:

Thanks again to YouTube user PSAGIJoe for uploading the original public service announcements.

I love this one for its mild message about nutrition, rather than the more severe topics of theft, vehicular injury, and death by asphyxiation, as well its catalog of animation mistakes:  the color pop on Lifeline’s backpack, the terrible animation of the trio biting and chewing, Lifeline’s ability to talk without chewing, the oddity of bumping into a special forces operative single-handedly juggling fruit while… waiting for us?  Also, that weird apple vending machine thing.

Is this just a poorly designed shelf?  Are those apples floating in zero G?  Is it a graphic of apples printed on the front surface of an apple vending machine?  It’s in no way important, but to me it strikes of the cultural divide between America and Japan (or Korea) crossed with an impending deadline.  I don’t have the storyboard for this PSA, but I’ll guess that the backgrounds weren’t fully fleshed out.  Photocopies went to the animators overseas, where retail stores are a little different, and some talented background painter whipped up this contraption:

G.I. Joe PSA 34 composite screencap apples

Anyway, here’s Terrell Williams and “boy,” all ready for their close-ups.

G.I. Joe PSA 34 models sheets Terrell WilliamsG.I. Joe PSA 34 models sheets Terrell Williams and boy

They’re unsigned, so I don’t know who drew them, but looking over the list of G.I. Joe model designers, I’d guess Carol Lundberg, John Koch, or William Draut.

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February 1, 2012 · 11:03 AM

Russ Heath – Primord Chief

Russ Heath original art detail G.I. Joe "Satellite Down" Primord Lord

In this Ted Pedersen-written episode of G.I. Joe from 1985, “Satellite Down,” the Joes track a lost satellite to somewhere in an “unexplored region” of Africa.  There they meet a tribe of primitives called Primords, who worship the satellite as a god.  And Storm Shadow and Spirit fight!

Here’s Russ Heath’s original artwork (pencil on animation bond — I cropped out the punch holes) for one version, unused in the episode, for the Primord Chief.

Russ Heath original art G.I. Joe "Satellite Down" Primord Lord

The final design differs greatly from this drawing.  In the episode, the chief is covered in body hair, has no loincloth, hood, or cape, and less face paint.
G.I. Joe "Satellite Down" screencap Primord Lord

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December 12, 2011 · 11:41 AM

G.I. Joe: The Movie Screenplay, excerpt 2

G.I. Joe Movie screenplay 1987 tease 2

This week, pages 5-9 of the Ron Friedman/Buzz Dixon screenplay to 1987’s animated G.I. Joe: The Movie.  And a greeting to those of you Googling for the screenplay to G.I. Joe: Retaliation.  Take a load off.  Stay awhile.

Pages 0-4 | 5-9 | 10-14

G.I. Joe: The Movie 1987 screenplay pg 005 Friedman/Dixon G.I. Joe: The Movie 1987 screenplay pg 006 Friedman/Dixon G.I. Joe: The Movie 1987 screenplay pg 007 Friedman/Dixon G.I. Joe: The Movie 1987 screenplay pg 008 Friedman/Dixon G.I. Joe: The Movie 1987 screenplay pg 009 Friedman/Dixon

Pages 0-4 | 5-9 | 10-14

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December 5, 2011 · 10:49 AM

“Revenge of Cobra” 1984 Generic Joe II model sheet

G.I. Joe model sheet tease Generic JoeI don’t recall when this generic trooper (version two) appeared within the 1984 G.I. Joe animated miniseries, “The Revenge of Cobra,” (feel free to chime in in the comments), but here’s a little art of him.  (Version one, not pictured in this post, is sans camo.)  First up is a black and white photocopy of the model sheet, with cel paint color codes written in pencil.

G.I. Joe model sheet tease Generic Joe

And here’s the color model sheet — cel vinyl (like acrylic paint) on the back of an animation cel.  Two or three of these were painted for every single character that appeared (standard for animation, not just the G.I. Joe production).  One or two stayed in the States, and one or two went overseas with all the scripts, storyboards, and background keys to the animation studio that would produce the bulk of the show, in this case Toei in Japan.

G.I. Joe color model sheet Generic Joe

This art is likely Russ Heath, since he’s the main designer credited on “Revenge,” but I should point out that eight other artists appear in the end credits of these five episodes.  They did costume changes, props, and lesser background characters so there’s a chance one of them took a Heath drawing of Generic Joe version one and added a few details.

I don’t know if the term “greenshirts” came about in early Joe fandom, or in 2000 when Devil’s Due Press published its G.I. Joe comic book and canonized the term, but I’ve never liked the word (even though it’s wonderfully accurate) because it represents the animation’s misunderstanding of the Joe concept from almost year one.  With generic soldiers running around in the background of every episode, G.I. Joe becomes a stand-in for the regular, larger armed forces, rather than Delta Force, (what it’s actually a stand-in for), akin to the A-Team or the Mission: Impossible folks.  It’s not hundreds of men and women, it’s five or ten or 20 on smaller missions.

But seriously, I don’t recall when this guy shows up.  Do you?

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November 28, 2011 · 11:31 AM

G.I. Joe: The Movie Screenplay

G.I. Joe: The Movie screenplay tease

Credited writer Ron Friedman and credited Story Consultant Buzz Dixon have different takes on how much of this they wrote.  Based on their recollections from when I interviewed each, as well as their recall on various Rhino Home Video G.I. Joe DVDs from 2003-2004 my sense is that much more of the credit should go to Dixon.  I delve into this a bit in Chapter 8 of my book, but either way, here’s the first five pages of screenplay from Sunbow Productions’ 1987 G.I. Joe: The Movie.

G.I. Joe: The Movie screenplay title pageG.I. Joe: The Movie screenplay pg 1

G.I. Joe: The Movie screenplay pg 2

G.I. Joe: The Movie screenplay pg 3

G.I. Joe: The Movie screenplay pg 4

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August 29, 2011 · 10:43 AM

“The Rotten Egg” storyboards batch 2

Sorry for the lack of posts Friday.

Pages [1-5] [6-7C] [7D-10] [11-15] [16-19]

Continuing our look at the Season 2 episode “The Rotten Egg,” here are five more pages of storyboards, page 6, 7, 7A, 7B, and 7C.

G.I. Joe "The Rotten Egg" Season 2 storyboardG.I. Joe "The Rotten Egg" Season 2 storyboard page 007G.I. Joe "The Rotten Egg" Season 2 storyboard page 007AG.I. Joe "The Rotten Egg" Season 2 storyboard page 007B

G.I. Joe "The Rotten Egg" Season 2 storyboard page 007C

Next five pages!

Pages [1-5] [6-7C] [7D-10] [11-15] [16-19]

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August 17, 2011 · 1:22 PM

“The Rotten Egg” storyboards batch 1

G.I. Joe "The Rotten Egg" storyboard title pg excerpt

Sorry for the late post.  Monday’s supposed to be art day, with Tuesday a reserve should Monday get swamped.  Anyway, happy Wednesday!

Today we look at the first few pages of storyboards from the Steve Mitchell and Barbara Petty-written season 2 G.I. Joe episode “The Rotten Egg.”

This episode has a great premise, that Leatherneck’s old rival is now running a military academy, and invites him to graduation ceremonies, but the two have a long-standing grudge that comes to a head.  Also, Cobra’s peripherally involved.  The emotional through-line — that grudge — is tight, and not that you’d know if from this art but voice actor Chuck McCann gives an Emmy-worthy performance as Leatherneck.  Dick Gautier, elsewhere heard as Serpentor, is similarly stellar as antagonist Buck McCann — a play on the other actor’s name.

I should know who drew these Act I boards, but I don’t.  If I find out, I’ll update this post later.

G.I. Joe "The Rotten Egg" storyboard pg 01

G.I. Joe "The Rotten Egg" storyboard pg 02

G.I. Joe "The Rotten Egg" storyboard pg 03

G.I. Joe "The Rotten Egg" storyboard pg 04

G.I. Joe "The Rotten Egg" storyboard pg 05

Next five pages!

Pages [1-5] [6-7C] [7D-10] [11-15]

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July 18, 2011 · 12:45 PM

Behind the scenes of G.I. Joe – PSA #10 Storyboard

G.I. Joe PSA

Endorsed by the National Child Safety Council, a non-profit founded in 1955, the now infamous G.I. Joe public service announcements (PSAs) were created to elevate the series’ profile as an agent for pro-social values and to ward off criticism from parents’ groups that the G.I. Joe cartoon was a) violent and b) a half-hour toy commercial.  35 PSAs were created in all, with topics ranging from not giving in to peer pressure, to nutrition, and to owning up to one’s own mistakes.  The format was likely borrowed from Filmation’s 1983 series He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.  In that show, at episode’s end a marquee character would directly address the audience and refer to an incident from the proceeding episode.  The Joe ones were different, working both in “regular” continuity wherein the Joes spoke to kids in-scene, and not the television audience, but also a kind of parallel universe where the Joes were always near suburban danger and utterly lacking in top secret status.

For Footloose’s rapid-fire instructions, PSA #10 is one of my favorites — there’s no way I’d remember what to do in my own soccer crisis unless I had a transcript handy.  Also, this is perhaps one of three incidents in all of G.I. Joe animation 1983 to 2000 where the animators showed blood.  I appreciate the added dash of seriousness.

Here’s the storyboard for PSA #10.  I should know who drew this, but don’t.  I’ll check my sources and update this post when I can.

G.I. Joe PSA #10 storyboard pg 1

G.I. Joe PSA #10 storyboard pg 2 of 3

G.I. Joe PSA #10 storyboard pg 3 of 3

For those unfamiliar with storyboard formatting, here are a few items of note:

-The second panel — the stretched out one — represents a camera move.

-The numbers under the panels represent length of footage in feet and frames.  Old school film editing (and animating) was measured not in seconds/frames, but in feet/frames, with a foot being the physical length of 16 frames of film, and a frame lasting 1/24th of a second.  So where it says “SLUGGED BOARD” at the top left of page one, the board artist has timed out to the audio track each shot’s duration, or is providing a time table for the animators to show how long each shot should last.

As a special thank you, I’d like to acknowlege YouTube user PSAGIJoe, who has uploaded the original, non-satirized PSAs.  You can find them here.

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July 5, 2011 · 1:56 PM

Behind the scenes of G.I. Joe – Heath Snake-Eyes

Today’s art peak brings you several photocopies of Russ Heath’s model sheets for the 1985 season of the animated G.I. Joe.  While the Snake-Eyes action figure was iconically all black, the TV series had previously shown him in dark blue.  (All black doesn’t “read” well in animation.)  For 1985, SE went dark grey, which to my eye reads better than the dark blue and works better as a stand-in for black since dark blue is already associated with Cobra.  Russ Heath’s front view:

Clearly based, as many of his drawings were, on Hasbro’s internal presentation artwork:

This one, a black and white photocopy, doesn’t have a signature, and I’ll admit I don’t know who painted it.  To my eye it’s not Ron Rudat — the proportions and clothing folds don’t match with work that I know is Rudat.  The anatomy is tight, which says George Woodbridge, but his Joe work was colored and black ink, not rendered paintings.  Maybe one of you eagle eyed Joe collectors can correct me in the comments.  There is a slightly better reproduction of this image, still a black and white photocopy of a color photocopy, though, in Vincent Santelmo’s Official 30th Anniversary Salute to G.I. Joe.

Two more views by Heath:

And SE’s undercover disguise, drawn by Bruce Timm, from the beginning of “Battle for the Train of Gold.”  To give you a sense of the timeline, this was drawn in August 1984, and the episode aired 14  months later.

And what appears to be an unused alternate from same.

I’m not sure where in the storyline of “Train” there would have been an opportunity for SE to wear this, but there is a horse farm in act 3, so who knows?

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