I don't know if anyone has checked out my profile and seen any of my personal blogs, but if so they would see that I am an illustrator. Some time ago I started thinking about about drawing the characters and places from the show. This was partially inspired by the fact that I didn't like a lot of the Mr. Rogers character art and merchandise I was seeing, and partially just because it seemed like a fun idea. I wasn't sure how much time I'd have to devote to it, and as of this moment it's only resulted in one painting and a lot of sketches with some digital color. But below is one of my first and favorites.
I did this drawing in under a minute, (color took about 5) and I really like how effortless it looks. Many of the puppets on the show don't lend themselves to much expression, but Corny's grin and easygoing manner were easy to translate. Perhaps I'll post some of the other Mr. Rogers pieces in a future post.
Someday I hope Tim or I will really research and document each of these characters as I'm sure each of them has led an interesting life after 40 years of being on television. But for now here's a very brief biography of Cornflake S. Pecially, Corny to his friends, for those who may not remember. He works (and lives?) in a pink factory just to the right of King Friday's Castle. He touts himself as a man who manufactures, and his specialty is Rocking Chairs, which he calls Rockits, though he has been known to make just about anything that needs making (dolls, pretzels, trolley's, annoying talking horses). His museum caught fire once, and Lady Elaine once thought that they were engaged.
After drawing a couple of Mr. Rogers characters I think I'm realizing that Corny was always one of my favorites, though I couldn't really tell you why. His voice (as provided by Fred Rogers) was kinda funny, a sort of scratchy, high pitched "old man" voice, I always thought. He looked like some sort of chipmunk with his one tooth sticking out and his hair was always dissheveled. I think he may have been one of the most capable of the puppet characters on the show. Besides Dr. Bill and Gran Pere', he was one of the few who didn't show too much dysfunction. He just went about his business and was friendly, unlike Lady Elaine or King Friday both who caused trouble in one way or another. Perhaps as a kid I liked his stability.
I did this drawing in under a minute, (color took about 5) and I really like how effortless it looks. Many of the puppets on the show don't lend themselves to much expression, but Corny's grin and easygoing manner were easy to translate. Perhaps I'll post some of the other Mr. Rogers pieces in a future post.
8 comments:
That looks great Eric. I look forward seeing more.
Do you see that art piece in the kitchen area of the neighborhood of make-believe? Anything about who drew that or history of that piece? Thanks.
I remember noticing 2 pieces of art in the kitchen. I think one was of the neighborhood of Make Believe and the second may have been a more realistic neighborhood. Seems like I have a faint faint memory of Fred once showing one or both of them up close, as most of the interesting props on the set had an introduction at some point, but I honestly can't say for sure.
During the first week of episodes (I forgot which one, they were on YouTube for a time before being removed), Fred arrived with the drawing of the NOMB with him and hung it up in the kitchen. He might have said something along the lines of a friend drew it for him, but I'm not sure.
also my name is Lawrence
this is a great thing eric I hope to share a lot with this page
Great! I always liked him as a kid. I found his factory fascinating!
That's a nice picture. I can draw all of the puppets, and some of the people in make believe myself. In fact, I'm currently working on a book about the neighborhood program.
Really? I'd love to hear more about it Drewit1!
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