Thursday, September 06, 2007

Roy Doty: Crowd Control

Yesterday I talked about how Roy Doty's whimsical page toppers for Coronet where just a minor example of the kind of complex illustrations he was doing month to month for all sorts of publications back in the 50's. Well here's a perfect example of one of those complex illustrations... this is just a small snippet of the humungous scene Doty illustrated for the August 1956 issue of Woman's Day magazine.


Here's what the whole big spread looks like...


But if you want to really "get the big picture" you should probably look at the full size version.


And Doty doesn't just stop there...


...his illustration continues all the way across a second spread...


...all made up of individually drawn, distinctly unique characters in unique costumes and poses. As my pal Glen Mullaly commented on Monday's piece of Manhattan island, "This would take me a month!"

And Doty didn't have the advantage of "copy & paste" commands. It was just another typical assignment for the indefatigable Doty.


Take a few minutes to enjoy all the details of these illustrations in my Roy Doty Flickr set - but first - take a moment to wish Roy a Happy 85th Birthday in the comments section of this post (c'mon, whattaya waitin' for? Christmas?) and many thanks to everyone who has already done so!

14 comments:

  1. Happiest of happy birthdays, Mr. Doty! And thank you for the inspiration!

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  2. Blogger's comment protocol was blocking Neil Shapiro from leaving a comment for some reason so Neil asked me to forward this note he sent via email:

    Hi Roy:

    You've given me many years of entertainment, ever since I was a kid &
    would pour through the magazines in our home. I think you touched a lot
    of future illustrators' lives, & that's no small achievement. Have a
    great birthday -- you've certainly earned it!

    Congratulations on a wonderful career!

    Neil Shapiro

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  3. What a pleasure see that kind of illustration and like chrissie said above... thanks for the inspiration!!

    Regards
    Pablo

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  4. Happy birthday Mr. Doty!

    Amazing work!!!!

    Truly inspirational!

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  5. Happy birthday, Mr. Doty! Like Neil (above), I always enjoyed looking at your illustrations when I was a kid, and I'm enjoying them again now.

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  6. Happy Birthday, and congratulations on the amazing work. I´m going to spend a great afternoon scrutinizing your illustrations.

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  7. Anonymous1:28 PM

    Absolutely amazing. The detail and poses just blow me away. Like everyone else, I loved these as a child and I'm inspired by them as an adult. Thanks for everything and have a happy birthday!

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  8. Hi Roy,

    The work is wonderful and, as many above have also said, really inspirational. It sure looks like you had a lot of fun in drawing all of those little characters.

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  9. Happy Birthday!
    Your work is so engaging. I hope you enjoy knowing how much we appreciate your work, over and over again.

    May this coming year bring you joy.

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  10. Anonymous9:23 PM

    Happy birthday, Mr. Doty. I enjoyed "Wordless Workshop" as a kid, and it's great to have the opportunity, via leif, to see samples of your other great work and to appreciate it with adult eyes.

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  11. Anonymous9:55 PM

    Happy Birthday, Mr. Doty.

    Awesome work, thank-you for the inspiration.

    Best wishes.

    Bob-O

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  12. You're a true Inspiration Mr.Doty, Happy Birthday!

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  13. Anonymous10:50 AM

    Many happy returns Mr. Doty! True to the spirit of this forum, your work has been a constant source of inspiration and delight for me through the years. I hope that you garner some sense of satisfaction from the generations of artists you have influenced.

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  14. Happy birthday Mr. Doty! You have done wonderful work.
    Harold

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