Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1480624
showing who they were. Illustrations were by character artists Aaron McBride and Brian Mates, respectively. I wrote most of the text for this. It was fun to describe them as "always in cahoots" and Gideon as having an "over-active thyroid resulting in his over-bulging eyes." The third scripted item for the wall was a poster for the marionette show produced by the unscrupulous Stromboli. He travels the country using a gypsy- style wagon to present his shows and is the master of the puppets Sabina the Ballerina, a Russian Cossack, and a "cast of thousands." Pinocchio is taken in by Stromboli and made to perform. My first design was based on a classic Ringling Bros. Circus poster. I used artwork by the 19th century painter Camille Corot for the scenic backgrounds and illustrations by staff artists for the three characters. However, it was deemed too slick and professional-looking. Dechant wanted something that looked more handmade, so I came up with the red curtain option, but we struggled to get the charm and cheap-looking quality we were looking for. I continued to work on these throughout my stay on the show, but alas, we ran out of time. I believe the poster ended up being finished in England. Geppetto's Workshop Next, the audience meets Geppetto in his studio, making toys. While working on the establishing exterior roof sign, the team went back-and-forth about whether to use English or Italian, so the concept art was done in both languages. In my first design, I used an ornate, carved wooden frame and added to it various mechanical toys I found online. I felt that the movement of the toys would both make the sign more whimsical and help attract clients to Geppetto's shop. After I finished the first pass, the 3D environment for the shop had been completed and it was clear that the sign needed to be longer. I was then given screen captures of the outside of the building. I redesigned it using a completely different shape, keeping the animated toys. By the last version, the mechanical toys were eliminated. In addition to the roof sign, we also needed an outrigger. These are great for adding dimension and realistic complication to the scene as the characters walk down the street. I used some research from a European book published around 1900 and found the puppet on eBay. By this time, the producers had determined that the sign would be in Italian, but Jiminy Cricket would read it in English so everyone would know what it said. When Disney put out a teaser trailer that started with a shot of Geppetto's outrigger, I was NEVER more excited to see my work on film. Another Geppetto project was his childhood woodworking book which he reads to Pinocchio after his new son comes to life. I have a personal collection of art nouveau book C. AN EARLY DESIGN THAT WAS DEEMED TOO PROFESSIONAL FOR THE ROUGH CONMAN, STROMBOLI. D. THE FINAL DESIGN FOR THE OUTRIGGER SIGN. C D