Here is a rare homage to the art of classic 2–D animation and the time–honored method of hand–drawing characters that come alive on the silver screen. The creator of "The Simpsons" and "Futurama," reveals the art of brilliant character design, backgrounds, and prop art in this lavishly detailed handbook that unveils the complex secrets behind the deceptively simple and universally loved Simpsons characters. With creative insights, artists' sketches, helpful insider hints, and step–by–step instructions, enter the imagination of "master doodler" Matt Groening and receive some professional "how–to" advice from many of the animators and directors who have made "The Simpsons" the longest–running animated show and situation comedy in television history. In our technological era when animation has become increasingly digitalized, this unique handbook records the genesis of some of the most extraordinary examples of the art of hand–drawn animated characters.
Matt Groening, creator and executive producer of Fox's Emmy Award®-winning series The Simpsons, made television history by bringing animation back to primetime and creating an immortal nuclear family. The Simpsons is the longest running primetime animated series in television history and is currently the longest-running comedy on television, having aired more than 400 episodes. In July 2007, the highly anticipated feature film The Simpsons Movie opened in theaters with worldwide grosses of more than $525 million to date.
Originally brought to life in 1987 for The Tracey Ullman Show, The Simpsons was Groening's amazing entry into the television animation world. Previously, he was best-known for his "Life in Hell" cartoon strip, an irreverent portrayal of love, work, school, life and relationships that currently appears in more than 250 newspapers worldwide and in a multitude of books.
Groening's other Emmy-Award®-winning creation, Futurama, launched on Fox in March 1999 and ran for five seasons. Last year Fox released the direct-to-DVD full-length original feature Futurama: Bender's Big Score. Three additional films will be released and the entire series with new episodes will air on Comedy Central this year.
In 1993, Groening formed Bongo Comics Group, where he serves as publisher of The Simpsons Library of Wisdom, Simpsons Episode Guides, Simpsons Comics, Bart Simpson Comics, Radioactive Man Comics, Simpsons Comics Treasure Trove, the annual Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror, Futurama Comics, more than 36 comic compilations, as well as instant classics including Bart Simpsons Guide to Life, The Simpsons Handbook, and The Simpsons Uncensored Family Album among others!
In addition to the many awards bestowed on his creations (including Emmys, Annies, and the prestigious Peabody Award), Groening was personally honored with the Rueben Award for Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year, the highest honor presented by the National Cartoonist Society. To date there are more than 14 million copies of books from HarperCollins in print throughout North America, the UK, and Australia based on The Simpsons, Futurama, and Life in Hell.
