Monday, December 6, 2010

Fozzie Bear

Had great fun with this one, whoever came up with Henson Week deserves a pat on the back.
Fozzie was always my favourite muppet as a kid, and when I got a bit older and realised he was brought to life by the great Frank Oz, I loved him even more. Henson creations in general are just magical. The muppets, Labyrinth, The Dark Crystal, all classics. I sincerely hope that CG effects never completely take the place of these beautiful, practical creations, as they just can't come close to the way the physical character moves with weight and momentum, emotes and has actual presence on screen.
Can't wait to see what the other lads come up with.

P.S.- I must point out that this sketch is obviously a bit of an ode to one of my favourite artists of all time, Bill Watterson. Bet he loves the Muppets too.

18 comments:

Nick said...

That's gorgeous, luv.

Declan Shalvey said...

Thats lovely man; just lovely.

JayKent said...

I want to see your Gonzo! lol
Luv this

LEN said...

That's just bloody perfect

Stephen Thompson said...

It's like if Bill Watterson drew the Muppets. Excellent stuff.

nickrunge said...

This is such a great piece!

Stephen Mooney said...

Ah cheers lads, pretty happy with how it came out alright.

Will Sliney said...

Send me the high rez, my sister wants a print

Stephen Mooney said...

Will she make it worth my while...?

David Ferguson said...

Lovely stuff.

You really captured Fozzie.

Anonymous said...

You forgot to draw the man with his hand up Fozzies Arse !!!

Will Sliney said...

Shed break your heart Moondawg

Liam Geraghty said...

Really beautiful work, Mooney. Being such iconic characters the Muppets can be hard to draw to a standard that fans will actually accept. Take for example ALOT of the BOOM Muppet comics (although I'm a fan of Langridges take on them). A Watterson/Muppets mash-up? You've made my day.

To go on a bit, Frank Oz was in Dublin a few years back for a screening of Death at a Funeral. It was wasn't a premiere and tickets could be applied for but even at that that small screen in Cineworld wasn't even full. I couldn't believe it. I brought along a black & white photo of Fozzie that the Henson company had sent me when I was 9 or 10 after I'd written them a letter, and got Oz to sign it for me. Never meet your heroes? He was a true gent.

Anonymous said...

my idea Whoot

Stephen Mooney said...

I WISH I'd known about that Frank Oz screening man, I'd have been there with many bells on. Gutted I missed it.

Paco said...

Bill Watterson meets Jim Henson. Does it get any better? Fantastic drawing!

Bob Byrne said...

Brilliant. Nice and tooney.

Gillian Comerford said...

I think this is my favourite drawing Stephen. It's really, really,really cool. I would like it on my wall :) I love Fozzy...Nice work