ART BINNINGER
A "MASTER OF HIS CRAFT" ARTIST
ART BINNINGER - KING OF MUSCLE ART WORK
I WAS WITH A # OF BODYBUILDERS IN A BOOTH AT THE MR. OLYMPIA, IN LAS VEGAS 2007.
AB IS A HUGE BODYBUILDING FAN WHO WORKS OUT 3 TO 4 TIMES A WEEK TO KEEP HIS PHYSIQUE IN TOP SHAPE FOR A YOUNG 50.
AB CAME UP TO AND ASKED IF HE COULD TAKE SOME SHOOTS. THE NEXT THING I GET FROM HIM WAS THE FLEXING ROBBY WHICH BECAME AN INTERNATIONAL HIT AMONG THE YOUNG & OLD BODYBUILDERS AND FANS THROUGHOUT EUROPE.
HIS WORK NEVER SEEKS TO AMAZE ME. IT GIVES MY BLOG AND FORUM THAT SPECIAL LOOK. A PLACE OF ENTERTAINMENT.
IF YOU ARE AN ART LOVER LIKE MYSELF THEN THE KING OF MUSCLE ART WORK WILL GRAB YOUR ATTENTION AND PULL YOU IN, LEAVING YOU WANTING MORE.
ART, ALL OF US AT R-R.NET / B&A GREATLY APPRECIATE YOUR WORK.
THANKS FOR BEING A PART OF THE TEAM.
10 QUESTIONS FOR
AB -- A "MASTER OF
HIS CRAFT" ARTIST
1. I LOVE YOUR ART WORK. WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO DO IT ?
YOUR WORK OF THE FLEXING ROBBY IS A BIG HIT IN EUROPE. IT BECAME A PHOTO/PHONE SENSATION FANS AND BODYBUILDERS FLASH ME OFTEN.
Bodybuilders flash you often? Whoa, I'm not even going to touch that! LOL!
Seriously, an online friend was involved with gaming and wanted something unique for his character. He was bored with the Anime style and asked for something muscular but closer to an American cartoon style. We exchanged some sketches and I finally inked and colored the bodybuilder he liked.
2 .WHY HAS THE FLEXING ROBBY BECOME SUCH A SENSATION, DOES IT SURPRISE YOU?
I'm guessing that the simplicity of it could be one thing. People have been exposed to CGI animation of increasing complexity for over 20 years now so I think the hand-drawn look has renewed appeal.
I also kept the file size on the Gif small so it was easy and fast to download.
Plus they like Mr. RR!
3. HOW DO YOU COME UP WITH THE DIFFERENT DRAWINGS?
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO DO A PIECE OF ART WORK?
For your animation, I worked on it in bits for a couple of weeks. The major challenge was the hair. Your old Afro was so simple to draw but we all need challenges to improve ourselves.
For the still drawings, once the idea is nailed down, it usually takes about an hour to pencil it and, depending on the complexity, about 30 minutes to ink it. I then scan it into the computer and use an old program called Micrografx Picture Publisher to color it.
Each muscle group (pecs, biceps, shoulders) get masked off and I used color gradients to fill them in. I'm still trying to work out a satisfactory way of portraying the muscles oiled up. I experimented once a few years ago but wasn't too happy with it.
I really like coming up with the backgrounds. There's so many different things available. I go out and shoot a lot of cloud formations during the rainy season to use as backgrounds.
And as I mentioned with the pose down background, that was taken from a bus window as we were driving on the 118 freeway near Simi Valley.
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| KING OF MUSCLE ANIMATION AB AT MR OLYMPIA 2007 |
4. YOU WENT TO THE BIG-O THIS YEAR. WAS IT ENJOYABLE? IS THIS WHERE YOU COME UP WITH SOME OF THE IDEAS FOR YOUR DRAWINGS?
I thought about going a few times but finally got up the nerve (and the cash) in 2007.
I enjoyed the Expo and the show so much that I wanted to go again in 2009. It actually did spark ideas and the fact that so many of the stars are so approachable (like you in 2007) is really nice.
It had a different vibe in 2009, probably because Ben Weider had passed away and the general economic downturn really hurt Vegas.
5. HOW MANY DAYS A WEEK DO YOU WORKOUT TO STAY FIT AND STRONG?
I try to get in to the gym 4 to 5 evenings a week. I always work out better with someone, I feed off their energy. It's like a performer who needs an audience. If I don't have a partner, I don't seem to push as hard.
6. DO YOU TAKE SUPPLEMENTS FOR HEALTH SUPPORT AND LONGEVITY?
IF SO, HAVE THEY MADE A DIFFERENCE IN YOUR ENERGY LEVEL?
I definitely have been taking supplements and vitamins. In 2006, my liver nearly failed from prescription medication and the doctors basically gave up on me.
I had been talking to a couple of people with backgrounds in nutritional healing and began a regimen of milk thistle, alpha lipoic acid, selenium and vitamin C. This was around October 2006. By March 2007, several people at the gym started commenting on how my appearance and energy level had improved since Christmas time.
Believe it or not, the doctors are still trying to convince me to go back to the medication. Guess what I told them? LOL! I've added multivitamins, Co Q10 and others over the years to ward off some of the ravages of being over 50.
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| BORIS VALLEJO'S JEAN GREY |
7. WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE ARTIST AND WHY?
Favorite artist, hmmm? There are a number people whose work I admire, some are illustrators, others are animators.
My favorite fantasy artist is Boris Vallejo although there are several others who work in comic books who really handle physique art very well.
The artists who worked on the Conan comics in the 1970's John Buscema, Ernie Colon, Gil Kane and others turned out great work.
I go through phases where I'll forget about comics for a while then pick up something that catches my eye and get into them again.
One animator who doesn't get much credit was John Gentilella, who started at the Max Fleischer studio (Popeye, Betty Boop) but really shined after the studio was taken over by Paramount and renamed Famous Studios. His Popeye was solidly drawn and he handled action scenes with great dynamic movements.
I like Fred Moore from Disney for his really appealing, squeezably soft characters. I'll probably think of more later but these are a good start.
8. YOU AND I HAVE DISCUSSED THIS PAST WEEK ABOUT COMING UP WITH A ROBBY ROBINSON CALENDAR FOR NEXT YEAR 2011. THAT SHOULD BE A HOT SELLER.
That's why I made the little one for you as a sample. I've learned that people have so little free time these days that simply suggesting an idea isn't enough to sell it. Having something to hold in your hands helps spark ideas and improve on the original suggestion.
When I was doing freelance artwork after I got out of the Air Force in the mid-1970's, I found that if you combined art or photography with something people use all the time, like a calendar, you had a better chance of getting your work sold. The explosion of specialty calendars since then just underlines that fact.
9. DO YOU GET EXCITED WHEN YOU START WORKING ON A NEW DRAWING?
ARE YOU ALWAYS TRYING TO IMPROVE YOUR TECHNIQUE?
The excitement is when the idea first pops up. Then there's the fun factor. If it's fun you want to get it finished to see the final product.
Since I'm unschooled in art, I'm always self-conscious about it and accumulating reference material. I've referred to you many times!
My friend Grant Hiestand, who worked in Disney Feature Animation for eleven years, would give me pointers on how to improve. When I started doing more muscle cartoons I picked up a book by Burne Hogarth called DYNAMIC ANATOMY. Not only did it show how to draw the muscle groups but explained how they worked with each other.
10. THE "POSE DOWN" MASTER PIECE WAS A POWERFUL STATEMENT.
THERE IS NOTHING LIKE A BEAUTIFUL MUSCULAR PHYSIQUE - MALE OR FEMALE.
IS ROBBY HARD TO WORK WITH HOW LONG DID IT TAKE YOU TO COMPLETE THE PIECE. IS HE PICKY?
Actually, I like working with Robby and want him to be happy with the results. He knows what he's looking for and can put it across without being disparaging.
There have been some cases where I just told people we weren't on the same wavelength and they need to find someone else.
Like I said earlier, there has to be a fun factor in there somewhere. I think the completed drawing took a little over a week working in the evenings. Having funny cartoons running seems to keep me in the mood. I had the New Adventures of Mighty Mouse on while I did the mountain posedown. So now I can't look at Robby without thinking; "Here I come to save the day!"
