Milton Knight.

Milton Knight is in at least one way the Grim Natwick of our time: he entered the animation business as an already-famous illustrator and cartoonist. He brings to the animation industry not only a strong personal artistic viewpoint, but a depth of knowledge of art, music and animation history matched by few.

I spoke with Milton at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center, a short trot away from the Burbank offices of ASIFA-Hollywood, which recently honored Milton with an exhibition of his paintings.

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Will Ryan: Milton, your drawing style is unlike anyone else's.

Milton Knight: Thanks.

WR: Who in the world influenced you?

MK: Right now, Chinese art very much, and Asian art in general. As for oil painters in the Twentieth Century, Xu Beihong. Asian graphics as well. Russian art.

WR: How about earlier influences?

MK: For a long time in my twenties, I was heavily influenced by the Japanese.

WR: Ukiyo-e?

MK: Yes, the great nineteenth century printmakers like Kuniyoshi, Kunasada and the rest.

WR: I shall look forward to your "One Hundred Views of Mount Wilson."

MK: Too smoggy, I'm afraid. There are a lot of other early influences, too; I don't know how far you want to go with this question.

WR: Well, we've gone halfway around the world so far. How about American influences? Any domestic animators or cartoonists you'd care to cite?

MK: The New York artists, generally.

WR: Okay, I'll specify a New Yorker. Decades ago you were waving the flag for the animation of Jim Tyer. When were you first aware of his work?

MK: I was imitating his drawings when I was six years old. When I watched his Heckle and Jeckle cartoons at that age, I loved his work. I called him "the stretchy artist." I didn't find out his name until I was in my teens.