Animation Art Online: AWN Launches The Animation World Store
The Internet has long been lauded as a tool of
great potential for the distribution of not only ideas and knowledge but
also merchandise. Last month Animation World Network (AWN), publishers
of Animation World Magazine, launched the first Internet commerce
venture devoted entirely to distributing animation merchandise. The Animation World Store's
virtual doors opened with a special selection of both exclusive and limited
edition animation art. "There is tremendous potential for the Internet
as a means for distribution. AWN plans to explore that fully, through relationships
with artists, distributors, galleries and dealers worldwide," said
Ron Diamond, Founder and President of Animation World Network. Whether
one is trying to find a very select piece of animation art or doesn't have
a local animation art gallery, The Animation World Store will prove to
be a viable marketplace for all walks of animation collector.
Let's face it. On an average trip to an animation art gallery, one usually
cannot find cels from international films or award-winning shorts. Because
the market for such cels is limited, most gallery owners cannot afford
to dedicate the wall space to a piece that few people have seen in action.
AWN however, has a rare advantage. As a focal point for animation enthusiasts
with over 25,000 Internet users monthly visiting the site from 122 countries,
AWN is a perfect host to cater to the very specific needs of such a core
clientele.
The Big Snit © Richard Condie
Richard
Condie's The Big Snit
In this spirit, AWN is presenting
a worldwide exclusive: the first public offering of original, hand-painted
and signed production cels from The Big Snit, Richard
Condie's Academy Award-nominated animated film
which has achieved cult status in international animation circles. Produced
at the National Film Board of Canada, The
Big Snit is an offbeat, irreverent short
depicting the human condition and the subject of nuclear war with outrageous
humor. This original production artwork, which will also be selectively
showcased in a UNICEF-sponsored animation art auction in December, is expected
to sell quickly. The film's director Richard Condie, who is selecting and
hand-signing each cel in the collection, said, " I look forward to
my association with Animation World Network and hope that collectors who
enjoyed the film will enjoy [owning] an original piece of it."
On the other hand there are a lot of people who would love to buy what
is hanging on a gallery's walls but they don't have a gallery near them.
As a result, AWN will be offering limited edition animation artwork from
The Tooniversal Company's popular series, which includes Superman,
Speed Racer and Astroboy. Igor Meglic, President of Tooniversal,
said, "I'm really happy that we'll be able to reach the general public
through our association with AWN and the Animation Store. Using the Internet,
everyone interested in animation art can view and purchase art with a few
strokes of the computer keyboard. We at Tooniversal felt it was necessary
to reach out to the many buyers who were not lucky enough to have an animation
art gallery close by. Now with the Animation Store on AWN, everyone has
their own private gallery!"
Superman
© 1997 DC Comics.
Tooniversal's Limited Edition Collection
Tooniversal is offering an extensive collection
through AWN:
Four different Limited Edition hand-painted cel images featuring the character
Superman as he appears in the 1940-1942 Fleischer Studios cartoons.
Three of the images are signed by animator Myron Waldman, who worked on
the original Superman series at Fleischer Studios.
Six different Limited Edition hand-painted cel images and one lithograph from the cult classic animated series Speed Racer. All pieces in this collection are signed by the series' key animator and director, Ippei Kuri, and one is signed by the original character voice actors, Peter Fernandez and Corinne Orr. Speed Racer is currently experiencing a revival due to the 30th anniversary of the show on American television.
Ub Iwerks Collection
©1997 David H. Shepard Film
Preservation Associates
Four different Limited Edition hand-painted cel images from The Ub Iwerks Collection, based on animated short films Iwerks produced at his own studio in the early 1930s. Cels in this collection were signed by the late Irv Spence, an animation industry veteran who worked at the Ub Iwerks Studio and later went on to become a key animator of the Tom and Jerry cartoons at MGM.
A Limited Edition hand-painted cel image from the Fleischer Studios' 1940 short film, Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy. Each of the 100 cels from this image are signed by Myron Waldman, who was head animator for the film.
A Limited Edition hand-painted cel image from Osamu Tezuka's 1960 Japanese animated television series, Astroboy. Each of the 300 cels from this image are signed by Ms. Billie Lou Watt, the original English voice of the futuristic child superhero, Astroboy.
A Limited Edition hand-painted cel image featuring the characters from Star Blazers, the animated series from Voyager Entertainment. This series is signed by one of the creators of Star Blazers, Yoshinobu Nishizaki, in Japanese lettering.
Limited Edition hand-painted cels featuring Pojo the Weredrake, a new animated character developed by Ken O'Connor, and featured in several Tooniversal projects. This is the only limited edition cel that Ken, whose career in animation spanned over six decades as an art director and layout artist at Disney, has ever agreed to sign.
Future Animation World Store offerings will include
video collections of short animated films by independent animators, as
well as other videos, books, artwork, equipment and animation-related merchandise.
Currently, AWN hosts the web site for animator Bill Plympton, who has raised
substantial amounts of funding for his independent films by selling artwork,
videos and copies of his books through his site on Animation World Network.
AWN is actively looking for ideas and suggestions on what types of merchandise
to offer in the store. As the hub of animation on the Internet, AWN can
only grow through the interactive exchange of ideas and information. Conjure
up your wildest ideas and drop AWN a line at sales@awn.com.
One can view the store at http://store.awn.com/index.html. Take a look and let us know what you think.
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