THE WIZARD OF OZ: Flying Monkey Mugshot

WB Marketing Art, THE WIZARD OF OZ, Flying Monkey Turn. Pencil, blue prismacolor pencil, digital color.

In order to aid licensees in their effort to manufacture sculptures for toys, and figurines, it was necessary to generate illustrations that "spelled out" the details of specific characters as translated in three dimensions. Here, I rendered the front view of one of the Flying Monkeys (also referred to as Winged Monkeys) in a neutral pose.

Initially, the art direction was to depict all the Oz film characters more realistically, with the anthropomorphic animals looking more like creatures, and less like actors in costume. It was thought that the obvious costume imperfections, the wrinkles, and the make-ups might be undesirable. However, much of the fake quality actually adds to the charm of the Victor Fleming masterpiece, and too much realism could prove unsettling. The decision was made to remain faithful, flaws and all.