“Got My Eye on You”

Art Size: 9 1/2" x 9 1/4" ( 11 1/2" x 11 1/2" matted)
Frame size: 12 3/4" x 12 3/4"
 
I have to admit that I didn’t see Monsters, Inc. when it was originally released back in 2001. That was pretty busy year for my wife and me: we bought a house and then spent months doing extensive renovations before we were married in October. Also, our Disney obsession hadn’t kicked in yet. I’ve always been a fan of Disney Animation and I loved the first two Toy Story films from Pixar, but it wasn’t our older daughter was old enough to really enjoy the Disney magic that our true obsession manifested. I have seen Monsters, Inc. on video numerous times since then (it’s now among my favorite animated films) and made sure to see the 3D conversion in the theater the other year.
 
It’s really is no surprise that Mike Wazowski has been my favorite character, as well as one of my favorite Disney characters period, since I first saw the film. I’ve been a fan of Billy Crystal’s smart-alecky style of comedy for years. He’s note perfect in films like When Harry Met Sally, City Slickers and even his bit part in The Princess Bride. In Monster's, Inc, Crystal played Mike as the embodiment of the everyman nerd, a perfect balance of joie de vie, chutzpah and sarcasm. The relationship between Mike and Sully (John Goodman) is the closest to the old Vaudeville acts of Abbot & Costello or Laurel & Hardy we are likely to see.

I created this illustration around the time that Monster’s University was released in the Summer of 2013. While Mike’s overall design is a simple ball with arms, legs and an eye, there is actually a bit more nuance to him as he appears in the film. I created the interior of his mouth from several layers of paper and then added detail with Sepia Pigma Micron  drawing pen and a tan Copic  brush marker on his teeth (I used the same technique on his horns.) I also used watercolor paint for shadow areas (the first time for this) and scored/bent the paper around his mouth and on his eyelid to give a more three-dimensional look.