Books &Illustration 10 Aug 2006 08:39 am
Faces
– Time to perk things up. Let’s draw faces!
These pages are taken from a book I have, published in 1940, called How To Make Faces. The author, Frank Webb, was a comic strip cartoonist who drew the cartoon panel ‘Kartoon Kollege’ from 1940-41. When this strip ended, he created the comic strip ‘Raising Kane’, which ran until 1944.
Other than that, I haven’t been able to learn much about him. I find it interesting that he signed each page of his book almost as if he expected it to run in a newspaper on a daily, one-page-at-a-time basis.
His approach was to use the alphabet and build up from there. When he runs out of the alphabet, he just turns to shapes then just asks you to copy his picture or finish the page.
Every other page is a blank “Practice Page.” A nice way to fill up a book.
(Click on any image to enlarge)
on 16 Mar 2007 at 3:13 pm 1.Darren Reese said …
Hi,
Frank Webb was my great uncle, and I am very pleased to have found someone who still knows of him. I have a bunch of his stuff, and know a bit about his history, including him pubicly proclaiming Walt Disney a crook! One of Franks drawings ended up in a sale to Disney, and renamed (from “Dippy Dog”) to Goofy. Thank you for including him here.
Darren Reese
on 15 Jun 2007 at 8:41 pm 2.Terry Lopez said …
Hi,
I would love to hear from Darren Reese so I can ask about my bio dad, Frank Webb. Can’t believe I found this site! Darren, if you read this, please write me at Philly530@aol.com. My mom, June, was Frank’s third wife and Jackie, Frank’s second wife, was one of my mom’s good friends.
Thanks,
Terry
on 21 Nov 2007 at 3:25 pm 3.Rolf Kivisalu said …
This is what the internet is all about.
on 20 Jul 2008 at 2:41 pm 4.Scott Whitcher said …
Hello,
Coming across information about animator/cartoonist Frank Webb is really nostaligic. As a child I used to look at my dad’s “How To Make Faces” booklet and I spent hundreds and hundreds of hours going through the letters of the alphabet and doing my best to recreate Mr. Webb’s character’s. My dad also had many cutouts from what looked like a newspaper that may have ran some of Frank Webb’s “alphabet letters to faces” pieces. My dad grew up as a child in South Pasedena, California, but I don’t know what newspaper these cutouts could have been from. I derived a lot of enjoyment from cartooning as a child and it was an activity that my dad and I did together.
As one might expect, the “How To Make Faces” booklet as well as the various newspaper cutouts have been lost through the years. Also, my father passed away a year ago at the age of 70 (I’m 40 years of age). I’m making an effort to document as much about my dad’s life as possible, to document and preserve who he was for our family’s future generations (I have a one-year old daughter, my brothers have six kids between them). My dad told me that what he really enjoyed doing as a kid was playing sports, fishing, riding his bike around with friends, and drawing cartoons from Frank Webb’s book.
I’d be very interested in obtaining scans or copies of Frank Webb’s “A to Z” faces … for my own nostalgia, to pass on to my own child when she is learning the alphabet, as a component to the history of my dad, and also perhaps something tangible that has a strong connection to the great relationship my dad and I had.
If these “A to Z” faces are available, I don’t expect anybody to compile these for me with no compensation in return … and I’m very willing to pay for these copies … or make a trade of some sort (Northern California has good local wine, local artisan cheeses, and delicious local chocolate).
Please contact me if you have any interest. Many, many thanks.
Sincerely,
Scott Whitcher
San Francisco
415-515-6151
swhitcher@syam.com
on 01 Nov 2008 at 12:56 am 5.jim kirby said …
Wow. Your viewing my grandfathers work, and learning from it. His book Lets Draw with Frank Webb made the biggest impact both personally and professionally.He passed away in 1988 leaving a wonderful wife Val Webb behind. His early years were spent working with Walt Disney, creating the Goofy character and other concepts.Please email me and any and all questions will be brought before my mother Jaquiline Webb Kirby and my brothers and sisters and discussed for clarity puposes.
on 08 Dec 2008 at 8:55 pm 6.Art Berggreen said …
This is an interesting thread. I have been filling out side branches in my genealogy database and adding some of my father’s cousins. One of these was Lillian (aka Valorie) Hjorth who became the last wife of Frank Webb. As a child I remember many visits to Frank and Val at their home in Santa Barbara and her mother Agnes who lived across the street from them. I’d love to know what happened to Val. Anyone with info can email me at art@berggreen.org
on 29 Jun 2009 at 9:58 pm 7.robert fortenberry said …
Frank was one of my uncles along with his brothers Don, Bill and Bob. Write if you want to share any other comments. rfortenberry20@yahoo.com.
on 11 Mar 2010 at 5:09 pm 8.Kristin Robinson said …
I am 53 years old and live in Santa Barbara. I think (if i’m not mistaken) that my brothers and I were on the Frank Webb T.V. show. I remember that he had a character named Linda who I loved. I sat in the audience and cried asking for Linda to come out, much to my three brothers horror and embarrasment. Am I remembering this correctly or am I wrong? I must have only been three or four years old. If anyone sees this and has a comment you can email me at krobinson@sbcourts.org
on 23 Mar 2010 at 12:55 pm 9.Mary Diedrich said …
My mother worked along side Frank Webb at Disney Studios. He drew a cartoon for her and signed it…saying some day he’d be famous. I still have the rendering, although it was just drawn on the back of an inter-office memo. His signature never changed, even from way back then. If you’d like me to scan & send, let me know.
on 23 May 2010 at 4:26 pm 10.Roberta said …
We had this book when I was a child. Even through multiple moves in the Air Force we carried that book with us and returned to it again and again. In fact, we may have purchased it at Santa’s Village near Crestline, CA. Sweet memories.
on 24 Jun 2010 at 7:41 pm 11.Jon Novick said …
Hi! I recently came upon a paperback copy of “Let’s Draw: Quick and Easy Steps to Cartooning” by Frank Webb. The pages are yellowed and the covers have a few dents and stains–but otherwise in very good condition and no markings inside! Is it valuable? I saw one in library binding for sale on Amazon for $39. Thanks!
on 27 Jul 2010 at 2:30 pm 12.Dennis said …
My parents owned a health food store near Frank and Val’s toy store. I loved going in that place as a kid. And a highlight of my childhood was going on Frank Webb’s TV show one day. Great memories!
on 03 Dec 2010 at 1:02 am 13.david said …
I was on the Frank Webb Show when it was at channel three in Santa Barbara, ca. I was fun and cool.
on 13 Oct 2011 at 4:51 pm 14.Sue said …
Hi All
I still have Frank Webb’s ‘Let’s Draw’ book which I received as a Christmas present in the 70′s in Liverpool, England. My own children now have great fun drawing the fabulous pictures Frank created from the alphabet.
If anyone would like a copy of any of the pages I am quite happy to email them on – don’t think I am breaking any copyright laws am I?!
on 12 Mar 2012 at 1:33 pm 15.ted mills said …
Hi everybody,
Frank Webb lived two doors up from me when I was a kid in Santa Barbara. I used to take my cartoons up to him for him to critique (I was only 6 though). Apart from the toy store (which I didn’t know about), he used to host an evening at the Rusty’s Pizza Parlor on upper State St. The whole back room was called the “Frank Webb Room” or something like that–the walls were covered in his cartoon characters. He used to host the show for kids, inviting kids up to draw a squiggle on a big pad, then he’d turn it into a cartoon. It was pretty magical at the time!
I’m pretty sure the murals have been painted over in that room, but I wonder if anyone ever photographed them?
on 08 May 2012 at 12:58 am 16.Melinda said …
@ Ted Mills, the murals are still there and as wonderful as ever!
on 26 Feb 2013 at 8:44 pm 17.Kevin Riley said …
I wasn’t sure if Frank Webb had a TV show, but once I saw another person post that they were on his TV show, I knew it was the same one I was on back in the early 1960′s, I believe. It was shot at KEYT-TV, and it was the most exciting moment for me as a kid. Can’t remember how I got on the show. Does anyone remember how they chose participants? Great memory from such a long time ago.
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on 24 Sep 2014 at 7:53 am 19.Pauline said …
Hi
I brought a Let’s Draw in 1976 for use in the classroom. The children were allowed to draw a cartoon after handwriting lessons. After a few years, I cut up the book into individual pages and laminated them. The children use to copy the drawings during wet day program for the last twenty years. Unfortunately some pages have been lost over time. I am hoping to have contact with Sue or Jon or anyone else who could help, to obtain a copy of the missing pages. I find the book useful when the children are learning the letters of the alphabet.
Cheers Pauline
on 13 Mar 2016 at 3:53 pm 20.Evelyn said …
Hi I got Lets Draw by Frank Webb for free back in 88′ when the old part of my elementary was being torn down. I just resently found Making Faces which is great except Y and Z page are missing. If anyone has these pages could you please post them on Pinterest thank you have a great day
on 13 Mar 2016 at 3:55 pm 21.Evelyn said …
Pauline what pages are you missing because I have the whole book
on 27 Aug 2017 at 3:16 am 22.Michael Herbert said …
I was living in Santa Barbara in 1957. On Carillo st if I’m not mistaken. Oh tone on Frank Webbs T. V show wow! For a 11 yr old unreal! The show was on every day from 5:00 to 5:30 on KEY-T channel 3. Use to draw along with Frank from home and send the drawings in, hopefully to be shown on by Frank himself I think he would invite you on the show if you had any talent at all. I was on a total of 3 times. I also never missed a chance to visit his toy store just off upper State st. God what fun and swell memories. That’s all I can recall. What fun!!!
on 26 Nov 2018 at 7:29 pm 23.Darren Reese said …
Hi all. Been a long time since I’ve visited here! Just got another Frank Webb jewel that I posted on the Facebook page. If you haven’t visited please do and comment!! It is so great for all who knew him to read about your memories!!! Just search for his name!!!
on 26 Nov 2018 at 7:30 pm 24.Darren Reese said …
PS: I have the permission of the family to share what I have….