Marvel’s What If is inspired by gay icon painter JC Leyendecker

When Polygon asked Marvel’s if…? Production designer Paul Lasaine talked about the inspiration behind Disney Plus The series-the first animation work in the same world as the Marvel Cinematic Universe-he immediately prepared a name.

“It all started with the American illustrator JC Leyendecker in the 20th century,” Lasaine said. “Super fashionable. This is the basis for our style to start. This really affects the character.”

Two other creatives working behind the scenes if…? — Animation director Stephan Franck and character designer Ryan Meinerding (as the head of Marvel’s visual development, they also produced those Painting Concept Art Work You see Marvel behind the scenes)-tell Polygon they are all on the same page.The first to find Look behind if…? Joseph Christian Leyendecker (Joseph Christian Leyendecker) is one of the best commercial illustrators in the United States in the 20th century. The artist provides inspiration.

Franck cited Leyendecker’s third place in his inspiration if…?, After the Marvel comics and the Marvel movie itself. “Due to the factors of the times, people accepted a lot in Episode 1,” he said, “but it’s even more than that. It is in the abstraction of this method, in the language of shape, its elegance and sophistication are enhanced in a way It gives you this kind of animated look that you have never seen before.”

Leyendecker, who has illustrated the cover of the “Saturday Evening Post” for more than 40 years and produced Arrow collar man A household name in the United States in the 1920s was a natural place to look for examples of stylized renderings that can still be identified as personal numbers. Menardin said the same thing.

“What we really want to do is to find an animation style that feels that it may be more realistic than other types of animations that have appeared before, but still has the feeling of being drawn, still has some artistic feeling behind it, and it has beautiful Design and thoughtful lines and tones.”

if…?The source material of is a live-action movie, so the characters must be identified as the actors who created them. But on the other hand, Minardin said that animation also has its own concerns. “You have to do something that can express emotions. [We figured it out] Use the parameters of “MCU-based, maybe more realistic” and mix the style of American illustrations. ”

However, the image of Marvel and Disney creatives pouring into Leyendecker’s work for inspiration is somewhat ironic. Leyendecker is known for being the shoe Norman Rockwell aspired to fill in the Saturday Evening Post, and he defined the appearance of magazines and commercial illustrations in the early 20th century. But he is also known for his undeniable homosexual tone in his works.

Picture: JC Leyendecker

In Leyendecker’s fashion section, men wear the freshest Roaring 20s clothing Hang out with a man, The folds of their clothes are beautifully presented with weight and texture.They separated the loose nightgowns to reveal the carved nudity Advertisement of interwoven socks. They used their toned bodies to participate in college sports competitions, and turned their smoldering gazes to other well-dressed men. It seemed that they had never really made eye contact with their female companions.

Leyendecker did not disclose his sexual orientation, so speculation about it can only be the speculation of historians and ordinary fans-but this is not the case. Unknowing guess. The artist was unmarried all his life, but from 1914 to 1951 died at the age of 77, he lived in his home with the model Charles Beach (Charles Beach) who posed for his most famous work. Leyendecker will divide his inheritance between Beach and his sister.

Whether it’s because of his drawing skills, his combination of realism and stylization, or his gay aesthetics (or all three), Leyendecker is a favorite of fan artists, especially those who like to make creativity for the “Stucky” ship Contributors, this ship paired Captain America with Bucky Barnes, the Winter Soldier. Here, artist M refers to their portraits of Bucky and former serum Steve inspired by Leyendecker as “compulsory. “Here, the artist Pineapple Bread Created right Rendeck’s “Football Player” -A big beard Steve Rogers wrapped in a rainbow flag — To be proud of 2020.

This artist has inspired countless queer fans of Marvel characters, and now he directly inspired a work in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, regardless of multi-universe separation. This is not the first time Disney has relied on the work of a quiet queer creative, and the company’s work has almost no representation of queer.

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