FRAZETTA AND BAKSHI'S FIRE & ICE

Using the rotoscope process that he favored, Ralph Baskshi and Frank Frazetta teamed up to produce a striking animated film that showcased Frazetta's fantasy characters in a way that had been never before seen. The technique involves filming live actors, then transferring the action to conventional animation cells. An arduous procedure, but it brought Frazetta's characters to life.

I am familiar with rotoscoping -- it is not unheard of and was used way back in a number of Max Fleischer's cartoons. I was able to see how exactly it was done when I worked on Bakshi's THE LORD OF THE RINGS (1978) which employed the use of rotoscoping as well. The resulting production this time around was FIRE & ICE (1983), an epic sword and sorcery tale that was pretty astounding to see on the big screen.

Ralph Bakshi directs the live actors that will be rotoscoped and turned into animation cells:

Ralph Bakshi and Frank Frazetta watch the action.

Examples of model sheets for characters:

Animation drawings for transferring to cells:

Backgrounds painted by James "Dinotopia" Gurney and the famed "Painter of Light", Thomas Kinkade:

Production cells:

These two articles from COMICS SCENE #9 (May 1983) describe how the picture was made and includes lengthy discussions on its development from both Frazetta and Bakshi.