Framing of our Minnie by "Ducky"

[Disneycrazymom]

My son was soooo lucky to win a drawing by Don "Ducky" Williams on our cruise. He picked the Minnie for his sister. I am finially ready to have it framed but am not sure about what to do. The nice lady at the frame place said not to cut it at all or it will loose it's value. I wanted to make it a bit smaller ( the whole page is not filled in) and to cut off the sticky part at the top. What have others done? I will not be selling this so I am not too concerned with "value" but I do want to do it correctly. Thanks for the advise!

 

[SueEllen]

Take it to a framing shop (I usually get Michaels to do mine, or the local frame store.) They can custom cut a mat for you to get you the look you want, then you can coordinate a frame.

That is great that your son got that. Enjoy it!
Sue Ellen

 

[scrapperjill]

I'd either take it to the frame shop and have a custom frame done...but be ready for $$$$...custom frames really add up....Or pick a ready made frame that is LARGER than your print/picture and have a custom mat made...to fit the frame and your print. That's what we did with a special print handed out on our cruise...the print had a wide plain white boarder around it...that happend to be smaller on the bottom due to a message printed on the page...I ended up buying a ready made frame that was larger by 3-4 inches on all sides...then had it custom double matted with a cut out to show the special printed message. Both the frame and mats I waited for specials and sales. I ended up paying close to $200 less doing it this way than what I would have with custom framing. And just so you know...I did go to Michaels durring one of the 50% of custom framing sales...and it was still $$$$.

The print gal was correct though...if you cut it at all it will decrease the value of the item.

And matting a nice print really brings everything out.

 

[inkkognito]

I had a drawing by Ducky matted at the local mall shop, and they did a good job of it. It was actually a small one (he was kind enough to do a drawing of Figment for me by the pool, and I still have memories of him drawing it on a regular-sized sheet of paper in a gale-force wind on the bar by the pool!). I'm sure they can do a larger custom one, but as others have said, be prepared for some $$. But I have learned that with framing, it's often worth the money to have it done professionally.
Barb

 

[smchan]

Frankly, beyond sentimental value, I'm not sure this item has much value. It's a sketch from someone who is not considered a significant Disney animator nor was it used for a production. (I've bought modern Mickey Mouse drawings from insignification productions for $20-$30 - and probably paid too much - if that gives you any sense. Whereas a Mickey from the 30's would be several hundred.)

Custom framing can be expensive. If you don't care about cost and want a nice presentation, go for it. Otherwise I would consider trimming it to size if it's going to cost more than $20 or so above a standard frame to have a custom frame made.

I also like the idea of matting it. If the drawing isn't autographed, consider sending the matte (without the drawing) to Don requesting an autograph on the matte.

Sam

 

[SueEllen]

Guess I should have been a little more informative in my post too--

I meant get a custom mat and buy a standard sized frame. That is generally a much less expensive route to go. I have done this with a number of my Disney pictures. A nice mat goes a long way with making a picture look awesome, and if your picture is much smaller than the paper size it will enhance the picture to have it matted.

Sue Ellen

 

[MarkRG]

Sue, that's EXACTLY what we're doing. Got a litho off the 10-day of his and am matting it in a frame myself. Also worth mentioning, A lot of places also sell precut mats if you can find one to fit the size of the drawing.

 

[seaulater]

Sue, that's EXACTLY what we're doing. Got a litho off the 10-day of his and am matting it in a frame myself. Also worth mentioning, A lot of places also sell precut mats if you can find one to fit the size of the drawing.

Hey Mark! You're right, and I'm jealous you won one of those. There are also some websites that do custom mat cutting. I have found some of them to be cheaper than getting the locals here to do it.

Linda

 

[tvguy]

Okay, stupid question, that I've asked before and nobody answered. Who is Don Ducky Williams" I know Clarence Ducky Nash, the voice of Donald Duck. I gather Williams is an artist they have on board a number of cruises....but what I'm asking, is he a guy that draws Disney charactors for cruise passengers only, or an actual Disney studio animator.....I've never seen him mentioned in any of my Disney magazines.

 

[Verandah Man]

Okay, stupid question, that I've asked before and nobody answered. Who is Don Ducky Williams" I know Clarence Ducky Nash, the voice of Donald Duck. I gather Williams is an artist they have on board a number of cruises....but what I'm asking, is he a guy that draws Disney charactors for cruise passengers only, or an actual Disney studio animator.....I've never seen him mentioned in any of my Disney magazines.

Donald "Ducky" Williams is the Senior Chief Artisit for WDW and has been with Disney for some 25 years. He has an amazing story how he got started with Disney and was a joy to watch him draw during our cruise last year.

Donald "Ducky" Williams aboard the Magic August 2004

 

[MarkRG]

And what he does is a lot of the commercial art for WDW. The arch over the entry roads to WDW? His artwork and design. Tony's Town Square restaruant in the Magic Kingdom? His, from the look of the place to the one of a kind artwork done by him on the walls. He also does a lot of the character art for smaller things like the park tickets and pamphlets.

 

[Disneycrazymom]

Thanks everyone. I went to Garden Ridge and they can do the whole frame and mat for about $175.00. It is a lot and I am considering buying the larger frame (about $30) and having a mat cut as many of you suggested. I know it only has value to me but I have very happy memories of that moment and want it to look nice. Mr. Williams is a wonderful presenter and great artist. He did sign the work and we have a picture of him doing it too. I might put that in the corner of the frame if they can cut the mat correctly for it. Anyone on a cruise he is on go to the presentation, it is great! Thanks again.

Hi verandah Man

 

[Jillpie]

If he is on our cruise, how do you get him to do a drawing for you? Is it just luck?

 

[Verandah Man]

If he is on our cruise, how do you get him to do a drawing for you? Is it just luck?

As you enter Ducky's presentation everyone is handed a ticket, this gives you a CHANCE to win one of his drawings at the end of his presentation. I know during our session I think he drew about 28 or so drawings, but there must have been over 100 people in attendance, so our chances of winning were about one in four, we came close, we missed a drawing by just one number. Ducky was also on our dinner rotation and he drew many drawings for children during the dinner hour. On one of our two nights in AP, Ducky was at the table next to us, and on the first night he made drawings for the smaller children that were at our table, they were so tickled to receive their drawings.

Disneycrazymom, it was nice meeting you last August!!!

 

[Jillpie]

Thank you Andy. He sounds like a terrific guy, he must love waking up in the morning to this job.

 

[scrapperjill]

You never know what kind of value it may have in years to come....Like you mentioned it not being a Mickey drawing from the 30's...well in 70 years...someone just my be saying we have an original "Ducky" drawing... You never know. Besides if it means something to you it's worth having a nice frame.

I had mentioned earler about getting the larger pre made frame then having custom mats made to fit. I just wanted to add that we did a "Cut out" on our matts so the "Pals Playing Pirates at Castaway Cay" showed through...but the position of where it was actually printed on the print didn't give engouh boarder between the print and saying...so the print shop color copied the verse...measured the area and did the cut out so it was balanced and placed even....My first thought was to cut the print and move it to fit better...but soon learned from the frame shop..it was a BAD idea and that there are ways around it. I'm really happy with the way it turned out...and if I could figure a way to post it on line I'd let you see what I'm talking about.

 

[outahere]

My DW was also lucky enough to win one of Ducky's drawings at a presentation on the Magic. Her ticket number was the second one drawn, and she picked the autographed drawing of Donald Duck (Ducky's signature/favorite character). We also went to a small presentation he did on how to draw Mickey, which was a lot of fun. We haven't had a chance to get the Donald drawing framed but there are some good ideas on this thread.

I definitely recommend going to see him if you get a chance. His presentation was very good and we felt privileged to be able to see him and have a chance for a short talk with him. He is supposedly going on the repo cruises, and we will definitely go see him again if he is on board.

 

[Verandah Man]

Below is a photo of two Ducky Williams lithos that we have. The one on top was one that we won during the silent auction on our August 2004 cruise, that litho was already matted and framed. The picture on the bottom was one that we received for being a part of the special summer sailings on the Magic. We took that litho to A.C. Moore and had it matted and framed there.

 

[seaulater]

"Ducky" told us on the 10 day Christmas Cruise that DCL has him booked for 9 cruises during 2005. He will be on the two cruises we are on this year: The May 14-28 Westbound PC Cruise and the Sept. 4-8 Member Homecoming Cruise. He said he was doing special limited lithos for both of those cruises.

Let me just tell you, I was so impressed on the 10 day cruise with the time he took for everyone. Like everyone says, he has quite a story, and it is a must "hear" if you have the opportunity. If you want to hear about persistence and reaching a goal, he is a great speaker.

He was in the theater for an hour before his presentation and drew 16 sketches and then during the presentation while he spoke, he continued to draw and gave those away as well.

DCL did the silent auction during the cruise and his one litho went for over $3,000. I wanted it sooooo bad. But DH would have died, so did not bid on it. Ducky did say that he does not get any monies from any of his artwork when they are sold (or auctioned). Disney owns everything he does.

He did say though the the worst day on sea is better than his best day at a desk in his office!

Linda

 

[banderson]

If it has any value to you, sentimental or otherwise, pay the $100-150 to have it properly dry mounted, matted with an acid-free mat and framed with an anti-reflect glass. I wouldn't consider anything else.

If you frame/mat with an on-the-shelf frame, chances are your mat will not be an acid-free one and with time the acid in the mat will transfer into the drawing, leaving a brownish yellow line where the mat touches the drawing. If you decide later to have it properly done, you will be stuck with a wrinkled paper because it will not have been dry mounted and with an ugly line from the cheap mat.

Oh and congrats to your son...lucky guy!

Brenda