TV animation art director and character designer Philip J. Felix passed away in Tucson, Arizona, at the age of 61 on Dec. 23, 2023. The news of his death was relayed to us yesterday by animation veteran Frank Saperstein, who worked with Felix in the 1990s.
Born in Phoenix, Felix began his career as an artist for Hallmark Cards in Kansas City. He then left for California to work as an animation character designer and visual development artist, first for television on shows like Spiral Zone, The Real Ghostbusters, Pound Puppies, Tiny Toon Adventures, Muppet Babies, Biker Mice from Mars and The Snowden, Raggedy Ann and Andy Holiday Show during the mid-1980s and 1990s.
He was also visual development artist for the short Shrek: I Feel Good and The Lost World: Jurassic Park video game and a story artist for the Disney’s Hercules TV Series and Matinee Entertainment’s Kampung Boy series.
After retiring from the animation business, he established Red Sky Studios in Tucson, where he combined an art gallery for displaying his art with a tattoo parlor. He created individually designed intricate body art for hundreds of customers for over 20 years.
“Philip was a world-class artist and true original,” said Saperstein. “I had the honor of working with Philip from 1992 through 2002 on projects for Prince’s Paisley Park, Klasky Csupo, CBS, Universal, NBC, Saban, VH-1, and Annecy Award winning Kampung Boy for Matinee Entertainment. We were brothers in arms in the Vampire Guild. I will always cherish our late-night rendezvous at the old Lamplighter diner in the Valley and the many wonderful times and life experiences we shared. We traveled together to Malaysia, Philippines and Hungary sharing many memorable and crazy adventures. As [Hungarian animation producer] Andras Erkel (may he also RIP) said upon meeting Phil, ‘He is the most beautiful man I have ever met.’”
Felix is survived by his children, Kai and Naomi; his companion, Paula Solin; his mother, Elvira and sister and brother, Julia and Paul. He is predeceased by his daughter, Maya; father, Felipe and brother, David.
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