Iron Man — Animation Character Design Drawing

This drawing depicts Iron Man as prepared for animation use in connection with the Mattel / Marvel Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars toy commercial of 1985. The work belongs to production material associated with the Secret Wars action figure line, a short-lived but historically significant toy program developed by Mattel in collaboration with Marvel during 1984–85. The line was supported by promotional animation, including a commercial opening, and surviving design material from this context records the translation of Marvel characters into a controlled visual system for toy-related screen advertising.

The drawing is situated within Russ Heath’s later period of animation work, following his move to California in 1978, when he became active in television and commercial animation. In that setting, character design drawings functioned as production documents used to define form, standardize appearance, and support consistency across studio workflows.

This example is graphite on three-peg animation paper and measures 10.5 × 12.5 inches (26.67 × 31.75 cm). It is one of multiple production drawings created for animation use. The sheet originates from animation production material associated with studio development and has been maintained in archival storage; the artist’s initials appear at the mid-lower left, together with date, character name, and production notes.