'Chip 'n' Dale' (Donald Duck #34, 27 August 1982). Dutch-language version.
Jaume Cases Martinez (also referred to as Jaime Cases) was a Spanish sculptor, painter and illustrator, who worked as an artist of Disney and Kauka comics during the 1980s.
Early life and career
Born in Barcelona in 1942, he began his artistic career at the age of 14 as a painter and carver at Dan Karner's company in Barcelona. He then worked for manufacturers of gifts and toy objects, while also embarking on a career as an illustrator. During the 1960s, he provided artwork for children's books and postcards by publishers such as Bruguera, Totem and Toray. In 1974, he lived in Australia, where he fine-tuned his understanding of sculptural techniques. Working as a sculptor, he was associated with the Sydney Museum of Natural Sciences and the Sydney Wax Museum. By the time he returned to Spain, Cases continued working this profession for the Barcelona Museum of Zoology, the Barcelona Provincial Council, the Generalitat's Archaeology Service and the Barcelona Science Museum.
Studio Comicup
Between 1981 and 1987, Jaume Cases worked as a comic artist through Studio Comicup in Barcelona. Through the studio, he drew several comic stories with Walt Disney's 'Chip 'n' Dale' for the Dutch Donald Duck weekly magazine, most of them scripted by Ruud Straatman. He also drew a couple of stories with 'Pluto' and 'Mickey Mouse'. For Rolf Kauka's Fix und Foxi magazine in Germany, Cases drew stories with the character 'Pauli'.
Commercial art and sculpting
By 1984, Cases was a teacher with the La LLotja art and design school in Barcelona and he also worked on promotional art through advertising agencies. He has worked on numerous assignments of modelmaking and special effects for advertising commercials on television. He also provided the special effects for the Francesc Bellmunt films 'Pa d'Àngel' (1984) and 'Rateta, Rateta' (1990).
For the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, he was part of Javier Mariscal's team, creating sculptures of the mascots Cobi, Petra and Nosi. He also worked on several models for the Universal Exposition of Seville in 1992. In later days, Cases has been known for the monuments and sculptures he has made for various municipalities and churches. Since 1993, his work has been on exhibit in Barcelona on several occasions. These included sculptures of 24 Barça players as well as mock-ups and sculptures of angels for Barcelona's Sagrada Família basilica.
Death
In 2023, Jaume Cases Martinez died in the Catalan city of Reus, Baix Camp. He was 82 or 83 years old.
'Pluto' (Donald Duck issue #30, 21 May 1982). Dutch-language version.