Milt Kahl used those words when he tried to explain his process for starting a new scene.
Most of you know that Milt and many other Disney animators produced a number of thumbnail sketches in preparation for the actual animation. This research can center around finding certain expressions, an acting pattern or -like in this case- a simple pose.
In this scene Robin is stirring the soup while daydreaming about Maid Marian.
The image above is a frame from that scene, but check out how much work Milt put into finding this one pose. He came up with a ton of variations, until he sold himself on one position that looked natural to him.
I think that Milt actually struggled a little to get to a satisfying result. But remember what he said one time: “I actually don’t draw that well, I have to work like hell to make a drawing look good!” (At the same time he thought that he drew better than anybody else at the studio.)
It’s fascinating to see his mind in action, exploring the possibilities.
I love the way you set up this post, showing the "inevitable" result first, and then the relentless process of iteration to get there.
ReplyDeleteGreat sketches! Full of life!
ReplyDeleteThanks, very interesting drawings and prosess!
ReplyDeleteTo my mind came up thumbnails from The Rescueres, some can found on www.animationmeat.com:
http://www.animationmeat.com/notes/nineoldmen/nineoldmen.html
Same page can also found series of lecture notes by Eric Larson and Ham Luske from year 1936 :)
Andreas, do you already define the keys and numbers of in-betweens on the thumbnails?
ReplyDeleteNo, I number my big rough drawings, not the small thumbnail sketches.
DeleteThat's one good quote to follow!
ReplyDeleteIt's always wonderful to see the thinking process with each sketch along the way. I'd love to see more of this format – perhaps what was going through your mind during a favorite scene, in detail.
ReplyDeleteI loved that sequence in the movie. I know what that is like to make a drawing really look good. I have such a hard time drawing my characters and make them work within my stories. What do you consider to be the hardest thing when developing a character?
ReplyDeleteThe most important thing is getting a hold of your character, from the inside out. Sometimes that comes easy, other times it takes a little while.
Deletewonderful work :)
ReplyDeleteThere are a couple pages with similar poses that match the final pose used for the film; do you know if they are in any kind of order? Just wondering if this is one of those situations when the first idea was the best, according to Milt. Thanks for the post, Andreas.
ReplyDeleteIt sure looks Milt found the pose early on - first sheet, upper left-,
Deletebut he kept going, in pursuit of possible better ideas.
Walt Stanchfield taught about the gut instinct and going with your first impression. That first sketch in the upper left on the first sheet is proof of that being a valuable concept!
ReplyDelete