King Louie color models

Here are two magnificent key animation drawings ( xeroxed copies) of King Louie from The Jungle Book by Milt Kahl. They represent the character's early version with small, beady eyes. Walt Disney eventually did ask Milt to enlarge the eyes...so he could see them better.

According to studio notes Walt liked and approved the early pencil animation Milt had produced. He thought the character really came to life. 

It is possible that Ken Anderson applied Magic Marker colors to Milt's Louie drawings as a suggestion for an early color model. 

AI Kley

I decided that I needed to find out more about AI, when it comes to visualization. I had seen examples of AI rendered art, some looked awkward, others looked fascinating.

I took this Heinrich Kley sketch, and asked AI to turn it into a classic oil painting. A woman emerging from a large shell on the surface of the ocean. She is surrounded by fantasy creatures. The lighting should be magical. 

The second image shows what AI created.

You can see how AI interpreted my prompt. In the original sketch one of the human characters is blowing into a shell. The AI version shows him holding a round light source instead, which creates "magical lighting". 

In the Kley version the walrus on the right is smiling. This got lost in translation. But keep in mind the Kley sketch leaves a lot open for interpretation.

As you know AI is here to stay, and it is fair to say that it will do a lot of damage as well as a lot of good.

There are major ethical and philosophical issues regarding visualization, but on a different note I can not wait for the cure for cancer.  

More Hercules

 

Starting off with a very happy Hercules. At his point I don't remember which scene this key drawing of mine belongs to. I would need to look it up.

Let's go back to the start of Herc's visual development. Beginning with anatomical studies.

These are my thumbnail sketches from the scene in which he meets Meg. I drew them from video reference. He is all shy here, almost forgets his name. He clears his throat and introduces himself. 

Early design explorations for Hercules.

And he looked like this before I started animating.

Another key animation drawing. With wet hair from a scene after the fight with Nessus. 

I am just so pleased that today the film seems to have found new audiences that embrace both the satire and the pathos we tried to convey. 

Cinderella Sketches

Years ago just before Cinderella was going to be offered on DVD, Disney Home Video asked Ollie Johnston to create a few character sketches from the film. The drawings would be included as art prints in a special edition of the DVD.

Ollie was getting getting up there in age, and he felt like this assignment would be too difficult for him. So he called me to help out. I picked moments from the film that might make nice character portraits.

I tried my best to draw "on model". It was an honor to do this for Ollie and to see my signature alongside his.

David

After finishing work on The Lion King I went to Rome and Florence just to study Italian sculpture and art in general. Michelangelo's magnificent David is housed in the Galleria dell' Accademia di Firenze, and I remember how crowded the museum was that day. Probably the reason I didn't sketch the full body.

You might know that David's head and and hands are proportionally oversized, which of course has its reason. After its completion in 1504 the statue was supposed to be placed on top of the Duomo Cathedral. From ground level David's proportions would have looked perfect. 

However at the time a committee decided that the statue was too significant to be hidden away on the roof alongside other notable Old Testament figures. So David was placed in front of the Palazzo dale Signoria instead. In 1873 he was moved to his current location.

If you haven't seen this symbol of Italian Renaissance in person, it's worth the trip to Florence! I forgot to mention the sculptor was 29 years old when he finished David. (He was 26 when he started the sculpture).

Another fun fact: Raphael admired Michelangelo's David, Leonardo Da Vinci on the other hand only had "snappish" remarks. 

The Little Broomstick

 

A stunning story sketch by Mel Shaw for the unproduced Disney project The Little Broomstick. The story is based on the 1971 childrens' novel by author Mary Steward. Woolie Reitherman and Mel Shaw worked on a treatment during the late 1970s and early 1980s. The Reitherman family gifted me this beautiful piece of art.

When I started at Disney in August of 1980, there were still "broomstick" storyboards floating around the hallways of the animation building. Of course I was very intrigued by the idea for this proposed project. To be honest, anything Mel Shaw sketched stimulated your imagination. 

Here is the Wikipedia link to Mary Steward who died in 2014, aged 97:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Stewart_(novelist)

Geraldine Page inspires Medusa II

Here is one more press photo of actress Geraldine Page from the 1962 film Sweet Bird of Youth. Milt Kahl stated that he actually studied her acting in this movie. In one scene Page kicks Paul Newman in the chest, something Milt applied to Medusa and the character of Penny toward the end of The Rescuers.

It is only my assumption that Milt saw this B&W photo and used a similar pose for the final key drawing of a scene, in which Medusa puts on her coat. She gets ready to travel to Devil's Bayou.

Here are a few cels showing Medusa's eccentric personality as well as Milt's extraordinary draughtsmanship.

Here is part 1 : 

https://andreasdeja.blogspot.com/2025/04/geraldine-page-inspires-medusa.html

Kley Wild Life

It's always a good day when you discover a new drawing by Heinrich Kley. These fantastic sketches of anthropomorphic elephants, rhinos and hippos were published in an old German magazine offered on Ebay. I should receive the magazine shortly, and I am looking forward to studying additional Kley drawings that are included in this edition.

Just when you think you have seen all of Kley's work in books and online, new amazing art pops up. This was one prolific artist! 

Milt Kahl Pics

I recently discovered this scene from Disney's Hyperion days. Artists taking a break.  Except for one person at the bottom of the photo, and that person has to be Milt Kahl.

Milt at the studio, mid 1950s. Possibly during production of Lady and the Tramp. 

Kids...smoking is bad for you! Milt was not a smoker anymore when I met him in the early 1980s.

Here he is answering questions posed by Mike Bonifer for Disney Chanel's "Disney Family Album."

Around 1983. Milt was the only animator who drew character sketches for his episode. 

This was filmed at his home just north of San Francisco, after he had left Disney.

Just a few years prior, Milt had sketched character designs for The Black Cauldron. Stunning drawings of Princess Eilonwy. 

As I mentioned recently, the oversized book on Milt Kahl is in the works. I got Disney's verbal approval, and I am determined to make this one of the best books on Disney Animation ever.

As Milt said: "You got to have high standards".

The Black Cauldron

 

Next month The Black Cauldron will be 40 years old. It was released on July 24, 1985.

I still remember those wonderful pastel color sketches Mel Shaw produced for the film. An enormous amount of gorgeous storytelling illustrations. Come to think of it, they would make a terrific art book.

The story sketches shown here are by Dave Jonas, who also came up with the drawings over the movie's end credits. (Earlier Dave had done the same for the film Bedknobs and Broomsticks.)

The maquettes are by Ruben Procopio. The background art is by Dave Coleman.

I have said this before, our inexperience as young film makers really shows in the film. Many of us were straight out of art school with little experience in animation. But...I keep meeting young people who are very fond of The Black Cauldron. 

My design marker drawings on the Horned King model sheet. I still prefer my cool color concept over the red tones used for the final version of the character.

I drew these character poses for a limited edition cel set up. 

Mike Ploog created a to of visuel development art.

Character poses by me for this Taran and Eilonwy model sheet. Followed by a cel from one of my scenes.