Fantasia Art

Development Art for Fantasia, done in a variety of techniques, amazes me. These artists were thinking outside of the box, they were doing stuff never attempted before. And they were thinking BIG. Classical music, abstractions, a poem by Goethe, the creation of the earth and Walpurgis Night among other themes. Fearless!

Mel Shaw at the Walt Disney Family Museum

A terrific exhibition opened a few days ago at the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco.
Mel Shaw: Animator on Horseback will run until Sept. 12, 2016.
It is crazy to find out that Mel never had an exhibition during his lifetime, so this show is a first.
Don Hahn curated this beautiful exhibit which features examples of Mel's Disney concept art, and lots of his personal work. There are travel sketchbooks and paintings depicting California History, the Old West and many equestrian themes. Mel loved horses and he was an expert in horse anatomy and movement.
In case you didn't know, he was also an amazing sculptor. Several bronzes are on display.

A watercolor sketch of Bambi encountering a cricket.

Entering the imaginary world of Heinrich Kley, a group of centaurs playing polo.

No, this is not a Fox & the Hound production painting. It is a scene from one of Aesop's Fables.
I believe a non Disney piece of art.

A simple, but beautiful sketch, made during one of Mel's trips to Africa.

Most of you will recall this scene from Beauty and the Beast. I remember as if it was yesterday, Mel just knocked out these gorgeous storytelling pastels, one more beautiful than the other. The unproduced Musicana, The Black Cauldron, The Great Mouse Detective, Beauty & the Beast and The Lion King, all benefited greatly from from Mel's inspirational work for these films.

Here is the link to the Museum's web page:
http://waltdisney.org/exhibitions/mel-shaw-animator-horseback

More on Mel Shaw in this previous post:
http://andreasdeja.blogspot.com/2013/06/mel-shaws-beauty-beast.html

More Book Ideas

I really enjoyed working with Focal Press (Taylor & Francis) on my Nine Old Men book. I was thrilled to find out about the generous page count of 400. And after discussing a unique kind of layout, designer Alex Lazarou did such a beautiful job with the look of each page.
There was one aspect that frustrated me though, because I wanted to include so much more animation art such as key drawings from the amazing John Lounsbery scene, pictured above. 400 pages is a lot...but there is so much more great stuff to share.

So here is my plan for the future:
After completion of my film Mushka, I will try to get a book published with more Disney animation art, but not only by the Nine Old Men. Work by Fred Moore, Tytla and others would also be included.
Lots of pictures, very little text.
I do believe one single oversized book just on Milt Kahl's work is overdue. There are so many of his rough drawings that have never been published before and need to be made available to whoever is fascinated by his art. This volume should also include photos showing Milt at work through the years.

I hope you like the idea for these two books. As I see it, we can't have enough classic Disney art to study and to be inspired by.

Looking back at the drawing with Tony and Joe from Lady & the Tramp, if this does't make you want to draw and animate, nothing will.

Study by Marc Davis

Marc Davis drew this study of a young woman in a reflective mood when he was twenty-eight years old. The US had just entered WW II, and perhaps she is thinking about her boyfriend or husband, who was sent overseas as a soldier.
The context of that time and the overall mood tells me this kind of a story, but it's just a guess.
Walt Disney sure employed some remarkable artists like Marc, who helped to transcend early animation into the art form we know today.
I really like this drawing!

Robin Hood Scene III

Here is the final part of Milt's Robin Hood scene, in which the fox first acts out a proposal for Maid Marian, before admitting that "it just isn't done that way".

I don't know why Milt's timing charts are left out on these copies of his roughs.

Robin Hood Scene II

Here is part two of Milt Kahl's Robin Hood scene, which required many key drawings. Lots going on, there is a walk, and the acting is very lively. The more motion on the screen, the more drawings the animator needs to put in.

Part III to follow.