Walt Peregoy and Al Dempster

Walt Disney was very firm when it came to choosing a background style for The Jungle Book. He made it clear that the was displeased with the look of the previous film The Sword in the Stone. Those backgrounds were too bright and colorful as far as Walt was concerned. For the Jungle Book he asked for a more monochromatic and realistic approach to the color palette.

Walt Peregoy had just styled The Sword in the Stone, and he was ready to continue painting in his somewhat abstract manner.

Peregoy left the studio after Disney's decision, and retired background artist Al Dempster came back to the studio to take over The Jungle Book.

Here you see the different approaches of both men. 

If you ask me, I absolutely adore the way The Jungle Book turned out. Spending time in Dempster's beautiful jungle sceneries is a real treat. But I also know that Peregoy would have created a fascinating forest for this film as well.

Peregoy

 

Dempster

Another TS Sullivant Original

While the cowboy's action is not very nice, this Sullivant illustration is gorgeous. Remember, even though most of his art was published in Time Magazine (and others) in small size, the originals are quite large.

I recently found this one online, and I hope that the owner doesn't mind that I am posting his drawing here.

The caption: "Ye say ye lost yer powder-puffs, Miss? Jest a minute and I'll fix ye up with a new one."

TS Sullivant Animals

A reminder of how glorious Sullivant's animals are. Inventive and unparalleled in their design. And a joy to study!

More Joe Rinaldi Story Sketches

Joe Rinaldi's story sketches for Ichabod Crane are hilarious. For personality scenes like these (not necessarily in any order) he pretty much leaves out any background indications and focuses on the characters' attitudes and interactions. He gave Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston plenty of "Good stuff" to work with as far as visual springboards for their animation.

Sometimes we tend to give the animator all the credit for great poses and staging when in fact it was the story sketch artist who really came up with those things. 

Credit where credit is due. I remember my last assignment for Disney was animating Tigger for the regrettably titled feature film Winnie the Pooh. The studio had just hired a few very young story artists, and they were absolutely terrific. I was able to use most of the character poses they came up with. It sure helped me to go through my footage very fast, which was required because of the film's small budget.

But I digress. Here's to Joe Rinaldi, one of the best story artists Disney has ever had. 

Doris

A few sketches I made a while ago to be included into the exhibition Disney's Cats and Dogs at the Walt Disney Family Museum. This is our dog Doris...yes, named after the famous Hollywood actress. 

Today Doris is about 15 years old, and doing very well. Way back, when she was a puppy, my friend Kellie Hoover found her abandoned on the side of a road near a school in Utah. 

We were able to give Doris a home, and she became a family member. Like all dog owners we just love her, she is PURE JOY.

Cinderella's Patience

"Oh well, I guess my dress will just have to wait." Cinderella was about to begin creating her own dress for the ball, when her stepmother calls for her with more duties.

Actress Helene Stanley gives a nice performance here to help the animator in his work.

This is really the thing about Disney live action reference:

1 - The action and acting was always carefully planed and staged. And the actors were amazing performers, who understood what kind of footage the animators were looking for. They understood the characters' emotions deeply.

2 - The animators worked with the reference, they pushed the timing as well as the composition.The animation never seems "floaty", which would happen, if the photostats were simply traced. 

Below a few sketches by Marc Davis showing the dress the mice and birds made for Cinderella.

Warwick Reynolds

Two beautiful works of art by British illustrator/painter Warwick Reynolds, 1880 - 1926).

The first is an etching that served as a study for the final painting of two leopards.