Telephone Doodle

This sketch really is a telephone doodle from a few years ago. 

You are listening while your mind is wandering, and a new drawing style emerges. A reflecting fairy.

 

Gaston Rough

 

This is the first animation drawing I made of Gaston in Beauty and the Beast. Here he has a larger jaw and a moustache. This is from the opening sequence when we see Belle and Gaston interacting.

When I finished the scene it was cut into the story reel. J.Katzenberg liked the animation ok, but asked me to dial up the character's handsome looks.

So I did, and Jeffrey was right. Gaston needed to be good looking because the Beast isn't. Those two characters needed to have opposite qualities.

Mickey and James Levine

I only did a few scenes for Fantasia 2000. Eric Goldberg invited me to animate a section of Rhapsody in Blue, which was a joy to work on. And I consider this part of the feature film a masterpiece.

Don Hahn asked me if I might animate Mickey interacting with conductor James Levine. Of course I jumped at the chance.

Here is a character layout sketch followed by a rough animation drawing of Mickey, as he adjusts Levine's bow tie.

King Triton Sketch

I sketched this King Triton a few years ago. I don't remember what for, but to my pleasant surprise I saw an enlargement of this image on a wall of the Disney cruise ship Destiny earlier this year.

Thought of the Day

 

Behind the Scenes of Sleeping Beauty

There is nothing more fascinating than being able to go back in time and see production photos from Disney animated films.

We see Mary Costa, who voiced Aurora, visiting Eric Larson, Marc Davis and the ink and paint department.

There are great pics with Marc at his animation desk, and background artists Eyvind Earle with Walt Peregoy.

Also photos that show how a couple of the film's opening scenes were shot in a vertical Multiplane setting.

Heinrich Kley Sketch

Looking back, I believe that this beautiful sketch by Heinrich Kley got me thinking in terms of a story for an animated film, featuring a tiger and a girl. 

The power of art! It can inspire, and in this case, it gave me an idea that kept me busy for eight years.

Ballet Sketch

I posted this sketch earlier on my social media. Drawn from a TV ballet program.

Aurora by Marc Davis

An exquisite sequence of rough animation drawings is currently being offered at Heritage Auctions. Animator Marc Davis was a master of combining a bold graphic style with graceful motion in the service of personality. While actress Helene Stanley's live-action reference footage provided a crucial foundation, Davis made necessary creative adjustments to successfully translate a series of photostats into poetic, balletic movements. Through caricature, contrasting timing, and exaggerated weight, he transformed reference into pure graphic action, making scenes like this one a profound joy to watch.

The 9 Old Men Book

I am thrilled to see that my 2015 book 'The Nine Old Men" is still popular. At Amazon it has been hovering in the top 10 list of various categories.

Now back to the Milt Kahl book........

 To order a copy:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0415843359/ref=sspa_dk_detail_0?psc=1&pd_rd_i=0415843359&pd_rd_w=P0g7z&content-id=amzn1.sym.af2be12d-373e-4c68-a933-d40df60554fe&pf_rd_p=af2be12d-373e-4c68-a933-d40df60554fe&pf_rd_r=7Y4A886Q41XTSTCTH1GG&pd_rd_wg=KV5iX&pd_rd_r=30f7a629-5e87-4bc3-b1d7-4d5b78abefcb&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9kZXRhaWxfdGhlbWF0aWM

Scar Roughs

A few of my animation rough drawings arranged for a mini poster by a fan. I remember animating any one of those scenes.

Daveigh Chase

I am in disbelief at the passing of actress Daveigh Chase. Working on the character of Lilo was a profoundly moving experience for me as an animator. Daveigh’s voice performance was utterly unique and inspired, presenting a brand-new challenge and the perfect opportunity to bring an unorthodox Disney girl to life.

Here are a couple of photos with the two of us in my office at the Orlando Disney Studio.

Aloha and thank you, Daveigh.

Holly

 Congratulations to our friend Holly Sedillos, who's screen credit in Steven Spielberg's new film "Disclosure Day" is: Vocal Soloist.

We couldn't be happier. Holly is terrific in all of her vocal performances! In film and on stage!

Holly sang "Mushka's Lullaby" in my animated film MUSHKA. Check out this music video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ast84XT6-KI&list=RDast84XT6-KI&start_radio=1                    

Bad Guys

 Here is a poster I put together for an animation convention a couple of years ago.

Les Aristochats

Last year author Pierre Lambert issued yet another beautiful Disney art book in his long line of exquisite publications: The Aristocats.

There are many gorgeously reproduced images of designs, story sketches, animation drawings and cel set ups. I think many of you will enjoy flipping through the pages of this new book.

It is available at Amazon France:

https://www.amazon.fr/Pierre-Lambert-Aristochats/dp/2386400468

 

 

Garald Scarfe and Hercules

In last year's published book Hercules, The Art of Gerald Scarfe, Gerald explains some of the difficulties he and I had coming up with the final design for the character of Hercules.

I remember Hercules being the last character design to be approved for animation. Gerald had tried a stylized version as well as a realistic approach. In the end the two of us worked things out together on a few sheets of animation paper, as you can see in the sketches below.

I think you'll find his notes and observations interesting, and I found Gerald lovely to work with.

Gerald Scarfe is on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/officialgeraldscarfe/?hl=en