Ken Anderson in his own Words

More comments about Walt Disney, this time by layout artist, art director and character stylist Ken Anderson. I really enjoyed getting to now Ken during the 1980s. Even in retirement he was so enthusiastic about the art form of animation, its past as well as its future. And he loved talking to young people who were just entering the animation business. 

Milt Kahl Character Designs

 

I recently came across these two design sheets my Milt Kahl. The one above is the "Darling" character from Lady & the Tramp, voiced by the one and only Peggy Lee. I saw one of her last performances at the Hollywood Bowl years ago, she was incredible. I'll never forget that night. This sheet explores Darling's hair style, how to get a hold of it graphically. Still, those perfect Milt Kahl faces always get to me. Animator Ken O'Brien ended up animating Darling as well as her husband Jim Dear.

More on O'Brien's work for Lady & the Tramp here:

https://andreasdeja.blogspot.com/2018/01/more-ken-obrien-roughs.html

https://andreasdeja.blogspot.com/2017/02/a-ken-obrien-scene.html

https://andreasdeja.blogspot.com/2015/02/ken-obrien.html

The next sheet is a xerox stat of cow studies from 101 Dalmatians. Horns...no horns, that is the issue here. In the film some cows have them, some don't. A terrific "modern" cow design approach, which also made it into the farm sequence from Mary Poppins.

The cow design sheet is currently being offered at Heritage Auctions.

Frank Thomas in his own Words

 Continuing the series, here is Frank reminiscing in 1993 about working for his boss.

Vote Now!

 

To my American friends:  the most important vote of our lifetime.

Mama Odie's Secret

 

I remember having a moment of animators' block during production of The Princess and the Frog.

In one scene during her song "Dig a little deeper" Mama Odie was searching through a chest, looking for  appropriate "musical instruments" for some of the other characters present. As she begins to dig in, the layout artist suggested that she throws out a shoe and a gavel at first.

The thing is that I had time for Mama Odie to throw ONE more item. So what should that be? A book, a piece of clothing, a plant....boring! For the life of me I could not think of anything clever (even though audiences would not really have the time to register the third object). I was starring at my animation disc forever...and then...of course, she will throw an animation disc.

I did not tell anybody about my choice, not the directors, not checking, nobody. AND IT WENT THROUGH. No phone call...what is this?...we can't have her do this...Everybody within the Disney pipeline knew exactly what this item was. By coloring the disc blue meant that this was a vintage metal animation disc. (The ones we worked on were black plastic.)

Mama Odie had some serious voodoo powers, but... she was also a 2D animator.

In order to find that frame I just took a cell phone pic off of my TV.

Ward Kimball in his own Words

 Here is Kimball in Storyboard magazine, talking about his boss Walt Disney.

A few of his terrific life drawings with clothed models. My guess is that they were done sometime during the 1950s.

Wilhelm M. Busch, Ex Libris

A few more stunning drawings by Wilhelm M. Busch. 

Such a command over portraying the human body with elegance and grace. The first two sketches have an obvious erotic flair, but the third one shows a grieved Russian woman with her children during WW II.

Throughout his lifetime Busch depicted a wide range of topics and emotions with great skill.. 

A true master draughtsman of the last century.

Ollie Johnston in his own Words

I am going to post a few comments by Walt Disney artists that were originally published in an issue of Storyboard Magazine from 1993. The topic is mostly about their relationship with Walt.

At the time these essays were submitted to the magazine by the artists, and as far as I know are unedited.

Ollie drew these charming sketches at his home in Flintridge around 1963.

Drawings: Howard Lowery Auctions

Lady & the Tramp Pencil Test Sequence

Classic Disney pencil tests are treasures. The characters seem to be even more alive than in the final color footage. You are reminded that someone drew this stuff with a pencil on paper. It represents the animator's art in its purest form. No color or rendered backgrounds to "distract" you, just a bunch of lines on the screen. But those lines have an explosive magic, because they reveal imaginary yet real life.

Steve Stanchfield just posted the complete Siamese Cats sequence in pencil test form. 

Before the release of Lady & the Tramp in 1955, Disney presented a TV program featuring Peggy Lee, Woolie Reitherman, Frank Thomas, Milt Kahl and others. 

I believe this pencil test sequence was supposed to be a part of the TV show, but was ultimately cut.

John Sibley animated the cats. They had originally been assigned to Ward Kimball, who animated some if not all of the sequence. His footage apparently did not fit the realistic style of the film.

This is a real treat, and I'd like to thank Steve Stanchfield for making it available to everyone on Vimeo.

 

Here is the link: https://vimeo.com/466013616

The Power of Vintage Disney

 

Walt Disney's animation studio didn't invent character animation, but it elevated it to unimaginable artistic heights. 

Here are a few random thoughts that help illustrate just WHY this studio was the industry's leader:

APPEAL

You can't take your eyes off classic Disney characters. There is a visual magnetism in this Timothy drawing. You want to look at him, you want to get to know him.

RESEARCH TRAVELS

They realized that by studying local folklore on site gave the films great authenticity.

THE STUDY OF REAL ANIMALS

This added believability to the characters which no other studio came close to. 

PHENOMINAL STORY SKETCHES

They reveal not only story continuity, but also staging, camera angles and personality.

THE WILLINGNESS TO START OVER

When something didn't feel right it had to be revisited and redone.

Frank Thomas' early Pinocchio animation moved nicely, but the footage was tossed because the character design lacked appeal.

THE GUTS TO GO DARK

Even though animation was full of likable cute characters, Disney did not hesitate to put them into highly dramatic situations. These guys were risk takers!

PHENOMENAL LAYOUTS

Mickey is looking up at a giant's castle. Camera angles like the one take highly skilled artists to draw such an up shot convincingly.

SMART USE OF LIVE ACTION REFERENCE

By hiring outstanding character actors for animation reference the scenes were practically half done by the time the animator got started. (Not all animators approved of this working method though.) 

LET FUNNY ANIMATORS DO THEIR THING

The balance of realistic characters combined with comedic ones added a great dynamic. Particularly in the feature films.

GLORIOUS COLORS

All of Disney's animated films have stunning color models for their characters. From Technicolor extravaganzas like "Alice in Wonderland" to more subtle color palettes like "101 Dalmatians", they all work beautifully. 

LET THE STYLE EVOLVE

What started as rounded sculptural drawings evolved into sophisticated artistic graphics.

This challenged some artists, but audiences embraced the change eventually.

ECONOMIZE BUT DON'T COMPROMISE

Evan after Xerox was introduced to save money, the studio was still capable of producing masterful animation. The overall look changed again, but character animation maintained its very high standard.

A GROUP EFFORT

When all disciplines like animation, effects and background painting come together on the highest level possible, visuals like this one were achieved. This is animation for the ages.