Bringing Characters to Life Through the Art and Science Disney Animation

July 13, 2011 in All Posts, animation by Babes in Disneyland

For most people, their first interaction with Disney is through its animated films. Those films are the company’s calling card and lure folks into their web of magic by making us fall in love with their characters and stories.

We would be unable to fall in love with the characters or films if it were not for the men and women behind Disney’s classic tales–the animators. Of course writers, directors, editors, and the like are very important for the films, but the animators have to be all of those things–plus be the visionaries that bring the characters to the big screen. They are charged with not just designing the characters but creating how they will move, interact, and express themselves. In cases like Aladdin, animator Eric Goldberg was charged with making the Genie mythical, humorous, and worthy of the voice talents of Robin Williams. In movies like “Winnie the Pooh,”in theaters Friday, July 15, animators were charged with bringing to beloved characters back to life.

As with all films, “Winnie the Pooh” started with a story board. Burny Mattison (learn more about Mattison in my “Winnie the Pooh” review) went through all of the Winnie the Pooh books and poems and found the remaining story lines that had not yet been used in any of Disney’s shorts and television shows about Pooh and his friends. Here is what the story board art for the film looked like.

This is the room where
animators hone their skills.

Bringing a character to life isn’t as easy as just drawing an image. I had the opportunity to take a Winnie the Pooh drawing lesson with the supervising animator for Winnie the Pooh and Christopher Robin, Mark Henn. The lesson took place in the very same art studio where real Disney animators study human / animal form and movement. (To say I was thrilled would be a gross understatement!) It was fascinating to see the artwork on the walls and understand that animation is just as much about the science of the human (and animal) body and movement as it is about art. (I have removed the artists’ art from the walls per Disney’s request.)

My Winnie the Pooh with Henn’s
Winnie the Pooh in the distance.

Henn drawing Winnie the Pooh

In our art lesson, Henn took us through the steps to create our own Winnie the Pooh while discussing what it takes to bring a character to life. When the animators came together to develop each character for the movie, they all drew Winnie the Pooh slightly different–perhaps a slightly flatter tummy for some or slightly larger cheeks for others. To most of us, these differences wouldn’t be noticeable, but between animators, they could take one look and know who drew each Pooh bear. In order for animators to stay on the right track and draw the character the same way, artists have style sheets that guide their drawing.

The animation process is a long one and each scene and frame goes through quite a process before it is complete. Just take a look!

Story Sketch

Layout

Rough Animation

“Clean up”

Final!

If you are a Disney animation fan or ever wondered what goes into bringing a character to life, this video of Eric Goldberg, supervising animator for Rabbit and the Backson Song, will knock your socks off. Goldberg’s love for animation is infectious and you will be amazed to hear about the two famous people he has used to model Rabbit’s expressions. This is a great video for adults who love animation and children who are dreaming of being animators when they grow up. I am really proud and excited to provide you with this exclusive video.

Winnie the Pooh art used with permission of the Disney Studios.

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2 Comments

Comments

805 Buckaroo says

July 14, 2011 at 1:32 am

Looks like fun. Your drawing of Winnie is pretty good.

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Bird says

July 21, 2011 at 12:51 pm

Excellent job on Winnie the Pooh! What an experience!

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