Animator Doodles

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    Well Big Hero 6 came and went and it was definitely an adventure, That would make it.. my 3rd Disney film under my belt. Now I'm working on Disney's ZOOTOPIA which is looking very promising. And as if I already didn't have enough on my plate I'm also teaching at CalArts 2D animation which is a lot of fun.

         I though I'd make a post and show you a window into my day to day life. It's not a crazy insight unless you are really fascinated with an animator's day to day doodles and the humor I have developed on my Snapchat. Enjoy the pictures and always keep in mind, every situation have entertainment value!

 

 

 

 

 

PERSPECTIVE 101

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  I came across an article that talked about perspective that I'd like to share with all of you. I believe the person who wrote the piece was someone named Martina Cecilia and she has a blog named Electicalice.tumblr.com Its a great site I highly recommend it :) 

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     Perspective was one of the first things Davinci would make his students learn. I believe he made them learn it before he introduced them to proportions!
      A lot of people think perspective is very difficult but little do they know perspective can be easy if you know a few rules. If this is your first time hearing the word perspective. It means 'point of view.' It's when an artist can draw objects and you can tell exactly how far, tall, and big they are.
      When I first was learning how to draw in perspective in elementary school it made me feel as if I was creating a window into another world. That feeling is a great one and I hope that this post can help you feel the same if you just starting to learn how to draw. 

Have your lines reach a vanishing point

     This is the most important rule to know.. Notice in the image that all the yellow lines all go to one point (the vanishing point). Always make your lines go to the same point. Notice how the red line does not go to the same point as the yellow lines. Its an awkward line and it's wrong.

"But DANNY, its such a minor mistake, the image looks fine to me!"
- True, the red line's mistake is a very subtle one, but drawing is all about the details. The more effort you put in double checking your work, the greater the quality will be. People will notice the time you put into your work, they might not be able to tell you why your work looks better but they will FEEL it. So grab a ruler and always check your perspective.

LOOK! Even the little details such as doors still follow the Yellow lines...

      When more than one line isn't following the rule and doesn't line up with the vanishing point, things can start to look confusing. There are times when you have to draw something that makes you break this rule, it's rare but it does happen. But 9 out of 10 times, You need to follow the vanishing point rule. 

The red lines do not go to the vanishing point

Objects look smaller the farther away they are
     Look at these two images of 'buildings'. The second image feels correct bc the closer to the vanishing point the building is, the thinner it gets. 

-"Danny, how do I know how thin to make the building, should I guess?"
      No, there is also a rule on how thin/smaller to make an object the closer it gets to the vanishing point. This one seems complicated but if you do it once, you can do it all the time. Make sure you use a ruler! 

Lets say you are drawing columns - set up your vanishing points and draw your first two columns how ever you want. 

Look at the 3 Horizontal pink lines. The most important one is the Pink Line that goes through the middle and cuts the columns in half. 

Draw a diagonal through one of the squares (RED LINE)

At the end of the red line, you will draw a new column!!

Keep drawing diagonals (RED LINES) to draw as many columns as you like!

Now you can use this rule as a guide to correctly draw columns perspective.

TIP: The closer the object is to the viewer, the thicker the line should be

      This is not a rule, this is just a tip that can help add depth to your drawing! If you have ever seen some mountains that were far away, do you ever notice the ones further away are harder to see? You should do the same to your lines in your drawings! If nature does it, you can do it too. You can even start to leave lines out when they start getting too close to each other. Simplify when you can without breaking the rules :) 

lines are all dark...

Far away lines are lighter :) 

Don't be lazy! Find reference and use it to make your drawings better!
       Take this window for example! The quality is in the details :) It'll bring realism to your drawings.

     Last but not least, remember perspective applies to people as well. A lot of people will draw figures and not CHECK to see if they are the right size when compared to the other objects in the drawing. Grab your ruler and never forget to check your drawings :)

     I hope this helps you out. I know the internet is a big place and it's hard to find good advice. That's why I sometimes post things I find from other sites here for you to read. Remember, I didn't invent perspective, so my way isn't the right way or the only way. All I do is share what I know. Drawing is fun and it shouldn't be hard, if perspective is really difficult for you, keep practicing and don't be afraid to ask people for help.

(source)

Art of Disney's FROZEN

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“Now then, let us begin. When we are at the end of the story, we shall know more than we know now: but to begin.”   -Hans Christian Anderson, "The Snow Queen" 

Anna Drawing Artist: Jin Kim

Elsa the snow queen by Jin Kim

 How do you take an idea and show it to the world? DRAWINGS!
     
        It took about 600 artist to make the movie FROZEN. All 600 deserve their moment in the lime light but I want to specifically bring attention to some amazing art made by some talented people at Disney. It took 70 years of off and on development, innumerable story variations, and many failed attempts but the Snow Queen finally has finally been initiated into the disney family. Enjoy these concept/visual development drawings and paintings I have collected from the corners of the internet of my fellow Disney Artists. David Womersley did the following landscapes!

Landscapes show scale and can set the tone of the story (Artist: David Womersley)

Snow isn't just white, snow can reflect a spectrum of colors! (Artist: David Womersley)

       Keep in mind that 80 percent of all art work made for a movie is never seen by the outside world. Why? Because when an artist is drawing for a movie, they are exploring the film. For example: this means an artist might do a hundred drawings trying to figure out how a character should look. "Is he too short, no he should be taller, he looks too old in this drawing, ooh how about a beard? Is he too skinny?" The artist draws and draws until finally, he/she comes across a drawing the director likes. That chosen drawing is the only one to live on while the other hundreds of exploratory drawings are put away. These drawings below by Brittney Lee and Bill Schwab are golden.

Artist: Bill Schwab

arttist: Bill Schwab

Artist: Brittney Lee

In my opinion, this is one of the best Disney dress of all time (artist: Brittney Lee) 

      These following model packets show the range of emotion for the sisters and Olaf. As an animator these drawings serve as guidelines and they help us keep the characters on model. Every character has a specific personality, We work to make sure everyone knows every characteristic of each character so that they are believable when they are up on the screen. They really capture the essence of the "Disney appeal." Jin Kim and Hyun Min Lee are the talented artists responsible for model packets below! 

good drawing = strong knowledge of techniques and life drawing (Jim Kim)

I love to practice drawing these on my spare time (Jim Kim)

Olaf and appealing mouth shapes! (Artist: Hyun Min Lee)

      Below are some Paintings from Lisa Keene. She is great at showing a full emotional range of color within an icy white setting. Check out these next three paintings by Her

Artist: Lisa Keene

Artist: Lisa Keene

Artist Lisa Keene

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THE SNOW QUEEN

“Many a winter’s night she flies through the streets of the town, and peeps in at

the windows; and they then freeze in so wondrous a manner that they look like flowers.”

“It was a lady; her cloak and cap were of snow. She was tall and of slender figure, and of a dazzling whiteness. It was the Snow Queen.”

The Snow Queen by Elena Ringo

“… a woman, dressed in garments of white gauze, which looked like millions of starry snow-flakes linked together. She was fair and beautiful, but made of ice — shining and glittering ice. Still she was alive and her eyes sparkled like bright stars, but there was neither peace nor rest in their glance”

Copyright Disney Enterprises Inc

Artist: Marc Davis

Disney has been trying to make this movie for years..  Copyright Disney Enterprises Inc

       Why was it so hard to make the Snow Queen into a film? Mostly because in the original story the Queen is described beautifully but is lacking in personality and is completely un-relatable. Her actions are unexplained and she is not even present in the climax of the original story. How could one make an entire movie out of a character that has no dimension? This has been the question of the century in the Walt Disney studios since 1943... 

     Finally, the making of The Little Mermaid, another tale by Hans C. Andersen, was a success for Disney and literature once again springboard for Disney features. Many people tried to work on the story of the Snow Queen, even Disney Legend Glenn Keane tried but to no avail. After Tangled was a success, in 2010 the studio again tried to thaw the story of the Snow Queen with the directors from Beauty and Beast and an army of established artists.. John Lasseter also joined the fray as executive producer but again the story did not work...

      Disney then announced the film under the title, FROZEN! It was to be made and they gave it a release date and all! No story, no characters, no where to start!!!?? One simple suggestion changed all that:

“What if Anna and Elsa were sisters?”

      The rest is history, from that little suggestion the Snow Queen snow balled into what it is today. The resulting story is inspired by the original story and nothing more. The integral themes of the Hans Christian Anderson's fairy tale are still intact: Love, Family, and finding your inner strength. This movie no matter what flaws it may have, has an equal number of reasons to be able to stand on it's own and hold a place in the pantheon of Disney Classics. 

David Womersley and Brittney Lee

Art: Lisa Keene

Shape and line must me continued through broken structures (design) Artist: David W.

    Go watch the movie and I hope you like it! Stay after the credits and you'll get a bonus clip and if you search and look hard enough, you might see some cameos by another Disney princess!!!! That's all I'm saying :) Thanks for reading, soak in the art and always keep in mind, my blog = my thoughts. They are not facts, just insights from my world here at Disney that I love sharing with you!

Artist Brittney Lee

Artist: Hyun Min Lee

OALF!! Artist: Hyun Min Lee

Shiyoon Kim