Before the Animation Begins: The Art and Lives of Disney Inspirational Sketch Artists

Born from daydreams, meditations on colour, character and form, and sheer inventiveness, Disney's pioneering animated films begin in the imagination of the 'inspirational sketch' artist. Allowed to work with an unprecedented degree of creative freedom, these painters, designers and illustrators attempt to conjure the 'look' of a film - the appearance of characters, the action's locale, the mood and the use of colour; in short, the film's aura and feel. In this book, Canemaker chronicles the lives and the work of the 'inspirational sketch' artists from the thirties to the present, situating them in the history of modern art and analysing their lives and interactions with the studio (and Walt Disney himself). Included are Kay Nielsen (Fantasia), Albert Hunter (Snow White), Gustaf Tenggren (Pinocchio), Mary Blair (Alice in Wonderland) and Ty Wong (Bambi). Keywords: Walt Disney, animation, cartoons, preproduction, animation process, inspirational sketch artists, mood, character development, use of colour, drawing technique

Part of the Robin Allan Collection