Thursday, November 27, 2008

A Trip to the Disney Studios

Last Friday I went with our design team from Disney Store to the Disney Animation Studios. First we met with Peter Del Vecho, who is a producer on the new Disney feature, The Princess and the Frog. We showed him product we're working on, and asked him questions that will help us stay true to the movie while we're making product.

The building we met at was the famous "Hat" b
uilding, built in 1994 and visible off the 134 Freeway. We met in this rectangular office, whose walls were covered with beautiful concept sketches, character studies, environment explorations, and story moments. In the center of the room was a long rectangular table, and on top of the table were stacks of white, glue-bound sketchpads about 1" thick. The pads looked like they were widescreen ratio (1:1.85) - cool! Next to the pads were pencil cups filled with grease pencils. Most people grabbed a sketchpad and took notes. I already brought something for notes, so I used a grease pencil and pad for drawing Peter.

He was a nice guy and very helpful. It was really exc
iting to draw something inside the Disney Animation Studio, even if it was just for myself.

2 comments:

John T Quinn III said...

me too dan. I love to eat lunch on the lot and draw in my sketchbook. I'm still pretty geeky about being there and love having drawn in my sketchbook even if, as you say, it's just for me.

Dan said...

Hey John! Thanks for stopping by - and for sharing your geekiness. :) Yeah, every time I go to the lot, I find myself thinking "Freddie Moore walked around here," or whoever. Giants roamed these parts. I hope I can have that experience again soon.