Transcript Walt Disney - Parkland College

Early cartoon animation was simply “line” animation
(line on paper)
We’ll see how this evolved into cel animation with multiple layers
We’ll concentrate on character-based cartoon animation
Cel Animation
Patented in 1915 by Earl Hurd and John Bray,
Cel (celluloid), sheet of clear plastic
Elements traced onto clear plastic from line drawings
Outline of element traced on front
Paint applied to back (to eliminate visibility of brushstrokes)
Sometimes large black areas were painted on front to reduce glare
Placed over background
Documentaries on the Animation process
Making of a Popeye Cartoon, (Popeye Original Classics, Bonus Features), 1938
How Cartoons are made (Snow White Platinum edition, disc 2), 1938
Chuck Jones, Scene Selections (Animation Process)
Walt Disney: 1901-1966
“The two most important people in
animation are Winsor McCay and
Walt Disney” – Chuck Jones
Walt Disney has had the
greatest impact on every
facet of the animation
industry
Started by making titles for
silent films, met Ub Iwerks
Walt and Ub learned
animation together
Laugh-O-Gram Studios,
1922
Disney and manager Charles
Mintz first came up with
Oswald the Lucky Rabbit
Walt later came up with the idea
of a cartoon mouse (on a train
back to California after looking for
Money out east)
He initially named it “Mortimer”
but Walt’s wife liked “Mickey”,
thus began Disney’s history
Disney leveraged key technologies, methods to popularize the medium
Sound
Walt sold his car and mortgage to pay for sound recording,
all sound done by Disney’s staff
They developed a “timing” sheet for synchronizing the drawings to
the sound
Steamboat Willie, Walt Disney & Ub Iwerks, 1928
This is considered the first sound cartoon
A few films later, Disney took on a new challenge, a cartoon based entirely on music
Skeleton Dance, Walt Disney, 1929
Skeleton Dance was followed by a new line of cartoons entitled
Silly Symphonies
Sound cartoons and silly symphonies launched Disney’s success for the next 10 years
Color
Up to this time, color had been used since 1912 in cartoons using a
blue/orange two strip process
Saw demo of 3 strip, Technicolor process in 1932 and immediately took
advantage of new process
Secured deal with Technicolor that no other studio could use it for 3 years
First animation to use new process, Flowers and Trees (Oscar for
animated short)
Flowers and Trees, Walt Disney, 1932
Speed
Tortoise and the Hare (1935)
Disney experienced with depicting speed which hadn’t been done to this
degree before
Accelerated action, speed lines, new style in animation
Exaggerated character personalities
Won another Oscar
Max Hare proved a good model for Warner’s Bugs Bunny
Tortoise and the Hare, Walt Disney, 1935
Depth
Walt also had his staff experiment with a greater sense of depth to escape the flat medium
His staff developed the multi-plane camera to provide a better illusion of depth
14 ft device with camera at top shooting down multiple layers of artwork separated in space
First cartoon to use the camera, The Old Mill, 1937
Cartoon primarily a mood piece, not gag driven, setting up suspense (later used in Snow
White)
The Old Mill, Walt Disney, 1937
Feature Film
Released the first full-length animated feature (83 minutes in length) in color and with sound
Touted technicolor and Multi-plane techniques
Snow white, Walt Disney, 1937
Character Development
Development of strong characters (Mickey, Donald, Goofy)
Characters so strong, Mickey started to take backseat to Donald
Mickey need more of a role in light of others taking over gags and attention
Response was…
Brave Little Tailor, Walt Disney, 1938
Ub Iwerks 1901-1971
Real talent behind Walt’s early success
First drew Mickey Mouse (Steamboat Willie, Plane Crazy, …)
In 30’s doing most if not all the animation or supervising it
Solo outing, Fiddlesticks (starring Flip the Frog)
Eventually returned to Disney
Won Oscars for his work with special effects
Fiddlesticks, Ub Iwerks, 1933
12 Principles of Animation
The principles were developed over time as animators discovered techniques
that created the “Illusion of life” in the drawings. The principles were taught in
drawing classes to animators at the Disney studios and are still studied and
applied to computer animation as well in all animation to this date.
1. Squash and Stretch
2. Anticipation
3. Staging
4. Straight ahead/ pose to pose
5. Overlapping action/ follow through
6. Slow in/ Slow Out
7. Arcs
8. Secondary Action
9. Timing
10. Exaggeration
11. Solid Drawing
12. Appeal
To learn more about the development of the 12 principles read :
The Illusion of Life by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston