Steve Thompson

Disney Designer Villains - Real Life

Thu, 02 May 2013 15:48:00 -0700

This is Erin. And this, is AWESOME! She spent the last 6 months perfectly recreating the Disney Designer Villains version of Queen of Hearts I created for the Disney Stores last year. From the looks of it, the results were totally worth the effort. It makes me happy that something I helped create can inspire other people to take this collection someplace entirely new. Above you can see my original sketch and doll that inspired Erin’s creation. I am totally impressed . And, thank you Erin for sharing. Congrats to Maleficent and Cruella too! Can’t wait to see the whole gang. Hope everyone enjoys this as much as I did today. :)

Fun morning doodle. Pocahontas. :)

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 09:05:22 -0700

Fun morning doodle. Pocahontas. :)

Update to my post from yesterday on the Disney Store...

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 16:29:36 -0700

Update to my post from yesterday on the Disney Store “Artist Series One”. This time, my original pencil sketch for Ariel and Flounder.

Disney Store - Artist Series One

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 09:47:00 -0700

Available today from the Disney Stores is the “Artist Series One” mini collection. There are t-shirts, bags, a notecard set and an i-phone case. I was excited to be a part of this series and contribute my art of Ariel from The Little Mermaid, shown with her BFF Flounder in both the note card set and on this fashion Tee. I love being able to draw classic Disney characters in a style all my own and see it end up in cool places. I was so excited by how this piece turned out, I went ahead and did all the other girls in a similar style. I hope to be able to share those here as well at some point. But for now, head on over to the Disney Store and check out this great collection featuring art from not only myself, but a bunch of other talented Disney Store artists! Enjoy.

It may not seem like a huge number to some, but to me it is....

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 14:42:00 -0700

It may not seem like a huge number to some, but to me it is. When I started my Tumblr I wasn’t sure what I was going to post, or if anyone would be interested in what I did post. I don’t post as much as I’d like. But, that has more to do with working on stuff that is still top secret to you guys. I always share when I can. So, welcome to those of you that are new here. Please feel free to look back through past posts if you are just tuning in. That should give you a pretty good idea of what I’m all about. Again, thank you. Lots more Disney, drawings, concepts, art and inspiration coming your way real soon! XO, me

Ariel inspiration.

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 12:17:41 -0700

Ariel inspiration.

Sometimes I get to design product using my own art style, like...

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 16:15:00 -0700

Sometimes I get to design product using my own art style, like the Disney Designer Princess or Villains collections. Or more recently, the Tink sketch art collection I posted about. Other times I work on designing 3D collectibles. But, some times I do traditional character art used just for product applications. I start out doing my own rough poses and clean-up drawings. I then work with the inker to make sure the final ink’s and color stay as true to my original drawings. Shown here are a few examples of final clean-up pencil art, as well as one application of the art on product. This particular art also ended up on t-shirts , bathing suits, art kits and table ware, etc. I am still excited to see where this type of art ends up, because it will generally be used off and on for years to come. I still recognize every piece of art I’ve done , every time I see it. No matter how long ago I drew it.

Since I’ve been on the topic, here’s another one....

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 16:32:08 -0700

Since I’ve been on the topic, here’s another one. Snow White was the first princess I worked on in this style. So, while Jasmine and Ariel were never finished in color, there were more than one finished of Snow White while exploring style and color for the book. Here is another one that has never been seen, ‘til now…….

Going into the way back files, more unused ”Art of the...

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 13:00:00 -0700

Going into the way back files, more unused ”Art of the Disney Princess” artwork. There were a few pieces I had worked on that were never finished in time to submit for publication along with the pieces I did for that book. It’s a shame , as I really liked the direction they were headed. Ariel and Jasmine made it to tight pencil , but never to color. They almost made it onto the “Charming Collection” packaging I referenced in my last post. Unfortunately the collection that was to include these girls never came to be. So, back in the bin they went. After many years, here they are. Enjoy. :)

Back when I worked on a few projects with Kidada Jones, she fell...

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 12:50:00 -0700

Back when I worked on a few projects with Kidada Jones, she fell in love with the story book art I had done for the Art of the Disney Princess book and wanted to use the art for packaging. At the time I submitted art for that book Tiana was still in development, so I had not yet drawn her in that style. When it was decided that some of my previous art would be used for packaging of the “Charming Collection”, I was asked if I could add Tiana to the mix since she would be represented in the line of charms Kidada had designed. Here you can see my original rough concept drawings , as well as how the final art was used on packaging and product.

In meetings I always make sure to take very important notes! :)

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 16:05:57 -0700

In meetings I always make sure to take very important notes! :)

Keeping on the theme of inspiration and “mood...

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 10:11:00 -0700

Keeping on the theme of inspiration and “mood boards”, I often keep folders of images that I set aside to hopefully inspire me at some point. As with my last post showing a few images that inspired me to design the Disney Villains Designer Collection, here I’ve taken a few images out of my Rapunzel folder. The images maybe have a color that I like, a textile or architecture I find interesting , or maybe something that just gives me a feeling. When I do finally sit down to design something, I draw upon these images to get me in the right headspace. An image of a painting might inspire a snow globe. That Image of the scarf might inspire a doll. The thing is, the inspiration is there to do just that, inspire. And you never know where inspiration will strike! So, here’s Rapunzel……….

Designer Villains - Inspiration

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 09:29:27 -0700

Looking back at the Disney Designer Villains I helped create last year, I thought I would let you in on a little behind the scenes part of the design process. Once we had decided we were going to follow the princesses with villains, my boss came to me and handed me this image.

This of course got me very excited. I knew we were going to push the envelope a bit with this line , and I was totally on board. I needed to start wrapping my head around the look, mood and feel . So, I started looking everywhere for images that got my imagination flowing. Here is a very small selection of images from my research. And how this,

Became this……….

I work on a lot of things for the Disney Stores. Sometimes they...

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 12:58:00 -0700

I work on a lot of things for the Disney Stores. Sometimes they are very high profile, like the Designer Princess and Villains collections. Sometimes it’s a small, fun project like these super cute princess finger puppets that are available now. Big or small, I love it all.

Anatomy of a Snow Globe

Tue, 05 Mar 2013 12:32:29 -0800

One part of the snow globe design process you may not give much thought to is the design of the base. I always start out with an overall sketch of the piece as a whole, characters included. But, once that part is done (the easy part), you then need to figure out how it’s actually going to work. As characters come fairly easily to me , the technical aspects of something like a structure or in this case a base of a snow globe take a little more thought. Below is a peek inside my thought process on how the base of this Mickey Mouse Club snow globe might work out. With a few tweaks, A lot of additional drawings, overlays and emails, this came out pretty darn well.

Concept vs. Reality

Tue, 05 Mar 2013 11:42:00 -0800

I just came across this old concept sketch I did for a Tinkerbell snow globe from a while back. It’s always fun to see how closely the final product ends up when compared to the concept drawing. I may try to dig up more of these as examples over the next few weeks as I try to clean up a bit more around my desk area. There are years worth of drawings and designs in no particular order surrounding me so hopefully I’ll find some good stuff. New things are coming soon, promise. But for now, here’s Tink! I do remember at some point tilting her head in a slightly different position when compared to the drawing. It just gave her a little bit more of feeling of discovery, instead of just looking at a bug. ;) Enjoy.

D23 Expo - August 9-11, 2013 - Anaheim, CA

Mon, 04 Mar 2013 16:31:08 -0800

Are YOU going? The D23 Expo happens every other year and this one is not to be missed. The photos seen below are from the “Disney Designer Princess Collection” artist signing I did with fellow designer Sang Plumlee at the last expo in 2011. While it is still top secret what we have in store, I will again be attending this coming August. As soon as I can let you know more I will post it here on my Tumblr page first. So, if you are planning on being there, make sure to stop by and say hello. See you there!

The "Pinnys" Awards

Sun, 17 Feb 2013 08:30:37 -0800

Yesterday I was honored to attend the 1st annual “Pinny” awards ceremony in Anaheim, CA. PinPics partnered with the Disneyana Fan Club during it’s annual convention to honor the art and artists of Disney Pins. Disney pin collecting is huge business, and the people at PinPics (the premier resource for disney pin news , collecting and trading) thought it was time to start honoring the artists behind some of the most sought after pins. Categories ranged from best open edition, best series, best set, best pin from Japan, Europe and US parks, etc. I was honored with two awards this year , Best Set and Artist of the Year for my work on the Designer Villains. I got to meet some great people , sign a few pins and take some picture with fans. Not a bad way to spend an afternoon.

Things I love......

Tue, 12 Feb 2013 16:28:00 -0800

When I did the artwork for both the Disney Princess Designer Collection and the Disney Villains Designer Collection, I never really thought much beyond the artwork and product the artwork would end up on. So, when you see fans taking my art to a whole new level , you have to love it. Here are two of my favorites that I have come across. Belle and Ursula. Both of these collections are near and dear to my heart. It’s nice to know that they continue to have a life all their own.

Tink and you’ll miss it! Last year Disney Store released...

Mon, 11 Feb 2013 15:31:59 -0800

Tink and you’ll miss it! Last year Disney Store released this limited edition Tinkerbell trinket box I designed based on the scene where Tink dips her toes in Captain Hook’s inkwell showing Hook where Peter Pan is hiding. It is no longer available, but I felt like it kind of got lost in the merchandise shuffle a little bit. I came across my original concept sketch and thought the final product turned out pretty darn cute. If you missed it, here it is.