Posts tagged belle

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. 

 I thought I would show two more Beauty and the Beast items you may have overlooked at the Disney Store. These came out around the same time as the snow globe featured in my previous post. A lot of thought and care goes into making sure items that a part of the same group look like they sit well together, but are different enough to offer guests something new. Maybe only one piece will really speak to them, maybe they want them all. In either case, each item should feel unique. Scale is important. The globe was quite large, the trinket box rather small and the music box somewhere in between. Something for everyone! :) Above all that, storytelling is a key piece of the puzzle when designing . We are, in a way, continuing the story of these characters through the product we create. Character pose, expression and surroundings all need to feel true to the characters we are working with. Otherwise the magic isn’t there, no emotional connection. I am always looking for that “awww” moment to connect with and hope it translates through to the finished product. You will see that the color story as well as ballroom and castle details continue here as they did on the snow globe, as well as a nod to the film’s famous rose. Below are images from a figural Belle music box, as well as a light up trinket box. 

  In honor of “Beauty and the Beast” being re-released (in 3D no less) , thought I would do a post about a snow globe I designed not to long ago. Beauty and the Beast has been around for some time now, and so it is a challenge to design product that feels fresh and new, while staying true to the source material. There are a lot of snow globes from this film, some of which I had worked on.  Can I stage it differently? Can I come up with a composition that isn’t necessarily in the movie , but still feels right? The answer is , yes. While glossing over the film I kept coming back to the ballroom scene as it is the most iconic scene in the film . So, the design I was working on had to be from the ballroom. Problem was, it’s been done a million times. While thumb nailing ideas I came to the above concept. The original drawing is a little over an inch tall, a scribble really. But, It had a grand feeling of the ballroom achieved with height , open space so you could see more of the main characters, design elements from the castle, and a place for all the supporting cast. Somehow this all came together in a way that felt natural. “Maybe they danced at this location in a part of the castle we’ve never seen?” I thought to myself.  You see, I didn’t change the story of these characters . When you see this piece you instantly feel that “moment”, but it’s new. I try to never put the characters in a situation that feels wrong or foreign to them.  Below are a few more drawings. The fleshed out concept,  color comp, rough character turns and poses, a few architectural details and the finished product. Many more drawings were done for this globe, as well as numerous sculpt overlays to get it just right. But I won’t bore you with all that. Just a little sneak peak behind the scenes. Beauty and the Beast came out the year I found out I had been accepted to CalArts to study character animation. Little did I know that just two short years after that I would begin my career with Disney. This film will always hold a special place in my heart. Now go catch “Beauty” in theaters while you can! :)

I love christmas ornaments , and Disney. This is especially fun because i also get to design christmas ornaments for Disney. The process is always fun. What do I want on my tree? Which characters do I love? Who do we not always get to see? Who do i think collectors want to see? These are questions I usually ask myself every year when this process starts. I always love them all. My favorites depend on what day, or mood I am in. Today, these are a few of my favorites I worked on for this years assortment. All our ornaments are available now at the Disney Store or on disneystore.com.

I’ve always wanted to own my very own Cogsworth, Lumiere and Mrs. Potts. Luckily for me, the release of the DVD offered a perfect opportunity to come up with some great product. Limited edition , working replica’s of these great characters. Getting to work on these was even more fun than just having them! I wanted to make sure they were not only size correct to each other, but also to pick just the right size to have it seem that they stepped right out of the film. I just love the finished product. Below is a picture of Paige O’Hara , the voice of Belle, at a Disney Store event celebrating the release. They sold out very quickly. 

these can usually still be found on ebay.