Walt Disney Animation Studios The Archive Series: Design [Hardcover]

Disney Editions (Corporate Author)

Book Description

Series: Archive Series | Publication Date: November 23, 2010

Whether it consists of quick sketches on a lunch counter napkin, elaborate paintings in oils or watercolors, or dazzling computer renderings, the unparalleled creative process of Disney artists is lavishly showcased in Design, the third volume of The Walt Disney Animation Studios - The Archive Series. Among the incredible talents featured in this volume are Albert Hurter, Ferdinand Horvath, Joe Grant, Maurice Noble, Gustaf Tenggren, Tyrus Wong, Kay Nielsen, David Hall, Mel Shaw, Mary Blair, Bianca Majolie, Yale Gracey, Eyvind Earle, Walt Peregoy, Ken Anderson, James Coleman, Jean Gillmore, Rowland Wilson, Glen Keane, Chris Sanders, Andreas Deja, Mike Gabriel, Mike Giaimo, Hans Bacher, Chen Yi Chang, Paul Felix, Aaron Blaise, Ian Gooding, and John Musker. Design represents a rare opportunity to again enjoy a glimpse into the truly spectacular trove of treasures from the Walt Disney Animation Research Library.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Disney Editions (November 23, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1423134206
• ISBN-13: 978-1423134206
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 13.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #30,228 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #59 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Pop Culture > Art

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My favourite of the three volumes, December 13, 2010

By 

Parka (Singapore) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Walt Disney Animation Studios The Archive Series: Design (Hardcover)

Length:: 1:24 Mins

Of the three books from The Archive Series, this is my favourite. It covers design or the concept art for animated films.

This 256-page hardcover is filled with beautiful character designs, background paintings and storyboards. There are Mary Blair's paintings, wonderful layouts from Hans Bacher, the Lilo and Stitch drawings from Chris Sanders, pastel colour scripts from Bolt animated films and more. The art here is way more colourful than the previous two volumes on Story and Animation.

There is work dating back to the 1920s up to the latest animated films like The Princess and the Frog, and even Tangled. You will be able to see how the art has evolved with time, and the various Disney artists that have worked there and some are still working there now. There are so many styles to look at, from pencil animated characters to watercolour scenes to oil paintings.

If you have other Disney art books, some pieces of work are actually repeated, but about one fifth of the them are published here for the first time. Even so, this is a wonderful collection to get. And if you have to get only one volume out of The Archive Series, I'll recommend this volume.

This is a beautiful and inspiring collection.

(There are more pictures of the book on my blog. Just visit my Amazon profile for the link.)

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding!, November 27, 2010

By 

J. Ferguson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Walt Disney Animation Studios The Archive Series: Design (Hardcover)

The Walt Disney Archive Series has already set the bar quite high with the first two entries in this series - Story and Animation. However, the release of Design sets new levels when it comes to quality, content and presentation. This book is packed with beautiful preproduction and design art that includes watercolors, drawings, sketches, color studies, and digital paintings. Some of Eyvind Earle's paintings for Sleeping Beauty are included as well as Chris Sander's storybook inspirational art for Lilo and Stitch. There are character design sketches for the Beast and Gaston by Glen Keane and Andreas Deja. There's several pages covering the Black Cauldron which features two inspirational paintings by James Coleman as well as character sketches by Tim Burton, and there's much, much more. Though I've collected most of the "art of" books from Disney, I haven't seen many of the works displayed in this book.

While the first two books were amazing, what's great about Design is that in most of the artwork, all of the elements of character, color, design and background are coming together. It's almost like flipping through a lavishly illustrated children's book of many different styles and viewpoints. One could frame much of the work shown in this book and be quite pleased with them hanging on your wall. It really is a terrific book.

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Book but Amazon Can't Package, December 1, 2010

By 

Anthony - See all my reviews

This review is from: Walt Disney Animation Studios The Archive Series: Design (Hardcover)

I love this book, everything about it is wonderful it is a must have but don't buy it from amazon.com. Mine arrived in an oversized box with no internal packaging and so was wonderfully damaged. If this was a one off event or if it were an accident I could forgive them but this is just laziness and it is most definitely NOT the first time they have pulled a stunt like this. Buy this book and love every page but order it from your local book store so you can pick it up and have an undamaged one.