Every year since Disneyland opened, Disney Parks have been wowing guests during the holiday season with festive decorations and elaborate spectaculars. Join Graham Allen, Becky Cline, and Charlie Price, authors of the new book Holiday Magic at the Disney Parks, as they discuss the history of the
In 1964, Tania McKnight Norris was hired to work at WED Enterprises—now known as Walt Disney Imagineering—as an interior designer for the highly-anticipated Disneyland expansion: New Orleans Square. During Norris' tenure at WED, she worked on many projects, including Haunted Mansion and concepts for
When San Francisco artist Ruth Asawa was interned in a camp for Japanese Americans during World War II, she found hope and inspiration among some of her fellow internees. She befriended and took drawing lessons from interned Disney animators Tom Okamato, James Tanaka, and Chris Ishii—a much-needed
As employees of The Walt Disney Family Museum, we strive to achieve and perpetuate the values that Walt held important in his work and his life. We believe that to achieve the level of quality associated with Walt Disney, each person, as an individual and as part of a cohesive team, contributes toward delivering a quality experience to every visitor to The Walt Disney Family Museum.
Walt Disney always encouraged his animators to remain students and to continually learn and improve their craft with every project. Bring your art and join us for this informative workshop about how to build a well-rounded portfolio or demo-reel and catering these items to the job or internship you
Join Disney·Pixar filmmaker Pete Docter and Imagineer Chris Merritt on a journey through Marc Davis’ move from The Walt Disney Studios to WED Enterprises, as told in their book Marc Davis in His Own Words: Imagineering the Disney Theme Parks (2019, published by Disney Editions).
Milicent Patrick was a true Renaissance woman. Not only was she one of The Walt Disney Studios’ first female animators, but throughout her illustrious career, she also worked as an actress, makeup artist, and special effects designer. Recently recognized as the costume designer behind the iconic
Join Academy Award®–nominated filmmakers Ron Clements and John Musker for behind-the-scenes stories from their work at Walt Disney Animation Studios on The Great Mouse Detective (1986), The Little Mermaid (1989), Aladdin (1992), Hercules (1997), Treasure Planet (2002), The Princess and the Frog
Join us as we celebrate The Big Green Draw, the world’s largest drawing festival. Our annual free community event will celebrate Walt Disney’s contributions to visual arts and vision for a more sustainable earth. In conjunction with this year’s #ClimateOfChange theme, experience a unique animal
Join us for this frightfully fun Halloween panel as artists and creators behind the holiday stop-motion favorite, Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), discuss the making of this groundbreaking animated masterpiece and memories from working on set alongside the creative genius Tim
After 30 years in animation, Francis Xavier Atencio—better known as X. Atencio—became one of the most influential Imagineers of his time, developing dialogue and music for attractions including Adventure Thru Inner Space, Haunted Mansion, and Pirates of the Caribbean. Join his daughter, Tori Atencio
Moderated by Her Universe Founder and Designer Ashley Eckstein, hear from Disney+ short film Director Valerie LaPointe (Lamp Life, 2020), Storyboard Artist Aphton Corbin (Toy Story 4 and Soul, 2020), and Storyboard Artist Louise Smythe (Onward, 2020) as they discuss their “storied” journeys from
Before cel animation came to prominence as the most popular style for cartoons in the 1920s, some early animators experimented with clay. Since then, animators have used clay to animate everything from films and television shows to video games. Join us and get creative with clay as you learn how to
In the early days of animation, artists struggled to make characters move in an interesting way while also keeping them simple enough to draw quickly and repeatedly. As a solution, Walt and other animators in the 1920s and 30s adopted a drawing style which gave the characters “rubber hose” limbs
After many long hours spent drawing, tired animators might start to find themselves nodding off. In this workshop, use anticipation and timing to create a short animation of a drowsy animator who gradually falls asleep.
Animation can be hard and tiring work. After many hours, even days, of working away at a light table or computer, few animators can resist the urge to let out a long yawn. In this workshop, use facial expressions and exaggeration to create an animation of a sleepy animator yawning.
Animating facial expressions, whether realistic or exaggerated, is a difficult skill to master. To enhance believability, animators often use themselves as a model for their own poses and expressions. Many classic animators even kept a small mirror by their desks so they could use their reflections