Animation Art Conservation

ARTICLES

DESIGN WITH A PURPOSE,
an interview with Ralph Eggleston
By RON BARBAGALLO I

ARTICLE
Design With a Purpose, an interview with Ralph Eggleston, production designer on Pixar's WALL-E
By Ron Barbagallo - February 9, 2009

Long time Pixar virtuoso, Ralph Eggleston discusses his role as production designer on Andrew Stanton's Wall-E. Exploring the production design for Wall-E from many creative angles, Eggleston takes a detailed look at how he uses color to tell a story or to evoke a certain emotion. Previously unpublished art from Wall-E's production help illustrate how Eggleston and his team at Pixar created production design with a purpose.

THE ART OF MAKING
PIXAR'S RATATOUILLE
By RON BARBAGALLO I

ARTICLE
The Art of Making Pixar's Ratatouille
By Ron Barbagallo - January 28, 2008

An overview article on Pixar's film Ratatouille is followed by three individual interviews with Director and writer Brad Bird, production designer Harley Jessup and director of photography/lighting Sharon Calahan. Disney/Pixar contributed exclusive art which includes the storyboards from the famous fixing the soup scene and concept art from Michel Gagné.

SHEDDING LIGHT ON
THE LITTLE MATCHGIRL
By RON BARBAGALLO I

ARTICLE
Shedding Light on The Little Matchgirl
By Ron Barbagallo - June 20, 2006

Shedding Light on the Little Matchgirl takes a detailed look at Disney's adaptation of the Hans Christian Andersen story The Little Match Girl. The article includes exclusive art and an interview with the short's director Roger Allers. It also delves further into the meaning behind Hans Christian Andersen's short story and its origins.

MAKING HIS MARK IN CLAY,
an interview with Nick Park
By RON BARBAGALLO I

© DreamWorks Animation SKG and Aardman Feature.
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit is distributed by DreamWorks Distribution LLC.

ARTICLE
Making his Mark in Clay, an interview with Nick Park
By Ron Barbagallo - October 7, 2005

In support of his much anticipated film, Wallace & Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit, Nick Park shares some of his thoughts regarding his artistic influences, on how he uses drawing to start telling a story and what it was like to bring everyone's favorite plasticine duo, Wallace and Gromit, to the big screen for the very first time.

FROM CONCEPT ART
TO FINISHED PUPPETS,
an interview with Graham G. Maiden
By RON BARBAGALLO I

ARTICLE
From Concept Art to Finished Puppets, an interview with Graham G. Maiden, puppet fabrication supervisor on Tim Burton's Corpse Bride
By Ron Barbagallo - July 21, 2005

Graham G. Maiden goes into detail describing his role as Puppet Fabrication Supervisor for Tim Burton's Corpse Bride. Maiden's interview uses exclusive art and images from the film's production to narrate the many stages that went into making stop motion puppets for this film.

LORENZO
By RON BARBAGALLO I

ARTICLE
Lorenzo
By Ron Barbagallo - February 27, 2005

Working with an idea that Disney veteran Joe Grant came up with 20 years ago, director / production designer Mike Gabriel nearly single-handily created the look of this 2D/CGI short named Lorenzo. Brought to you from executive producers Roy E. Disney and Don Hahn, this short tells the story of a fat cat whose haughty manners become the cause of his own undoing. The article includes an interview with Gabriel along with conceptual art and story sketches Gabriel created himself.

REMEMBERING FRANK THOMAS
By RON BARBAGALLO I

ARTICLE
Remembering Frank Thomas
By Ron Barbagallo - November 26, 2004

Written in memory of Disney animator Frank Thomas, Remembering Frank Thomas takes a look at the craft behind Thomas' work by reviewing the pencil animation he drew for the "I've Got No Strings" sequence featured in Walt Disney's 1940 feature film Pinocchio.

A BLADE OF GRASS
By RON BARBAGALLO I

ARTICLE
A Blade of Grass
By Ron Barbagallo - June 30, 2003

Featuring background paintings from Steamboat Willie, Flowers and Trees, Mickey's Mellerdrammer, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Bambi, this article is an aesthetic tour of the evolution that took place within 2D background painting at the Disney Studio from 1928 through 1942. It shows how one can make an impact on an entire genre by thinking outside the box, even if that impact starts with something as small as a blade of grass.

THE DESTINY OF DALI'S DESTINO
By RON BARBAGALLO I

ARTICLE
The Destino of Dali's Destino
By Ron Barbagallo - September 8, 2003

Back in 1946, Salvador Dali started work on an animated short subject for the Walt Disney Studio. Walt Disney's plan was to continue pushing animation into untried areas. However the package pictures of the 1940's proved less and less successful as the decade ended, and Dali was asked to abandon the project after creating hundreds of paintings and drawings. This writing illustrates the story behind The Destiny of Dali's Destino.

BUILDING MIKE'S NEW CAR
By RON BARBAGALLO I

ARTICLE
Building Mike's New Car
By Ron Barbagallo - August 5, 2002

Mike’s New Car takes off where Pixar’s hit film Monsters, Inc. left off. Co-director/creative director of shorts department Roger Gould and story artists Rob Gibbs and Jeff Pidgeon discuss how they followed up the CGI adventures of Mike and Sully by Building Mike's New Car.

HEROBEAR AND THE KID
By RON BARBAGALLO I

ARTICLE
Herobear and the Kid
By Ron Barbagallo - June 25, 2002

Ex -Disney animator Mike Kunkel made the best of every opportunity life handed him. First as an art student, then as an animator and now as a comic book artist/publisher who has sold the rights to his comic Herobear and the Kid to Universal. Herobear and the Kid looks at Kunkel and his art.

THE BACKGROUND ART OF
DISNEY'S KIM POSSIBLE
By RON BARBAGALLO I

ARTICLE
The Background Art of Disney's Kim Possible
By Ron Barbagallo - June 2, 2002

Art director Alan Bodner and executive producer/director Chris Bailey discuss the inspiration and design process that went into creating the background art of Disney's Kim Possible.

DESIGNING
THE EMPEROR'S NEW GROOVE
By RON BARBAGALLO I

ARTICLE
Designing The Emperor's New Groove
By Ron Barbagallo - October 18, 2000

Disney’s 39th Animated Feature Film is previewed by taking a look at the production designs, background art and character designs that went into creating the mythical South American world of The Emperor’s New Groove. Director Mark Dindal, producer Randy Fullmer, art director Colin Stimpson and character designer Joe Moshier (who also created some of the art featured in the article) go into detail regarding how they began designing The Emperor's New Groove.