D23: Day 2 Andreas Deja

Here are some of the progress sketches by Andreas Deja done at the D23 Conference.

Deja began by sketching Mickey Mouse in the traditional three quarter view, then demonstrated how animators cheat reality by showing us what Mickey would look like if he were drawn front on exactly as he appears in the three quarter view- a mess. 

Special needs Mickey

To combat the awkward looking Mickey, the front on version changes the position of the ears, the nose completely turns sideways, the snout moves and the mouth also moves to the centre.

Next, Deja drew some of his most famous characters, Scar: 

And Jafar from Aladdin. I stand by the claim that villains are infinitely more interesting than heroes in most Disney animation films. 

Andreas Deja is one of my all time favourite modern day Disney animators, and it was seeing Scar come to life in the Lion King that first made me realise that I didn't want to be a teacher forever and that it was time to look for ways that I could get into the art of animation.