Author: Aaron Blaise

For 21 years Aaron worked with Disney helping to create some of the greatest animated films ever made. During that time he worked as an animator or supervising animator on "The Rescuers Down Under", "Beauty and the Beast", "Aladdin", "The Lion King", "Pocahontas", "Mulan" and more. In 2003 he was co-director of "Brother Bear" for which he earned an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature Film. After "Brother Bear" he helped to develop several projects but ultimately left Disney to pursue an opportunity back home in Florida. Aaron recently served as 2D Animation Supervisor and Character Designer for the "The Bear and the Hare" an advertisement loved by millions around the world. He is currently also working on a new animated short film, once again involving bears called "Snow Bear".

Sandhill Crane incubating eggs. Ink and watercolor sketch done from life.

So Jonelle and I went up to Clermont in central Florida to visit with family. They live on a small lake. Just off shore right in their back yard they have a pair of Sandhill Cranes nesting. I went out on their dock and did an ink and watercolor sketch of this beautiful bird as it incubated two eggs. He or she was a wonderful model, never moving. I painted this on Aqua board which is a clay based material on board. For you artists out there, if you’ve never tried Aqua Board I highly recommend it. It took the watercolor beautifully and is a wonderful surface to paint on. 

6 paintings I have in inventory

These are 6 paintings I have in inventory at the moment and am selling. These are the actual frames on the pieces. I can give prices upon request via email.

“The Matriarch” 46″X62″ framed dimensions – oil on board Sold

“Savannah Gold” 40″X70″ framed dimensions – oil on canvas (Please disregard the cardboard corner protectors on the bottom of the frame)
“Ring Billed Gull” 23.5″X35.5″ framed dimensions – oil on canvas

“Low Tide” 48.5″X60.5″ framed dimensions

“Bedding Down – Bison” 35.5″X45.5″ framed dimensions – oil on canvas
“Feathers and Light – Ring Billed Gull” 27″X33″ framed dimensions –  watercolor on paper

The Painting That Inspired Brother Bear

This was an oil painting I did back in 1994 after returning from my first painting trip to Alaska. I used this painting as part of my pitch to get the job making Brother Bear. It’s called "Spring Runoff" 30"X48" oil on canvas

“Spring Runoff” oil on canvas 30″X48″

The first thing to do when beginning any animated scene is to thumbnail. Thumbnailing is to do little drawings exploring the posing and acting of a character in a scene. Here are some from early in my career.

In the movie Beauty and the Beast one of the sequences I animated was Beast in front of the fireplace having been wounded by the wolves. Belle is trying to clean his wounds and they get into a fight. I spent three weeks figuring out the sequence before doing any animation. I did piles and piles of thumbnails working closely with Glen Keane.

Continue reading The first thing to do when beginning any animated scene is to thumbnail. Thumbnailing is to do little drawings exploring the posing and acting of a character in a scene. Here are some from early in my career.

Old Animation Design Drawings

In packing my home, I’ve come across some old animation design drawings I’ve done over the years. These particular drawings are from Aladdin, The Lion King, Mulan, and Brother Bear

These are a few life drawings I did of tigers in preparation for creating Rajah from Aladdin

The next few were from early in the design process

Here is where I finally hit the design that ended up in the film.

These are few life drawings I did from lions that were brought into the studio at the beginning of production on The Lion King

These next few sets of drawings I did were from the design process of creating Young Nala

These drawings are from creating the Ancestral Ghosts from Mulan

These were little pen and marker thumb-nails I created in trying to find different compositions for a mountain climbing scene in Brother Bear.

The Legend of Tembo – Here are some concept paintings and character designs I created during the Development of The Legend of Tembo

These images are from a film I was co-directing called “The Legend of Tembo”. I am always deeply involved in the design of the films I am directing. I try to create the images that I am trying to explain to people on the crew. I feel it is much better to show than to explain. It gives a clearer picture to the Art Director, modelers, lighters, and animators. This cuts down tremendously on the number of iterations needed to achieve whatever it is we are shooting for this in turn eases the impact on the budget of the film.

Legend of Tembo Pencil Test

Here is a pencil test I did early in the development of “The Legend of Tembo”. I wanted the riggers and animators to see what I had in my head as far as movement and personality for young Tembo: