Category: Animation Archives

Items we LOVE for Artists – 2025 Update

With VALENTINE’S DAY right around the corner we thought it might be fun to share some Gift Ideas for Artists that may be special to you!

❤️ Great Gifts for Artists!

Explore our gift ideas and find the perfect match for the artist in your life!

Memberships & Classes from Creature Art Teacher!

There’s no better gift than the gift of learning. Give your loved ones the opportunity to explore their creativity and improve their skills.

 Scroll Down For Gift Ideas!   

+ USE CODE: “ArtLove” for an Extra 35% OFF Your Order!*

FTC: This post contains affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site at no additional cost to you.

Digital & Traditional Art Supplies:

Artists tools Used & Recommended by Aaron Blaise!


Wacom One (2023)

Wacom One (2023)


iPad Pro 13 inch (M4)

iPad Pro 13″ (M4)


Mitsubishi Pencil

Mitsubishi Hi-Uni 10B Pencils


Artie by Lilorosh

Signature Series Watercolor Books by Lilorosh


Olo Markers

Olo Markers


Artie by Lilorosh

Artie by Lilorosh


Sakura .08 White Gel Pen (Box of 12)

Sakura .08 White Gel Pen (Box of 12)


Kuretake Bimoji Brush Pen

Kuretake Bimoji Brush Pen


Winsor & Newton Cotman Watercolor Field Paint Set

Winsor & Newton Cotman
Watercolor Field Paint Set


Arches Watercolor Block 20 Sheets (11 x 14)

Arches Watercolor Block
20 Sheets (11″ x 14″)


Strathmore 400 Series Toned Gray (9 x 12)

Strathmore 400 Series
Toned Gray (9″ x 12″)

Recommended Books For Artists:

Animation Books, Anatomy Reference & More!


The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation

The Illusion of Life:
Disney Animation


The Animator's Survival Kit

The Animator’s Survival Kit


Nat Geo

National Geographic: 125 Years


Disney Archives

Animals Real and Imagined


Animals Real and Imagined

Animals Real and Imagined


Science of Creature Design

Science of Creature Design


Principles of Creature Design

Principles of Creature Design


In Danger

In Danger


Anatomy Drawing School: Human & Animal

Anatomy Drawing School:
Human & Animal


Bird Anatomy for Artists

Bird Anatomy for Artists


Rainbook

Rainbook


Animals in Motion

Animals in Motion


William D Berry: 1954-1956 Alaskan Field Sketches

William D Berry: 1954-1956
Alaskan Field Sketches


Movement & Form

Movement & Form


NOTE: If posted, all prices, ratings and deals are as of time of publication and subject to change.

Prime Day Deals for Artists

It’s PRIME DAY 2024 so we thought we would share some Best Deals for Artists that we could find!

Great Deals for Artists!

Explore our gift ideas and find the perfect match for the artist in your life!

Memberships & Classes from Creature Art Teacher!

There’s no better gift than the gift of learning. Give your loved ones the opportunity to explore their creativity and improve their skills.

 Scroll Down For Gift Ideas!   

+ USE CODE: “PRIME40” for an Extra 40% OFF Your Order!*

FTC: This post contains affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site at no additional cost to you.
All Prices & Discounts Listed are Accurate of Posting But are Subject to Change. 

Software Deals:

These are the BEST Software Deals for Artist


Adobe Creative Cloud

40% OFF 1 Year of Adobe Creative Cloud


Clip Studio Paint

50% OFF Clip Studio Paint EX

Digital & Traditional Art Supplies:

Artists tools Used & Recommended by Aaron Blaise!


Wacom One (2023)

Wacom One 12″ (2023)


Wacom One (2019)

41% OFF Wacom One 13.3″ (2019 Pen Included)


iPad 10th Gen

$50 OFF 10.9” iPad (10th Generation)


iPad Mini 6th Gen

24% OFF iPad Mini (+Extra $20 Coupon)


Cintiq 22

$300 OFF Wacom 22″ Cintiq


Wacom 16

23% OFF Wacom Cintiq 16


Prismacolor Pencils

29% OFF 150pc Prismacolor Colored Pencils


Sakura .08 White Gel Pen (Box of 12)

5% Coupon Sakura .08 White Gel Pen (Box of 12)


Micron Pens

43% OFF Micron Fineliner Pens


Acid Free Sketch Pad

56% OFFAcid Free Sketch Book
100 Sheets


Animation Paper

20% OFF Animation Paper
200 Sheets


Amazon Basics Watercolor

25% OFF Watercolor Paper
Amazon Basics (9″ x 12″ 30 Sheets)


Amazon Watercolor Set

31% OFF Amazon Basics Watercolor
Paint Set Tubes, 24 Colors


LED Light Table

38% OFF LED Light Table
(+10% Extra Coupon)

Recommended Books For Artists:

Animation Books, Anatomy Reference & More!


The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation

28% OFF The Illusion of Life:
Disney Animation


The Animator's Survival Kit

47% OFF The Animator’s Survival Kit (Paperback 2012)


Animals Real and Imagined

22% OFF Animals Real and Imagined (Paperback)


Science of Creature Design

50% OFF Science of Creature Design (Hardcover)


Principles of Creature Design

33% OFF Principles of Creature Design (Paperback)


James Gurney Art

49% OFF Imaginative Realism:
How to Paint What Doesn’t Exist


James Gurney Color and Light

45% OFF Color and Light:
A Guide for the Realist Painter (Volume 2)


NOTE: If posted, all prices, ratings and deals are as of time of publication and subject to change.

My Studio Tour

Studio Tour with Aaron Blaise
+ $10 Class Sale

Ends November: 14th

🎁 Limited Time! Use Code: ANIMATION-SAVE at checkout and get any Single Animation Class  for $10
Click Here to View More Animation & Art Lessons for 40% OFF

Watch The video above to see a studio tour by animator & director, Aaron Blaise. Watch as he shows you his recent art as well as some gems from his time at Walt Disney Feature Animation.

Also, look below for more of his classes on sale.

Get ANY Single Animation Course for $10!*

We have over 600 hours of Animation & Art lessons.

PLUS, if you use code: “ANIMATION-SAVE” At checkout you can get any single animation tutorial for Just $10.

*$10 Course Promotion Ends November 14th, 2022.

We offer 3 Great Ways to Learn! First, you can purchase any ART LESSONS a la carte. Or you can become a Monthly Streaming Member and get immediate access to over 600 hours of art lessons that you can stream on your computer, phone, tablet or SmartTV. Finally, you can become an ANNUAL MEMBER and get hundreds of hours of video lessons to keep and download.

Lesson Previews:

The videos below are selected lessons from various courses.
These represent just a small portion of the 550+ hours of animation lessons, art tutorials and more available with our membership plans.

Get Immediate Access to All this Great Content + More!

“I was trained by Aaron Blaise. Aaron is Awesome!”

– Byron Howard (Director: “Zootopia”, “Tangled”, “Bolt”)

European Tour 2022 – Events Calendar

I am very excited to announce that I will be attending a number of in-person workshops & events in the Spring of 2022!

I will be visiting The Netherlands, Austria, Germany & Belgium!

If you would like to attend any of these events please click the images below to be linked directly to their respective sign-up pages.
Hurry, because some of these events are extremely limited capacity!

ALL EVENTS ARE SOLD OUT.

SOLD OUT! April 21st-22nd: The Art Department: Eindhoven

 

 

Description: This is a 2 Day fest on concept art, design and craftmanship in film, animation and games will take place again in the industrial venue Klokgebouw. In addition to myself, there are tons of events including a screening of “Wolfwalkers” with director Tomm More!

Location: Klokgebouw Eindhoven (NL)

Get Tickets
Learn More

SOLD OUT! April 24th-25th: Two Day Animal Drawing Workshop | Graz, Austria

 

 

Description: I will be teaching two full days of animal drawing. The first day will be in the studio where I go over my approach & we draw together. On the second day we will go to the Herberstein Zoo and apply what we learn. I will be there drawing with you and providing feedback!

Location: Graz, Austria

Get Tickets
Learn More

SOLD OUT! April 30th – May 1st: Two Day “Character Design in Animation” Workshop | Amsterdam

 

 

Description: Join a 2 day intensive workshop in which you can pick the brains of an artist that worked on some of Disney’s most loved animations such as Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, Pocahontas, Brother Bear and Mulan, among others.

Location: Amsterdam, A-Lab

SOLD OUT! Get Tickets
Learn More

SOLD OUT! May 12th – May 13th: Two Day “Character Design in Animation” Workshop | Berlin

 

 

Description: Join a 2 day intensive workshop in which you can pick the brains of an artist that worked on some of Disney’s most loved animations such as Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, Pocahontas, Brother Bear and Mulan, among others.

Location: Drink and Draw Berlin

SOLD OUT! Get Tickets
Learn More

SOLD OUT! May 14th – May 15th: The Art Department: Berlin

 

 

Description: This is a 2 Day fest on concept art, design and craftmanship in film, animation and games will take place again in the industrial venue Klokgebouw. In addition to myself, there will be tons of events with dozens of professional artist from the game and film industries.

Location: Drink and Draw Berlin

Get Tickets
Learn More

Miss Violet Hand Drawn Animation

This is a little bit of animation that I did a little while back. Miss Violet is based on my old dog. She was such a sweetheart and so much fun. This story was developed by myself along with the incredible Vedanta Sproston and my business partner, Nick Burch. I had so much fun putting this together. I hope you enjoy it.

The plan is to fo more of these in the near future.
Continue reading Miss Violet Hand Drawn Animation

Wolfwalkers Early Design Work

Hopefully by now you have had a chance to check out the amazing, award winning film Wolfwalkers directed by Tom Moore and Ross Stewart.
If not I encourage you to stop reading this and go watch it! (I’ve embedded the trailer below)It’s available on AppleTV+ which you can get on pretty much any streaming device with a free trial.

It was developed by the amazing team at Cartoon Saloon over in Kilkenny, Ireland whom I was fortunate enough to get to visit in 2019 on one of my last international trips before the pandemic. While I was there I was working with the team doing some animation demos & lectures and I was treated to a behind the scenes look at the progress of the film. It wasn’t finished yet but it was clear already that it was going to be something very special.

Myself & Nick Burch with Tomm Moore and some of the Cartoon Saloon Crew in Kilkenny, Ireland. 

My history with Wolfwalkers goes back a little further than that though.  In 2017 the team at Cartoon Saloon reached out to me to get some tips on wolf animation and design. At the time I provided a few small demos for them and some wolf illustration ideas.  From there it evolved into them wanting to see some takes on how I would approach designing the two main characters of Mebh & Robyn in their wolf forms.  I was sent an early draft of the script and had a go at some designs.These were just meant for exploration. The model sheets were my attempt to find a middle ground between the flat graphic design of the film and a more 3 dimensional look. I was trying to strike a balance between a more “realistic” wolf and the beautiful 2D style that Cartoon Saloon is known for.  I’m glad they stuck with the more graphic look.  Ultimately, I think the final look of the characters in the film are much stronger than these early concepts but I wanted to share them with you. In the end, I was only on the project for a few days but it was great fun and I was happy to help.

 

Flash forward to December 2020 and my jaw hit the floor after watching the film. Both because of how beautiful of a movie it was but also I was shocked to see my name listed in the credits. There I am under the Visual Development/Concept Design section. This is a huge honor and a was a truly unexpected surprise. Most people don’t realize that simply doing work on a film does not guarantee you will get a credit. Film credits are not handed out like candy. Typically it is a negotiated part of a contract and requires some substantial contribution. In my case I did not request a credit and certainly didn’t expect one.

So a HUGE THANK YOU goes out to the directors  and to everyone at Cartoon Saloon for producing such a beautiful film and for allowing me to have be connected with it in anyway. Now go watch the movie already!

Lightbox 2020 Event Replays!

Well, Lightbox 2020 was a huge success but has now come to a close.
Below you can find replays of each of the four workshops I did over the weekend! You can also view SIX New prints that are now available and never before published online!

Show Exclusive Prints:

Special for Lightbox, I have released these prints for the first time ever online.
Some are Signed & Numbered

My Lightbox Event Schedule: (Replay Videos)

PAST EVENTS:

  • MY APPROACH TO ANIMAL CHARACTER DESIGN

    Friday 1:00 pm – Friday 3:00 pm EST (GMT -4)

    Presenter(s): Aaron Blaise

    Watch as Aaron shares his approach to design believable and lovable animal characters!

    WATCH THE REPLAY HERE

  • ANIMATING 4 LEG LOCOMOTION

    Saturday 1:00 pm – Saturday 2:30 pm EST (GMT -4)

    Presenter(s): Aaron Blaise

    Animator and Director, Aaron Blaise walks you through his approach to how to animate 4 legged animals. He explains his thought process and animates for you in Real Time!

    WATCH THE REPLAY HERE

  • THE ANIMALS OF YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK

    Sunday 3:00 pm – Sunday 4:00 pm EST (GMT -4)

    Presenter(s): Aaron Blaise, Manny Carrasco

    Join Aaron and Manny as they recap a recent Camp and Draw trip to Yellowstone. Learn about some of the parks’ wildlife, get some sketching tips and a listen to a few hilarious stories about a group of artists seeking adventure in Montana.

    WATCH THE REPLAY HERE

  • USING PHOTOGRAPHIC TEXTURES IN DIGITAL CHARACTER RENDERING

    Sunday 4:30 pm – Sunday 6:30 pm EST (GMT -4)

    Presenter(s): Aaron Blaise

    Aaron Blaise (Brother Bear, Aladdin, The Lion King) is a world renowned digital artist. Watch as he shows you his tips & tricks for digital drawing that looks like a frame of a finished film!

    WATCH THE REPLAY HERE

 

 

Hippo Dance!!

Well due to my busy workshop and speaking schedule lately this has been a while coming but, I am glad to report that my “Hippo Funk” Animation is now complete. This was great fun to put together and work on over the past few weeks.

I’m going to be breaking this animation down for an upcoming “How to Animate to Music” video lesson. Also, this hippo guy will be return in my Character Design Course that I’ll be releasing soon.

I also have plans to release this animation for other uses so that artists and musicians can set it to their own music… But more on that soon. In the meantime, ENJOY!

Interested in Digital Art & Animation Instruction? I offer a line of tutorials, videos and lessons. CLICK HERE to Learn More.

 

Cecil The Lion Portrait & Time Lapse Video

UPDATED BELOW – PRINTS NOW AVAILABLE

Like many people around the world, I was extremely moved by the recent tragedy surrounding the hunting and killing of the beloved lion know as Cecil. (Read More) – As you may be able to tell I am a HUGE animal lover and it drives me crazy when I see these beautiful creatures destroyed for no good reason. In fact, I’ve decided to get personally involved and hopefully our efforts can help educate people and prevent these horrible things from happening in the future.

As some of you may also know I was one of the animators on “The Lion King” – When I heard the news about Cecil I got inspired to create a tribute image. It’s not much but hopefully it will make people think.

aaron-blaise-cecil-the-lion-king

I also created a time lapse video of the creation of this image which you can see below:

Continue reading Cecil The Lion Portrait & Time Lapse Video

Disney Animators Share Artistic Advice

Recently I was invited up to Nashville, TN to attend the second annual “Taught By A Pro Weekend” which was presented by TaughtByAPro.com – While there I got an opportunity to give a lecture, do some demos and speak with my good friends and amazing animators Tom Bancroft (Mushu from “Mulan”) and Eric Goldberg (Creator of the Genie from “Aladdin” and co-director of “Pocahontas”).

I had a brief chance to sit down with them and record some of their insights and wanted to share them with you. Enjoy! Continue reading Disney Animators Share Artistic Advice