15 Things I Learned From Andreas Deja

Another workshop I attended at the 2011 CTN Animation Expo was the Creator Conversation with Andreas Deja, legendary Disney artist who worked on such films as: The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Lilo & Stitch, Hercules, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and more- IMDB).

From CTN’s website:
Deja is best known as the supervising animator of some of the most memorable Disney villains: Gaston from Beauty and the Beast, Jafar in Aladdin and Scar from The Lion King. He also animated Roger Rabbit from Who Framed Roger Rabbit, King Triton from The Little Mermaid, the title character from Hercules, Lilo from Lilo & Stitch, and Queen Narissa from Enchanted. In addition, he is the current resident specialist for the animation of Mickey Mouse.

As a key player during Disney’s “Second Golden Era” and beyond, Deja shared with us from his incredible experience and insight into hand-drawn animation.

The nature of the Creator Conversations is casual, random and in a Q&A format. There were many different topics covered but here are a few key categories that I tuned into during the back-and-forth discussion. These are not all word-for-word quotes or full descriptions, but the general idea of what he was saying.

ON HAND DRAWN VERSUS CG

(His thoughts completely tracked with 2 other CTNx workshops I attended led by Marcelo Vignali and Mike Nguyen (1988 CalArts Grad, Iron Giant, Beauty and the Beast- IMDB)

• Walt Disney always added on. He never killed old mediums.
• I loved Toy Story…but I’m inspired by Jungle Book.
• There is a level of polish on some CG films that takes away from the artists touch. The slicker it looks the less I like it.
• I want to see the artists hand on the screen. I want it to be personal.
• I had a Maya tutor for 2 weeks…but this is for other people to do.

IMPORTANCE OF THUMB-NAILING

• Thumb all possibilities.
• Thumb-nailing takes the most thought and energy.
• Thumbs must convince you it will work.
• Thumbs shouldn’t be any bigger than an orange.

DEVELOPING THE ARTIST WITHIN

• Never be satisfied with yourself. Never stop growing as an artist.

DISNEY FACTOIDS

• Lilo doesn’t have teeth. There are a few scenes where she has to show them, but for most of the movie she has no teeth.
• Disney only has a few scenes of rough animation from the old classics…which is tragic. They mostly kept clean ups.
• Everything on the Deja View blog is pretty much borrowed from Disney.
• Jafar was eccentric AND subtle. Physical and still. Subtleties and holding him back is what made it work.
• A key scene in Lilo was cut. She made up a sad song that really was about her self. It was cut from the film, but it’s on the bonus disc. The same thing happened with Winnie the Pooh recently. Sometimes budget or executive decisions win out over story.

Deja left Disney in January 2011 to venture out on his own as an indie animator/producer. Be sure to check out his inspirational blog Deja View.