The Art of Disney’s Dragons

Throughout time and across cultures, dragons have existed as part of our collective imagination, breathing fire, guarding treasure, and embodying magic. Some are evil, some are kind, and all are fascinating. The Walt Disney Company has had a long-standing fascination with dragons, and this book, conceived as a sketchbook handed down through generations of Disney artists, chronicles the impact that dragons have had on Disney films, parks, and resorts. Inside these pages are the bold storyboards of Sleeping Beauty''s Maleficent, color concepts of Epcot''s Figment (who was green before he became purple ), and playful studies of Mulan''s Mushu. The illustrators are a wide variety of animators, live-action studio artists, and Imagineers, including Tim Burton, Rolly Crump, Marc Davis, Eric Goldberg, Bill Justice, John Hench, Joe Rohde, Chuck Ballew, and more. Tom Bancroft, who has worked in animation for more than twenty-five years, offers memories and insights from his tenure as Mushu''s lead animator, during which he character designed, and later refined, the look of Mulan''s feisty little dragon.

Tom Bancroft has over 25 years of experience in the animation industry, most of which was for Walt Disney Feature animation where he was an animator for 11 years. He has been nominated for Annie and Rueben awards. At Disney, Bancroft had the opportunity to animate on 10 animated feature films, 5 animated shorts, and numerous commercials. Some of the films include, Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Aladdin, and Mulan. Bancroft was also a character designer and director for Big Idea Productions. His popular character design book, Creating Characters with Personality is used by art schools all over the world. Additionally, Bancroft has illustrated over 50 children’s books.

The illustrators in this volume were all Disney artists at the time of their work on Disney animation, live-action films with special effects, or park attractions. Each piece of art will be credited in an end notes section, including names such as Tom Bancroft, Tim Burton, Rolly Crump, Marc Davis, Eric Goldberg, Bill Justice, John Hench, and many more.