Saturday, January 5, 2013

Who Gets Stuck With All The Bad Luck...

©Disney (via http://protagonist.wikia.com/)

...Usually it's Donald Duck. However this lucky duck just scored some awesome! The week before Christmas my mom and I on a whim decided to poke our noses in to one of her favorite antique shops downtown– the place is a hoarders candy land! At any rate it's loaded with ALL kinds of collectibles and memorabilia from a bygone era. You can find anything from authentic Old West tools and architectural pieces to 1950's era cheap Hollywood "Old West" knock off props. They have a few merchandising pieces from the Walt Disney Co. in there from time to time so I went in with a mission.

"Donald Duck" Illustrated by the Staff of the Walt Disney Studios, 1936 1st edition, (photo ©The Backyard Imagineer)

There were a few items that didn't impress me much (like that Mickey Mouse rotary phone where Mickey holds the receiver– do any of you 20 somethings even know what a rotary is?!?), but as I was flipping through a stack of old books crowded into a corner of a back room I came across a little gem. A book with "donald duck" emblazoned on the cover! Obviously dated, worn, and loved there also is the name Kratz written in marker above the title. The two things on the cover that grabbed my attention before I even opened it though was that Donald's hands were still illustrated in the style when they were wings and feathers before he had been given actual hands and fingers. The other part was the text at the bottom which read "Illustrated by the staff of the Walt Disney Studios." This to me said RARE, and OLD.

from Mickey's Polo Team, 1936 ©Disney (via http://www.disneyfilmproject.com/)
from Mickey's Polo Team, 1936 ©Disney (via http://www.wearysloth.com/)

I proceeded to gingerly open the cover, written on the inside flap in pencil above a page of wonderful illustrations of the Duck in question was "1936 First Ed. $8.00"; I knew this was rare. The next page over had a child's obvious doodles in pencil and the title page was torn, but I didn't care... this was a piece not produced by the Walt Disney® conglomerate we are familiar with today, this was a piece produced by Uncle Walt's very own staff at the studios. 1936 was the first year Donald appeared in animation alongside Goofy and Mickey in Mickey's Polo Team; Disney began work on his ground breaking Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1936. This was smack in the middle of the time that Disney Studios was producing their Silly Symphonies cartoons. This was a piece of history from a company that has captured my attention and imagination since before I knew what a "company" was.

from Donald Duck, 1936 © Disney  (photo © The Backyard Imagineer)

Well, Christmas happened and I set it down and forgot about it until the other day. I saw it laying there and decided to do a little research (Google of course) and discovered that it's actually very rare, as well as being sold upwards to $350! Not bad for an $8 purchase!! I got it because it is a piece of history that I care about though, not because I was looking to make some bucks off of the Duck. I'm really excited to add this to my collection, and wanted to share a little piece of history with you all.

Monday, December 31, 2012

Profiles in Backyard Imagineering: Tours Departing Daily

The Beauty of Christmas by Matthew Hansen, © Tours Departing Daily (www.toursdepartingdaily.com)

 
Part of what makes being a Backyard Imagineer exciting is seeing what other people who share similar interests are doing creatively. I want to share the work that these people are doing because... well let's just say if Tinkerbell sneezed on me while I looked at their work I'd probably start to fly ha ha; they make me think happy thoughts. The primary theme in Seth Godin's book Tribes: We Need You to lead Us is the notion that people fit themselves into various tribes with like-minded groups of other people, large or small, who are connected to one another, a leader, and an idea. We talk often about what "tribe" we fit in with, and personally, there are several different tribes that I hop around to (call it a strength, or a character flaw depending on your view). One of my tribes is obviously Disneyphiles, and in that tribe there's a little campfire I like to sit at here on The Backyard Imagineer that's tended by Matt, Michaela, and Kevin- those intrepid explorers over at Tours Departing Daily.

Michaela, Matt, and Kevin of Tours Departing Daily, © Tours Departing Daily (www.toursdepartingdaily.com)
 
Any of us that troll the web for Disneyland pictures are very familiar with the various photo ops located all around the Park. We've seen the picture of Sleeping Beauty Castle a MILLION times, we all know what the Mark Twain looks like paddling down the Rivers of America. It's rare however that you see a picture that captures a moment in time that reminds you of when you were last at Disneyland as your brain actually pictures or remembers it; Matt, Michaela, and Kevin have achieved this rare quality with their tripods, HDR cameras, patience and imagination in tow every time they set off for the Park!

The Heart of Fantasyland by Kevin Crone, © Tours Departing Daily  (www.toursdepartingdaily.com)
 
I once commented to Matt that I think they see Disneyland how Walt himself saw it or imagined it to be– and that is a pretty amazing ability! Their pictures tell me how they see the world, and see people– that they see beauty in it, and express that beauty through their pictures. They are, out of their own passion and creativity, telling a story about something that gives them an obviously profound joy. Tours Departing Daily is a love letter of sorts to the Park and I think, hidden somewhere between the lines, to Walt himself.

Pure Admiration by Kevin Crone, © Tours Departing Daily (www.toursdepartingdaily.com)





     
The Bang Over Rainbow Ridge by Michaela Hansen, © Tours Departing Daily (www.toursdepartingdaily.com)

You guys inspire me! Keep the phenomenal work coming... the world is a brighter place for having it! Follow their work at Tours Departing Daily, on Facebook, or on Twitter.


Thursday, December 27, 2012

Castle Storming and other Fine Books...

Eyvind Earle Sleeping Beauty Castle walkthrough concept artwork (http://samlanddisney.blogspot.com/)




 
If you've ever taken the self guided walkthrough tour of Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty Castle you know that it's full of wonderful special effects, a brilliant array of colors, and impressive theatrical elements that totally immerse the guest in the story from the animated film. What's wonderful about this attraction is that while it may not be as verbose as some of it's neighbors within the Park in terms of thrill or shear size (think Matterhorn and Space Mountain), it makes up through various theatrical tricks which envelope you as you pass by each vignette window and peer in to the dioramas. It really is the jewel of the entire Park.


Actual diorama from the Sleeping Beauty Castle walkthrough
Eyvind Earle, who was responsible for the styling, colors, and backgrounds for the animated film Sleeping Beauty, was brought on by Walt Disney to design the dioramas for the actual castle walk through, and you can easily see why. Earle had a distinctive knack for color styling that placed bold color schemes mixed right in with each other.

As I continue to work on my paper model of the castle I wanted to somehow reference the walk through tour because it's such an integral part of the castle itself.  An element that is important to me in referencing the castle and Disneyland itself is the invitation. When you go to the Park you are invited into the story. You suspend your disbelief and allow yourself into a world of adventure, and fantasy. I'm creating my model desiring some of those cues to happen as well.

Narrative book produced by some of the original artists from the animated film.
I decided to reference the walk through in the castle through the title plate for the model. Each diorama in the walk through has a book that tells what is happening in the scene, and is treated with the same aesthetic as in the animated film; these books were made by many of the same artists who worked on the actual film. I am constructing a similar scale model display box that will contain a book/title piece that uses the artwork below that I have created. You'll notice the spinning wheel woven in to the vine pattern under the title (and several hidden Mickey's if you have microscopic eyesight ha ha). The numbers under the shields are the latitude and longitude of the castle itself in Anaheim, California. I'm having a blast with this project and to those whom I've shared it with already seem to get a sense of delight and joy from it so of course I'm happy with it.

The Backyard Imagineer © 2012


Stay tuned for more updates on this project and others I've got cooking!

Sunday, December 16, 2012

Sleeping Beauty Castle Papercraft Model

©The Backyard Imagineer

I began working on this project in late August of 2012. I downloaded the actual paper model from The Disney Experience, then I added a few extras to make it more authentic to the actual castle in Disneyland. The most impressive feature is the LED lights I added on the interior and exterior of the castle numbering 40 total. The torch lights flicker like real flames as well! All the windows have interior lighting as well as the towers with exterior lighting. I added torches flanking the drawbridge as well as a lantern halfway down the tunnel and on the courtyard side.

I created a 2 foot by 2 foot base to house the model in complete with landscaping, and a realistic moat which I created using Envirotex, which is an epoxy resin that dries hard. There are several interactive components I am working in to the piece. First is the castle key- when you push it all the lights come on. Another is if you find the hidden mickey and push it you’ll hear Jiminy Cricket singing When You Wish Upon A Star and the moat will glow. I plan on making a grove of pine trees on the back corners with one that if you push down Tinkerbell will rise out of the castle and glow (still working out the bugs on that one).

Finally, the frame of the box will have 4 pillars at the corner carved in the likeness of squirrels from Disney’s animated Sleeping Beauty. If you’ve ever been through the Sleeping Beauty Castle Walk-through you’ll be familiar with the books that are displayed and lit through the tour that tell the story, I plan on doing something similar on the front of the model with a miniature book with “Sleeping Beauty Castle - Disneyland, USA est. 1955” in the book.

I still have a lot to do, but it’s a labor of love. I want to finish it though because I have several other projects I want to get cooking on!

Stay tuned for updates on the project here on the Backyard Imagineer!

©The Backyard Imagineer
©The Backyard Imagineer
©The Backyard Imagineer


©The Backyard Imagineer


©The Backyard Imagineer


©The Backyard Imagineer
  


©The Backyard Imagineer

Beginnings...

Over the past two or three years I have wrestled through post college struggles with career and income, identity and passion, in the worst economic recession this country (the U.S.A.) has experienced since the Great Depression. As I took my first steps into the sometimes hostile professional world of graphic design what I personally found was a field of creatives who hungered for validation via success. Success was defined by fame, and who you knew, who your clients were, how many followers you had on Twitter, how many friends you had on Facebook, how many likes you had on Dribbble, who you had pictures with on Instagram. Those who possessed such qualities had influence. I suppose it’s the cost of living in the digital age. Personally, while others found it intoxicating, I have found it to be suffocating.

I have been an artist since I could first hold a crayon, and most likely have been a creative since before I had the faculties to express my creativity. I have always known I was a bit different from the other kids growing up. The world always seemed to be so much more rich and colorful to me. I felt that world around me as a kid. It’s probably for that reason I latched on so early to the output of two creatives who saw the world in vastly different ways from most everyone else, ways that resonated with me, that touched my creative sensibilities. Those two men were Jim Henson and Walt Disney.

What I have come to understand about myself in the past 3 years or so was something that I’ve always understood about myself, but never made the connection professionally- I am functioning my best when I am doing what I love and creating things- touching my creative intellect and expressing myself through it, and as a result, delighting others. I recently expressed to a friend of mine that I love delighting people. I love seeing delight on people’s faces from something I made or did for them, that delighting people is very deeply part of my psyche. I like to think that Walt enjoyed what he did for the same reasons. He once said:
“Why do we have to grow up? I know more adults who have the children’s approach to life. They’re people who don’t give a hang what the Joneses do. You see them at Disneyland every time you go there. They are not afraid to be delighted with simple pleasures, and they have a degree of contentment with what life has brought - sometimes it isn’t much, either.”

This statement resonates deeply with me. It is probably the reason why Disneyland is my favorite place on earth to visit. Don’t get me wrong- there are many other places that are more exotic, more grand, more beautiful, and maybe even more interesting than Disneyland. But for me, Disneyland addresses so many ideals that are important to me personally- like joy, and family, childhood, and dreams, wonder, creativity, ingenuity, self-expression, the possibility of the impossible! Something Walt once said that has been a banner of sorts for me since I first read it as a teenager is “Think. Believe. Dream. Dare.”   These four seemingly innocuous words have grown in personal meaning for me over the years, and carry more weight lately.

It is those four words that have inspired this blog, it’s name, and the content and personal projects which I will be posting on it. Imagineering is a phrase, popularized in the 1940’s, Walt used to describe the blending of imagination and engineering, and adopted to describe the skill set embodied by the employees of Walt Disney Imagineering, known as Imagineers. I first saw the term Backyard Imagineer on the blog Imagineering Disney to categorize creatives who were doing their own self-motivated and self-initiated projects relating to the engineering of imagination. As I venture into this new world of Imagineering through my own personal projects I invite you along for the ride with me! I hope you’ll find delight in my musings… thank you for taking the time to do so!