rapunzel heads

I was cleaning my studio last weekend (it was extremely overdue) and I found these in a box in a pile of other drawings!  They are from my Disney internship days, when I did a little bit of work on Rapunzel (it was still called Rapunzel instead of Tangled then...that's how long ago it was).  Some (ok, MANY...alright MOST) of these look kinda oofy to me now, but they are an example of what character design is all about: just messing around with shapes.  Kinda fun still!

 These, like all the work that I did at Disney, only exist on paper.  The hard drive I had saved my work on crashed forever go and I have yet to get around to getting the data recovered.  WHO KNOWS what other priceless gems are hidden away in the deep recesses of my ancient hard drive???  

perfect princess day

The e-book (that's electronic book) that I did for JibJab Jr. is now available!  It's specifically designed for the iPad (which I guess technically makes it an ibook, too?), and like JibJab's most well known internet goodies, it has a special customization aspect to it: you can insert your little darling's FACE right into the picture!

Or your own face, I suppose.  

This is really only a tiny selection of the final illustrations...there are 22 pages of girly goodness in all.  

Here are a few pages from Perfect Princess Day:

This book has lots and LOTS of animation in it!  All kinds of stuff moves!  I didn't animate it though.  Some talented cats over at JibJab did.  

Because it was meant to be animated, and I knew that someone was going to rummaging through my photoshop files (which usually never ever happens in illustration), it was super important to keep all the layers organized and labeled and separated.  Which was extremely time-consuming, but also absolutely necessary.

Another thing unique to this project was the whole insert-your-face-here idea.  It took me a while to adjust my brain to the concept that there would be, and there was meant to be, a photographic face in the midst of my illustration.  I know it doesn't seem like a big deal but I was trippin', regardless.  That grey void is where your face is supposed to be.  

Considering the animation aspect was a new thing, too!  Although my background is in animation I honestly hadn't thought much about it in...well, a long time.  Setting things up and allowing room for limbs and wings and faces to move around was a (kind of) new experience.  

I had the chance to imagine my own versions of the classic princesses: Cinderella, Snow White, Rapunzel and Sleeping Beauty.  That was fun!  Because the photo head would inevitably be a child's, I wanted to keep the body proportions child like so it wouldn't be like, a baby head on a grown up lady's body.  Ick. The rest of the princesses are ageless but very young versions of themselves as well.  Also, I took every opportunity possible to make Sleeping Beauty asleep.  Lazy girl.  

Oh yeah, and I got to draw fairies, too!

What does it look like animated, you say?  Here are some clips from JibJab Jr.'s Vimeo:

Perfect Princess Day - Page 18 from JibJab Jr. on Vimeo.

There are  more clips on their channel, too!

You can get the JibJab Jr. app and this book from the iPad Book Store!  Oh yeah, and you have to have an iPad to read it.  (I don't have one either.)