If you know Hercules, you know Pegasus. In Disney’s famous Hercules, Pegasus is the iconic sidekick and best friend that is always by the hero’s side. Pegasus grows up with Hercules and develops his own character and attitude just like Herc! I did this sketch to illustrate this characters growth into his own personality.
I love the song “Lighthouse,” by Rend Collective. It’s beat, lyrics and incredible message. Lighthouses may be one of my favorite elements of architecture, for their unique architecture and purpose. I often talk about how much I love to draw. And if I don’t say it enough, I love to draw!! I love art in any way shape or form. It’s so compelling, moving our hearts and spirits through stories exhibited in each piece of art. But I have to gives thanks to The Maker, for giving me my love for and ability to draw and create art. Through His hands all things are beautiful, and I want to ring Him praise withheld abilities He gave me. This image has been impressed in my imagination for a while, because I’ve been wanting to start painting and drawing lighthouses. I decided to try something very difficult with this one. I wanted to work on my knowledge of perspectives, nature, movement and forms but have no reference other than my imagination. I didn’t use an existing lighthouse or visual of the sea, just let my hand draw. Here’s my first lighthouse!
…it was all started by a mouse.
Steamboat Willie and the iconic scene for which Mickey Mouse is known. This sketch is about understanding the scene in full, it’s not enough to just depict Mickey.
Process is very important to me as the means of visual development, so I’ve attached process pictures of my sketch.
I asked myself 2 questions before I began this sketch:
1. Can I sketch a detailed and quality illustration without taking hours of meticulous sketching and obsession to fine details? I want to capture the pure essence of an image for the purpose of quality illustration, not representation of detail.
2. Can I sketch an illustration that breaks me out of the mold of sketching “known” scenes and layouts?
The answer, this sketch…and hopefully I was successful! I am an admirer of the tag line from Up, “Adventure is Out There.” To me, that phrase directs me to Disney, where adventures are found and dreams can come true. That is what led me to Cinderella’s Castle. Carl’s house floated over Paradise Falls because that was his dream of adventure. My dream of adventure is to one day work for Disney as an artist, so I sketched the iconic house with balloons floating over Cinderlla’s Castle!
These minor characters make a big scene in Disney’s The Jungle Book. Their appearance and personality are hard to forget!
I chose the sketch these characters because I am trying to get away from the orthogonal drafting that I do in architecture. I want to keep my pencil looser and be able to sketch expressive characters!
Balancing architecture and animation as Peter Pan flies past Big Ben, this sketch aims to show this illustrative contrast. It’s incredible how Disney can incorporate two contrasting subjects (orthogonal crisp real-world architecture and the softness of Disney animation) into one beautiful story layout. Therefore the sketch is simple, composed of lines and shading, but the style of sketching purposefully represents the contrast between the architecture and animation.
A quick 15 minute sketch of Todd and Copper from Disney’s Fox and the Hound, capturing the beginning of a great friendship.
Maybe one of my favorite love stories that Disney has made…
…WALL-e using the fire extinguisher so he can fly with Eve. Since I drew them separately, I wanted to do a drawing of them interacting and hopefully capture that interaction.
A 20 minute sketch on a post-it note.
The White Rabbit is know for his race against the clock. Thus, I combined this sketch with an image overlay of my hand sketching the drawing at various moments. I wanted to try a new means of representation; sketching is beautiful in its purest form but it can also be enhanced by combining it with other art forms. I wanted to explore this and try something new. The white rabbit is representative of time, and so is the composition of this final piece.
I chose the sketch three Disney Castles; Prince Eric’s Castle from The Little Mermaid, the Sultan’s Palace from Aladdin, and Prince Ferdinand’s Castle in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Sketching not only tells a story but reveals one…
The beauty in each of these castles is far greater than their architecture alone. Each castle speaks to the princess it represents, via character ornamentation and grandeur. Beautiful! So the style is indicative of the princess and also the time in which the movie was filmed. And that is why I love viewing these three sketches together as a whole. From an animation standpoint, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was the first animated feature produced by Disney. It is evident how the evolution in animation has enhanced the level of detail found in these castles. Aladdin and The Little Mermaid were released in the 90s, and it is apparent that, along with the movies as a whole, the Castles have become more detailed in their design.
I love sketching these three castles, to represent their respective princesses and the time of animation.
Megan Carpenter 