They Drew as They Pleased: The Hidden Art of Disney's Golden Age: The 1930s

A very reasonably-priced book, very knowlegebly written by the author of a series of books called Walt's People.As in those books, Mr. Ghez has highlighted the significant contributions made by people who worked for Walt Disney but who usually get only a passing mention in other books about the studio.Here, he takes as his subject, four amazingly imaginative and gifted artists: Albert Hurter, Ferdinand Horvath, Gustaf Tenggren and Bianca Majolie.In the case of the first three artists, they brought a European sensibility to the styling, design and content of the first four feature films: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, Bambi and Fantasia. Bianca Majolie made a significant contribution to the film, Fantasia and was the first woman to be promoted into what had been a male-dominated job.For anybody interested in film art direction and design, this is a marvellous book, lavishly illustrated with the four artists work. It is plain that they heavily influenced the making of four masterpieces in the history of animation.

Didier Ghez knows his Disney history – and he his knows his Disney fans! In this book he has given them –– us! –– a richly rewarding visual feast! There are many reasons why the feature-length animated films of Disney's 'Golden Age' became the classics we now hold them to be: the crafted storytelling, the characterisations, the backgrounds, the use of colour and special effects, the music, sound and vocal cast. BUT before all those came together, there was the gloriously imaginative work of the concept artists who were permitted to "draw as they pleased" and, in so doing, help create the characters and environments that would shape the finished film.This book – a fantastic testimony to the work of those artists – is a treasury of amazing imaginative art coupled with a intelligent, informative text. It is not an art book to flick through, it's a volume to pore over again and again...Put in on your Christmas wish-list and trust to the generosity of Santa Claus!!

Gift recipient was over the moon with the book.

Love this book and go back to it often with grandchildren. Great to have them all sitting drawing.

It's all' perfect

Lovely book

A really interesting book and it details information about some of the early Disney artists' work. However, I did expect a bit more pictures and would have liked to have seen more about Snow White. Still, a very interesting read.

great

Ouvrage magnifique, avec notamment de nombreux croquis d'Albert Hurter et Gustaf Tenggren.

Alle 6 (!!!) Bücher der Reihe sind eine wahre Fundgrube für bisher kaum oder gar nicht veröffentlichte Zeichnungen und Bilder. Dabei stehen die Künstler, ihre Arbeit und ihre Werke im Mittelpunkt. Es wird vor allem "concept art" dargestellt, nicht Abdrucke aus den Filmen oder Kurzfilmen.Man könnte dies auch als eine Art "Kunstgeschichte der Disney Studios" (in englischer Sprache) verstehen, die die Kunst nach den schöpferischen Künstlern ordnet. So wie z. B. auch das Buch zu den "Nine Old Men". Manchmal könnten die Abbildungen gerne größer sein, aber dann wären die Bücher auch größer und vor allem teurer. Zusammen mit z.B. dem Großband von Taschen zum Disney-Archiv hat man dann eine wirklich gute Disney-Kunstbuchamlung, die auch verdeutlicht, dass Walt Disney ohne seine großartigen Künstler (die er gnadenlos ausbeutete) ein Niemand geblieben wäre...

Primo di una serie di sei volumi riccamente illustrati e con un'ottima qualità di stampa, questi libri (che consiglio a tutti gli appassionati di storia del cinema di animazione) raccontano l'evoluzione stilistico/artistica del cinema disneyano attraverso i decenni. Ogni capitolo è dedicato ad un artista che ha saputo più di tutti impostare lo stile grafico e le atmosfere dei tanti e noti capolavori Disney. L'arte nascosta dei creativi (illustratori, concept e character designer che per anni hanno lavorato dietro le quinte sfornando idee a ciclo continuo) fa riferimento a quella fase preliminare di studio di un film a disegni animati nella quale si raccoglie una serie notevole di proposte e idee riguardo a personaggi, situazioni, gag, ambientazioni, colori, ecc. Queste vengono poi visionate e analizzate, vagliate e, in certi casi, scartate prima di giungere alle fasi successive di sviluppo e realizzazione definitive.

Aunque ha tardado mucho en llegar merece la pena, muy buen libro con magníficas ilustraciones, muy completo y gran formato.

Great price! Instead of selling them doubled in stores! <3 Also great collection of past work <3