I found a gem at a recent library book sale in my area. The Story of Walt Disney by Diane Disney Miller (Walt Disney’s daughter). It’s a biography up through 1957, which is when the book was published.
Much of the book is quotes from Walt Disney himself about his work. Lots of great quotes, like one where we are told that Disney abhorred the mindset of, “It was a success, so let’s do it again.” Great!
Animators or animation lovers will find much of the book interesting, as several times we get descriptions of the evolution of animation from Disney’s own lips, including a complicated (and somewhat confusing) section about the method he devised to create his first cartoon with sound.
If you can find a copy of this out-of-print book, I highly recommend it. If you can’t… That brings me to the second part of this post.
Before I read The Story of Walt Disney, I had picked up a few books on the art of some Pixar films from my library. More great stuff. Each book is full of concept art, story designs, and comments from the artists.
So far I’ve enjoyed looking at the art from The Incredibles, Cars, and Ratatouille. Each one has been a gold mine of inspiration, and I’m planning on checking out the rest of the series.
One more thing. I was on Amazon today, adding the art of Pixar books to my library list. Then I noticed what looks to be another gem:
I haven’t gotten this one yet, but it’s on my list now! Plus, this seems to be a series, with a new installment coming in December.