Disney drawings for the spring

In case you couldn’t tell I had a creative outpouring while working on the 720° sequel series. I was doing a ton of reminiscing, and researching on the ‘80s for that project. This meant listening to lots of ‘80s music as well as watching skate videos. Part of that reminded me of one of my favorite eras of Disney character art. New Wave, and punk music were changing the landscape of pop music. These sounds were replacing disco music on the radio. Colorful groups like the Go-Go’s, the Bangles, and acts like Adam Ant, Cindy Lauper, and Boy George shaped fashion trends on top of music. This gave birth to my favorite version of Minnie Mouse, aka Totally Minnie.

Minnie wore disco fashion in the ‘70s, which I didn’t care much for. Prior to that she had her traditional red polka dot dress. Totally Minnie had cute outfits that might be colorful skirts, or pants as well. Which was funny because not too long ago conservative outlets were having an absolute fit over Minnie wearing pants in recent Disney merchandise. Anyhow I put together an illustration in the style of the posters I would have seen in the ‘80s.

After I finished the illustration I did a series in different colors. One of the nice things about working on the computer was that I could change out colors, and gradients. The older posters were created by talented artists, often using an airbrush to achieve the softest of colors, and gradients. Making edits would have been much harder. After my art, I asked my friends, and family online what other characters I should illustrate.

Mr. Toad was the first request to pop up. I’ve never drawn the figure before. I’ve actually drawn a version of the car used on the Disneyland attraction, for a candle company. So it was a fun challenge.

Then one of my former coworkers asked about Pete. I’ve drawn him once, maybe twice before, but only in pen. This was the first time I’ve done him on the computer.

My friend Andrew asked for Prince John. I've never drawn that cowardly lion before. It would have been too easy to have him sulking. Instead I wanted to remind people that even though he was skinny, he was still a lion, and no less dangerous.

The missus asked for the best bird, and of course I obliged. Do you have a favorite Disney Bird?

My friend Alicia asked for Dory. Her enthusiasm, and positive attitude helped carry Martin across the ocean in Finding Nemo. When the going gets tough, remember to just keep swimming. In all it was fun coming up with ideas for a skate video game that never existed, and a great creative exercise drawing Disney icons as well with my extra energy. Are there any Disney characters that you think would look good in my style? Let me know in the comments section. If you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!