The Disney Director of Character Art credits an art school teacher and former Disney animator for igniting his passion for character animation.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe drew a giant Donald Duck up on the blackboard and it just kind of clicked,” he said. \u201cI loved hearing his stories about playing tennis with Walt . . . working on Dumbo and Donald cartoons. Hearing those stories as a kid, it was the best thing. It was just a pipe dream.\u201d<\/p>\n
But it was a pipe dream Jeff wouldn’t let fall away, so he threw himself into animation.<\/p>\n
\u201cInstead of learning how to draw in an illustrative way, I learned how to draw in an animated way.\u201d<\/p>\n
He landed at Disney after dropping off a portfolio and catching the attention of the then art director who agreed to let him train under a group of very talented artists.<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean these guys were really good . . . but they were an old crew and we still hand-inked everything, there were no computers,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Thirty years later, Jeff is still bringing Mickey to life\u2014and making sure every Mickey Mouse passes the inspection of his critical eye.<\/p>\n
[[{“type”:”media”,”view_mode”:”media_original”,”fid”:”4558″,”attributes”:{“alt”:””,”class”:”media-image”,”height”:”538″,”typeof”:”foaf:Image”,”width”:”960″}}]]<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cMickey looks really easy to draw, but he\u2019s pretty much one of the hardest characters for artists to get ahold of. They could be the best artist, and they come here and try to draw Mickey and there\u2019s still something funky with it. The thing with Mickey, he\u2019s very finicky,\u201d said Jeff.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re wondering which part of Mickey is the hardest to master, the answer is two-fold.<\/p>\n \u201cHis head is one thing and the body is a whole other animal,\u201d Jeff chuckled.<\/p>\n There are challenges at every line, creating a domino effect with one wrong move.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you draw the snout wrong, then everything else on the head looks wrong. Or you draw the eyes too big, then the snout looks wrong,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen you get into the body . . . it\u2019s three heads tall\u2014then you want to have a line of action going to the body, trying to get the soul into the body.\u201d<\/p>\n Jeff said it\u2019s the soul that makes the difference between a stiff drawing and one that comes to life.<\/p>\n \u201cYou have to rough out. It\u2019s almost like you are putting your soul into the characters, there\u2019s an energy that goes into it,\u201d said Jeff.<\/p>\n The key to getting that soul: take the eraser out of the equation.<\/p>\n \u201cAs soon as you stop using your eraser, your brain goes into a different mode. All of your core energy and your soul is in the first drawing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Jeff said any kind of interruption\u2014like an eraser\u2014is the kiss of death for an artist trying to sketch out characters, referencing an analogy of a diver who discovers a trove of pearls underwater only to be yanked up by a person on the boat who asks if the diver likes his shoes. Distracted, the diver then returns underwater unable to find the original location of the pearls. <\/p>\n \u201cOut of 50 drawings of Mickey, I go back to that first one and I like it better,\u201d said Jeff. \u201cEvery time you adjust, you lose the full energy in it. Interruption takes you away from what you\u2019re really trying to find.\u201d<\/p>\n Jeff said there\u2019s never a Mickey far from sight\u2014whether on a backpack or a billboard\u2014and he\u2019s constantly analyzing.<\/p>\n \u201cI look at every Mickey that\u2019s out there. If I didn\u2019t work on it, there\u2019s something wrong with it. I\u2019m very judgmental when I see things,” Jeff joked.<\/p>\n It\u2019s that kind of commitment to excellence that made Disney and Shinola a great team for the launch of the Mickey Classics Collection, a selection of products that celebrate 90 years of The True Original, Mickey Mouse.<\/p>\n [[{“type”:”media”,”view_mode”:”media_original”,”fid”:”4559″,”attributes”:{“alt”:””,”class”:”media-image”,”height”:”538″,”typeof”:”foaf:Image”,”width”:”960″}}]]<\/a><\/p>\n While Mickey holds a special place in Jeff\u2019s heart, it\u2019s giving his own characters life that adds fuel to his artistic drive.<\/p>\n \u201cI love illustrating at night,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ll work on some of my own stuff, entrenched in art all of the time. I eat, drink and sleep it.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s a good life for a man who dares to dream, draw and illustrate.<\/p>\n \u201cMy brain is always trying to learn stuff. Being a visual person, I sketch a lot. If I\u2019m out at a restaurant, I\u2019ll sketch in a sketchbook; if I don\u2019t have that, I have a napkin,\u201d said Jeff.<\/p>\n Napkin, paper, sketchbook\u2014no matter what you catch Jeff drawing in, one thing is for sure: you\u2019ll never see him with an eraser.<\/p>\n —-<\/p>\n Explore Jeff\u2019s work in the Shinola x Disney Mickey Classics Collection celebrating 90 years of The True Original, Mickey Mouse. The Disney Director of Character Art credits an art school teacher and former Disney animator for igniting his passion for character animation. \u201cHe drew a giant Donald Duck up on the blackboard and it just kind of clicked,” he said. \u201cI loved hearing his stories about playing tennis with Walt . . . working on […]<\/p>\n
Check out some of Jeff\u2019s art on Instagram at https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/jeffshelly23\/<\/a>.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"