"The animator must be a keen observer of action and must understand and remember it, for he never knows when we will find in it the inspiration for the entertainment he puts on screen."
- Eric Larson
"The first and most important things for an animator to know is how to draw."
-Walt Disney
This June, Disney veteran animator Ron Husband, (otherwise known as "Huz" to those close to him) will be coming to Tokyo, touring and giving a series of seminars on quick sketching, and traditional hand drawn animation.
Ron Husband was part of the first generation of animation artists to be passed down the torch of animation by Disney's greatest animation directors, sometimes known as Disney's Nine Old Men.
Ron learned from some of Disney's best, such as Eric Larson and assisted legendary animator, Frank Thomas.
Ron started with Disney in its training program in 1975 as many of the artists who established modern American animation as we know it today were retiring. For the artists who brought life to Walt Disney's greatest films, such as Pinocchio, Sleeping Beauty and Snow White, the sun was setting. However, a new dawn of animation was on the horizon.
Ron Husband's peers would include now legends in animation such as Glen Keane, Andreas Deja, Ron Clements, John Musker, and John Lasseter just to name a few. Their names would be associated the Disney Renaissance films such as "The Little Mermaid", "Aladdin" and "Beauty and the Beast" and "The Little Mermaid".
In addition to being Supervising Animator on films such as "Fantasia 2000", "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" and "Atlantis the Lost Empire", Ron is notorious for his passion for drawing. Recently Ron has published his book "Quick Sketching" which has become a much coveted book by professional artists and animators and has been translated into several languages including Japanese.
Asia is entering the animation market on an international level. Which means having a better understanding of the Western approach towards animation, which tends to gravitate towards "three-dimensional" forms with "two-dimensional designs" and "acting" as opposed to iconic, purely two-dimensional, (almost notan-like) designs often seen in Japanese comics and animation.
The first seminar will be held on June 18th at The Waterrace and the second seminar will be held on June 25th and 26th at the Sokei Academy of Fine Art and Design.
This will be Mr. Husband's first tour in Japan.
