Episode 63: Interview with Aaron Blaise

Show Notes for This Episode:

[1:15] Today we have the pleasure of welcoming the incredible animator, director and artist Aaron Blaise
[1:30] Aaron has worked as an animator on huge Disney animations such as: The Lion King, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, Moulin and many more
[1:45] He also directed his own Disney feature film: Brother Bear and these days he runs Creature Art Teacher and he teaches and inspires young artists
[2:45] Aaron just spent almost a month in several countries in Asia talking to kids from ages 4 to 18 about animation and design
[3:30] Aaron was pleasantly surprised by how interested and polite all the kids were
[4:30] A lot of the kids had a perfect American accent from watching TV, especially Friends
[5:30] Aaron is a representational artist and one of its best teachers has been nature
[6:00] He also loves interacting with other people and learning from them
[6:30] These two things combined have elevated Aaron’s game
[7:00] Glen Keane was one of Aaron greatest mentors and taught him animation when he first started at Disney
[7:30] Aaron was an illustrator and started doing animation at Disney when he was just 20 years old
[8:30] Aaron explains his learning path: there were times when he rocketed and many times of plateau
[9:30] The new technology helped him try things he never though were possible
[10:00] He mixed photography with paintings and created images, environments and worlds he never created before
[10:30] The transition from traditional to digital helped Aaron broaden his style
[11:10] Aaron’s style has evolved with his evolution as a person
[11:45] Dustin ask Aaron for some advice to someone who just started illustrating
[12:20] He suggests not comparing himself to others and being intimidated
[12:45] Learn from nature and people and draw something every day
[13:45] The importance of creating something from observation
[14:40] Tom remembers his teacher’s process of teaching them to draw a tree during his art class at university
[15:20] Tom would love to know what a day looks like working for Disney
[15:40] Aaron says it’s the most fun and toughest job
[16:30] He started fresh out of college and so were many of his colleagues were the same age as him
[18:00] He worked for 15 years for the same studio in Orlando
[18:45] During the work on Aladdin and The Lion King he would spend more time in the studio than with his family
[19:30] There were times when he felt the work was a chore
[20:00] Disney treated them very well and provided good food and even masseuses for when the team were tired
[20:30] They were also provided with funds for enrichment programs
[21:00] The producers on The Lion King went on safaris and brought Africa back to the team
[21:30] Aaron went to Alaska and Yellow Stone to study the animals for Brother Bear
[22:00] They got real experience which they put into the film
[22:30] He says East Africa it’s one of his favourite places
[23:15] Dustin asks Aaron how does he know to design characters that children will fall in love with
[24:00] The animated movies are created for themselves while keeping the the target 8-12 audience in sight
[24:30] He describes the story sessions as therapy sessions
[25:00] He used his own daughter’s eyes as inspiration for Nala’s eyes
[25:40] Ian wonders how do you keep a consistent style when you work with so many animators
[26:00] There are 35-40 animators working on a film
[26:40] The Aladdin animation was inspired by Al Hirschfeld caricatures
[27:40] Aaron explains how he found the inspiration to draw Rajah from Aladdin
[28:00] They were constantly in check to make sure they don’t go out the view of the film
[28:30] Tom asks Aaron how he feels about the change from tradition to CGI animations
[29:00] Aaron feels that even though the technology has changed, the authenticity hasn’t been lost for animated movies
[29:30] Any movies consist of three stages: development, pre-production and production
[30:00] The development and the story telling stages are the most important and haven’t changed
[30:40] He feels sad to see 2D animations go away
[32:20] It’s the nostalgia most generations feel about the animations that defined they childhood
[33:15] Dustin’s daughter making parallels between The Lion King characters and her school colleagues
[33:50] Aaron is happy to see how a movie that is 25 years old still influences children these days
[34:40] ‘The Legend of Tembo’ was 2 years in production when the parent company went bankrupt
[36:10] A Chinese company bought the rights to the movie
[37:00] Tom asks how the ‘Legend of Tembo’ experience felt for him
[37:30] Disney downsizing after ‘Brother Bear’ and shutting down the Orlando Studio
[38:00] Aaron had to pack his life and move to Los Angeles
[38:00] There he started developing a movie called “King of the Elves’
[38:50] Sadly one year into developing this short story his wife Karen was diagnosed with breast cancer
[39:15] He had to work from home and take care of his wife while trying to finish the movie
[39:30] Aaron lost his wife in 2007
[40:00] He then got pulled out of the movie and then he realised he needed to reinvent himself
[40:50] Aaron quit his job after 21 years at Disney
[41:20] He went back to Florida to work for Digital Domain
[42:30] He wanted to make something that would make his wife proud and decided to share information and inspire other people
[43:25] ‘The most tragic events in your life can send you on path that create incredible happiness’ – Aaron Blaise
[44:10] Lisa feels Aaron is such a natural teacher and wonders if he always knew that’s what he wanted to do
[44:30] He enjoys teaching and has a capability to articulate very well what he is thinking
[45:20] Glen Keane had a huge ability to teach and inspire other and has been inspiration for Aaron
[46:00] His parents were artists and he had a very interesting childhood
[46:40] Aaron’s father was a musician and has 9 children
[47:20] He inherited artist genes and his family always inspired him to be and artist
[48:45] Aaron’s advice: Follow your drive and what makes you happy, and if you feel that you’re having too many moments when you’re not inspired maybe you don’t love it as much as you though
[50:00] ‘Don’t pursue the dollar, the dollar will present itself’ – Aaron’s stepfather
[51:30] Aaron has witnessed the impact of social media and he recommends this powerful tool to everyone
[52:00] There’s never been a better time for artists to put themselves out there
[53:00] The best strategy for social media it’s consistency, and by putting a lot of work out there Aaron knows what will work best
[54:00] His work varies from scary dragons to pink fluffy kittens
[54:30] Beyond putting a personality out there, be nice and be encouraging
[55:20] Aaron’s hammer analogy
[55:40] Lisa asks Aaron: what it the one-piece skill or knowledge an artist should have
[56:00] More than anything else an artist should have persistence
[56:30] Persistence outweighs talent
[57:00] What drove Aaron was the persistence to create even through the darkest moments in his life
[58:00] Most people’s dream is to work for Disney and they think they will only be happy when they’ve done this Dustin asks Aaron what are his thoughts on this
[58:50] Aaron’s ‘American Idol’ example of kids who believe that this is their only chance to make it
[59:30] Disney was amazing, but it he wasn’t happy all the time and it was during working there that he experienced one of the most tragic moment in his life
[1:00:00] Happiness comes all the things that make you who you are, and less from the external things
[1:00:30] Disney is a great goal, but it doesn’t have to be the goal that will make you happy
[1:01:00] Aaron’s joy is surrounding himself with great friends and great people and creating
[1:02:30] Ian asks Aaron what is are the tools and programs he uses mostly
[1:03:00] Aaron uses Sketchbook and Pens, Cintiq and Photoshop
[1:03:40] Tom asks Aaron what are his most favourite characters he’s drawn
[1:04:30] Aaron loved animating the Beast
[1:05:00] The first scene Aaron animated is the scene when Belle takes care of the Beast after his been injured
[1:06:00] Lisa’s question: does Aaron still get nervous teaching in front of a group
[1:06:25] Aaron had to give a 1h lecture to a group of 120 kids aged between 4-6 and he was very nervous
[1:07:40] Dustin’s question: what is the one thing he couldn’t live without
[1:08:00] Aaron couldn’t live without music and owns about 10 guitars
[1:09:00] While at Disney they put together a band every Christmas
[1:09:20] You can find Aaron’s work over at creatureartteacher.com
[1:09:45] On all social media channels you can find him over at @aaronblaiseart
[1:10:00] His second greatest source of information is his YouTube channel The Art of Aaron Blaise
[1:10:40] It’s been an absolute pleasure having Aaron on the show
[1:11:10] Thanks so much for listening to this week’s episode