Legendary animator Aaron Blaise has recently finished work on his new short film, Snow Bear. Inspired by the austere beauty of the arctic, and the graceful movement of bears in general and polar bears specifically, the soon-to-be-released animated short film centers around themes of isolation, found family, and the power of creativity.
Along with his team, he animated the entire short film on his own using his Wacom Cintiq Pro 32. From inspiration, to research, to storyboards, to rough animation, to finished drawings, to backgrounds, to color and lighting. In a previous video, he showcased his entire process. Click here to view that behind-the-scenes footage.
In this video, Blaise discusses his inspiration and process for designing and developing the primary polar bear character for his film. It all started with the inspiration, and then he moved into research: reading books, watching video, and even going to the zoo to watch a polar bear live. But how does he approach taking a very realistic polar bear design and turn it into an expressive character for his new short film? Watch along to find out.
Want even more insight into Blaise’s process and the film? Check out this recent webinar he collaborated on with us as part of Wacom Connected Ink 2024:
About the artist
Aaron Blaise spent 21 years at Walt Disney Feature Animation, helping to create some of the greatest animated films ever made. During that time he worked as an animator or supervising animator on “The Rescuers Down Under,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “Aladdin,” “The Lion King,” “Pocahontas,” and “Mulan.” In 2003 he was co-director of “Brother Bear,” for which he earned an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature Film.
After “Brother Bear,” he helped to develop several projects but ultimately left Disney to pursue an opportunity back home in Florida. Aaron is currently involved in a number of film projects for various studios. He also recently developed a short animated film called “Snow Bear.”
He publishes tons of video content and livestreams on his YouTube channel, and you can follow him on social media on X (Twitter), Instagram, or Facebook. He also has countless art tutorials and lessons on his website, Creature Art Teacher.
