Thanx DancingCrab, RodryCroft & atlanticaunderthesea
@ PatrickvD: I studied animation at the Academy of Arts in Tilburg. I now work in advertising, but the drawing/animating bug never died on me and I feel like I should do more with that
Thanks for the kind words on my work. I should update my blog some more though
haha
@ SWillie! & DisneyFan09: Well, when I went to the galerie the next day to examine the works properly (as it had been too busy the night before during the opening) it was still closed but the girl there told me to come back between 1 and 2 in the afternoon which I did and low and behold, the entire gallery was empty, except for her and her collegue and Glen sitting at a table, signing books that were left behind by people or something. So after a while I walked up to them and asked if he would be able to sign something for me. An autograph in my sketchbook. Anything haha!
He asked me for my name again, he must have remembered my face from the night before. So I sat down next to him and he asked me where I was from, and that he thought it was awesome that people had travelled from other countries for this. He then asked me if I worked in animation and I told him that I work in advertising but still animate. We talked about the advantages of working in advertising . How you switch projects faster and don't get caught up in projects for too long. And then talked about the production process of Rapunzel, later Tangled. How he was making a much darker movie where the bright aspects were brighter and the dark aspects were a lot darker and that it made some people at Disney pretty nervous. He briefly mentioned the Rapunzel Unbraided era, and that he wasn't feeling the project in that version but he just had to let go and trust in the fact that everything would turn out alright, which it eventually did when Byron and Nathan stepped in so he could fully focus on the animation.
Then I put my sketchbook on the table and he asked "So what's this?" I said that it was my sketchbook and he started to look through it. He said "Wow, you have some really nice stuff in here. I like how you construct shapes. You've got talent". I practially died right then and there. I got out my other sketchbook with more stuff, so he flipped through that and told him that working at Disney had always been my goal but that when I finished my study they ended their 2D animation program and my dream was basically shattered. So he then said "You should go to Disney!" I was stunned. My idol, saying I was somehow worthy. I mean... I was always afraid to submit a portfolio so this was like... AMAZING to me. He asked me if I was still animating because he would be interested to see my animation work.
He carried on looking through my sketchbook and said I draw pretty girls, but that the only thing he missed was that I didn't draw enough from life. There were too many finalised, finished forms in there. So he suggested that I draw more from life, so he stood up and walked to a drawing he did of a couple dancing and said to me that he made that drawing because of something that attracted him, the shape of her neck flowing all the way down to her toes and the way it turns and twist. And by drawing so much from life he sort of has a sense of knowledge on how the body can move and how it does move and that he injects that into his work, to breathe life into it. And that was something I should always look for. Because a lot of people can draw well, but when they start animating they still rely on formula, and if I could transfer my sense of drawing into animation that that would be a real plus.
We then sat down again and he flipped to an empty page, grabbed a pen and then started to draw me. Sitting there, across him at the table. Really quickly. I was just stunned and watched his hand as it moved across the paper and lines turned into shapes. Magical, just amazing. To have my idol draw me, as a sort of private lesson on how to draw. During which he told me where he would start and what attracted him or caught his eye while drawing. Then he signed it and I could see he was thinking, hesitating and contemplating what message to add to the drawing for a few moments. Then he added a personal message to me and his autograph. I told him that he couldn't possibly know how much this meant to me and he said: "Well, I don't do this for just anyone. Only for people that I think are worth investing my time in." I mean... I'm still surprised I didn't break down right there, haha!
So I thanked him again and told him that I would be following his advice and work on my craft and submit my work to Disney then, and he said.. "Wait... lemme just.. let me write down the email address of my assistent", which he then wrote down in my sketchbook.
I was besides myself with joy. The man is just so incredibly kind and you can feel his passion for drawing and his art by the way he talks. It's electrifying to just sit there and hear him talk and describe how he works and what he does. And when he looks at you, he reaaaally looks at you, you can tell that he listens to every single word. You also feel instantly at ease around him. One of the most humble, talented and kind people I have ever met!
I spent some more time photographing every piece of artwork at the gallery and then spent the rest of the day floating through Paris. On cloud 9. Like, in full and complete amazement, at some point just laughing out loud for no reason with tears in my eyes. Seriously the BEST trip I ever made! It felt like it was fate or something that I should run into him at the galerie the day after. I can't describe how much this means to me and now I finally have the courage to submit my work to Disney soon. But first I need to work and train and remember his lessons.
Here is the portrait that Glen made of me, below it says:
"To Rob, See the world around you and capture it's beauty, it's life, it's truth! - Glen Keane (Paris, Arludik Gallery, Nov 10th 2010)"
I'm still exstatic and in complete awe and feel totally unworthy. This trip has been more then I could have wished for!
