While Disney Parks remain closed worldwide, Disney animators are passing their skills on to creatives at home. This series of online tutorials gives you the chance to flex your artistic muscles and bring some Disney magic into your own home, by learning to sketch a host of Disney characters.
With creatives everywhere on the hunt for new skills to add to their creative arsenal, this is a pretty satisfying project to get your teeth into. Plus, you'll be a hero to the small people in your life when you can nonchalantly whip up a convincing sketch of Mickey Mouse and the all-important Princess Elsa.
You can try three versions of Mickey Mouse (Image credit: Disney)
The tutorials take you through the process of creating well-known characters from Disney's animation history, in a thorough and technical way that is also straight-forward enough for the whole family to join in.
You can even try out three different versions of Mickey Mouse: a contemporary Mickey (see the video below), as well as a 1920s version and a 'pie-eyed' Mickey from a 2013 TV series. As well as being a fun sketching exercise, this is an interesting comparison of how artists from different eras approached the same character.
If the world's most famous mouse isn't your bag, there are also a bunch of characters to choose from, including Buzz Lightyear, Winnie the Pooh and Tinkerbell. And for Frozen fans, the guest appearance of the voice of Olaf's (Josh Gad) is a nice touch in a tutorial neatly titled 'Do you want to draw a snowman?' (below).
The Animation Academy is a much-loved part of the Disney Park experience, and these tutorials are going down a storm online, with artists and budding artists sharing their own creations on Twitter. You can join the fun by using the hashtag #drawwithdisneyanimation.
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Thanks master, I’ve learning a lot with your tutorials.#drawwithdisneyanimation #disney #baloo pic.twitter.com/6mZvnOtPIFApril 19, 2020
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Lydia drew the cutest Olaf 🥺 she was so proud and asked me to post it 🥰 maybe @joshgad will see this #drawwithdisneyanimation #Frozen2 pic.twitter.com/aJuPs0VfqnApril 22, 2020
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#drawwithdisneyanimation we did Chip! pic.twitter.com/Nnabr8rqGzApril 24, 2020
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From Instagram quarantine art clubs to lessons from online illustrators, watching the creative community come together to share their work online is one bright side of lockdown. We hope the skill-sharing and project-supporting vibe is a trend that continues when normal life resumes.
Georgia has worked on Creative Bloq since 2018, and has been the site's Editor since 2023. With a specialism in branding and design, Georgia is also Programme Director of CB's award scheme – the Brand Impact Awards. As well as immersing herself with the industry through attending events like Adobe Max and the D&AD Awards and steering the site's content streams, Georgia has an eye on new commercial opportunities and ensuring they reflect the needs and interests of creatives.
