Chapter 1
The illusion of life
Chapter 2
Deep space on a flat screen
Chapter 3
Math meets imagination
Chapter 4
The modern hybrid
YOUR GOAL
Master of How to make a drawing breathe
Ch 2 · Deep space on a flat screen
disney Deep Space Illusion
Foreground rushes past while backgrounds slowly glide, To make a flat screen open up so deep and wide.
disney A wireframe diagram displays 2D character planes moving through a 3D digital grid.
disney Swirling trails of golden stardust and glowing lanterns float through a mystical forest.
Fun Fact
Multiplane weight: Disney's massive 1937 multiplane camera was so heavy and large that it occupied an entire room and required a custom-built support frame.
Gossip
Would you rather work as a traditional background painter or a digital compositor?
Quiz
How did Disney achieve the dramatic sweeping camera angles in the ballroom scene of Beauty and the Beast?
Quiz
How many individual black spots did animators manage to put on screen in One Hundred and One Dalmatians using xerography?
Quiz
What technology did animator Ub Iwerks adapt in 1961 to save Disney from high hand-inking costs?
Quiz
Which Disney short film first tested the revolutionary multiplane camera technology?
Quiz
Why did the introduction of Xerox copying in 1961 change the visual style of Disney films?