This post is sponsored by The Quarto Group. Our partners are handpicked by My Modern Met’s team because they represent the best in design and innovation.
Disney is celebrating 100 years of incredible animation with a book that not only shares the company’s rich creative history, but also teaches you how to draw some of its most iconic characters. Drawing 100 Years of Disney Wonder celebrates beloved animated characters through step-by-step drawing projects, character sketches, and vintage artwork from the Disney archives. Each section of drawing lessons is categorized by decade in Disney history, along with historical context and interesting anecdotes and facts sprinkled throughout.
Each chapter represents an iconic decade of Disney creations, starting with the 1920s and Disney icons Mickey and Minnie Mouse. The pages move through beloved princesses—including Snow White, Cinderella, and Aurora—and Disney’s unforgettable villains like Cruella De Vil.
“This beautiful book combines Walter Foster’s well-known art instruction in a high-end coffee table book that delves deep into Disney animation history. It really is a must-have collector’s item that celebrates the world’s most beloved animated characters with vintage artwork from the Disney archives,” shares Walter Foster Group Publisher Anne Landa. “We were incredibly fortunate to persuade Andreas Deja—an iconic Disney legend—and renowned Disney historian Jim Fanning, to partner with us on this project.”
In his foreword, former Disney animator Andreas Deja gives a unique insight into the world of Disney. Deja, whose animation work includes Gaston in Beauty and the Beast, Jafar in Aladdin, and Scar in The Lion King, is a longtime lover of Disney and began working at just 20 years old.
“Some people assume that there is only one ‘Disney style’ and one exclusive way to draw Disney characters. Large eyes, big hands and feet, and a type of caricature that is associated with hand-animation,” he writes. “As you’ll see from the vintage artwork in this book, much of which is from my drawn personal collection, the Disney approach to drawing and animating characters has gone through many changes over the years—and is still evolving to this day.”
Deja’s commentary runs throughout the book, which is authored by esteemed Disney historian Jim Fanning. Fanning’s passion for Disney is clear, and his commentary anchors the drawing lessons with salient facts about the films and their beloved characters.
By taking us from the 1920s to the 2020s, Drawing 100 Years of Disney Wonder doesn’t just show us the evolution of Disney, it also makes us want to pick up a pencil and start sketching today.
Published by Walter Foster Publishing, Drawing 100 Years of Disney Wonder is now available to purchase online and in bookstores.
Drawing 100 Years of Disney Wonder is an instructional coffee-table book that celebrates Disney's iconic animation.
There are over 200 pages of information and step-by-step lessons on how to draw some of your favorite characters.
