Disney Family Album: Milt Kahl

Shere Kahn Pencil Test 1

Shere Khan Linetest by Milt Kahl (scanned by Colin Giles) from Alex Petreski on Vimeo.

Milt used poses to communicate his intentions, often focusing on a single drawing. Milt’s scenes tend to have very strong “tentpole” poses; what happens inbetween them is often the same motion (headshakes, hand gestures, etc.).Milt seems more considered with making awesome drawings that animate beautifully.
Referring to the Shere Khan/Kaa sequence in Jungle Book.
Milt has set it up so you only look at one thing at a time. He crafted the scene so that when Shere Khan pops open his claws, everyone is looking there. Nothing else is moving. (Waste of time to always be moving all the background characters).
Your eye reacts to movement, color and contrast. Use those to direct your audience’s attention.
(Information gathered from sewardstreet.com)

The Greatest Animator

This Blog is created with the intention of honoring the greatest animator that has ever lived, Milt Kahl. Milt was one of the famous Disney's 9 old Men. A Supervising Animator in many Disney features, and perhaps one of the better draftsmen. His ideas displayed clearly and simple, while giving careful consideration to his drawing. He had a beautiful way of being subtle, although Milt preferred broad characters. He always took the challenge of doing assignments that were tough to draw. He was a great visualizer, some one said about Milt, "Once he gets clear in his mind what hes' going to do, its as good as on the paper." Bluntly Honest, and a sweet helpful side. He expected anyone coming for help to have worked hard and tried everything- to have done his best before coming.(Research from THE ILLUSION OF LIFE by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston).
So as time progresses I hope to discover much more hidden treasures on Milt Kahl, there is a lot now to offer with the power of the internet. I will be back often to update, so please come often, and study with us as we take the journey to view the art of Milt Kahl.