Disney They Drew as They Pleased Vol. 1: The Hidden Art of Disney's Golden AgeThe 1930s (Disney, 1)

This book is a wonderful balance between informative text and gorgeously reproduced artwork. It is also printed at a physical size that is manageable. Some Disney art books are so oversized that it makes it difficult to enjoy as you fumble with them. It is a beautiful, designed with care package that contains delights and surprises on every page. No matter how knowledgeable you think you are about Disney, this book reveals howmuch all of us never knew that we never knew.While knowledgeable Disney fans may recognize some of the names in this book, Didier truly brings these artists to life and shares why their contributions were so important to the earliest Disney animated cartoons of the 1930s. Didier is a well respected Disney historian whose other books including the amazing Walt's People series have enriched Disney history. By leveraging his connections, Didier was able to find not only artwork that has rarely if ever been seen since it was first produced but also information and insights to four Disney's legendary concept artists that have not been previously documented.While the book effortlessly guides the reader from page to page, a quick glance at the acknowledgements will reveal the depth of research Didier went through to find and organize this material. The book is a fun browse for a casual fan interested in Disney art but for those who want something more, Didier has created a valuable reference for further exploration and understanding.For any true Disney animation fan, this is a "must have" for your collection.

I have been waiting for the release of Didier Ghez's 'They Drew as They Pleased: The Hidden Art of Disney's Golden Age'. The wait was worth it! Through intelligent text and wonderful illustrations we feel as if we are looking over the shoulders of four of the greatest conceptual artists of Disney's period of its greatest animation - the 1930's! The artists: Ferdinand Horvath, Gustaf Tenggren, Alburt Hurter, and Bionca Majolica! The title refers to what these four were able to do, drawing images that would give the feeling and inspiration to Disney's animators, Layout, and background artists for the short cartoons whether it be Mickey Mouse or Donald or Goofy, the Silly Symphonies, and his feature length films 'Snow White' and 'Pinocchio'! It could be a character or variations on the look of the film. They designed Props that might be seen in the background. Maybe the audience might not notice a cuckoo clock designed by Albert Hurter, but it would add immensley to the look and feel of the film. This books is a treat for the eyes and the imagination. Even if the reader is only has a casual interest in Disney animation, they will find pleasure in the huge numbers of images. This book is a must for Animation fans and anyone who derives pleasure from the beautiful artwork.

Excellent book!Inspired by the 1948 book “He drew as he pleased” about concept art by Disney artist Albert Hurter, Didier Ghez expanded and developed the original idea that originated that book into a series of books about inspirational art produced at Disney Studios and concept artists who created it. Thanks to the author’s deep and passionate work of research, each volume of this astonishing series is full of never-before-published informations, illustrations and photos. Not only the best known animated shorts and full-length features are covered, but also the unproduced Disney-That-Never-Was projects ; so this books represent a sort of sequels to the Charles Solomon seminal books about disney abandoned concepts.This first volume “They Drew as They Pleased – The Hidden Art of Disney’s Golden Age – The 1930’s” features biographies, artistic profiles and drawings by Albert Hurter, Ferdinand Horvath, Gustaf Tenggren and Bianca Majolie, contains many references to Mickey Mouse and Silly Symphonies unmade shorts and, with its amount of new informations, is a complement to John Canemaker’s “Before Animation Begins”.

This is such a beautiful book! I bought it for a friend, but at such a low price I might even buy another for myself. I bought it for around $8 with free prime shipping, which is kinda incredible for a book of this quality. It's thicker than I thought it would be - around 200 pages, with plenty of informative text and pictures. The drawings are mostly loose concept sketches of characters, with some lavish scenery from major movies like Snow White or Pinocchio. The text is well written and interesting, too - I'm not exceptionally interested in Disney history, but I spent a lot of time reading through the book.Unfortunately, the corner of the book I received was a little banged up when it arrived - I think it was damaged during shipping, but it's not too bad. Overall, it's a lovely book and I'd really recommend it.

Finally we have a series of Disney art books devoted to the concept art that was made for the Disney films! The title comes from a collection of Albert Hurter's drawings in book form titled "He Drew As He Pleased" (the Holy Grail of Disney Art Books; let's hope that this can be republished). Expanding on Canemaker's book, Before the Animation Begins, this book goes more in depth on the concept artists who shaped the art style of the Disney films released in the 1930's. Lots of drawings by Albert Hurter, Ferdinand Horvath, Gustaf Tenggren, and Bianca Majolie. Fortunately too, there are many more previously unpublished anecdotes about these artists where little was previously known about them. There's also some artwork for unfinished projects, which is always a treat to see.A while ago I thought that there should be a volume 2 to the Design book of the Disney Archives series, but this series of books looks very promising.I'm definitely looking forward to Volume 2 of this series!

A very interesting & beautifuly illustrated book that made a good read. For Disney fans.

Primo volume di una collana ricca di informazioni e materiale interessantissimo. Se vi piace scoprire il mondo dell'animazione e della Disney sono da comprare e divorare in men che non si dica!

Ouvrage magnifique, avec notamment de nombreux croquis d'Albert Hurter et Gustaf Tenggren.

Alle 6 (!!!) Bücher der Reihe sind eine wahre Fundgrube für bisher kaum oder gar nicht veröffentlichte Zeichnungen und Bilder. Dabei stehen die Künstler, ihre Arbeit und ihre Werke im Mittelpunkt. Es wird vor allem "concept art" dargestellt, nicht Abdrucke aus den Filmen oder Kurzfilmen.Man könnte dies auch als eine Art "Kunstgeschichte der Disney Studios" (in englischer Sprache) verstehen, die die Kunst nach den schöpferischen Künstlern ordnet. So wie z. B. auch das Buch zu den "Nine Old Men". Manchmal könnten die Abbildungen gerne größer sein, aber dann wären die Bücher auch größer und vor allem teurer. Zusammen mit z.B. dem Großband von Taschen zum Disney-Archiv hat man dann eine wirklich gute Disney-Kunstbuchamlung, die auch verdeutlicht, dass Walt Disney ohne seine großartigen Künstler (die er gnadenlos ausbeutete) ein Niemand geblieben wäre...

Aunque ha tardado mucho en llegar merece la pena, muy buen libro con magníficas ilustraciones, muy completo y gran formato.