HAWAII
It must have been right after Mulan that I first saw Chris Sanders’ children’s storybook of Lilo & Stitch. There was no doubt that it was made for animation!
I was involved for a short time with a few location designs and ideas for interesting compositions. Together, with Ric Sluiter, the art director for Mulan, I went for a week to Kauai, one of the most beautiful Hawaiian Islands, to do some research. Ric painted while I explored the different beaches and villages, shooting several hundred slides.
What an island! My first time in Hawaii I loved it so much that I came back a year later with my wife.
The final film had a lot of that charm that I felt when I first came to the island. It was just the perfect place for the story.
And the watercolor style for the backgrounds added the final touch. Maybe for the last time, the old traditional-style watercolor art from the beautiful Silly Symphonies: Elmer Elephant, Farmyard Symphony and Three Little Wolves, which was recreated by the top-background team in Florida, came back to the screen. In my opinion it is a masterpiece.
moving shadows as texture
light and shadows defining shapes
characters walking in and out of shadow
These are some of the thumbnails and composition notes I did in the very early stages of Lib & Stitch. Chris Sanders’ storybook with all his beautiful illustrations was the ready-made key for the design of the movie.
stage with projected shadows
