Warehouse Finds!
Hi Swan Princess fans, and welcome to another Warehouse Finds blog!
If you have read one of our last blogs, you know we’ve been talking about storyboards and backgrounds. And if you’ve seen some of our other animation blogs, you probably know the general process: it starts with character design, then storyboarding, then rough pencil sketches for each scene. Those rough sketches get refined into clean pencil drawings with the exact outlines the artists want. From there, the drawings are Xeroxed onto celluloid and painted.
We’re following that same process today - only this time, with backgrounds.
It all starts with rough blue sketches, drawn by hand to map out what the backgrounds should look like. Here’s an example of Derek’s library. These sketches have so much soul, texture, and character - it almost feels like you could reach out and touch them.
Here’s another: Notice how detailed the castle itself is, while the surrounding areas become lighter and less detailed. That way, the castle remains the clear focus of the scene.
Here’s one from "This Is My Idea", where you can see how closely the painted background follows the original blue sketch. Everything you see in the finished scene had to first be planned out in that sketch. Later, the cels of characters were placed on top of the background, and then a picture was taken with everything combined.
That’s how it worked throughout the film: every dining room scene used the dining room background, every library scene used the library background, and so on. But what about scenes with bigger spaces - like Derek’s catch-and-release sequence? In that one, you’ve got Rogers and Bromley on one side, Derek way off on the other side firing an arrow, and a whole lot of ground in between. So what did the animators do?
They created extended backgrounds. This one is from outside the castle, during the “Practice, Practice, Practice” moment - when they’re shooting the apple off Bromley’s head. It’s a brilliant way to cover wide scenes and still keep everything cohesive.
I love these little behind-the-scenes details. They show how much care went into making the film feel both magical and real.