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Not just fantasy figures
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| Artist Rubén Procopio photographed with several maquettes from various animated shows, movies, or comic strips at his Burbank home. |
Maquettes of TV, movie characters and mythical creatures are on display at exhibit.
By Erica Liu
Rubén Procopio’s maquettes of beloved Disney characters, such as Belle and Ariel, stand side-by-side under the watchful gaze of painted dragons, hand-drawn mermaids and other mythical creatures at a new exhibit at the Forest Lawn Museum in Glendale.
Procopio’s small-scale statues are a part of the “Visions: The World of Fantasy Art” exhibit and on loan from the Glendale-based Animation Research Library of the Disney Animation Studios.
More accurately called maquettes, the statues, ranging between 4 to 20 inches tall, are initially made from polyform or “sculpy” and cast in polyurethane using silicone molds, said Procopio, a resident of Burbank.
Such maquettes enabled animators to visualize the characters they were drawing from difficult angles before the days of computer modeling.
“With this little maquette, you could see what the construction of the character would look like,” Procopio said.
“Our media was 2D, [but] we have to think in 3D and draw as if this character was alive on paper.”
During his more than 25 years of experience at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, Procopio worked on films such as “Beauty and the Beast,” “The Lion King” and “The Little Mermaid.”
At the museum, viewers will be able to see Ursula, the evil sea witch villainess from “The Little Mermaid,” in all her six-tentacled glory. For the film, her tentacle count was reduced to six to conserve on “drawing mileage,” Procopio said.
Procopio purposely sculpted each tentacle in a different motion.
“I tried to do a different movement on each tentacle, so the animators can see what the possibilities were,” he said.
The piece is one of the favorites of Alison Bruesehoff, the Forest Lawn Museum executive director.
“I like the way she’s sculpted,” Bruesehoff said. “[Procopio] really caught her malevolent expression.”
Ron Clements, one of the directors of “The Little Mermaid,” worked closely with Procopio and remembers the animation experience he brought to the production.
“[Procopio] was able to bring a lot of life to the maquettes and a lot of personality that I think was really good,” Clements said.
One of Procopio’s own favorites is the maquette of Beast, from “Beauty and the Beast,” rendered in a gray color that starkly contrasts the bright palette of its glass-encased neighbors at the museum.
It has a rougher, Impressionistic quality reminiscent of Auguste Rodin’s work, Procopio said.
“It has that very spontaneous, energetic look to it,” he said.
“If you look at the sculpture, you can almost see my fingertips and palette knives.”
Glen Keane, who designed the character Beast, recounted the decisive moment when, after watching Procopio “boldly” carve away the planes of Beast’s face, the two knew they had finally hit on the image of Beast that would be used in the film.
“It was not your typical approach to getting to the finish line,” Keane said.
“You typically get more detailed, [but] in this sculpture, as we got closer, it got rougher and bolder and more decisive.”
Having a Disney artist in the family was probably important in honing his instincts in animation and sculpting, Keane said.
Procopio’s father, Adolfo, was a sculptor for Disney Imagineering in Glendale for more than 35 years. He created countless sculptures for rides and attractions at Disney parks around the world.
“I knew he had a very classical background in his drawing and sculpting from his father,” Keane said. “I’ve always thought of animation as sculptural drawing and thought his sculptures had that feeling.”
And for Procopio, sculpting was instilled in him early on.
“I grew up around sculpting,” Procopio said. “My dad taught me all the foundations of drawing and sculpting.”
Procopio’s sister, Vivian, also worked for 16 years in the library where his maquettes were housed.
“I knew nothing but Disney since 6 or 7 years old,” Procopio said.
Some of Procopio’s other Disney characters on display at the museum include Belle and Cogsworth from “Beauty and the Beast” and Ariel from “The Little Mermaid.”
Nowadays, Procopio is in charge of his own animation studios, Masked Avenger Studios in Burbank, named in honor of his favorite childhood heroes.
“I grew up a comic book guy,” he said.
“I loved how all those avengers did was put on a mask and did right for the people. They didn’t have superpowers.”
Other artists featured in the exhibit include fantasy mainstays Mark Goerner, William Stout and David Willardson, said Joan Adan, exhibit designer and curator.
Adan wanted the exhibit to explore how artists envision their fantasy worlds visually, as opposed to writers, who develop their fantasy worlds with words.
“It just came to me,” Adan said.
“It’s an interesting genre of art and something I thought the public would enjoy.”
And for an exhibit of the fantasy genre, Disney, including Procopio’s work, seemed like a logical participant.
“I can’t think of anybody more famous that creates fantasy art,” she said. “And they’re a part of our community.”
Procopio’s small-scale statues are a part of the “Visions: The World of Fantasy Art” exhibit and on loan from the Glendale-based Animation Research Library of the Disney Animation Studios.
More accurately called maquettes, the statues, ranging between 4 to 20 inches tall, are initially made from polyform or “sculpy” and cast in polyurethane using silicone molds, said Procopio, a resident of Burbank.
Such maquettes enabled animators to visualize the characters they were drawing from difficult angles before the days of computer modeling.
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“Our media was 2D, [but] we have to think in 3D and draw as if this character was alive on paper.”
During his more than 25 years of experience at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, Procopio worked on films such as “Beauty and the Beast,” “The Lion King” and “The Little Mermaid.”
At the museum, viewers will be able to see Ursula, the evil sea witch villainess from “The Little Mermaid,” in all her six-tentacled glory. For the film, her tentacle count was reduced to six to conserve on “drawing mileage,” Procopio said.
Procopio purposely sculpted each tentacle in a different motion.
“I tried to do a different movement on each tentacle, so the animators can see what the possibilities were,” he said.
The piece is one of the favorites of Alison Bruesehoff, the Forest Lawn Museum executive director.
“I like the way she’s sculpted,” Bruesehoff said. “[Procopio] really caught her malevolent expression.”
Ron Clements, one of the directors of “The Little Mermaid,” worked closely with Procopio and remembers the animation experience he brought to the production.
“[Procopio] was able to bring a lot of life to the maquettes and a lot of personality that I think was really good,” Clements said.
One of Procopio’s own favorites is the maquette of Beast, from “Beauty and the Beast,” rendered in a gray color that starkly contrasts the bright palette of its glass-encased neighbors at the museum.
It has a rougher, Impressionistic quality reminiscent of Auguste Rodin’s work, Procopio said.
“It has that very spontaneous, energetic look to it,” he said.
“If you look at the sculpture, you can almost see my fingertips and palette knives.”
Glen Keane, who designed the character Beast, recounted the decisive moment when, after watching Procopio “boldly” carve away the planes of Beast’s face, the two knew they had finally hit on the image of Beast that would be used in the film.
“It was not your typical approach to getting to the finish line,” Keane said.
“You typically get more detailed, [but] in this sculpture, as we got closer, it got rougher and bolder and more decisive.”
Having a Disney artist in the family was probably important in honing his instincts in animation and sculpting, Keane said.
Procopio’s father, Adolfo, was a sculptor for Disney Imagineering in Glendale for more than 35 years. He created countless sculptures for rides and attractions at Disney parks around the world.
“I knew he had a very classical background in his drawing and sculpting from his father,” Keane said. “I’ve always thought of animation as sculptural drawing and thought his sculptures had that feeling.”
And for Procopio, sculpting was instilled in him early on.
“I grew up around sculpting,” Procopio said. “My dad taught me all the foundations of drawing and sculpting.”
Procopio’s sister, Vivian, also worked for 16 years in the library where his maquettes were housed.
“I knew nothing but Disney since 6 or 7 years old,” Procopio said.
Some of Procopio’s other Disney characters on display at the museum include Belle and Cogsworth from “Beauty and the Beast” and Ariel from “The Little Mermaid.”
Nowadays, Procopio is in charge of his own animation studios, Masked Avenger Studios in Burbank, named in honor of his favorite childhood heroes.
“I grew up a comic book guy,” he said.
“I loved how all those avengers did was put on a mask and did right for the people. They didn’t have superpowers.”
Other artists featured in the exhibit include fantasy mainstays Mark Goerner, William Stout and David Willardson, said Joan Adan, exhibit designer and curator.
Adan wanted the exhibit to explore how artists envision their fantasy worlds visually, as opposed to writers, who develop their fantasy worlds with words.
“It just came to me,” Adan said.
“It’s an interesting genre of art and something I thought the public would enjoy.”
And for an exhibit of the fantasy genre, Disney, including Procopio’s work, seemed like a logical participant.
“I can’t think of anybody more famous that creates fantasy art,” she said. “And they’re a part of our community.”
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