As kids, one of me and Tim’s earliest animation heroes was Glen Keane. Tim wrote him a letter and included a photocopy of some of Keane’s Aladdin thumbnails asking for an autograph. The photocopy was returned with Glen Keane’s signature and a form letter that encouraged pursuit of a career in animation. The letter was appended with a list of suggested reading material— Illusion of Life, Muybridge, and more. Those books made up our birthday and Christmas wish lists for many years after. The big message we got from Glen Keane’s response was that a solid foundation in drawing and observation of life was an absolute essential for any animator. We pursued that skill above everything else— Tim especially.

It was 1993 when Tim and I excitedly read Glen Keane’s form letter. It’s now sixteen years later, and a lot has changed in the animation industry— Flash, CGI, more use of puppeted animation, and even Glen Keane’s studio closing and now reopening. It makes me wonder if the essential skills Glen Keane outlined for us as kids are still the same today. If you want to work on a hand-drawn show, then surely your foundation ought to look pretty much the same now as it would have then. On the other hand, there a great many jobs in animation today where I imagine one could get by with little to no ability for life drawing. So how should students of animation be trained? Should there be different tracks depending on the individual’s interest? Should all animators have a robust foundation in life drawing? As the industry continues to grow and change, it’s important that we reevaluate how aspiring animators should be preparing themselves for professional work.

The photocopy of Aladdin sketches signed by Glen Keane is framed on the wall of our studio today. It’s a reminder of the long path we’ve taken to get where we are, but it’s also a reminder of the foundation our studio is built on. If you got a letter today from a ten-year-old wanting to work in animation, how would you tell that kid to prepare for a career in this industry? Would life drawing be an essential part of the mix, or just an “if you want to” extra? I know Tim and I would still call it an essential, but I may be biased since that’s key to the kind of animation we do at Rauch Brothers. But I do think that a solid foundation in the basics will increase an individual’s ability to work in any way they choose. That flexibility will make them a more valuable asset in the work place, and give them the fullest range of choice in their career. Please comment and share your thoughts on the subject.

One of my favorite things about living in New York is the subway: it’s a great place to draw and I’ve filled up a lot of sketchbooks riding the trains.  This is the first of a continuing series of posts that will show pages from those books.