Lion King animator Aaron Blaise reveals his favourite tools

A quick glance at Aaron Blaise's home studio reveals his status as one of the biggest names in animation. On the shelves and walls are various maquettes from Disney movies he's worked on, a framed Oscar nomination for Brother Bear and a collection of awards picked up by his animated short Snow Bear over the past year. There's also an unusual memento from a very important movie.

Aaron began working at Disney as an intern at the age of 20 in 1989. He went on to work as an animator and later supervising animator on Disney renaissance classics from Beauty and the Beast to Aladdin, The Lion King, Pocahontas, and Mulan.

Aaron Blaise takes us on a tour of his home studio

Images from Aaron Blaise's art studio — Four workstations: Aaron's original Disney animation desk, drafting table, digital desk and downshooter (Image credit: Aaron Blaise)

The heart of it is my animation desk – my original Disney desk – which I’ve had for over 35 years now. It’s followed me through Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, Pocahontas, Mulan and Brother Bear. If the house were on fire, I’d probably try to drag it out with me.

The desk is permanently covered in loose animation drawings, half-used pencils, maquettes staring down at me and whatever art supplies I swore I’d put away yesterday. It also doubles as my painting desk for smaller works, because I’ve never mastered the art of keeping dedicated surfaces dedicated.

Aaron Blaise working at this Disney desk where he worked on The Lion King and a detail showing an image of a lion etched into wood — (Image credit: Aaron Blaise)

I scratched this lion head into the lower right-hand corner of my desk the day that I started work on The Lion King. You can just make out the date: 12/92.

Across the room is my big drafting table, which is where I do my large scale drawing and demoing. I love drawing big. It allows me to go nuts and be expressive. So I keep a huge roll of cheap painter’s paper mounted to the side.

I can just yank it across the table like a conveyer belt whenever the urge to draw hits. When I want something more permanent, I switch to a heavier, archival paper roll that’s mounted to the top edge of the desk. It’s a bit like having a sketchbook the size of a billboard.

Most days, though, I end up sitting at my digital desk. It’s the command centre of my little universe. It’s here that I answer emails and check my schedule for the day. It’s also where we have our weekly staff Zoom sessions, because all of the employees at CreatureArtTeacher work from their homes.

I created Snow Bear entirely at this desk, animated on my Wacom Cintiq Pro 32, which I love for its sheer acreage. Both the Cintiq and my second monitor sit in custom wooden stands that I built in my woodshop.

My cedar shelves (also home-made) hold a rotating collection of art books, sketchbooks, a clutch of Snow Bear accolades, skulls and a few animal anatomy maquettes.

On the opposite side of the room sits my down-shooter setup, which I use for filming traditional animation demos and art lessons for my courses. It also tends to collect random piles of papers, props and mysterious objects that I’m sure I’ll need ‘later’.

If you can’t find something in my studio, check the down-shooter table. It’s probably under a stack of animation drawings or unopened pack of acrylic paint pens.

Aaron Blaise's essential studio tools

My Herman Miller Aeron chairs are incredibly important. I’m always spouting about having the right equipment and these are the best you can get, in my opinion
I use my mahl stick to put against my large drawings and paintings. I can rest my hand on it without smearing the image.
My Blackmagic camera and arm is invaluable for shooting my traditional demos at the big drawing table.
My telescoping plastic portable seat goes with me whenever I’m out drawing in the field. It’s a lifesaver, keeping me from having to stand and saving my old back
Most important is my 24oz Tervis Tumbler with lid. I drink a lot of coffee during the day and this keeps it nice and hot. I fill it twice each day.

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You can keep up with what Aaron's working on by following him on Instagram.

This article originally appeared in ImagineFX. Subscribe to ImagineFX to never miss an issue. Print and digital subscriptions are available.

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A graduate of Ringling College of Art and Design, Aaron Blaise worked as an animator for Walt Disney for 21 years. He was co-director of Brother Bear and nominated for an Oscar. He has worked in Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Mulan and more hit animators movies. Aaron now teaches animation techniques from his studio, online and regularly gives talks at art and animation events.

With contributions from

Joe FoleyFreelance journalist and editor

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