Don Bluth Animation Tutorials: Draw as you Please 

I could watch Don draw forever.

What's most admiring to me is how Don Bluth draws with such raw confidence. He just goes straight into the linework without any form of preliminary drawing, only a really basic sketch as reference. That essentially means that Don doesn't sketch the finer details of his drawing, but instead draws those finer details as he's doing the linework, which means he has to get those finer details right in one take. That's something most artists wouldn't do, out of fear of messing up the linework, but something Don is able to do so insanely well. That basically means Don is able to finish his drawings with fewer steps than most artists. But I guess when your job is to draw hundreds, if not thousands of drawings on a strict deadline, to animate a film, you sort of have to get really good at being able to finish your drawings faster than most artists would.

At 2:50 he brings up straights against curves.. important design stuff. So it doesn't end up looking like a blob

14 years later and he still blows me away every time. The number of limbs I'd give to draw as he does is more than I have.

I can't wait to see Dragon's Lair movie and all things going to be great

I'm an animator, Don. You are a truly admirable animation icon. I love that you're doing this for people like us. Thanks, man :)

No other place to study such a unique style than the legend himself

the owl in nimh freaked me out as a kid, and I thank you

all my respects when I was a kid I used to play American Tail, all the dogs go to heaven and of course The land before time... thank you so much mister My inspiration even these days.. your life have a meaning... All us, the 90's kids

I love this guy

Why have we given up on this artistry, sigh. The amount of knowledge and skill going into this is phenomenal.

Don: You don't wanna lissin to anything while you draw. Me: *Drawing* ..... *sniff* I've let you doun..

Brilliant. This man is amazingly talented!

This is really helpful! I feel like I'm not being too confident in my drawing but this lifted me up! I find it interesting that you can manage to find more creativity by trying to disconnect from outside. Sometimes I'll hear a song or see something while strolling down the street and it gives me ideas.

This is my FAVORITE animator ever. There’s something magical about how he animals mouths and speaking.

I've found that whatever music I'm listening to affects whatever I'm drawing, and will often give me ideas as to what to draw.

8:04 Joking aside, I'm impressed artists like Don Bluth is able to draw full figure without so much as drawing skeletal anatomy guides, caricature or realistic.

Does Don Bluth paint all of his animations as well? I always found the use of color in his animations to be so beautiful. I could tell a Bluth film right from the get-go just from use of color alone.

I loved your comment about parallel lines! You are a wonderful person to share your insights the way you do. All I can really say is thank you for your gifts to the world. Your works will be cherished for the rest of time.

My thoughts about the Don Bluth tutorial. He said you have to be truly creative or you have to use your imagination. You have to think about characters, and you have to think about four forms. It means four shapes. He said maybe, play very lightly the classical music. Just lay down and get comfortable. That reminds me of The Animator's Survival Kit. Richard Williams talked about the music. He said I had the habit of listening to classical music or jazz while working.

As a beginner artist this is not only helpful but but also inspiring. Thanks Don.

That first line got me hooked

the master

I hope it's not too late for me to learn hand-drawn animation! Because I would very love to keep this art alive.

a true master at work

anyone who watches this has to realize that Don is one of the true animation masters, he can do all this stuff in his sleep, anyone that wants to be an animator has to long work and hard for years to get somewhere, the best animation demo reels are from people that went to 4 year animation colleges, it's like wanting to be a great guitar player you have to do it day and night almost to be good

As a start-anew-life art student, I'm definitely trying to follow your advice. Your work is truly legendary.

yeah classical, cool.

My feed could be just don bluth drawing

This is great, love these. I watch them on my long bus and train commute to work and practice on my galaxy note phone with the pen stylus.

I'm an aspiring artist and lone-working animator, and I have to say, this little tutorial is just the video I need to kick start my imagination :) Thanks Don, your work and your lessons are such an inspiration. :D

I love his style! When it's animated it's simply stunning!

I have a lot more respect for Don Bluth as an animator than as a director.

quite amazing indeed, when i can find and gather my confidence again i will defiantly be looking upon your tutorial videos to find my motivation and inspiration, i will be honest, i always found something to be so...romantic? in your work even in the darker scenes of the films, it was thoroughly engaging and sparks the imagination, i could see why disney wanted you working for them, because in some instances simple, but yet...its quite literally magic from the imagination, thank you for sharing your knowledge

Your advice and the videos are absolutely priceless. This information and YOUR guidance is the best.

Your AWESOME!!!! :D Thanks for the tips I would surely have them in mind whenever making something for me or for my art classes that I have started to take. ^_^ and LOVE Anastasia it was my favorite movie when i was a little girl and still is my fav movie.

It's amazing how different of a drawing style he has compared to say, Glen Keane. But both are great story tellers and character creators.

he was a Disney Animator he was the main cartoonist responsible for flow the story in key poses, for painting, was another member of Disney company.

Wow, he draws lines and circles so easily. I hope to be able to do that someday

Thank you Don for teaching us.

whats the dark pencil brand hes using prisma?

My creativity comes from relaxing and listening to metal....

Thank you so much! You have no idea how helpful these videos are.

I hope to draw like him in the future

I’m gonna sign up for the university!

Thank you for uploading this! Definitely a tip that every artist should keep in mind.

Mr Don Bluth, thanks for this video, i am learning a lot from you. You're great!

Is that the jabberwocky.

Long live Don Bluth

Dirk kind of reminds me of Kay Pendragon from "The Sword in the Stone", and I needn't say why.

None that I can think of. As long as I enjoy the song, I have no problem drawing to it.

What he said about doing before drawing is what I always do when I do artwork

Dragon's Lair? Dang that brings back memories...

Hey Don, have you ever considered writing a book about your experiences in the industry? There exists an earlier book from a couple decades ago, but its long out of print, and it fetches big bucks today.

you can work in the meanwhile to get a visa, in the meanwhile take art classes! and find the university you want and look what they have for international students..or you can go to argentina, they have animation there!! i know i looked already..

Hes so good

Don is like the Mr. Rogers of drawing

Look,this is a gigachad men

I love it, love it, love it, love it.

0:36 "I have different ways of accessing creativity" Me too ;)

Amazing drawings. What kind of pencil does he use?

Thanks for this, it's a great tutorial, very helpful!

i loved this. i had no idea going in how pleasant and insightful it would be (i knew it was a type of advertisement, but...). Maybe i'm too used to old school software tutorials and things. Fantastic.

0:12 **Don Bluth speaks the truth**

16 Field Animation Paper.

it's true you use 16 field animation paper Don Bluth? why/ you are the greatest director.

The Jabberwocky blows the word "THE" at Dirk in Time Warp. Why?

Your video is priceless for me because my dream is to be an animator!But I was wondering if you can tell me what pencil are you using and if there are certain type of pencils that are good for animating?

thanks

Don Bluth is a god.

Absolutely awesome

Ah, is that kind of paper industry standard? I'm thinking about going into animation (particularly 2D hand-drawn animation) and I've got some questions that I want to ask you about it.

always excellent!

I love this guy

PLEASE release Land Before Time uncut

A childhood hero of mine, that my kids are now watching. . Anyone got aThe Art Dragon's Lair book, they are willing to part with?😜

this was so helpful thank you!!

Are there some music that you are unable to listen to while drawing because it distracts you? For example, I listen to music that doesn't have a fast tempo or distinct drum beat.

Me just commenting this part of history.

will don bluth ever release sea beast laser game on pc

How long are the actual DVDs for his animation tutorials?

What kind of pencil are you using Don?

In which school do you learn those things?

que edad tenia en ese momento??

Can you draw a sharptooth for me please?

i like it

I

@arandomperson3 Maybe CGI is better for you then, I was the same and found CG I didn't necessarily need to be an ACE draftsman but could still try to learn how to Animate. 2D Artists like Mr.Bluth are talented on so many levels..

That use to be him until Lavalle Lee came along and ruined him for me.

what kind of paper is he using

Hello there! I see we can order your DVD's. Are they area protected? I am in Europe.

the amount of people in this comment section who mix your with you're is too damn high

But I'm not smart enough to think of more than one thing at a time!

this is amazing! I always wanted to be an animator,it was my dream but in my country(peru) animation doesn't exit as a career :(, my only hope was travel to the states someday but it's very expensive so, thank you very much for this videos :)

0:38 Different ways of accessing creativity? Lol Don's a pothead, no wonder he's always wearing green and draws so well

Do a Five Nights At Freddy's animation please!

i like to draw but my reference is reality, with cartoonish lineart. i want to be a comic artist.

He should make adult animation.

Can he make a official fnaf Disney movie

I always liked Don's, and his friends, work. It is unfortunate that these kind of things have an end. Computer animation just isn't as good. It has no soul.