Pixar Animation Student Worked On A Disney Illustration Project For More Than A Year, And The Results Are Just Enchanting

The wondrous world of Disney is a treasure trove of inspiration for artists far and wide! For Mexican illustrator Rafael Mayani, the allure of Disney's magic was simply irresistible.

After diving headfirst into the mesmerizing world of Pixar Animation through masterclasses led by the likes of Matt Luhn and Andrew Gordon, Mayani found himself on a truly transformative journey, fueled by nothing but pure passion and dedication. With his drive to perfect his craft and explore the enchanting depths of animation, Mayani embarked on an ambitious quest: a year-long Disney illustration project.

His goal? To not only sharpen his drawing skills but also to uncover the secrets behind the enduring charm of Disney's timeless classics.

Mayani poured his heart and soul into crafting a series of truly unique artworks, each one a love letter to the captivating storytelling that defines Disney. He focused on every animated feature from Disney (excluding those direct-to-video releases).

Alongside these stunning illustrations, Mayani chronicled his epic journey on a delightful blog, sharing insights into the intricacies of each film's narrative and shining a light on the remarkable artistry that brings these beloved tales to life. Scroll down for some of the enchanting works he created over the course of his effort to improve.

And if you want to see more of his works, just head over to Mayani's Facebook page.

Big Hero 6

Going back to what Disney does best, the movie focuses on amazing characters (both in design and personality) and a great story. In my opinion, this is Disney's best movie since Emperor's New Groove, which came out in 2000, so this is a pretty big deal.Rafael Mayani Illustration

The Little Mermaid

We could focus on Ariel's facial expressions when she meets Prince Eric after being turned into a human, and see how beautifully animated the whole scene is.Rafael Mayani Illustration

Frozen

The studio's latest effort to bring the production to life went through many changes and has some really tough moments, but the end result was probably Disney's most popular musical since the movies from the '90s renaissance.Rafael Mayani Illustration

Wreck-It Ralph

Even though some of the movie's aesthetics are based on existing video game concepts and worlds, the creative team at Disney did a great job designing something incredibly fun and visually appealing. This is also partly due to the rendering software used to create the lighting and texturing of the film. Throughout the studio's history, Disney has been known for working on groundbreaking technology that they use to create their films, and though they hadn't done anything super innovative in recent years, for Wreck-It Ralph, they developed a new rendering system that really enhances the visuals in the film.Rafael Mayani Illustration

Winnie-the-Pooh

...the movie is a great rendition of classic Winnie the Pooh stories and shows how amazing the simplest form of 2D animation can be.Rafael Mayani Illustration

The Princess and the Frog

Something really great about this movie is that the artists gave themselves the freedom to create scenes with many styles, so sometimes the animation is really cartoony and exaggerated, while at other times it's more traditional, and there's even a great sequence that is super graphic.All in all, The Princess and the Frog is a pretty good film. It features great characters, a cool villain, nice songs, and a beautiful story. Rafael Mayani Illustration

Brother Bear

Although mainly focused on American Indian myths, the story is based on many different tribes' legends of people who turn into animals.Originally, the characters were based more on Inuit art and, for me, were more interesting. However, in the end, the characters had to be simplified to reduce animation time, resulting in a sort of Alaskan design.Rafael Mayani Illustration

Lilo & Stitch

Lilo & Stitch is Disney's 42nd animated feature and can be considered a small return to the aesthetics of the classic Disney films. Even though there are many computer-generated sequences in the film, the watercolor backgrounds and the style of animation are reminiscent of the features from the '40s.Rafael Mayani Illustration

Pocahontas

Although the movie is set in a completely different time and place than Sleeping Beauty, if you look at both films, you'll notice that they have very similar styles in terms of backgrounds and spaces.In art history, there was a point when perspective was perfected, and paintings transitioned from being completely horizontal and flat to having more volume. Something similar happened with Disney animated features. With the help of computer animation, animators at Disney were able to give their scenes more volume and impressive camera movements.Still, in Pocahontas, the art department managed to take that flat-looking imagery and turn it into something amazing. The backgrounds, with their stunning colors and shapes, are as epic as a shot from Tarsem Singh's The Fall.Rafael Mayani Illustration

The Lion King

...the animation isn't the only great aspect of The Lion King. We all know about the incredible score and music composed for the film. Working as a team, Hans Zimmer composed the score, while Elton John and Tim Rice wrote the songs for The Lion King, inspired by African music and its instruments. The first song that Elton John wrote for the film was Circle of Life, an amazing song that actually inspired the opening sequence of the film. Hans Zimmer took the song and added some African sounds to it to make it feel more in tune with the environment. The result was one of the best songs from Disney movies. Rafael Mayani Illustration

The Jungle Book

The characters in this film are some of the best in Disney movies, but it wasn't only due to the great animation and script. The songs in the film are also perfect. Each character is beautifully represented through music, from Baloo's Bare Necessities to Kaa's Trust in Me. Rafael Mayani Illustration

Peter Pan

Peter Pan is a great movie. The story is perfect, and the characters are awesome. I think that for the first time, the pacing was perfect, and every part of the movie has a reason to be there. Previous Disney movies had some story flaws (in my opinion). The White Dove delivering the letter to Pinocchio, which states that his father has been swallowed by Monstro, is a great example.Rafael Mayani Illustration

Alice in Wonderland

Alice in Wonderland is the movie with the most songs from all the Disney Animated Features, and most of them, such as the Unbirthday song, the Caucus Race theme, and even some very small phrases like "I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date," have become classics.Rafael Mayani Illustration

Pinocchio

Some say this was the last movie in which Walt Disney was completely involved, and that's why the effects and everything work so well. However, despite the acclaim from the public and press, the movie did not perform as well as its predecessor (in terms of revenue) since WWII had forced the European market to close. This was a significant change of plans for the studio, and budgets had to be adjusted for their next movies.I just wanted to point out that when Pixar was working on their first movie, Toy Story, they faced the same character and story problems that Disney had with Pinocchio. The way to overcome those problems was by redesigning and rethinking the role of Woody in the movie. Something I noticed while watching the movie was how similar Pinocchio's and Woody's faces are when they are not alive.Rafael Mayani Illustration

You can't help but be amazed by the sheer dedication of the artist. The project was intended to study Disney, but it became a heartfelt celebration of its enduring legacy.

Mayani's journey truly evokes the magic of Disney, which lies not just in its animated works but in the boundless inspiration it ignites within passionate artists like him. Let's raise our Mickey ears to Mayani's enchanting tribute!