Bambi

The man behind that brush was Chinese-American artist Tyrus Wong, who died last year at the age of 106. For years, his key role in the look of this enduring film was underplayed, even forgotten, by those outside the Disney animation studios. Tyrus Wong, Bambi (visual development), 1942. Courtesy of Tyrus Wong and PBS.

The art of Bambi includes paintings, sketches, watercolours, and pastels by Chinese-American artist Tyrus Wong. Wong's work was a major influence on the visual aesthetic of the 1942 Disney film:

·       Color schemes: Wong chose the colour schemes and forest appearance, giving the film a distinct look.

·       Backgrounds: Wong's backgrounds were detailed, almost photographic.

·       Emotional evocation: Wong's style focused on evoking emotion rather than capturing a photographic reproduction of nature.

Wong was born in a farming village in Guangdong Province, China and immigrated to California with his father in 1919 at the age of nine. He was a versatile artist who mastered watercolour, pastel drawing, calligraphy, and kite-making. His greatest talent was applying minimalism to convey a story. 

Wong's work is featured in an exhibit at the Museum of Chinese in America, which debuted at The Walt Disney Family Museum in 2013. Walt Disney's vision for Bambi and the use of Wong's work still influence films today. 

Tyrus Wong and the Art of "Bambi"

The Walt Disney Family Museum celebrates Walt Disney’s brilliant and timeless 1942 animated feature, Bambi. In this column, we revisit the observations of legendary Disney animators Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston from their 1990 book, Walt Disney’s Bambi: The Story and the Film, in which they discuss the work of Tyrus Wong.

Many of the backgrounds we were seeing…were very detailed, almost to the point of looking like photographs, and we were having a serious problem with the unbroken expanse of flat colour on the animated adult deer against such paintings. The sketches of the deer made for the story reels were far more than outlines and even had suggestions of shadows falling across the bodies. They were like book illustrations, with bits of shading to give the illusion of solidity, define the shapes, and help display the expressions. How could it be done in animation? We could not use shading on our drawings—everything had to be done in line backed up by a single coat of paint. And how could a background with all the leaves and twigs and details of the forest be balanced against such a large, unrelieved area?

The solution came out of the innovative work of one special artist—Tyrus Wong. His paintings, styling sketches, watercolours, and pastels would give a whole new appearance to the picture, distinct from any we had previously given or would ever give any film.

Ty had come to California from China at the age of nine. When he was hired at Disney, studio policy had every newcomer start as a lowly in-between, executing the often-tedious drawings that filled out the action between the animator’s key drawings. In Ty’s case, it was not a profitable decision. He not only hated the work but commented that his eyes were beginning to feel like a couple of tennis balls as he flipped the drawings of Mickey and stared at the light on his drawing board. When he heard that experimental work was being done on Bambi, he worked several nights to gather together samples of what he could do. He had read Felix Salten’s book and “thought the story was very, very nice—the feeling—you can almost smell the pine.” He took his sketches to the art director, Tom Codrick. Like those working for him, Tom had been painting realistically. But when he saw these soft-edged, oriental paintings of a mystical forest, he realized instantly that this was just what was needed to make Bambi a different, artistic picture.

In contrast to the paintings that showed every detail of tiny flowers, broken branches, and fallen logs, Ty had a different approach and certainly one that had never been seen in an animated film before. He explained, “Too much detail! I tried to keep the thing very, very simple and create the atmosphere, the feeling of the forest.” His grasses were a shadowy refuge with just a few streaks of the actual blades; his thickets were soft suggestions of deep woods and patches of light that brought out the rich detail in the trunk of a tree or a log. Groups of delicate trees were shown in silhouette against the mists of early morning rising from the meadow. Every time of day each mood of the forest was portrayed in a breathtaking manner. An ethereal quality was there. Best of all, Walt was enthusiastic. “I like that indefinite effect in the background—it’s effective. I like it better than a bunch of junk behind them.”

When asked about his style, Ty said, “Halfway between the West and the East—but I can’t help that, I’m born with it.” He set the colour schemes along with the appearance of the forest in painting after painting, hundreds of them, depicting Bambi’s world in an unforgettable way. Here at last was the beauty of Salten’s writing, created not in a script or with character development, but in paintings that captured the poetic feeling that had eluded us for so long.

Legendary Disney artist Tyrus Wong had a gift for evoking incredible feeling in his art with simple, gestural composition. Walt saw that Tyrus was able to produce exquisite artwork that did not necessarily look like the forest—but rather, felt like the forest. Walt Disney's vision for Bambi and the use of Tyrus's work still influence films today.

Bambi

(British, born circa 1986)

Bambi is the pseudonym of a contemporary British street artist known for her stencilled graffiti works. Bambi employs representational imagery to offer social commentary and address political concerns, she often uses the depiction of notable contemporary figures such as artist Ai Weiwei, the late British singer Amy Winehouse, or football star David Beckham. The artist’s work focuses on contemporary female identity and its relationship to patriarchal culture, the commodification of the art world, and political injustices. “Being an artist is about creative freedom,” she said. “I want to save the world and that’s why social commentary is always present in my work. It’s easy to live with your eyes shut but that’s not fulfilling or helpful to the world.” Born c. 1982 in the United Kingdom, she has been an active graffiti artist in the Islington neighbourhood of London since her youth. Bambi’s work is just as likely to adorn city streets as it is the walls of her celebrity collectors, which include Rihanna, Brad Pitt, and Adele. Her works are known to have fetched upwards of £100,000. Though little is known about this anonymous artist, she graduated with an MA from Saint Martin’s College and continues to live and work in London, United Kingdom.

Bambi or Bambi Graffiti (British, b. ca.1982) is an anonymous female street artist based in London. A graduate of St. Martin’s College of Art, she has been active as a graffiti artist in the Islington neighbourhood of London for the past five to seven years. Many of her street pieces are still visible at different locations, and she has received wide praise for her public murals of figures such as Prince William and Kate Middleton, Queen Elizabeth, and Amy Wine House. Her portrait of Wine House became one of her most well-known pieces and was famously whitewashed by the artist and repainted with Wine House wearing a yellow dress instead of the original red. The mural is now protected by plastic and is considered an important cultural landmark for the city of London.

Dubbed “The Female Banksy" by TV commentator David Dimbleby, her approach to Street Art is unique, blending the classic stencil and spray paint technique with original media such as diamond dust and gold leaf. Bringing a feminine touch to the Street Art scene, her artworks have a colourful and glittery feel that makes her pieces appealing to a broad range of art lovers beyond Graffiti Art fans. Speaking of her work in a very rare interview, the media-shy artist said, “I let my work speak for itself. But dreams can inspire me and I am particularly interested in people who spread love and joy…”

Her work often depicts events and icons of popular culture including James Bond actor Daniel Craig, Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei (Chinese b.1957), Rihanna, Dita Von Teese, and David Beckham. Bambi’s art is also in the private collections of many famous celebrities including Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, Adele, Robbie Williams, Mark Owen, Harry Styles, and Louis Walsh, to name just a few. Recently Kate Moss commissioned her to paint a personal Street Art portrait in the style of Andy Warhol’s iconic Marilyn for a reported sum of £50,000.

Bambi had her first official exhibition at Walton Fine Arts Gallery in London in 2012, and she is rapidly becoming a rising star of the British Urban Art scene. Enjoying more and more exposure in both national and international press, Bambi revealed she used to have a prominent career in the music business as a singer. There has been speculation over what her real identity might be, but to this day it still remains a well-kept secret.