IT'S HERE! SOUNDSATIONAL!

Paper model for Professor Owl from Toot, Whistle, Plunk, and Boom. 

 Reference for the puppet on the opening float.

Finally!  After a year and a half of planning, designing, paper modeling, building, painting and rehearsing, Disneyland has a sparkling new parade.  Mickey's SOUNDSATIONAL!

Paper model for the Jolly Holiday Fox Hunter & Fox,

 reference for the giant puppet that leads the finale.

It's the biggest project Jody and I have ever tackled and we are very proud of it.  Huge heap of gratitude to our long-time friend Steve Davison for inviting us to be a part of this. 

Now everybody go see it!!!

Paper Model for the wacky Aracuan Bird from The Three Caballeros

It's coming...

Pedaling into Disneyland May 27!

Jody Daily Paints Pixar

Jody will be debuting a new painting this weekend in a Pixar-inspired fine art show at the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento.  

From the press release:  

“See Woody in Toy Story 3!”

While Disney fans best know artist Jody Daily through his Disneyland art and collectibles, which he creates with his partner Kevin Kidney, it is his designs for theater and theme park entertainment that occupy most of his time.  Currently he and Kevin are art directing a brand new musical parade for Disneyland® Park called Soundsational.

 

No stranger to the world of Pixar, Jody designed the Pixar Play Parade for Disney’s California Adventure® theme park, and in 2009 Jody and Kevin were called upon by John Lasseter’s team to create the packaging for Toy Story’s definitive toy line.

 

For his new painting of Woody, Jody turned to classic hand-painted movie poster art of the 1930s and 40s for inspiration. “My own personal style seems to go toward whimsical children’s book illustration, but I get really excited by the challenge of working in many different styles, from gothic to modern. I really just try to be a chameleon and create things that look authentic to whatever time and genre I’m aiming for, and keep my own present-day aesthetic out of it!” 

More information about the Pixar event and artwork here!

Toy Storage! Packaging for Pixar's Toy Stars

Back in 2009,  Jody and I had the great honor of being asked by Pixar and Disney Consumer Products to help create special packaging for the new Toy Story Definitive toy line, the most film-accurate replicas of the characters ever produced.  At the time, Jody had just designed the Pixar Play Parade for Disney's California Adventure, and "Toy Story 3" was still in production.

Some of the characters, like Woody, Jessie and Buzz, already had packaging seen in the animated films, but there were side panels and box backs not visible on screen, that needed to be fleshed out. Other toys, such as the Pizza Planet Aliens and a mysterious new character named Lots-O-Huggin' Bear, required all new packaging from scratch. 

Jody and I based all our digital illustrations on rough pencil concepts by Pixar merch designer Ben Butcher.  Some of the packaging, such as this shipping crate for Rex - complete with volcano, went through a zillion variations before everyone was happy.  

John Lasseter talks about Rex - and his packaging!

RC, the remote controlled race car, is supposed to be a toy from the 1980s, so his packaging reflects the graphic style and "awesome features" of the period. 

John and RC!

Our favorite was this "barn" for Hamm, the talking piggy bank.  In the Toy Story world, Hamm is a much older toy, so his packaging was even more "vintage" looking.

Every box has a "Try Me" button incorporated into its design, and getting this feature in the correct spot, without having the actual toy in front of us, was a challenge.

The series, except for Hamm, has been out for some time now.  We think all the "definitive" toys, made by Thinkway,  turned out super amazing, and it was a exciting for us to contribute something cool and lasting to the Toy Story milieu!