Episode 123 – Claire Keane (Visual Development Artist)

Claire KeaneToday we have another returning guest—one who has done some work I know you’ve seen and some other work that you need to see. In this episode, we return to Visual Development Artist and children’s book author & illustrator Claire Keane.

Back in episode 84, which I released the day after my daughter was born, Claire talked about how what a Visual Development Artist does; working on Tangled and Frozen; what it was like working on Tangled with her Dad, legendary Disney animator Glen Keane; her first book, Once Upon a Cloud, and some advice for you.

(By the way, I’m still getting used to the new podcasting equipment, and you’ll notice that from time to time, I’m sure–especially in the outro after the interview.)

In this episode Claire talks about:

  • A brief refresher on what a Visual Development Artist does
  • The differences in what her role was on Frozen vs. Tangled
  • How Frozen changed dramatically while she was working on it
  • What her process as a Visual Development Artist is like
  • Her work on Rapunzel’s murals in Tangled—and having to put the sun emblems in there
  • What she did on the movie Enchanted
  • Why Tangled was (and is) so special to her
  • How Tangled set the stage for wanting to do her children’s books
  • Growing up with Glen Keane as her Dad and how he continues to support her (unfortunately, we had a bit of  Skype issue in this part)
  • Her newest book, Little Big Girl—what it’s about, what makes it different, and how it partially echoes the style of her granddad—Bil Keane, creator of the Family Circus
  • The tribute to her granddad she included in the book—here’s a hint: it’s in the shownotes for this episode, too
  • Whether the pictures created the words or vice versa while she was working on her books
  • How creating Little Big Girl has influenced the way she looks at the world
  • Shameless Plug Time.

Claire Keane - Family CircusFind Claire:

Podcasts Spotlighted in this Episode:

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Music and voiceovers provided by Rick Moyer.

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