Challenge
Design an original carousel from scratch, based on Disney's Fantasia IP, by theming an existing turntable and roof structure.
Solution: I worked with the team to narrow down the design story to Fantasia. I designed the pegasus horse and chariot vehicles (all views), rounding boards, roof finials, and color palette. I also created 24 murals for the inner core and rounding boards, chose the placement of the vehicles, and painted the final color boards.
2012-15
Concept, Design, Painting
Walt Disney Imagineering
Director: Doris Woodward, Art Director: Chris Runco
Concept Art
I’ve designed animal vehicles before, but never the whole carousel from start to finish. The amazing team of people at Imagineering took my designs and brought them to life. Today, it’s a favorite gem of Shanghai Disneyland’s Gardens of Imagination.
I also got to paint the scene that was used in all the marketing materials for the carousel.
Horse Designs
There were 64 vehicles, so I created 11 different horses and 1 chariot, to be repeated in different sizes and colors, four rows deep. Everyone fell in love with the babies!
Color Boards
Taking inspiration from the original film, I chose a pastel palette for the vehicles, and deeper tones and golds for the rounding boards. The team painted the horses in a beautiful matte finish, an original touch.
Murals
The rounding board murals were taken directly from old movie frames, which I edited and improved in a higher resolution. I created these images for the core of the carousel by collaging images of fairies from different seasons in the movie.
Figurative Touches
What would a Fantasia carousel be without hippos, crocs and flamingos? These were fun to design.
The Result
Doris Woodward headed up a talented team of designers and fabricators to bring this beautiful carousel to life. It was one of my favorite projects ever.
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