The Duck Avenger

This week marked the 3000th issue of the Italian "Topolino" (Mickey Mouse) magazine. The Italian comics have expanded the Disney Duck universe considerably and one of their most notable additions was Donald's thief-cum-superhero identity.

Here's a little tribute to that part of the Disney family tree. Paperinik, a.k.a. The Duck Avenger, in art deco style. I grew up on Italian comics along with those by the likes of Carl Barks and Don Rosa so doing this brought me right back.

CG Star Tours

When I first went to Euro Disneyland at age 12, one attraction I wanted to ride again and again was Star Tours. I didn't even know Star Wars at the time (the franchise was pretty low-key in that period) but I loved being transported to this odd yet plausible spaceport in another galaxy.

For most of my teens I would draw Starspeeders and droids; on paper at first, then digitally. Here's a pixel-by-pixel piece from 1995, drawn in what is now MS Paint.

Later, when I would learn to use 3D programs, I would usually do something Star Tours or Star Wars-related to teach myself CG techniques.

Le Carrousel de Lancelot

Let's have a look at another Fantasyland attraction, Le Carrousel de Lancelot, or "Lancelot's Fanciful Carousel" as it's called in the safety spiel (and nowhere else, to my knowledge).

The Beetroot Bird

Why should Florida have all the fun, after all?

Thank you!

So I've actually made it, a new post for each of the blog's first 10 days. Thanks to all my readers, especially those who took the time to comment on here or to share on Twitter.

I'm overjoyed that I've surpassed 2500 page views in that short amount of time, with the most popular post being the first round of attraction posters. So… I guess I had better do more of those?

I will probably slow down a little from here on out – but don't worry (or do, if you disliked my previous posts), I still have quite a bit to share on this blog.

Thanks for reading!

The Queen of the River

Let's have a brief look at the history of the Molly Brown Riverboat, a watercraft exclusive to Disneyland Paris.

During creation of the park, it was decided to recreate the Mark Twain Riverboat from Disneyland and to add a second "big boat" alongside the canoes and keelboats that would sail the Frontierland River. The choice quickly fell on a classic side-wheeler to complement the Mark Twain which has its paddle wheel mounted on the stern of the ship.

Photo by PhotosMagiques

The Imagineers, led by Frontierland show producer Jeff Burke, opted to give the ship a female name and "personality" and soon decided on the larger-than-life character of "Molly" Brown. Margaret Brown, née Tobin, was the wife of J. J. Brown who struck it rich during the gold rush – fitting in perfectly with the Frontierland story. She furthermore grew up in the same town as (and reportedly even met) Mark Twain. Many years later she would survive the Titanic tragedy and become known as the "Unsinkable Molly Brown."

Frontierland Maps

I've spent over two years working on various Frontierland attractions in Paris, mostly on Big Thunder Mountain and the Keelboats, but also helping out on Phantom Manor and the Riverboats every now and then.

During that time I submitted a few designs for use in day-to-day operations. Here are two that I did for projects which never saw the light of day.