Animating with Aphantasia
Disney legend Glen Keane animated some of the studio’s most beloved characters, including the Beast, Ariel, and Aladdin. He was once described by Ed Catmull, the former president of Pixar and Walt Disney Studios, as “one of the best animators in the history of hand-drawn animation.”
When Keane sat down to design Ariel (1989), or the beast from Beauty and the Beast (1991), his mind was a blank. He had no preconception of what he would draw. Glen Keane has aphantasia.
Aphantasia means that the mind’s eye is blind, preventing people from conjuring up visual images. People with aphantasia can still think about an apple or a mermaid, for example, but they cannot bring the visual image of that thing or person to mind.
Despite being unable to picture things in their minds, aphantasiacs can still be creative, as Keane’s work on Animating the Beast illustrates.
Disney animator Glen Keane creates without visualizing. Watch this video on Keane’s creative process and how he found beauty in animating the Beast.
About Disney Animator Glen Keane
Glen Keane is an American animator, author and illustrator. He was a character animator at Walt Disney Animation Studios for feature films including The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Pocahontas, Tarzan and Tangled. He received the 1992 Annie Award for character animation and the 2007 Winsor McCay Award for lifetime contribution to the field of animation.
He was named a Disney Legend in 2013.