Terry Naughton - King Triton

2012.08.04 The Great Allentown Comic Con! (Pa)
King Triton pencil sketch

Terry Naughton can handle many different styles in a variety of media. He worked for Walt Disney Feature Animation for 17 years as an animation assistant and storyboard artist. He worked on all the recent classics such as The Little Mermaid (King Triton), Beauty and the Beast (the Beast) and Aladdin (the Genie) to name only a few. Terry has also created the last ten U.S.C. football posters and various work for the N.F.L. Terry illustrates book covers and helps create and illustrate children's books. Terry is currently working on the "Abyss Walker Series" by Author Shane Moore...

I am still a kid at heart and I enjoy Disney movies, so it was a thrill to meet Terry, HE WORKED FOR DISNEY!

When I saw Terry's name on the guest list for the Allentown show getting a sketch was a must. Obviously my choices would be the Beast (from Beauty and the Beast) or King Triton. Matt made the decision as he said Triton was cooler. The  Little Mermaid was released in 1989, based on the fairy tale by Hans Christian Anderson, utilizing the traditional hand drawn method of animation. Mermaid was the last feature film to use traditional hand-paintd cels for animation. Personally I think CGI is great for some animation, but good hand drawn is still the best... Terry's Triton is awesome, and I like the way Triton is looking at Nemo, as if wondering what type of trouble will this one get into!?

Finding Nemo was a Disney computer-animated film release in 2003, voted the 10th greatest animated film by the American Film Institute in 2008. The stamp was released by the USPS as part of their Mail a Smile campaign, released with other Disney-Pixar based stamps (A Bugs Life, Incredibles, Toy Story 2 and Monsters, Inc.)

In 2003 we had taken a family vacation to Disney World, Orlando. part of the park featured a Disney-MGM studios, complete with tours that featured Disney animation. One part of the tour featured a Disney animator who explained the animation process while he was drawing. His drawing was projected overhead for all of the guests to see. It was an excellent demonstration and learning process. As the group moved on, Matt and I hung back. I had brought a small journal to document our trip to the park. I asked the artist if he could provide us with a drawing. The animator was most pleasant and did not hesitate. He discussed art with us, while encouraging Matt to continue his drawing. He even gave Matt some of his pencils, to encourage his drawing, he could not have been nicer. He provided the above sketch of Koda from Brother Bear. I had quickly written down his name as Issac, but I don't have his last name. He also did some work at the time on Treasure Planet...
Update: after a little more research I believe the artist to be Isacc V Cropp III (IVCIII)
2012.08.14

Terry and I had a great conversation on working at Disney and we shared our stories, his about hearing from some grateful fans, he still carries the letter which he let me read. It was very touching, and as he said "that is what it is all about"...reaching people and knowing they enjoy his work...