Lion King: I just can't wait to be king.

As an art and design student, my first interest with both began with film.

Television was one of the few constants in my early developmental years. (Not to say that people weren’t a part of it either, but film is generally all around.) My first recollection of the first movie I ever remember seeing was The Lion King. The movie was filled with bright colors and tones, unique shapes and scenery, and a masterful composition and design. It was inspiring to see a story come to life based on drawings and conceptual design.

The Lion King, 1994 - Disney

So I believe that an important element along with communication is the creative design of color and function, the ability to know how color can work and relate to the images in the scene – and how they can be representative of form and shape.

Because it is film, it relies mostly on your vision and hearing. Lion King, for me, was about catchy tunes and vibrant colors. It was about the personable characters and how the scene was always moving along, thus keeping you entertained. And how can it not? Film is something you have to give your full attention to in order to learn from it.

However, the compositional design of the film showed me a world outside the city suburban life. It depicted a scene of the savannah, which allowed the audience to imagine utilizing their other senses such as touch, smell and even taste.

Touch: in relation to the lion’s fur coat, the intricately drawn grass, and all other scenes that depicted transitory ideas like water. While it is drawn depiction, we all know how water feels in our hands, so we can thus imagine how it flows.

Smell: is similar to transitory ideas like water. Even as a child, we all have recollections of certain smells, which is why I won’t go into details about why all the animals wouldn’t even stand downwind of Pumba.

Taste: this issue is a little more difficult but the most memorable scene is the bug-eating scene. Frankly, we all don’t really to imagine it. It’s just sort of disgusting.

Timon from The Lion King, 1994 - Disney

So how does this relate to design? As I grew, I began taking a look at behind the scenes clips that showed how the movie was made. These clips emphasized the creating animated films using digital and traditional based concepts demonstrating the importance of mastering both mediums.

Thus, my first movie became my inspiration for my majors. Go figure.

Signed a “maturing” artist,

Caroline