| Chris Peterson is one of
those amazing people who was born to design and create. His family
recognized his talent at an early age and encouraged him to pursue a
career as an artist. Chris’ Aunt worked at the Disney Studio on Jungle
Book , Ludwig Von Drake , and the Goofy shorts.
She was the first woman layout artist at Disney, where she worked
mainly on Baloo . When Chris was a young boy, she would send
him drawings from the different animated films she was working on.
He would study each one, practice drawing the characters, and then
send them back to his aunt. At the age of eight, Chris
entered an art contest and won a full scholarship to an art academy.
They were shocked when his father called the school to inform them
that he was only eight years old.
At age 15, Chris worked for his aunt
doing assistant animation, and when he was only 16 , he began
working full time for Filmation Studio, first assisting on
such projects as the He Man and Fat Albert cartoons,
and later designing characters for BraveStar. At the age of
19, he began sculpting first for Filmation and then as a
free-lance artist. He later worked on several animated
features including, The Secret of N.I.M.H., Fire and Ice,
Fern Gully, Rover Dangerfield, and Once Upon A
Forest . When the animation industry slowed down in 1987, Chris
went to work at Applause Inc. as a sculptor and
product designer on Disney, Looney Tunes, and other licensed
products . At the end of 1989, Chris left Applause to form a
partnership with his wife Michelle, designing, sculpting, and
painting for Disney consumer products, The Disney Store, and
several toy and giftware companies. Chris has created such wonderful
toys as the Lil’ Classics PVC figures , sculpted picture
frames, ceramic and porcelain figurines and vinyl banks for The
Disney Stores.
Chris Petesron continues to create
many sculptures for the Walt Disney Classics Collection.
His first sculptures for the WDCC were "Lady,"
"Tramp,"
and the "Fairy
Godmother". However, of all the sculptures he
has created, the most endearing to him are "Hyacinth
Hippo" and "Ben
Ali Gator" from Fantasia. David Pacheco, the
creative art director for the WDCC, has referred to Chris as the
"MacGyver" of sculpting, for his ability to create very
intricate armatures for his pieces. In addition to the WDCC, Chris
sculpted a number of Disney characters for the Disney Lenox
Classics Collection line of sculptures.
Chris shares all of his successes
with his wife of 18 years and his two children, Cory and Amberlee.
He is honored to have the opportunity to work among the talented
team of artists, animators and sculptors at The Walt Disney Classics
Collection , The Disney Store, Lenox, and Disney Consumer Products.
He can be seen and occasional artist events and conventions.
View
WDCC sculptures created by Chris Peterson
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