Little Mermaid 50 Day Challenge: DAY 1

This year marks the 25^th anniversary of one of the Walt Disney Company’s biggest accomplishments. It’s maybe not as big as the release of Snow White or the opening of Disneyland, but it’s what helped Disney out of a bad rut the company was in & helped give birth to the Disney Renaissance. What is it? The 1989 animated musical fantasy film, The Little Mermaid.
This was not only the first taste of Disney I ever got, but was also the first ever film that I ever saw in theaters. It was during its re-release in the ‘90s when I was about 4 or 5. Once I saw it, it became one of my favorites (still is) & as I grew older, I began to appreciate it more & more.

So for its’ silver anniversary, I decided to do a 50 Day Drawing Challenge, starting September 29^th & ending on the film’s release date, November 17^th. Also, instead of just sticking just to the film, I’ll also be drawing behind-the-scenes stuff, the cast & crew, original/abandoned concepts, other movie/TV appearances, attractions from the parks, etc. They’ll all be hand-drawn but the finishing look will vary. Some will be fully-colored, some will be pencil sketches, some line art, some black-and-white, you get the idea. Also for the descriptions, some will have in-depth reasoning behind their history, some just may be short because… it’ll just be a simple drawing that practically explains itself. You can also see these spotlighted on The Mickey Mindset!

So, let’s dive under the sea to celebrate The Little Mermaid being a part of our world for 25 years!


DAY 1: HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSON

To start off, why not start off with… the beginning? Here we have the man who made the entire story possible to begin with, the original Danish author himself, Hans Christian Andersen. Writing away, possibly at the spot he got the inspiration for the story.

The look of Hans in this is based off how he looked from The Little Mermaid TV series episode “Metal Fish” (fun fact: he was voiced by Luke Skywalker himself, Mark Hamill), but obviously some color enhancements (more natural & not over-the-top colorful like the show). The look/colorization/shading of the background is based off the original film poster & the mermaid is based off the Little Mermaid statue in Denver.

Drawing (c) me
Hans Christian Anderson and original Little Mermaid book (c) himself
Little Mermaid film and TV series (c) Disney