my name is hans bacher, – I work as production designer in the animation film industry. for the last 40 years I lived and worked in duesseldorf, london, paris, los angeles, manila and tokyo. now I am professor for film-design at the nanyang university in singapore.
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all artwork and text is copyrighted by HANS BACHER, unless otherwise attributed to the respective copyright owner. it is illegal to publish, print or use in any other manner any such artwork or text without the written permission by the artist or copyright owners. all publications are strictly for educational purposes.
my e-mail address
center.for.visualarts@gmail.com
in case you are interested to know more about production design in animation, you might have a look at my book DREAM WORLDS. in english language you can get it through AMAZON –
in japanese language you can order it direct from the publisher BORN DIGITAL INC, or you try amazon japan.
the book is published now translated into mandarin in CHINA.
my name is hans bacher, – I work as production designer in the animation film industry. for the last 45 years I lived and worked in exciting places around the world. after 7 years of teaching in singapore I am back at my homebase in manila, working on a few more books.
One1more2time3's Weblog 
you’re back! and with wordpress – good choice.
look forward to your exceptional posts!
Hi! I found out about your blog on Charley Parker’s blog. I’m surprised to hear that you’re currently living here in the Philippines. I was just wondering if you have any workshops/talks coming up here in the country. I would really like to learn more about good design. Thanks!
from hans
yes, there are. I gave lectures at la salle, st.benilde
and workshops are planned for oct. please us the
e-mail address
good day sir! your blog is a goldmine!
do you have the details of your workshop this october?
im really excited about it.
thank you very much.
from hans
it will be about color and composition
send me e-mail
I’m so glad I stumbled upon this blog. It’s fascinating.
Thanks so much for sharing!
I am glad you are back to the web!
Amazing site. I have to link to this. It’s equal parts inspiring and depressing. So much great work, so many amazing choices…wow.
-M
I am so glad I found your blog!! I have your book, now I can read your blog entries as well!
Welcome back to the blogsphere! Your wealth of experience and knowledge is valuable to the community.
Hi Hans, it was very nice to meet you today, and thanks for signing my book!
This is really an awesome blog, and I’ll definitely check back here every now and then.
oh wow..there’s one in october! YAY!
I even saw a John Watkiss original at the event…Thanks for that!
d’oh, that was last 2008:{ Sorry…
Do you have plans of doing another one this year?
I’m so glad to find you again on the web! I need to catch up all the posts here. You have so many great documents and works, amazing treasures for sure…
Hi Sir, I’m a student of St. Benilde who attened your lecture last time with Alex Nino… may I please download the pictures posted in your blog, especially sir Alex’s work? thank you!
-KArl
from hans –
I guess it is ok if you only use it as a personal reference. you know, I would not be able to check otherwise. but thank you for asking. about the teaching – we are working on that…
It’s fantastic to see the guardian of the arts, Hans Bacher back on the World Wide Web!!! I for one am extremely grateful to see your amazing work again, viewable to appreciate and most important, learn what it means to build both Passion and quality in the arts! You change my entire perspective on the arts, and I’m still learning from the many lessons you taught me many years ago!
Best wishes, …….Jeffrey
Hi Hans.
I am a big admirore of you work, and your blog, it is a constant sours of inspiration. I have just gotten you book. And it makes me want to draw.
I am working as a background artist. But i am not good enough! And i would really like to learn from you. Are you going to have any workshops in Europe?
ingebjorg 🙂
from hans –
thank you ingebjorg, if a university or artschool invites me for a workshop,
I will of course come over to europe as well. I live now in the philippines, what is on the other side of the globe…
Hi Hans.
The students in the philippines are lucy to have you 🙂
And hopefully a university in Europe vil invite you soon.
Ingebjorg 🙂
A very nice site, Hans. It’s great to see artwork done by someone who cares about quality! Hopefully your schedule will let you post more classic and new art samples.
BTW, I found your site by way of web-browsing THE ENCHANTED SQUARE, an old Famous Studios cartoon that has nicer than the Famous-usual graphics.
from hans –
you are right, beautiful artwork in that short. where is it available?
Hi Hans,
Great to see your blog and all the things that you did.
in 1995 Daan Jippes showed me all around the disney studio.
I past your drawingboard but missed the artist.
Anyway if you pass by europe for a workshop. just let me know
i try not to miss it okay
grets from holland
Geert
Hi,
I must say I was not familiar with your name until now, but I was definitely familiar with your work. My desperate search for samples, artists and the hope to find out techniques on how the truly awe-inspiring backgrounds in Disney animations (and others) were done, led me here and makes me very glad to have done so.
Here in Namibia we are not so fortunate to have the wealth of culture around us that places like Europe (and others) and their beautiful art galleries offer. The same goes for workshops. Yes, the landscapes, people, flora and fauna here in Africa more than make up for it … to a degree, but not being able to stare at the paintings of the old masters for hours – is sad.
It is awesome that there are still people like you out there that keep the traditional arts alive and keep the ‘digitalists’ from world domination for just a little while longer 😉 I am doing my best to keep some of the old techniques alive and I leave here not with a sense of failure facing such overwhelming skill. Rather, I leave here with a renewed sense of duty and inspiration.
Thank you.
Hello,
I bought your book last year, I continue to use it for inspiration. I love your compositions and forms.
I hope you’ll find time to look at my artwork.
http://www.johnbellstudio.com Click on my name on the homepage for a brief Bio.
Regards,
JohnBell
Your blog is absolutely beautiful, and very informative, I thoroughly enjoy reading it and looking at the superb artwork. Bravo Hans, congratulations on creating such a fabulous site!
Your book is amazing. A constant source of inspiration. I heard about your work when I was at a character design seminar held by Harald Siepermann, now came across your blog by checking the links of Nubian who left a comment on my blog and just now realised that this book I’ve bought recently is yours. This is a a small world 🙂
Thanks for sharing all those insights!
von hans –
vielen dank claudia, ja – es ist eine kleine welt. besonders die animation comunity.
Hans,
Don’t ask the strange google-trail of how I found this blog, but I am so glad I did. This looks like a wonderful collection of posts and images. Thank you so much for putting all this together.
I just spotted somebody in work looking at your blog and asked them to email it over. I must say I’m very impressed and cant stop reading it. I’m very much looking forward to reading the rest over the Christmas Holidays.. Many thanks Hans from a busy animation studio in Soho, London.
Hello Hans,
My name is Fritz Weber, (don’t let the name fool you, I’m Filipino), My daughter Sandrine is an MMA student at College of St. Benilde.I found out from my friend Doug Smith that you lecture at CSB,
Doug and I are old classmates from International School Manila. He is also in the field of visual arts. and has in fact requested me to try and arrange a tour of CSB and hopefully a chance to chat with you. He’s currently travelling around Thailand and will be back in Manila on February 8th.
Might you be interested to meet him?
Fritz
Great Posts!
congratulations for your wonderfull site
Hi Hans!
I am a big fan of your BLOG ( and your work… I have your DREAM WORLDS book) I´ve just read your post about the spanish illustrator Roque Riera Rojas.
I am a big fan of this guy and there is a book about him published here in Spain for a well/know childrens book publisher.
I donk know is is posible you can buy the book from out of spain, but, anyway, here is a link of the bookstore I found it : http://www.casadellibro.com/libro-roc-riera-rojas-1913-1992/2900000957546
Best!!!
Javier
from hans –
thank you very much, javier. unfortunately it is a bit complicated over the distance to order that book.
too bad…
Hi Hans.
I admire your work very much, and your site is really inspiring.
Thanks for sharing.
Yesterday I was reading The Art of Mullan and read something about a “Hans Bacher’s Style Guide”.
Is this guide avaiable for selling, or it was only for internal use?
Fargas
from hans –
this style guide was only used for the production. apparently it was copied and distributed among interested animation students outside the studio. when I saw even in northern china in an animation class miserable b/w copies of this booklet i got the idea to use it as a start for a book. that became DREAM WORLDS. there is a 2.style guide I did after MULAN was finished, ‘the experience after the making’. I use that once in a while in lectures.
Hans, thank very much for your attention.
I’m gonna order one Dream Worlds right now.
And, once again, thanks for sharing so much import and rich information.
[ ]s
Fargas
Hans,
This blog is amazing, there is so much to look at, it seems like a never ending stream of resources. Your work is referenced at Sheridan so much that I just had to go out and grab a copy of Dream Worlds for my own library. Yours and your colleagues’ work is very inspiring, thank you for this blog!
Dan
Like most everyone else just wanted to say thanks for this sprawling masterpiece of a blog, and hopefully offer something that may interest you, although you may already be aware of.
I read in an old post that you don’t know as much as you’d like about some of the new French B.D. artists due to location. Well my favorite is Christophe Blain, and I recommend his series of graphic novels ‘Isaac le Pirate.’ He really has a beautiful fluid style. you can get them on Amazon.
Best wishes, Vinnie
really very nice….your trainees are lucky to have you as trainner
I actually requested the (awesome) Dream Worlds book as a Christmas gift (fount it through Amazon recommendations) a few years ago. Today, I found your blog through a link form James Gurney’s blog and upon coming to this page find out that you wrote that book! and I’m not surprised one bit.
I’ve definitely bookmarked this, there’s some really cool stuff here. 😀
i love your blog! this year in september im going to college in 3D animation, and i would love the chance to work for disney. maybe not do animation it’s self but draw for them. question: was it difficult getting into disney animations studios as a job? how does the process work? if you can e-mail me back please
Thank you 🙂
from hans –
you have to have a certain ‘quality-standard’, then it should not be a problem in case they have open positions. compare your work with the best around ( you have everything available through the internet ). you should be able to see yourself if you are good enough.
hi Hans
just want to say your site/blog is one of my favorites,
lewis
Thank you for spending the time uploading your blog, its incredibly fascinating!!!
If you have time Hans, i would love to see what you think of my work.
http://www.matthewroe.co.uk/
Thanks matt
Bravo,
i like your blog. i would like to receive your newsletter, with pleasure and interests.
Thanks
from hans –
should I have a newsletter?
I’ve blogged about your book which I sincerely believe is the best thing I have read in a very long while, thank you.
Hi Hans!i hope u still remember me,we have dinner with Imee.anyway i just want to know if you move to Singapore already and how can i contact you.cheers!
This blog is fantastic!
Dear Hans,
Dear Steve,
I would like to introduce to you a cool new website, that a few of us – animation enthusiasts – created. This site is called YouAnimator.com – and it is a non-profit site created especially for all aspiring character animators.
The purpose of the site is that aspiring character animators can showcase their demo reels and other works – to give them an opportunity to find fellow animators, meet each other, learn from each other – and perhaps even be discovered.
Our main goal is to provide this opportunity to animators around the world – may they be in Argentina or Romania to feel connected to the animation community and have the chance to “show off their works.”
To this end, I would like to kindly ask you to consider placing our link on your website, blog.
And of course, I would like to invite you to come and check out youanimator!
I would like to thank you in advance for any help you could provide in growing the character animation community!
Kind regards,
Csabi Kremser
Co-Founder
YouAnimator.com
Hi Hans
Great to see you on the flight! Sorry, didn’t managed to say goodbye. Hope you get over yr jetlag soon.
Take care and keep in touch!
Hi Hans,
I’ve heard that you were in Salzburg this year. I’m so sad, that I couldn’t visit your lectures about principles of animation that you held there. I’m graduated from Multimedia Art in Salzburg this year and I really appreciate your work. Best regards from Michael Schwertel from Cologne, maybe you steel remember him.
Have a nice day,
Vladimir
from hans –
of course I remember michael, hope he is well. please say hi to him and the family. maybe one day I give a lecture in cologne – my birthplace…
Great site, very interesting, and glad I stumbled upon it!
This blog is amazing!
Thank you.
Your blog is very inspiring, as a designer and illustrator I look forward to coming back for the wonderful inspiration from you and other artists you post
You have an excellent site, thank you for sharing! I was looking for Puck and Judge Magazine images about Filipinos from Spanish-American War and came across your blog. I went to school to be an illustrator and really wanted to be an animator but it didn’t happen for me. I really appreciate the illustrations you have posted and I am inspired to try my hand at drawing again because of you. Thank you.
Hi Hans – So wonderful to see you as busy as always. Do I really need to travel to Singapore to see you? Not that I’d mind the travel 🙂
Please let me know how I can contact you in a less public forum.
Miss you!
Cathy
Hi Hans, marvellous blog…again…enjoyed all your others. Good choice to move to WordPress too.
What I’m actually posting a comment about is something irritating that has happened to me with Blogger that appears might have happened to you also.
I deleted a Blogspot blog of my animation work a couple of years back; and lo and behold a couple of years later it has reappeared under the old URL with all the content and advertising. I fully expected to lose the URL that I had used, but was stunned that someone had actually pasted, I guess, the contents of my blog into their resurrection of it. They appear to have done this to a number of other animation industry worker blogs whose blogs I had previously enjoyed but which had presumably been deleted. Presumably they get a small amount of money from adverts they’ve stuck on it.
Perhaps there is nothing illegal about this; I notified Blogger and they haven’t responded. I’m not overly messed up about this; a bit irritated; but if you or any of your readers have any thoughts or actions on this I’d love to hear them if they’re posted in response to this.
The only action I can think of to prevent this sort of thing happening in future is to never delete a blog and the URL. Delete all the posts and empty it out perhaps, make it for private viewing if you wish to take it off line, and just leave it on Google’s servers.
Despite your own obvious irritation with Blogger your posts were, and still can be enjoyed and I look forward to seeing what you do here now that I’ve found it.
cheers,
Clive
Hans
I love your blog with its treasure trove of information and beautiful art. Thanks for sharing…
Dear Mr Hans Bacher,
Thank you for sharing your insight and tips so generously, it was really a very enlightening and entertaining talk last night.
Wishing you a nice day 🙂
Bri
Dear Mister Bacher,
I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed Dreamworlds. I keep on recommending it to people and I keep on looking into it for inspiration in terms of color, composition and idea. Thanks so much for creating this great book – I have heard you did a lecture at my old school in Salzburg (FH Salzburg) a while ago. I am so sad I missed that – I am currently in New York.
Anyway, all the best!
from hans –
thank you very much! there are plans that I might be back in salzburg soon. but first next year in feb. I will be in lienz with an exhibition of my production designs.
Thank you for maintaining this incredible blog! It is a never-ending source of inspiration and every entry is filled with beautiful things to look at.
Wow, just stumbled across this searching for something else but am totally awestruck at this blog. Amazing work and amazing blog. Thank you very much for this!
Recently came across the blog of Alantar Cent, who worked on Disney’s Tarzan – probably my favourite animation movie. There are some truly amazing production sketches on his blog, maybe there is an opportunity to share them here as well?
http://alantarcent.blogspot.com/2011/04/tarzan-layout-and-sketches-productions.html
Best regards
Nico
from hans –
thank you so much for that link! I had lost track, now I sent him a message. you are right, he is an amazing artist and architect.
Hallo Hans, hier Ulli – hatte heute Dein Bild in der Hand was Du für Xenia
gemalt hastest Alfed…
Xenia iist jetzt 20!!!! Letzten Mittwoch haben wir Geburtstag gefeiert, schau doch mal über Facebook vorbei Ulrike Brahm. Wünsche Dir alles liebe und gute!!!
Schöne Grüße
von
Ulliiiiiiiiii
from hans –
das ist ein ding! ulli! habe gerade mal wieder gemerkt, dass man schwer alt geworden ist, ach ja! ich gehe nur nicht zu facebook und konsorten. hasse diese ‘clubs’, the worst!. aber wir koennen e-mails austauschen und ich bin per skype zu erreichen. hoffe alles ist ok bei dir. ganz herzliche gruesse, auch an xenia – besser mehr per e-mail. center.for.visualarts@gmail.com
Thank you again for everything you do!
With great respect from Russia!!!
Ivan http://ivany86.deviantart.com/gallery/
Hi Hans
Do you have any workshops planned for the UK? Europe or USA?
from hans –
I am teaching at the nanyang techn.university in singapore, but in case another university worldwide invites me for lectures – then I would indeed start with the planning.
Greetings as we slip (S0lstice plus 11) into a new year,
I -as you say, “stumbled” across your website a few days ago while chasing an image that turned out to be by Yanak. I also came across what I am assuming is your treatment of a photo (since it is unattributed) of a frieghter flanked by tugs with an urban shoreline beyond. This was among your entries in this past September.
I just wanted to pass along my appreciation for this and many other lovely images.
Best regards from JonF in SF
Hi, gave your blog a shout in mine today, since you are one of the few peeps who have written about Horst Haitzinger. Many thanks!
Your Work is simply amazing!! I love the posts you. share with everyone! Thank-you so much! 🙂
Thank You SIr,
It was great experience for me and my ACK team with you and your valuable discussion. In TASI you have opened your small part of treasure, we would like to see a grand treasure very soon. Heartly waiting for next move in INDIA.
Thanks again YOU, Sanathan & Kushal.
Thank you for the wonderful lecture/film showing today. The entire experience made me really appreciate the Disney process. Was going through an especially hard week in class, but after your presentation I feel more motivated to go forward in my work. I hope you will come again to Tisch soon!
Thank you so much for your book Mr. Bacher Sir. It helped me alot in understanding the importance of research and explorations in the production process.. Im a student myself learning animation and the exposure here regarding animation design process is very low…
You’ve taught us alot..! Hope to attend your lecture as well in future.
Thank you again.
Hi,
Fascinating blog & great coverage of Zagreb Studios – I found a link to this blog following a search for “An Inspector Returns Home” – a Zagreb Studios film I remember seeing in Zagreb at the International Animation Festival in ’83 – (I had a grad film in competition there…) – it had a haunting music track reminiscent of John Barry’s “Ipcress File” score, the title was “Monotony”…or maybe it’s from another Zagreb film…?
I have not one, but 2 copies of Ronald Holloways’ definitive book on Zagreb – definitive until someone produces another one, at least …it’s well overdue.
Ravi
Hallo Hans… Ganz liebe Grüße aus Hennef. Melde dich mal… Ciao
Hans! It’s Rej. Im back in California. How are you old chum! I miss you !
from hans –
that’s an incredible surprise, rej. let’s e-mail…
Im in san fransisco area. Pixar for almost 5 years now. email me : rejbourdages@gmail.com hope your good!
Thank you so much for your posts, they are amazing and always inspiring. Thank you.
It’s good to find you again Hans!
from hans –
can you please be more specific…
Triangle Rule. In your book Dream Worlds you mention using the triangle rule to compose multiple characters. What exactly is this rule?
PS. Love the book
from hans –
in a composition lines can be expressed by actual contours of physical objects, or suggested by the viewer’s eye movement. these imaginary lines created by the viewer’s perception are also called transitional lines. most compositions employ a combination of both physical and transitional lines. the triangle is one of those transitional line forms, it can for example connect 3 characters standing in different distance from the viewer. that will be explained in depth in my new book VISION, probably being published this summer ( hopefully ).
I seen your name in the credits of Mulan. Your work is amazing! Also thought it neat that my maiden name is Bacher. 😊
from hans –
thank you! are you from germany? what city?
Hello Mr. Bacher,
I am a student of The Southwest University of Visual Arts and I have been given the honor of doing a research paper about you and your work as a story artist. It would be amazing if I could ask you a few questions about when you worked on some of your Disney work and maybe some of you newer work. I hope to here from you soon.
from hans –
I am not a story artist, a am a production designer. that’s quite a difference.
I’m sorry for the miss label, I ment production designer. I was wondering if maybe I could ask you some questions for my project. It would be appreciated highly.
Hello, Mr Bacher. Would you like to do a workshop in Spain with Donde Doré? I’m Silvia Fajardo, the CEO of this company and I´d love you to come to share your experience with us. Please, let us know if you’re interested and we talk. Thank you very much.
Best
from hans
thank you very much – please email me
center.for.visualarts@gmail.com
thank you
Hi HANS-san,
How are you? 15-alfred-9 is my favorite picture!
from hans –
is this suzuki-san, we met in tokyo?
good to hear from you, I hope you are well
Hello there!, I just found this blog. I watched Alfred J. Kwak not long ago and I must say that the series really captivates me, specially in the concept and characters. The work that you and your (lamentably now resting in peace) co-workers is really interesting and as a inspiring artist myself it really motivates me, so many things that you can learn watching your drawings!
Hello Hans,
I’m trying to buy your book, ‘Vision’, but it seems to have sold out its current run. If so, may I ask if there’s going to be a reprint?
Thanks in advance for your time,
Mat