Frederick L. "Toby" Bluth (July 11, 1940 – October 31, 2013) was a

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

-born American

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicat ...

who worked on many

Disney films This is a list of films produced by and released under the Walt Disney Pictures banner (known as that since 1983, with '' Never Cry Wolf'' as its first release) and films released before that under the former name of the parent company, Wal ...

and others as

animator An animator is an artist who creates multiple images, known as frames, which give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, and video gam ...

background artist A background artist or sometimes called a background stylist or background painter is one who is involved in the process of animation who establishes the color, style, and mood of a scene drawn by an animation layout artist. The methods used can e ...

, and

production designer In film and television, the production designer is the individual responsible for the overall aesthetic of the story. The production design gives the viewers a sense of the time period, the plot location, and character actions and feelings. Wo ...

. He had a long career writing and illustrating children's books, as well as performing and directing, nearly one hundred musicals, both on Broadway and off. His artwork is prominently displayed at most of the

Disney theme parks Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, Inc., formerly Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Worldwide, Inc. and informally known as Disney Parks, is one of The Walt Disney Company's five major business segments and a subsidiary. It was founded on Apri ...

around the world. He was the younger brother of

Don Bluth Donald Virgil Bluth (; born September 13, 1937) is an American film director, animator, production designer, and animation instructor, best known for his animated films, including ''The Secret of NIMH'' (1982), ''An American Tail'' (1986), ''Th ...

, whom he collaborated with on both theater and animation.

Style

Gustaf Tenggren Gustaf Adolf Tenggren (November 3, 1896 – April 9, 1970) was a Swedish-American illustrator. He is known for his Arthur Rackham-influenced fairy-tale style and use of silhouetted figures with caricatured faces. Tenggren was a chief illustrat ...

was a big inspiration throughout Bluth's career. When asked how he approached each of his

watercolor Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...

masterpieces, Toby described his intent as

Creating the moment that you think you saw ... How one remembers a film is often different from the actual film itself.

In addition to his work on Disney films, Bluth created a large portfolio of erotic gay art, as well as commissioned illustrations for gay businesses and publications like ''The Advocate''.

Death

He died on October 31, 2013 alloweenin

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

following a stroke. He was survived by his older brother Don Bluth."Toby Bluth R.I.P."
- article by

Jerry Beck Jerry Beck (born February 9, 1955, in New York City) is an American animation historian, author, blogger, and video producer. Beck wrote or edited several books on classic American animation and classic characters, including ''The 50 Greatest C ...

on Animation Scoop; November 6, 2013; retrieved November 6, 2013.

Filmography

References

External links

Artist Official Disney Fine Art Site
*
Artist's Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bluth, Toby 1940 births 2013 deaths 20th-century American painters American male painters American animated film directors 21st-century American painters Animators from Texas Background artists Walt Disney Animation Studios people Don Bluth Place of birth missing Prop designers American storyboard artists American art directors American production designers American people of Swedish descent American people of English descent American people of Irish descent American people of Scottish descent American people of German descent Gay male erotica artists Gay artists LGBT animators Pseudonymous artists