Rick Law
Rick Law at Mouse-Con November 2022
Born (1969-12-15) December 15, 1969 (age 54)
Maryland, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)Illustrator, producer
Years active1987-present

Rick Law (born December 15, 1969) is an American entertainment illustrator and producer, best known for his career with The Walt Disney Company.[1] His work has spanned across all forms of popular entertainment media: films, TV, music, theme park, print, toys, and video games.[2]

Early life

Law was born in Maryland, and had a turbulent early childhood, before moving at age 11 with his family to Salinas, California, where he attended Salinas High School and graduated a year and 1/2 early.[3][4] As a 15 year old, Law created a t-shirt design that caught the attention of music artist Steve Taylor[5][4] and won Law a record company promotion.[6] In 1986, at age 16, Law first attended San Diego Comic-Con where he was further inspired by other artists and creators he met there.[2]

Career

Law's first professional job came at age 17, designing logos for a real estate company.[1] Law's previous interaction with Taylor and his record company, eventually led Law to additional opportunities in creating art and working with others in the music industry including Amy Grant, MTV, Arista Records, Tower Records,[7] Mariah Carey, The Choir and Pat Boone.[8]

Law's early efforts at producing included arranging concerts for performer Rich Mullins in Salinas.[3] Law was also a founder and created the original logo art for the Spirit West Coast music festival in Monterey, CA.[9][10]

Law's initial foray into Hollywood came about during a 1988 trip to Los Angeles with a friend. Seeking a way to sneak into the Paramount Pictures movie studio became a chance encounter with director Richard Donner who allowed Law permission to visit his Scrooged set and access to the studio lot.[3][11]

In 1989 Law was a consultant for The Arsenio Hall Show. One of his observations on the initial shows' studio audience was to highlight those audience members who had less than optimal seating. The result was the creation of the recurrent "Dog Pound" comedy bit.[3][2][12]

Law's first movie poster design was for the 1992 Paramount Pictures film Leap of Faith starring Steve Martin.[2]

In 1995 Law created the supernatural themed black & white comic series Beyond the Veil, both writing and illustrating the series.[13][14]

In 1996, Law illustrated Pond and Stream : Habitats ISBN 1557995680 for children's educational publisher Evan-Moor.[15]

Law began working with The Walt Disney Company in 1993. Over the course of his diverse career as a content creator with the company he has held a variety of roles.[2] Law created cover art for a number of the studio's video, DVD, & Blu-Ray releases.[1][16] Some of those include: The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad; The Lion King II: Simba's Pride; Mulan; The Rescuers Down Under; 101 Dalmatians; Tinker Bell; Piglet's Big Movie; Winnie the Pooh: Springtime with Roo; Tarzan & Jane; Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas, and the first three 'Buddies' films: Air Buddies, Snow Buddies, and Space Buddies.[2][17] He has been a story contributor; and created or developed a myriad of products for the company and it's licensees. In 2009, Law started designing toys with his reinterpretations of Disney characters via toy manufacturer MINDstyle.[18][19] In support of the release of Toy Story 3 in Asia, Law was a primary artist for the Alien Invasion Tour, which debuted at Times Square mall in Hong Kong, with artistic reinterpretations of the Toy Story alien character.[20] Law was a creative lead in the design and launch of Disney English[21][22] and was a consultant in the development of Shanghai Disneyland Park.[2] As Creative Manager for Disney Learning, his responsibilities involved animation direction and creative oversight of all educational products globally, such as the first series designed for communicatively challenged children.[23] In 2013, he was responsible for the creation of the Disney I Classici collectible trading card set with licensee Conad distributed throughout Italy.[24]

He's been instrumental in fostering projects respective of both animation and the Disney legacy including the documentary Floyd Norman: An Animated Life, and exhibitions [25] including the Walt Disney Family Museum exhibit: Awaking Beauty: The Art of Eyvind Earle.[26]

As an independent producer, Law was an Associate Producer of the films: Drew: The Man Behind the Poster; Blue Like Jazz; Leonard Knight: A Man & His Mountain; and Executive Producer of the rock album Goliath by Steve Taylor & The Perfect Foil.[27] In 2017, Law created cover artwork for the King Never World War I themed EP All These Things and in 2020 he created cover artwork for the band's single Stick In The Mud.[28][29]

Law has been a speaker at venues including The Walt Disney Family Museum,[26] CTN Animation Expo,[30] and San Diego Comic-Con. He is a member of the Comic Art Professional Society (CAPS) and has served as a board member of The Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles.[31][32]

Filmography

Year Title Credits
1992 Leap of Faith poster artist
1993 Fearless production assistant (uncredited)
1998 The Black Cauldron illustrator
1998 Lion King II: Simba's Pride illustrator
1999 Madeline: Lost in Paris illustrator
1999 Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas illustrator
1999 101 Dalmatians illustrator
1999 The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad illustrator
2000 The Rescuers Down Under illustrator
2002 Tarzan & Jane illustrator
2002 Disney Sing-Along-Songs: Very Merry Christmas Songs illustrator
2003 Piglet's Big Movie illustrator
2004 Winnie The Pooh: Springtime With Roo illustrator
2006 Air Buddies concept illustrator
2006 United 93 special thanks
2008 Tinker Bell concept artist
2008 Snow Buddies concept illustrator
2009 Space Buddies concept artist
2012 Raiding The Lost Ark: A Filmumentary special thanks
2012 Blue Like Jazz associate producer
2013 Drew: The Man Behind the Poster associate producer
2015 Leonard Knight: A Man & His Mountain associate producer
2015 17th Annual Animation Show of Shows special thanks
2015 Tyrus special thanks
2016 Floyd Norman: An Animated Life consultant
2016 18th Annual Animation Show of Shows special thanks
2017 19th Annual Animation Show of Shows special thanks

Television

Year Title Credits
1989 The Arsenio Hall Show creative consultant
1990 CCM-TV creative consultant/idea
1990 The Gospel According to VH1 idea
1992 Melrose Place illustrator - multiple episodes
1993 Danger Theatre conceptual illustrator
1994 The 29th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards Illustrator
1995 The 700 Club himself

Discography

Year Title Artist Credits
1994 Speckled Bird The Choir Thanks/project support [33]
2014 Goliath Steve Taylor & The Perfect Foil Executive Producer [27]
2017 All These Things King Never cover artist
2020 Stick In the Mud King Never cover artist

Games

Year Title Credits
2009 Prototype concept artist

References

  1. ^ a b c Deng, Angi (December 2004). "Drawing With The Wonderful World Of Disney". Lincoln Log via the web archive. Archived from the original on 2016-06-16. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Jeff DePaoli (1 August 2018). "Disney Illustrator Rick Law". Dizneycoasttocoast.com (Podcast). Dizney Coast to Coast. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  3. ^ a b c d Demmon, Calvin (March 9, 1990). "Serra's children - 'Who's this kid?'". The Monterey Peninsula Herald. Monterey, CA.
  4. ^ a b White, Charles. "God Is In The Details... The Story of Rick Law". cyberneticlight.com. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
  5. ^ Ross, Michael (January 1996). "Rick Law: Drawing In The MTV Generation". Breakaway Magazine. Colorado Springs, Colorado.
  6. ^ "Clone Club News Flash Winter 1986". sockheaven.net. Clone Club. Winter 1986. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
  7. ^ @Observantview (December 29, 2017). "#ThrowbackThursday Was talking recently with the co-founder of @amoebamusic about the old Tower Records. Found these large die-cut vintage circus styled retail signs I created in the late 80's that Tower hung throughout their stores. #tbt #TowerRecords #art #circus #history" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  8. ^ @Observantview (October 19, 2017). "20 years ago @Pat_Boone 's In A Metal Mood: No More Mr. Nice Guy album released. I was tasked w creating art in support. #throwbackthursday" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  9. ^ @Observantview (June 26, 2018). "Heard that @SpiritWestCoast is happening over the next few weekends. I was one of the founders & did the original logo for the festival. Now in 3 locations, it was originally based in Monterey, CA because I had wanted a festival in my "backyard". http://www.spiritwestcoast.org" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  10. ^ "Spirit West Coast". Rick Law.net. Rick Law. Retrieved June 8, 2019.
  11. ^ @Observantview (November 24, 2018). "30 years already? I was 18 years old and Scrooged was the first film set I was invited to be on. Watched Bill Murray film scenes in the taxi with Buster Poindexter. Thanks to Richard Donner! #memories" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  12. ^ @Observantview (January 3, 2019). "Jan 3, 1989 - The @ArsenioHall Show debut. After the first show, mentioned what I thought were the worst seats in the audience. That became the fabled dawgpound & an ongoing bit. Thanks Arsenio & @Mamaclb for allowing this dumb 19 yr old kid to be a part. #ThrowbackThursday #tbt" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  13. ^ "Rick Law". lambiek.net. Lambiek Comiclopedia. Retrieved June 8, 2019.
  14. ^ The 700 Club. 5 March 1995. CBN.
  15. ^ "Pond and Stream : Habitats - by Jill Norris - Ages 4-8".
  16. ^ Griswold, Steve (October 2013). "Disney first ever ARTIST signing event". MouseChat.net. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
  17. ^ Chik, Kalai (October 23, 2018). "Gallery Nucleus Celebrates Mulan's 20th Anniversary". asiapacificarts.org. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
  18. ^ ""When Aliens Meet Artists"". mindstyle.com via the web archive. MINDstyle. April 27, 2010. Archived from the original on January 22, 2013. Retrieved June 8, 2019.
  19. ^ "First Look: PRC Originals x Disney's Marie – Fortune Cats". mindstyle.com via the web archive. MINDstyle. December 15, 2010. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved June 8, 2019.
  20. ^ "MINDstyle – ALIEN INVASION: When Aliens Meet Artists". Vinyl Pulse. June 4, 2010. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
  21. ^ "Rick Law Joins Be Our Guest Dinner For 2014". Beourguestevent.com. Be Our Guest Event. February 1, 2014. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
  22. ^ @Observantview (October 15, 2018). "October 15, 2008 - It's hard to believe it's been 10 years since we first launched Disney English with a "First Day of Class" VIP celebration in Shanghai. Invitation and commemorative coin from my collection. #Disney #history" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  23. ^ @Observantview (December 6, 2016). "So pleased to be involved w this series designed for communicatively challenged kids #Disney http://www.editorialgeu.com" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  24. ^ @Observantview (July 25, 2018). "Almost forgotten that in 2013 I helped create & oversee this Disney I Classici collectible trading card set with licensee @Conad for Italy. Hugely successful, they distributed over 200 million cards that had kids making YouTube videos opening up their packs! #Disney #history" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  25. ^ "Forest Lawn Museum Exhibit for Disney Legend Eyvind Earle Now Underway". awn.com. Animation World Network. October 25, 2016. Retrieved June 10, 2019.
  26. ^ a b "TALKS: Legendary Disney Animators from Sleeping Beauty with Burny Mattinson and Floyd Norman". waltdisney.org. The Walt Disney Family Museum. December 16, 2017. Retrieved June 10, 2019.
  27. ^ a b Goliath (CD booklet). Steve Taylor & The Perfect Foil. Splint Entertainment. 2014.((cite AV media notes)): CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  28. ^ "All These Things". kingnever.com. King Never. Retrieved December 13, 2021.
  29. ^ "Stick In The Mud (Single)". kingnever.com. King Never. Retrieved December 13, 2021.
  30. ^ "Disney Legend Floyd Norman". tv.creativetalentnetwork.com. CTN Animation Expo. November 2014. Retrieved June 10, 2019.
  31. ^ "CAPS Comic Art Professional Society - Members". capscentral.org. CAPS - Comic Art Professional Society. 14 October 2016. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
  32. ^ "The Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles - History - 2020 Board of Directors". si-la.org. SILA - The Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles. 8 April 2020. Archived from the original on 8 April 2020. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  33. ^ Speckled Bird (CD booklet). The Choir. REX Music. 1994.((cite AV media notes)): CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)

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