I am a professional illustrator with a career spanning three decades. In my capacity as an Approved Artist for the Walt Disney Company, I have illustrated many books and periodicals as well as providing artwork for consumer products and various style-guides. My other freelance work has also embraced comic strips, character design, logos and even corporate ID.
I provide the complete service, from Concept/Layout through Pencils and Inks to Colour. I am proficient in both traditional and digital media, though I work mostly digitally now.
I trained at the West Surrey College of Art & Design (now University for the Creative Arts), graduating in 1990.
In 1994 I was fortunate to be offered a job with Character Magic Ltd, a studio run by the renowned Kim Raymond, that specialised in producing Licensed Character Art, mostly Disney. I started as an Inker but moved quickly to Background Artist. Most of the projects we worked on were for new movie licenses or the Disney Classics, so I gained a lot of experience painting in many different styles.
In 1996 I plugged into the Disney Training program and began to hone my skills in character origination. Instructed by some of the best artists in the world, I found the whole experience inspiring as well as challenging. I also discovered that being a Disney character artist is a job that's a lot harder than it looks, taking years to perfect.
In 1997, I decided to take the leap into freelance work. Perhaps a little early, professionally speaking, but it was fuelled by personal circumstances. Thankfully I managed to make it work and remained fully employed for many years.
In May of 2002 I received an award from The Walt Disney Company for ‘Best Winnie The Pooh Artist for Publishing, 2001’, a real surprise and a lovely gesture from them, especially as it helped me secure an international reputation. I began receiving commissions from all over the world and was given some great opportunities.
In January 2010, I was asked by Disney Consumer Products EMEA to write an Artist Training for the E.H.Shepard style of Winnie-The-Pooh. Thinking back to 1996, it was a rare moment of feeling I'd come full circle. It was a daunting task, not least for someone who considers himself a perpetual student, but I was honoured to be asked, and thankfully, it proved to be a success.
Since then, I have worked on a wide variety of projects for many different clients in the Brands and Licensing space, which has kept me on my creative toes and broadened my experience.
So, I’m still here after thirty years, twenty seven as a freelancer, still paying my dues, and always striving to improve. Though the world is changing, and AI technology may soon remove the need for services like mine, until that day, I'll see what comes along.
Andrew Grey, November 2024.
