THE FICTIONAL FEMALE CHARACTERS OF WALT DISNEY IN THE CONTEXT OF CHARACTER DESIGN

In the United States, the production of cartoons and animation as an industrial process dates back to the 1930s. Cartoons produced until this period were generally short and had limited narrative time. The introduction of featurelength productions led to significant changes in the character design process for animators. The extension of the narrative allowed for the exploration of new dimensions in the structural forms and design stages of fictional characters. During this phase, Walt Disney Studios utilized reference images in character design and divided the production stages of animations into different segments, distributing these stages among various animators. The design of a character involves more than just an animator's drawing skills; it also requires the contribution of other artists who voice the character and provide references for the visual representation that will breathe life into the character. Walt Disney Studios became a pioneering production company by integrating various areas of expertise during these stages, thus producing groundbreaking fictional characters. Animators from different specializations within the animation department applied diverse approaches to bring a character to life. Ultimately, the final decisions regarding the character were made in collaboration with the voice actor and reference image actress. This collaborative process highlighted the teambased nature of character design in animation.