Aaron Blaise is a wildlife artist, animator, illustrator and character development artist who spent many years with Walt Disney Feature Animation, where he worked on titles like The Rescuers Down Under, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, Pocahontas, Mulan and Brother Bear.

After leaving the film industry, Blaise devoted himself to his love for animals, particularly of the African plains. His website has galleries of Animal Art and Concept and Character Art. I particularly enjoy his wildlife drawings and sketches, in which his solid draftsmanship is expressed in loose, gestural rendering.

Blaise also has a section of digital painting tutorials for sale, along with Photoshop brush sets. In addition there are a number of short, free tutorials under the heading of “Aaron’s Art Tips“, available from his site or on YouTube.

Blaise also has a separate blog with sketches, tutorials and additional art. There is an podcast interview with Blaise by Tom & Tony Bancroft on Taught by a Pro.