Walt Disney's vision for the studios that bore his name was to stay relevant by consistently taking creative risks and doing the unexpected. Heading into the 1940s, he crafted an entirely new division of the studio called the Character Model Department, which focused solely on the details of character development. In this latest volume from famed Disney historian Didier Ghez, he profiles six remarkable artists from that department, sharing uncommon and never-before-seen images of their influential work behind the scenes. With rich descriptions and passages from the artists' journals, this gorgeous collection offers a glimpse at the Disney artists whose work gave rise to many classic Disney characters, and ultimately rewrote the future of character creation in animation.

"The late golden age at the Walt Disney Studios saw the advent of an experimental new group known as the Character Model Department. This volume reveals hundreads of rediscovered images that inspired Disney's shorts and feature films during one of its most prolific eras, while capturing the rich stories of the artists that brought these characters to life."--Back cover.