Animation Guild | We are 839 Digital Magazine
Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1475662
SPRING 2022 11 eXpo, he was encouraged to apply to Disney. Within a few months a visa was organized, and he was heading to the U.S. That was 2012. He's been at Disney ever since, working as an animator on numerous films from Frozen to Encanto. Back when he shifted to 3D animation, "I just kind of stopped drawing for myself," Shum reflects. But at work in the Disney studios, he took notice of the drawings on the walls. He loved the art of Mary Blair in particular and was inspired to experiment with gouache and watercolor painting. When he heard about a program at Disney giving employees the opportunity to submit work to be considered for publication, Shum, who'd always loved kids' books, leaped at the chance. He submitted Holly's Day at the Pool, a picture book about a hippo who is afraid of water. It took several years and revisions before his project was finally selected, and then a further two years before it was published as part of the Walt Disney Animation Studios Artist Showcase book series. Shum set about learning all he could about writing and publishing kids' books. He signed with a literary agent who helped him find work illustrating other people's books. Soon, though, he had a side career writing and illustrating his own stories after work. He loves having a creative outlet that gives him an opportunity to work with his hands on physical paper rather than "just clicking a mouse or moving something on the Wacom tablet," he says. While creating picture books and animating are fulfilling in different ways, he still finds it thrilling to add movement to characters and see them come to life. But as an animator, he's creating the character for the director's vision. With his books, he has more creative freedom because he can tell his own stories. The slow pace of publishing is something Shum has had to get used to. He explains that in animation, feedback on a revision comes back almost immediately, whereas in publishing waiting for weeks or months is not uncommon. As for his creative process, a picture book can take up to a year to develop, and sometimes longer. Once he has the rough story, he sends it to his critique group, and after that he'll start to illustrate and then edit and revise. Each book evolves in its own unique way. "Sometimes the words come first," he says. "And sometimes I might do an illustration for fun, and then a story comes out of that." Finding just the right words for a line in a book can be challenging because the word count is so limited, but he enjoys it. He might have no idea how he'll illustrate what he's writing, "but I'll write it anyways. Then I'll figure out how to creatively solve that problem," he says. The experience Shum has gained from working in animation has influenced his picture books. "We're all about trying to get movement and emotions in our animation. I use a lot of that knowledge in my illustrations to make sure the characters always feel alive." Shum's most recent books include Anzu the Great Kaiju (Roaring Brook Press/ Macmillan), about a monster who wants to make his family proud but doesn't want to follow in their scary footsteps. "The book addresses how to be true to yourself despite others' expectations," Shum says. Little Seed (Little Simon/Simon & Schuster) is a board book about Little Seed, who wants to hug all the world's creatures and must come up with innovative ways of showing affection. To see more of Shum's work, visit his website at www.bensonshum.com. Signed books are available at Once Upon a Time bookstore in Montrose. — Karin Briner F R A M E X F R A M E