Sketchbook Basics of Visual Storytelling

by Bacher, Hans P.

• ISBN13: 9789819423569
• ISBN10: 9819423562
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2026-04-07
• Publisher: Laurence King Publishing
• More Book Details

Summary

Featuring hundreds of carefully hand-crafted illustrations by the internationally-renowned production designer Hans Bacher, Sketchbook: Basics of Visual Storytelling is a unique journey through the mind and creative process of one of the artistic legends in animation film design.

Having shaped such films as The Lion King, Mulan and Beauty and the Beast to name a few, Hans's work is a part of the very cultural fabric of our age. In this new and expanded edition of the Sketchbook, the basic principles of visual storytelling take centre-stage. Four new chapters contributed by Professor Hannes Rall add insight and explanation of Bacher's design philosophy and how it can be applied across all media. The new chapters explore the elements and principles of design in greater depth, showcasing through examples, how these seemingly abstract concepts relate to the communication of the key concepts of harmony, contrast, balance and rhythm explained in language that is easy to understand. This unique book provides students and professionals with fundamental of visual storytelling and explains how they can be applied in the field of illustration, graphic novels, 2D/3D animation, photography and cinematography.

Author Biography

Into his 50th year in the industry, production designer Hans Bacher is acknowledged as one of the legends in animation film design. His work with Walt Disney Feature Animation, Richard Williams, and also Steven Spielberg's Amblimation studios saw him creating the production design for such historic films as Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, Balto, Hercules, Mulan, Little Match Girl, and Brother Bear amongst others. He is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and has been honoured with the Golden Camera Award and an Annie for outstanding individual achievement in Production Design.

His first book, Dreamworlds - Production Design for Animation is considered the best textbook for this subject worldwide. His second book, Vision: Color and Composition for Film, published by Talisman Publishing is already available in 4 languages and is used as a workbook for film-design in most universities and film schools. After teaching at the prestigious Nanyang Technological University in Singapore and delivering numerous lectures in universities all over Asia and Europe, he now lives in Manila, the Philippines and enjoys retirement working on more book projects.