Rick Law
Rick Law (born December 15, 1969) is an American entertainment illustrator and producer, best known for his career with The Walt Disney Company.<ref name="lincoln">Template:Cite news</ref> His work has spanned across all forms of popular entertainment media: films, TV, music, theme park, print, toys, and video games.<ref name="Dizney" />
Early life
Law was born in Maryland, and had a turbulent early childhood, before moving at age 11 with his family to Salinas, California, where he attended Salinas High School and graduated a year and 1/2 early.<ref name="herald">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="cybernetic">Template:Cite web</ref> As a 15 year old, Law created a t-shirt design that caught the attention of music artist Steve Taylor<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="cybernetic" /> and won Law a record company promotion.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1986, at age 16, Law first attended San Diego Comic-Con where he was further inspired by other artists and creators he met there.<ref name="Dizney" />
Career
Law's first professional job came at age 17, designing logos for a real estate company.<ref name="lincoln" /> Law's previous interaction with Taylor and his record company, eventually led Law to additional opportunities in creating art and working with others in the music industry including Amy Grant, MTV, Arista Records, Tower Records, Mariah Carey, The Choir and Pat Boone.Template:Citation needed
Law's early efforts at producing included arranging concerts for performer Rich Mullins in Salinas.<ref name="herald" /> Law was also a founder and created the original logo art for the Spirit West Coast music festival in Monterey, CA.Template:Citation needed<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead link</ref>
Law's initial foray into Hollywood came about during a 1988 trip to Los Angeles with a friend. Seeking a way to sneak into the Paramount Pictures movie studio became a chance encounter with director Richard Donner who allowed Law permission to visit his Scrooged set and access to the studio lot.<ref name="herald" />
In 1989 Law was a consultant for The Arsenio Hall Show. One of his observations on the initial shows' studio audience was to highlight those audience members who had less than optimal seating. The result was the creation of the recurrent "Dog Pound" comedy bit.<ref name="herald" /><ref name="Dizney" />
Law's first movie poster design was for the 1992 Paramount Pictures film Leap of Faith starring Steve Martin.<ref name="Dizney">Template:Cite podcast</ref>
In 1995 Law created the supernatural themed black & white comic series Beyond the Veil, both writing and illustrating the series.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite episode</ref>
In 1996, Law illustrated Pond and Stream : Habitats Template:ISBN for children's educational publisher Evan-Moor.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Law began working with The Walt Disney Company in 1993. Over the course of his diverse career as a content creator with the company he has held a variety of roles.<ref name="Dizney" /> Law created cover art for a number of the studio's video, DVD, & Blu-Ray releases.<ref name="lincoln" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Some of those include: The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad; The Lion King II: Simba's Pride; Mulan; The Rescuers Down Under; 101 Dalmatians; Tinker Bell; Piglet's Big Movie; Winnie the Pooh: Springtime with Roo; Tarzan & Jane; Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas, and the first three 'Buddies' films: Air Buddies, Snow Buddies, and Space Buddies.<ref name="Dizney" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He has been a story contributor; and created or developed a myriad of products for the company and it's licensees. In 2009, Law started designing toys with his reinterpretations of Disney characters via toy manufacturer MINDstyle.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In support of the release of Toy Story 3 in Asia, Law was a primary artist for the Alien Invasion Tour, which debuted at Times Square mall in Hong Kong, with artistic reinterpretations of the Toy Story alien character.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Law was a creative lead in the design and launch of Disney English<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and was a consultant in the development of Shanghai Disneyland Park.<ref name="Dizney" /> As Creative Manager for Disney Learning, his responsibilities involved animation direction and creative oversight of all educational products globally, such as the first series designed for communicatively challenged children.Template:Citation needed In 2013, he was responsible for the creation of the Disney I Classici collectible trading card set with licensee Conad distributed throughout Italy.Template:Citation needed
He's been instrumental in fostering projects respective of both animation and the Disney legacy including the documentary Floyd Norman: An Animated Life, and exhibitions<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> including the Walt Disney Family Museum exhibit: Awaking Beauty: The Art of Eyvind Earle.<ref name="WDFM" />
As an independent producer, Law was an Associate Producer of the films: Drew: The Man Behind the Poster; Blue Like Jazz; Leonard Knight: A Man & His Mountain; and Executive Producer of the rock album Goliath by Steve Taylor & The Perfect Foil.<ref name="Foil">Template:Cite AV media notes</ref> In 2017, Law created cover artwork for the King Never World War I themed EP All These Things and in 2020 he created cover artwork for the band's single Stick In The Mud.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Law has been a speaker at venues including The Walt Disney Family Museum,<ref name="WDFM">Template:Cite web</ref> CTN Animation Expo,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and San Diego Comic-Con. He is a member of the Comic Art Professional Society (CAPS) and has served as a board member of The Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Filmography
| Year | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Leap of Faith | poster artist |
| 1993 | Fearless | production assistant (uncredited) |
| 1998 | The Black Cauldron | illustrator |
| 1998 | Lion King II: Simba's Pride | illustrator |
| 1999 | Madeline: Lost in Paris | illustrator |
| 1999 | Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas | illustrator |
| 1999 | 101 Dalmatians | illustrator |
| 1999 | The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad | illustrator |
| 2000 | The Rescuers Down Under | illustrator |
| 2002 | Tarzan & Jane | illustrator |
| 2002 | Disney Sing-Along-Songs: Very Merry Christmas Songs | illustrator |
| 2003 | Piglet's Big Movie | illustrator |
| 2004 | Winnie The Pooh: Springtime With Roo | illustrator |
| 2006 | Air Buddies | concept illustrator |
| 2006 | United 93 | special thanks |
| 2008 | Tinker Bell | concept artist |
| 2008 | Snow Buddies | concept illustrator |
| 2009 | Space Buddies | concept artist |
| 2012 | Raiding The Lost Ark: A Filmumentary | special thanks |
| 2012 | Blue Like Jazz | associate producer |
| 2013 | Drew: The Man Behind the Poster | associate producer |
| 2015 | Leonard Knight: A Man & His Mountain | associate producer |
| 2015 | 17th Annual Animation Show of Shows | special thanks |
| 2015 | Tyrus | special thanks |
| 2016 | Floyd Norman: An Animated Life | consultant |
| 2016 | 18th Annual Animation Show of Shows | special thanks |
| 2017 | 19th Annual Animation Show of Shows | special thanks |
Television
| Year | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| 1989 | The Arsenio Hall Show | creative consultant |
| 1990 | CCM-TV | creative consultant/idea |
| 1990 | The Gospel According to VH1 | idea |
| 1992 | Melrose Place | illustrator - multiple episodes |
| 1993 | Danger Theatre | conceptual illustrator |
| 1994 | The 29th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards | Illustrator |
| 1995 | The 700 Club | himself |
Discography
| Year | Title | Artist | Credits |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Speckled Bird | The Choir | Thanks/project support<ref>Template:Cite AV media notes</ref> |
| 2014 | Goliath | Steve Taylor & The Perfect Foil | Executive Producer<ref name="Foil" /> |
| 2017 | All These Things | King Never | cover artist |
| 2020 | Stick In the Mud | King Never | cover artist |
Games
| Year | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Prototype | concept artist |