Barry R. Kooser | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1968-12-23)December 23, 1968 (age 56) |
| Alma mater | Kansas City Art Institute |
| Occupation(s) | Animator Background artist,Disney Painter, Kooser Gallery Many Hoops Productions, Inc. |
| Website | https://www.kooserstudios.com/ |
Barry R. Kooser is an American artist, painter, and educator who worked atWalt Disney Feature Animation Studios between 1992 and 2003 as abackground artist on films such asThe Lion King,Pocahontas,Mulan,Lilo & Stitch, and as background supervisor onBrother Bear. After leaving Disney, he worked independently as a painter exhibiting and selling fine art in galleries around the US. While teaching animation and story-boarding atRocky Mountain College of Art + Design, he metWorker Studio founderMichael "Ffish" Hemschoot, and became a partner at the Colorado animation studio. Barry has since left Worker Studio. He is the Founder, Executive Producer and Director at Many Hoops Productions.[1][2]
Born inWheat Ridge, Colorado, Kooser grew up in the neighboring city ofArvada, where he graduated fromArvada West High School in 1987. He received aBachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration fromKansas City Art Institute in 1991. After a summer internship atWalt Disney Feature Animation Studios in Orlando, Florida, Kooser was hired at the studio as a background artist.[citation needed]
Early artistic influences include: Illustrators Howard Pyle, N.C. Wyeth, Dean Cornwell and Mark English. Fine Art Painting influences include: Edgar Payne, Joaquin Sorolla, John Singer Sargent and Richard Diebenkorn. Noting his film influences in an article, Kooser selected 5production designs that continue to inspire him creatively. The selections includeDisney'sLady and the Tramp,Tyrus Wong's work onBambi, Dennis Gassner and Richard L. Johnson's work onRoad to Perdition,Ralph McQuarrie's work onStar Wars, and Dean Mitzner's work onTron.[3]
Kooser's first film atDisney Animation Studios was as anin between artist on theRoger Rabbit animated short,Trail Mix-Up in 1993. He continued to work as a background artist on projects atDisney's Orland, Florida Studio, including the featuresThe Lion King,Pocahontas,Mulan, andLilo & Stitch.
In 2001, as background supervisor onBrother Bear, Kooser and his team traveled toJackson Hole, Wyoming and studied with Western landscape painter Scott Christensen, where they learned to: "simplify objects by getting the spatial dimensions to work first and working in the detail later."[4]
| Year | Film | Credit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Trail Mix-Up | In-between artist | Short film |
| 1994 | The Lion King | Background artist | |
| 1994 | Disney's Animated Storybook: The Lion King | Background artist | Video game |
| 1995 | Pocahontas | Background artist | |
| 1998 | Mulan | Background artist | |
| 2002 | Lilo & Stitch | Background journeyman | |
| 2003 | Brother Bear | Background supervisor | |
| 2009 | The Princess and the Frog | Background artist |