Wreck-It Ralph by Nik Ranieri, Sacramento 2017

      Nik Ranieri was a supervising animator for Disney Animation Studios. I've seen him walking around at conventions, but my first chance to see him set up at a con was at SacAnime this month. I sent a message via Facebook to confirm his appearance and made the two-hour drive to Sacramento. On Friday morning, I acquired a Hades from Hercules and a Lumiere from Beauty and the Beast. The only other collector I saw got two as well. I'm happy when they charge and you get the chance to get another. After lunch, I passed by and only a couple people had sought Nik out for autographs and sketches. I bought two small sketches on behalf of friends and asked Nik about a couple different subjects. My first was a Bugs Bunny and this one was last. Disney has really stepped up since Tangled and I knew Nik had done a pencil animation test for Wreck-It Ralph. Nik had done an earlier version of the character so he called up some reference on his phone and completed this sketch.

Grayson Ponti on Nik Ranieri

Animation Podcast by Clay Kaytis