Let It Snow

Walt Disney’s classic filmed version of the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs will be celebrating its 80th anniversary of its 1937 premiere. Its place in film history is being the first full-length animated film in America. As such with its sympathetic young princess, amusing squad of diminutive miners and happy ending, it was hugely popular. In many subsequent re-releases, combined with character presence within Disney’s theme parks since 1955, it retained public favor. Adjusted for inflation, the film places 10th as in the top earning motion pictures of all time*.

Even so, my theory of why a 2-year old toddler would pick Snow White as her favorite Disney Princess is the the princess’s red hair ribbon and bow, where, up until Elena of Avalor, the other princesses have a distinct absence of red in their costumes. To top the red-ribbon theory, true to the film, she also has a deep-red traveling cape, despite the navy colored one used many years on product.

Carmine red pencil on paper.
21.6 cm x 27.9 cm (8.50 in. x 11.00 in.)

Part off-job sketch, and part candidate for new spot art with which to decorate my work space (cubicle) sign, I devised something with the theme: drawing (or painting, etc.).

Story wise, the little princess could have been depicted in the act of artistic creation. I thought that she worked hard enough getting the dwarfs’ cottage in order. In appreciation, the dwarfs should do something for her. It doesn’t require seven men to paint a picture - not usually, and not in a way that doesn’t require making that painting the focus of a piece. Happy is as good as any of the dwarfs to be the painter.

To ensure that the composition was about about the characters, I chose to not show the actual painting, and make the props of the painting and easel as simple and as slim as needed.

Black Ink and carmine red pencil on paper.
21.6 cm x 27.9 cm (8.50 in. x 11.00 in.)

Adding Dopey does 3 things for the composition. 1) Dopey partially covers the easel, without, of course, concealing its function. 2) He occupies the negative space between the legs of the easel, bring more balance to the overall composition. 3) Seating Dopey on the floor creates a pleasant triangle motif formed by Snow White and Happy on the stool.

In Dopey’s own way, he is still involved with the activity of “painting.” If, for example, Sleepy were placed in that lower-right position on the floor, I doubt that he’d be engaged at all in painting. Similarly, the other dwarfs’ personalities suggest different additions to the story, few of which compliment the Snow White-Happy group as much as distract from it. Not that I struggled much with trying to place the any of the other dwarfs. I simply wanted to add Dopey in that corner and this worked.

That’s what I was thinking when I drew this.


As a genuine staff character artist at Disney Consumer Products, I’ve been drawing the Disney Princesses and Frozen characters for nearly four years. However, since the days of being a mere aspiring artist, even before working as a character artist on Disneyland’s Main Street, Snow White has been a favorite princess of mine to draw. She has short, bob of a hairdo that’s easy-to-draw, soft circles. In animation, she floats effortlessly as dancer. And her super-power is making friends.

And she was my mother’s favorite.

* BoxOfficeMojo.com

SNOW WHITE, HAPPY & DOPEY TM & ©Disney.

Art © Bryan L. Mon