At this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, legendary Disney villain animator Andreas Deja celebrated thirty years of animation. Throughout his career, he has animated iconic villains such as Scar from “The Lion King” and Jafar from “Aladdin.” John Ramirez is an animator who worked closely alongside Deja as his assistant for many years. Temple of Geek spoke with Ramirez about what it was like to support Andreas Deja in animation over the years.

John Ramirez Designed Elements that Enhanced the Impact of Andreas Deja’s Animation

During the interview, John Ramirez explained the way his designs supported the presence that the villains had in their respective films. Minor details make big differences. For instance, Ramirez tells a story of when he worked on “Aladdin.” He says:

When we were working on Aladdin, he [Andreas Deja] said to me, ‘Well, you’re a designer, so I need help with with Jafar’s staff,’ which I ended up designing for him as a cobra, right? It had a nice curve to it, and it came down and flares like a snake does, a cobra. And so, oh, that’s great. He loved it. And so I got to design Jafar’s staff, and that in that way, I supported the film.

Fans of the beloved animated film recognize Jafar’s infamous staff immediately. Ramirez’s design had a strong impact on Jafar, giving audiences a truly evil accessory to accentuate a truly villainous character.

As Andreas Deja works, Ramirez has the opportunity to fill in the pages of animation. He discusses his delight in being the first person to see Deja’s work.

As I would get a scene from him, and I would look at the first couple drawings, and they were just so beautifully drawn. Because there’s the weight of Scar’s face, right, his nose, his hair, and you can see it when you flip through his key drawings, and they’re very tightly drawn. But then and he’s drawing with his fingers, right? But by the last drawing, he’s drawing with his arm, right? Because he’s into that scene. And so I thought, well, this is fantastic. I could tell how he’s drawing it. And so I have to do all the in-between drawings to support him.

Working on the in-betweens allowed John Ramirez to see the whole picture that Deja was planning. Ramirez complimented Deja’s style and his ability to create such compelling characters on the page.