‘Nelbert the Introvert’ Book Trailer and Photoshop Brushes by Disney Designer Shiyoon Kim

Shiyoon Kim, one of Disney Animation’s key contemporary character designers (Zootopia, Big Hero 6, Paperman) released an animated trailer last night for his first illustrated book, Nelbert the Introvert.

The trailer introduces the star, Nelbert, an introverted dragon who loves to play chess. It was animated in TVPaint by Matt Williames, with assistance by Sangeun Song:

The trailer was released to coincide with the availability of the self-published book on Kim’s web site.

Inspired by the ink and colored pencils approach that Disney legend Bill Peet used for his illustrated children’s books, Kim created a set of five custom Photoshop brushes to illustrate the book. He’s also now made those brushes available to the public; the brushes can be purchased for $10 and come with a video and a sample PSD file that shows how Kim personally uses the brushes.