Brisby Family

Edit: Also, check out this wonderful tribute the Nostalgia Critic made for the character Mrs. Brisby. www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAxrla…


"Courage of the heart is very rare. The stone has a power when it's there."
--Nicodemus (The Secret of NIMH)

It's finally done!

So I've wanted to draw something from a film that's very close to my heart: The Secret of NIMH. The story, animation, characters, and atmosphere from this gem has made a huge impact on me as a child and has been a key inspiration for me in the hopes of one day becoming an artist. I also wanted to increase the quantity of tributes to this lovely film as there sadly doesn't appear to be enough of. I thought this reference (confusedmatthew.com/images/The… was perfect. Not only is it a heartwarming picture of Mrs. Brisby with her children and their aunt, but I also felt that it would be good for practicing composition and trying to understand how values work based on the direction of the light source I chose.

This was something I've been started in March and was aiming to have it completed in time for April for reasons that are mentioned down below (be forewarned: it's kind of lengthy ).

As I've mentioned in a couple of my drawings in the past, the month of April is Autism Awareness Month so I like to raise awareness that is executed a non-negative manner to those who either are on the spectrum or know someone who is. At age five, I was diagnosed on the Autism spectrum; one of the challenges I encountered, especially while growing up, was reading facial expressions. This would cause me to take everything people would say to me quite literally. However, whenever I would watch animated features like The Secret of NIMH or look at an illustrated picture from a Dr. Seuss book, without even realizing it at the time, I was subconsciously reading and studying the facial expressions and body languages of the characters from those shows and books. As I got older, I began to understand and decipher not only facial expressions of others, but also their figural and literal expressions of the people around me (and they say that watching cartoons don't teach you anything useful ). Sure, I still struggle at times but those are far and few in between (then there are people who just have a pretty convincing poker face).

I wholeheartedly believe that if artists were able to do this for me through their work, then it's possible that it can do the same for someone else on the Autism spectrum and nothing would make me happier than to be a part of that experience.


Reference (confusedmatthew.com/images/The…
Critiques/Feedback is greatly appreciated and will help me continue to make progress.


Secret of NIMH © Don Bluth