Rick Law
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Rick Law (born December 15, 1969) is an American entertainment
illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicate ...
and producer, best known for his career with
The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16 ...
. His work has spanned across all forms of popular entertainment media: films, TV, music, theme park, print, toys, and video games.


Early life

Law was born in
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
, and had a turbulent early childhood, before moving at age 11 with his family to
Salinas, California Salinas (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Salt pan (geology), Salt Flats") is a city in the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Monterey County, California, Monterey County. With a population of 163,542 in the 2020 Census, Salinas is ...
, where he attended Salinas High School and graduated a year and 1/2 early. As a 15 year old, Law created a t-shirt design that caught the attention of music artist Steve Taylor and won Law a record company promotion. In 1986, at age 16, Law first attended
San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Comic-Con is a comic book convention and multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California, at the San Diego Convention Center. Founded in 1970, originally showcasing primarily comic books and science fiction/fant ...
where he was further inspired by other artists and creators he met there.


Career

Law's first professional job came at age 17, designing logos for a real estate company. Law's previous interaction with Taylor and his record company, eventually led Law to additional opportunities in creating art and working with others in the music industry including
Amy Grant Amy Lee Grant (born November 25, 1960) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She began her music career in contemporary Christian music (CCM) before crossing over to pop music in the mid-1980s. Grant has been referred to as "Honorific ...
,
MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
,
Arista Records Arista Records ( ) is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously a division of Bertelsmann Music G ...
,
Tower Records Tower Records is an international retail franchising, franchise and online music store that was formerly based in Sacramento, California, United States. From 1960 until 2006, Tower operated retail stores in the United States, which closed when ...
,
Mariah Carey Mariah Carey ( ; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Songbird Supreme" by ''Guinness World Records'', Carey is known for her five-octave voc ...
, The Choir and
Pat Boone Patrick Charles Eugene Boone (born June 1, 1934) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, author, television personality, radio host and philanthropist. He sold nearly 50 million records, had 38 Top 40 hits, and has acted in many films. Boone ...
. Law's early efforts at producing included arranging concerts for performer
Rich Mullins Richard Wayne Mullins (October 21, 1955 – September 19, 1997) was an American contemporary Christian music singer and songwriter best known for his contemporary worship music, worship songs "Awesome God" and "Sometimes by Step". Some of his ...
in Salinas. Law was also a founder and created the original logo art for the Spirit West Coast music festival in Monterey, CA. Law's initial foray into Hollywood came about during a 1988 trip to Los Angeles with a friend. Seeking a way to sneak into the
Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...
movie studio became a chance encounter with director
Richard Donner Richard Donner (born Richard Donald Schwartzberg; April 24, 1930 – July 5, 2021) was an American film director, producer and actor. Described as "one of Hollywood's most reliable makers of action blockbusters", Donner directed some of the mo ...
who allowed Law permission to visit his '' Scrooged'' set and access to the studio lot. In 1989 Law was a consultant for ''
The Arsenio Hall Show ''The Arsenio Hall Show'' is an American syndicated late-night talk show created by and starring comedian Arsenio Hall. There have been two different incarnations of ''The Arsenio Hall Show''. The original series premiered on January 3, 1989 ...
''. One of his observations on the initial shows' studio audience was to highlight those audience members who had less than optimal seating. The result was the creation of the recurrent "Dog Pound" comedy bit. Law's first movie poster design was for the 1992
Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...
film ''Leap of Faith'' starring
Steve Martin Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American comedian, actor, writer, producer, and musician. Known for Steve Martin filmography, his work in comedy films, television, and #Discography, recording, he has received List of awards a ...
. In 1995 Law created the
supernatural Supernatural phenomena or entities are those beyond the Scientific law, laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin 'above, beyond, outside of' + 'nature'. Although the corollary term "nature" has had multiple meanin ...
themed black & white
comic a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicat ...
series '' Beyond the Veil'', both writing and illustrating the series. In 1996, Law illustrated ''Pond and Stream : Habitats'' for children's educational publisher Evan-Moor. Law began working with
The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16 ...
in 1993. Over the course of his diverse career as a content creator with the company he has held a variety of roles. Law created cover art for a number of the studio's video, DVD, & Blu-Ray releases. Some of those include: '' The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad''; '' The Lion King II: Simba's Pride''; ''
Mulan Hua Mulan () is a legendary Chinese folk heroine from the Northern and Southern dynasties era (4th to 6th century Common Era, CE) of Chinese history. Scholar, Scholars generally consider Mulan to be a fictional character. Hua Mulan is depicte ...
''; '' The Rescuers Down Under''; ''101 Dalmatians''; ''Tinker Bell''; '' Piglet's Big Movie''; ''Winnie the Pooh: Springtime with Roo''; '' Tarzan & Jane''; '' Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas'', and the first three 'Buddies' films: '' Air Buddies'', ''
Snow Buddies ''Snow Buddies'' is a 2008 American adventure comedy film and the second installment in the '' Air Buddies'' series. It was released on DVD on February 5, 2008. The film takes place in the fictional town of Ferntiuktuk, Alaska. It is the final ...
'', and '' Space Buddies''. He has been a story contributor; and created or developed a myriad of products for the company and it's licensees. In 2009, Law started designing toys with his reinterpretations of Disney characters via toy manufacturer MINDstyle. In support of the release of ''
Toy Story 3 ''Toy Story 3'' is a 2010 American animated comedy-drama film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. The third installment in the Toy Story (franchise), ''Toy Story'' series, it was directed by Lee Unkrich, the editor ...
'' in Asia, Law was a primary artist for the ''Alien Invasion Tour'', which debuted at Times Square mall in Hong Kong, with artistic reinterpretations of the ''Toy Story'' alien character. Law was a creative lead in the design and launch of Disney English and was a consultant in the development of Shanghai Disneyland Park. As Creative Manager for Disney Learning, his responsibilities involved animation direction and creative oversight of all educational products globally, such as the first series designed for communicatively challenged children. In 2013, he was responsible for the creation of the ''Disney I Classici'' collectible trading card set with licensee
Conad Conad (', English: ''National Retailers Consortium''), stylized CONAD, is an Italian retail store brand which operates one of the largest supermarket chains in Italy. History Created in 1962, Conad is a cooperative system of entrepreneurs, ...
distributed throughout Italy. He's been instrumental in fostering projects respective of both animation and the Disney legacy including the documentary ''Floyd Norman: An Animated Life'', and exhibitions including the Walt Disney Family Museum exhibit: ''Awaking Beauty: The Art of Eyvind Earle''. As an independent producer, Law was an Associate Producer of the films: '' Drew: The Man Behind the Poster''; ''Blue Like Jazz''; '' Leonard Knight: A Man & His Mountain''; and Executive Producer of the rock album ''Goliath'' by Steve Taylor & The Perfect Foil. In 2017, Law created cover artwork for the King Never World War I themed EP '' All These Things'' and in 2020 he created cover artwork for the band's single ''Stick In The Mud''. Law has been a speaker at venues including The Walt Disney Family Museum, CTN Animation Expo, and
San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Comic-Con is a comic book convention and multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California, at the San Diego Convention Center. Founded in 1970, originally showcasing primarily comic books and science fiction/fant ...
. He is a member of the Comic Art Professional Society (CAPS) and has served as a board member of The Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles.


Filmography


Television


Discography


Games


References


External links


Official website
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Law, Rick 1969 births Living people American illustrators American fantasy writers Disney people American male novelists American film producers