The Paperwalker Journal - by Florian Satzinger: Character Design

The PAPERWALKER Journal is the personal weblog of DUCKLAND creator and award-winning character designer Florian Satzinger – who worked on characters such as Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse, Looney Tunes (Daffy Duck, Bugs Bunny, Silvester etc.), Pinky And The Brain, A.J.Hogg and Scooby-Doo, for studios such as Warner Bros., Disney, ReelFX and Zanuck Family Entertainment – in which he shares bits and pieces of his character design work, processes, visual development, inspirations and reference materials of current, past and future projects.
©2026 by Florian Satzinger. World rights reserved. | 104,7M VIEWS |

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PLEASE NOTE, the displayed parody artworks of classical cartoon characters are not copies but distinct satiric imitations/caricatures, by exaggerating and transforming the original characters and their related indica (see 'Coat of Smiles') in a way that creates new originals and new meanings, different from the intentions of the originals.

All reference/inspiration material here (i.e. all material not originated by the author of this blog) is solely the property of their respective owners, the use here does not imply that you may use the material for any purpose other than for a similar parodistic, informational or inspirational use. This blog journal is basically dedicated to inspire professional animation artists, animation students and everyone who is interested in the animation art form to use their talents. If you find any content here that belongs to you and you want it down or has not been properly attributed, please contact 'hello[at]paperwalker[dot]com', thank you.

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Showing posts with label Character Design. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 29, 2018

Alien army, captain

Alien army, captain.

Ein Beitrag geteilt von Florian Satzinger Paperwalker (@floriansatzinger) am Mai 18, 2018 um 11:17 PDT

Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Marc Davis' pencil

Quite recently, Federico Fiecconi invited me to doodle with Marc Davis' (MARC DAVIS!) own original mechanical pencil! The outcome was this odd little piece of sketch that doesn't have any purpose other than to smash some really fast lines on the paper and see what happens. Anyways, back at my desk, I started refining and preparing the level for detailing a little, just for the fun of it.

Monday, April 25, 2016

He goes with many names ...

Wonderbeak and Steam Duck are just two of them.

Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Throwback: Kinghorn Penguins

Personal character design classic, winter 2008/2009.

Monday, November 23, 2015

The Electric Dragon

The electric dragon. An alien life-form a certain duck will discover sometime soon ...

The electric dragon.

Ein von Florian Satzinger Paperwalker (@floriansatzinger) gepostetes Foto am 22. Nov 2015 um 14:03 Uhr

Friday, July 24, 2015

Beakbound

I will never ever get bored of drawing ducks.

Beak

Ein von Florian Satzinger Paperwalker (@floriansatzinger) gepostetes Foto am 22. Jul 2015 um 15:05 Uhr

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Carlo Perdersoli AKA Bud Spencer

Birdcharacterfied.

Carlo Pedersoli aka Bud Spencer, birdcharacterfied.

Ein von Florian Satzinger Paperwalker (@floriansatzinger) gepostetes Foto am 21. Jul 2015 um 7:32 Uhr

Saturday, January 24, 2015

Guard

This is Jordan, he keeps a close watch on my stuff while I'm in the restroom.

This is Jordan, he keeps a close watch on my stuff while I'm in the restroom.

Ein von Florian Satzinger Paperwalker (@floriansatzinger) gepostetes Foto am Jan 24, 2015 at 12:55 PST

Friday, December 19, 2014

Construction: Critter

The other day, I was asked by one of my fellow readers if I could post another (basic) construction/process clip. Now, here's a pretty quick one i've done recently testing out a new screen recording software.

Ein von Florian Satzinger Paperwalker (@floriansatzinger) gepostetes Foto am Dez 12, 2014 at 2:03 PST

Friday, December 12, 2014

Friday Morning Inspiration: Disney's Professor Ludwig von Drake

Monday, December 01, 2014

Rough Concept Piece

The idea behind the shape of this here was a chicken.

Thursday, November 27, 2014

Mini Jet Vehicle

Of course there's a flying machine for every trip and every mood...

Friday, November 21, 2014

Birdish Skull Rider

Thursday, November 20, 2014

Donald Duck, Paperwalker-ed Up

The world's most famous duck from my perspective.

Tuesday, November 04, 2014

Snow Rodeo

Since I've to wait a bit until I'm allowed to share some pieces of my recent work, here's something I did for an Austrian skiing area, earlier this year.

Saturday, August 09, 2014

Inner Workings

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Know How

Drawing a cartoon duck.

Friday, December 06, 2013

Transition

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Meet “Normal” Barbie

Earlier this month, I posted about Barbie-like beauty standards etc. Yesterday, I came across this here, which makes a nice follow up, doesn't it:

«Meet “normal” Barbie: She’s not impossibly tall and skinny, but instead created in the proportions of the average 19-year-old American woman. Artist Nickolay Lamm created a 3-D rendering of a "normal" Barbie (pictured at right) next to a standard Barbie by using the CDC's measurements for an average 19-year-old American woman.» (via/full article: Today)

Saturday, October 19, 2013

Jaw!

Damn it! This is every character designer's dream of a reference piece. (via)

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About Me / Story

FLORIAN SATZINGER,
ERICH SOKOL Prize winner 2023 (along with Gerald Scarfe), was a student of well-regarded Disney, MGM and Hanna-Barbera animator and animation director Ken Southworth («Alice In Wonderland», «Woody Woodpecker», «Tom & Jerry», «The Flintstones», «Peanuts», «The Smurfs») who influenced him greatly. Having worked for clients that include Warner Bros., Disney, Zanuck Family Entertainment, ReelFX, Space Age Films, Psyop, Ravensburger North America, Facebook, Budweiser, Coca-Cola, Red Bull, Bahlsen and Snapchat, Satzinger is now developing under the umbrella label DUCKLAND projects such as «DUCK AWESOME» and «JOHN STARDUCK» with Paperwalker Studios SHF.

Besides his industrial career, he holds a lectureship for character design, analog animation and animation history at the University of Applied Sciences Salzburg (Urstein, Austria) and worked/works as a visiting dozent at art schools such as VIA University College's Animation Workshop (Viborg, Denmark), Film University Babelsberg (Potsdam, Germany), Film Academy Baden-Württemberg (Ludwigsburg, Germany), Beaux-Arts & Entertainment (Paris, France) and Accademia Nemo (Florence, Italy).

Florian Satzinger is a member of Los Angeles based Creative Talent Network, a community for the world's leading creators of both traditional and digital animated films.

Endorsements And Reviews

«Just put Disney, Franquin and Satzinger in a shaker... and here comes the magic liqueur.»

Jean Mulatier,
Caricaturist
(Esquire, Le Figaro, Time, Playboy, Elle)

«True genius pops it’s head out of the trenches about once every hundred years. Your brand of genius happens every time you create a new piece.»

Deane Taylor,
Art director of Tim Burton's NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS

«[...] beautiful character work from Austria's Florian Satzinger, who blogs over at the Paperwalker Journal.»

Michael Canva,
THE WASHINGTON POST

«[...] you brilliant bastard»

Jeff Merghart,
Lead Character Designer, Concept Artist and Senior Animator, WALT DISNEY ANIMATION STUDIOS.

«You do Warner Bros better than Warner Bros did Warner Bros.»

Mark Whiting,
Production Designer of THE IRON GIANT. 3-time Annie nominated Art Director and Production Designer.

«This Austrian artist (Florian Satzinger) has drawn some of the world's most iconic animated characters.»

Gary Evans,
ImagineFX Magazine

«I hate you and love you at the same time.»

Deborah Guedj,
Journal de Mickey, France.

«[...] the school that made a deep and lasting impression was Vancouver Institute of Media Arts. That’s where Ken Southworth taught. [...] Ken could teach without teaching, say something without actually saying it. He encouraged Florian to see himself as a kind of reporter, whose job it is to observe his own characters and analyse what they do and how they behave.»

Gary Evans,
ImagineFX Magazine

«Florian describes his own work as “fusion cuisine.” It combines two of the art styles he grew up with: first, the North American style of Disney’s Walt Kelly and Don Bluth, and Chuck Jones of Warner Bros. Second, the influence of European comic artists like André Franquin, Maurice De Bevere (aka Morris) and Giorgio Cavazzano. “I often get the feedback that my style has this Disney feel to it, but more zany, or angry.”»

Gary Evans,
ImagineFX Magazine

«[...] You have THE MOST creative and clever ways to design ducks. I want to visit a whole gallery full of your amazing and charming work.»

Genevieve Tsai,
Supervising Character Designer on Animaniacs, WARNER BROS. ANIMATION

«I modeled these [penguins] from Florian Satzinger's designs. These became a focal point of my portfolio back in 2010 and ultimately landed me a Job at Disney. Huge respect to Florian's genius!»

Ryan Tottle,
Modeling Supervisor, WALT DISNEY ANIMATION STUDIOS

«Great work... so much character!»

David Komorowski,
Head of Characters and Technical Animation at WALT DISNEY ANIMATION STUDIOS

«The quality of Florian’s sketches reminds me of the Golden Age mid-century Disney and Warner Bros animation where every line had a lively motion and projected a three-dimensional sense of volume of the character.»

Johanna Schwaiger,
Program Director, NEW MASTERS ACADEMY,
Los Angeles, CA

«You own the duck world. No one should ever attempt to draw another duck. End of story.»

Thomas Fluharty,
Illustrator and Caricature Artist, THE NEW YORK TIMES, TIME, MAD MAGAZINE, THE VILLAGE VOICE

«You're crazy!!!»

Achdé (Hervé Darmenton),
Lucky Luke

«Great take on Daffy [Duck]. Hilarious. You’ve completely maintained his prick-ness. Real talent, Florian. This is the only real reboot potential Daffy I’ve ever seen. [...]»
«More animated than most recent films, with just a simple still drawing. Amazing [...]»

Steve Williams,
Film Director (Disney's 'The Wild'), Academy Award nominated Visual Effects Artist ('THE MASK'), Chief Animator 'TERMINATOR 2', 'JURASSIC PARK', 'THE ABYSS', 'JUMANJI' etc.

«You really do embody the old essence of Disney ... even more than Disney. More than Disney today any way.»

Bob Jones,
Character Designer, 'THE WISHMAS TREE', UNIVERSAL PICTURES/ODIN'S EYE

«A classic vintage Mickey, with a Chaplinesque grin, follows the timeline of his past adventures... In the meanwhile, a new unseen Mickey is sipping a tea cup, waiting for new landscapes... Visions suspended between the past and the future, conceived by Florian Satzinger, the award-winning concept artist and character designer.»

Federico Fiecconi,
Curator of DISNEY'S MICKEY: The True Original Exhibition, Castello di Desenzano, Italy

«[...] this man is a duck fiend. Donald Duck, Daffy Duck, “duck-tape”—never have I encountered an artist more dedicated to the proliferation of duck-related media [...]»

JJ,
Character Design Blog

«Achdé [...] already calls him the "master of the ducks".»

Ars Electronica Center

«Unique in the world with these extraordinary characters.»

Bruno Bozzetto,
Academy Award nominated Film Director

«"Inspiring … yet depressing … maybe I can still get that job at Wal-Mart.»

Eddie Pittman,
Disney's 'Phineas and Ferb'

«sick sick sick talent ...»

Alex Orrelle,
'SPACE JAM 2', Head of Story, WARNER BROS. ANIMATION

«One of my favorite artists [...]»

Jake Parker,
Founder of InkTober

«An excellent draughtsman.»

Douglas Goldsmith,
School of Visual Communication Design, KENT STATE UNIVERSITY

«Florian Satzinger is an animation expert, trust us, we know.»

KLEAR,
Leading Data Influencer Marketing Software Platform

«Florian Satzinger has a drawing style with a snap and verve that harken back to the best of classic Disney and mid 20th Century Warner Brothers animation. The lines with which he delineates his characters zing, bounce and swoop so delightfully that they suggest lively motion even before they’re animated. Satzinger credits Southworth as his major influence, and his work in the style of great classic hand-drawn animation shows his continuation of that tradition.»

Charley Parker,
LINESANDCOLORS.COM

«Florian Satzinger: a Carl Barks on steroids.»
(Florian Satzinger: um Carl Barks com esteróides)

via MARCAMARIA.COM

«Florian, you've been an amazing influence on my art for almost ten years now, and will be for years to come!»

Jay Fosgitt,
Comic Artist, MARVEL COMICS

«Florian Satzinger set the style for CTNX with the red "X" in the eyes in 2009. Florian designed the “X” in the eyes with his Ducks in such a appealing way that they have become a signature to CTN.»

CTN,
THE CREATIVE TALENT NETWORK®, Burbank, CA

DUCK - The Mag For The Birds Presents: Florian Satzinger's BIRDS AND PENCILS

"A superb book filled with some of the best character and vehicle design around the wit involved is fabulous. This book is especially for those of you who loved the Ducktales and Darkwing Duck cartoons of the late Eighties and early Nineties."
Amazon UK

"End of the year must have cartooning products [...] DUCK: Birds And Pencils"
The Daily Cartoonist

"In a world that is dominated by ultra realistic cg, stuff like this is like a breathe of fresh air. Such great poses, lines of action and true composition[...]"
via FlightPattern

"[...]a wild and awesome collection of duck sketches in crazy flying machines and other fantastic adventures[...]"
Arjan Wilschut

Sample pages:

'Birds And Pencils And Sundry Other Things And Hobs' by Florian Satzinger (Brandstudio Press)

Hard cover, 8.5x12 inches, 48 pages, full-color, full bleed, sewn pages.

"[...]inspired by old school animation but at the same time is so much fun[...]makes me want to pick up a pencil and start creating"
Labyrinth Books

Nemoland

Behind the scenes of science fiction and fantasy

NEMOLAND (NEMO NT)

In May 2009, Florian Satzinger gave workshops within the scope of The Genio Fiorentino 2009, on the occation of the Nemoland event/conferment of the Nemoland Special Award in the Aula Magna at the Instituto Statale d' Arte of Florence, Italy. Former Nemoland workshop hosts/award recipients were animation directors and animators such as Don Bluth, Gary Goldman, Alex Orrelle (Pixar) and J.P. Vine (Aardman Studios). Besides that, there was an exhibition of Florian Satzinger's original artwork at the Gipsoteca of the Instituto Statale d' Arte.

Tuesday, May 29, 2018

Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Monday, April 25, 2016

Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Monday, November 23, 2015

Friday, July 24, 2015

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Saturday, January 24, 2015

Friday, December 19, 2014

Friday, December 12, 2014

Monday, December 01, 2014

Thursday, November 27, 2014

Friday, November 21, 2014

Thursday, November 20, 2014

Tuesday, November 04, 2014

Saturday, August 09, 2014

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Friday, December 06, 2013

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Saturday, October 19, 2013

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DUCK - The Mag For The Birds Presents: Florian Satzinger's BIRDS AND PENCILS

CTN Animation Expo 2011

StarDucks Quake Protective Suit

The Art Center

Samples: The inspiration behind my cars and rides

CG Penguins

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