Michael Humphries is a background artist at Walt Disney Animation Studios.
Growing up in Tampa, Florida; Humphries moved to Long Beach, California where he refined his artistic abilities all through college. He served as a member of the Army's 1st Air Cavalry Division's Combat Art Team in Vietnam. Upon his return, Michael continued his art education at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, where he currently teaches.
Humphries professional career began in 1977 as a background artist where he animated shows including Super Friends, The New Adventures of Jonny Quest, Teen Wolf, Pound Puppies, Paw Paws, The Bisketts, The Smurfs, Shirt Tales, Challenge of the Gobots, The Jetsons, Snorks, Galtar and the Golden Lance, CBS Storybreak, and Kung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Masters as well as the Looney Tunes, Scooby-Doo, The Flintstones, and Tom & Jerry franchises. While at Disney, he contributed to films like The Great Mouse Detective, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, The Rescuers Down Under, The Lion King, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Fantasia 2000 as well as two musical shorts, One by One and the Academy Award® nominated short film The Little Matchgirl. His other film credits include Heidi's Song, My Little Pony: The Movie (1986), Barney's Great Adventure, Clifford's Really Big Movie, The Simpsons Movie, Alpha and Omega, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, My Little Pony: The Movie (2017) and Sony Pictures' first 3D animated movie, Open Season.
Michael resides with his wife and daughter in Studio City, California. In 2020, he released a book entitled Visual Storytelling with Color and Light and is a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences and the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
Filmography[]
| Year | Film | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1986 | The Great Mouse Detective | Background artist |
| 1986 | Adventures of the Gummi Bears | Additional background stylist |
| 1988 | Who Framed Roger Rabbit | Additional background animator |
| 1990 | The Rescuers Down Under | Background artist |
| 1992-1994 | The Little Mermaid | Key layout designer Key background stylist Key background artist |
| 1994 | The Lion King | Background artist |
| 1996 | The Hunchback of Notre Dame | Background artist |
| 2000 | Fantasia 2000 | Art director: "Piano Concerto No. 2" |
| 2001 | Atlantis: The Lost Empire | Additional visual development |
| 2004 | Home on the Range | Visual development artist |
| 2004 | Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers | Additional storyboard artist (uncredited) |
| 2004 | One by One | Art director |
| 2006 | The Little Matchgirl | Art director |
| 2009 | The Princess and the Frog | Background artist |
| 2017-2018 | Star vs. the Forces of Evil | Background designer |
| 2018 | Ducktales | Background artist |
| 2018-2019 | Big City Greens | Color supervisor Background painter |
External links[]
