Don "Ducky" Williams

[hmneal]

Can anyone give me any information (or a link) about Don? My mother took some of the kids to his class and I'm now working on my scrapbook. I'd like to add information about his career, etc.

Thanks
Holly

 

[randytenn]

Here's what I remember (some time frames may be off, it's been a couple of years since I heard Ducky speak):

Don was a bank vice president, who loved to draw. He would have art exhibits in the bank, but always saved the holidays to exhibit his stuff. He always loved to draw the Disney characters, and dreamed of working for Disney animation.

A local tv newscast broadcast the story about the bank vp who likes to draw Disney. A friend of Don's sent the tape to Disney, without Don's knowledge. They called and asked to see his stuff. He nervously sent them stuff. They said it was good, but he wasn't quite there. They offered to critique his drawings. They even sent him model sheets (a highly guarded item that shows exactly how the characters are drawn). He started drawing hundreds of drawings, and sending them to Disney. I don't remember the exact amount, but is was something like 100 drawings a week, every week, for several years. Sometimes they would respond with suggestions, often they would not.

Finally, Don decided that he would never get a Disney job living in Michigan (if I remember right), so he quit his job, sold his house, and moved to Orlando. He finally got a job with Disney, in the park, selling t-shirts. He talked with the animation department, who didn't have any openings, but he kept his 100 drawings a week.

Finally, an opening happened. They brought him in to help on a project for one week (or possibly a month, but either way, a finite amount of time). The first day, he drew Mickey, over and over. The second, Donald. Finally, he got to work on something, and he worked really hard.

At the end of his trial period, he waited, expecting to hear that he had a job, or was going back to selling t-shirts. He stayed past 5:00 p.m., and was the last person out that night. He was never told. He decided he would show up for work on Monday, to see if they would say anything. He has still yet to hear if he has the job. He just keeps showing up, many years later!

Ducky draws all the character animation for WDW marketing. Whether it's a small park ticket, or the largest billboard, Ducky draws the characters. He also designed Mickey Mouse's house in Toontown. On the DCL, the Mickey hand on the elevator display is Ducky's.

Ducky is allowed to do personal artwork for sale by Disney, as long as it's on his own time and his own supplies. His original artwork is gorgeous, and is sold in advance (there's a waiting list for his stuff). You can purchase prints of his stuff, and often, his stuff is included in Disney publications like Disney Magazine.

I am lucky enough to have a large poster size sketch of Tigger that Ducky drew on our cruise. Ducky is an amazing person, and a personal hero. If you are lucky enough to be on a cruise with him, go to his session. If you see him walking through the boat, he is very gracious, and will draw pictures for you.

I hope that helps.

 

[Tandyc]

Wow! I have never heard of him. Does he cruise often? Is there a schedule? I'd love to meet him and purchase a drawing. Anyone know how to get his itinerary?

Thanks,


Tandy

 

[randytenn]

You can't purchase a drawing. He does them for free. During his session, he draws on stage, and at the end, he has a drawing for the . . . drawings.?!?! (He did extra drawings before his talk, so that he could give more away. That should show you how unbelievably cool this guy is).

He also carries a pad of paper and pencil with him, to make little drawings while he is walking around.

EDIT:::

Go to donduckywilliams.com and you can see him, and find out more.

The website says to contact Disney Cruise Lines for his schedule.

Here's Ducky, at work!

 

[atigeg]

he just cruised on the 2/29 4 day Wonder

we were lucky to have him on our Eastern a few years back

here is a link to some pictures of him from our cruise.

www.castawayclub.com/don.htm

 

[hmneal]

Wow, thanks so much for the info! I wish I would have known that at the time we cruised (2/29) so I would have known that was a cruise MUST to see him! But I'm glad my mom (an artist too) and my dd's (10 & 12) went! They came back with wonderful Mickey drawing he taught them to draw!

Holly

 

[mmouse37]

We were on a cruise when he sailed back in '02. He cruises ever so often and his story is quite remarkable. He does awesome work!!!

MJ

 

[figment52]

What neat background information - I would be afraid to take a sick day or vacation for fear my position would be eliminated-LOL. He must be a remarkabl person indeed. I hope I get to meet him someday on a cruise.

 

[Regina]

He is an amazing, talented gentleman.

In addition to holding seminars, he signed his artwork. It didn't matter if it was a lithograph, poster or postcard, you were able to get his authograph on it.

My DD is an art student and also a Disney nut. She wasn't with us on the cruise with Ducky. I spotted him in an out of the way area, and with a great deal of apprehension, I approached him and asked if he would draw a picture of her favorite character.

He was very pleasant and I was thrilled to have a sketch of Tinkerbelle to give to my DD when we returned home.