The "Artist Series" and "Portrait Series" of Puzzles

Snow White has turned up in a couple of different sets of jigsaw puzzles manufactured by Mega Puzzles (a subsidiary of Mega Brands). The Artist Series is a suite of 1000-piece puzzles featuring various Disney characters in filmic scenes as reproduced in the contemporary fine art of commissioned artists. The works of two new artists are added to the series each year.

Watercolorist Toby Bluth's Snow White-inspired Tidying Up...

Currently available in stores.

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Bluth's Seven Dwarfs Coming Home...

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Artist James Coleman's A Sweet Goodbye...

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The second set is called the Portrait Series and consists of 500-piece puzzles. They differ from those above by paying tribute to the Disney characters in a stylized montage ensemble of both new and vintage artwork.

Currently available in stores.

The Snow White Art of Toby Bluth

Artist Toby Bluth comes from a multi-talented family. His brother Don is well known for his success in animated movies. Toby himself has worked on many a film as well as a wide cross-section of other artistic pursuits including children's books, watercolor paintings, and both on and off Broadway musicals.

His unique abilities were even called upon to help solve the aspect ratio issue for the 2009 Blu-ray home video release of Snow White and the Severn Dwarfs. More on this below.

His Disney fine art portfolio is quite extensive. Bluth credits Snow White inspirational artist Gustaf Tenggren as being a major influence in his career. Often making use of high contrasting light and shadow, Toby's transparent watercolor compositions create warm striking images. His work can be seen at the Disney theme parks, and limited edition giclee prints on paper are widely sold through fine art dealers.

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Watercolors...

Coming Home
(11" x 15", Edition Size: 95)

Tidying Up
(12" x 18", Edition Size: 95)
Jigsaw puzzles from Toby's watercolors in next post.

Is She Asleep?
(11" x 14", Edition Size: 70)

Portrait of Innocence
(10" x 14", Edition Size: 70)

Portrait of Innocence - Princess Glass Gem Bottle

Let Me Guess
(12.25" x 18.25")

Face of Evil
(11" x 14", Edition Size: 70)

Top of the Stairs
(11" x 14", Edition Size: 95)

Snow White and the Witch
(8.5" x 11")

The Lost Soup Scene 
(11" x 22", Edition Size: 70)

The Sweet Dreams Suite

(6" x 7.5", Edition Size: 50 - series of four)

It All Started With A Mouse

(11" x 22", Edition Size: 195)

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Illustrated Children's Books...

Toby has written and/or illustrated a wealth of children's books including these Snow White titles.

Snow White's Escape
(Mouse Works, 1994. ISBN: 1570821534)

 Dopey Loses the Diamonds

(Mouse Works, 1994. ISBN: 157082150X) 

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Interview, circa 2002...

Bluth shares his watercolor techniques, talks about his work with Disney, and explains the role of an Art Director in the making of an animated film.

Video posted by artinsights.

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Blu-Ray Sidebar Art...

Well before the 2009 Blu-Ray release of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Toby was hired to create a special  border art to accompany the video. When viewers click on the "Disney View” menu option, they can choose to watch the movie in its original 4:3 aspect ratio without the annoyance of the black sidebars. Instead, the space is filled with a set of Bluth's original artwork in the form of theater curtains, columns, pillars, etc. It makes for a beautiful framing of this classic film, but if you'd rather, you can always turn it off.

(NOTE: Sidebar art requires a “Profile 1.1” or higher capable Blu-ray Disc Player to display.)    

Curtain Sidebar Artwork. Image via Selfish Mom.

Column and Pillar Artwork. Images via High Def Disk News.

Included on the Blu-ray is a short film, About Disney View, hosted by Bluth who explains why he chose this project and what inspired him. There's also a couple pages of information on his work.