Gorgeous Moana Concept Art That Perfectly Illustrates How Amazing Artists Brought Her to Life Behind the Scenes

Author image for Ely Bulnes
Ely Bulnes • Writer and Editor
Aug 8, 2025 5:00 PM EDT

The film that you end up going to the movies to see or that you choose for your cozy movie night on Netflix is the product of countless hours of work. Live action movies go through several stages of production, and there are many jobs involved that are incredibly important that are often overlooked — such as location scouts and costume designers. If you've ever drawn a detailed cartoon, even just for fun, you can appreciate how difficult it must be to work on an animated film.
Before you even get to the point where you must draw the same cartoon thousands of times or add realistic textures to a 3D model, you must first figure out what you want those characters to look like. The first few sketches an illustrator makes are often nothing like the end product. It is fascinating to see early and behind-the-scenes artwork and track just how the character designs progressed — what features remained and which were scrapped. Scroll down to check out concept art for Disney's Moana.

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  • These charcoal illustrations of Moana are so beautiful. 

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Tags

behind the scenes disney animation Movie design disney princesses movies From the Movies disney characters pixar illustration moana concept art
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