At 10 years old, Tim Rogerson sent a letter to Disney Animnation begging for a job. Someone responded, telling the budding artist to set his sights on art school and appending a list of recommendations, with Ringling College of Art and Design right at the top. “Since I was 10, I figured, ‘I go to school there, I get my dream job at Disney,’ ” says Rogerson. Thousands of miles and not so many years later, Rogerson stands a prophecy fulfilled as both a Ringling grad and fine artist for Disney, creating the official artwork for international Disney events and expos.

Enrolling in 2000, Rogerson eschewed the growing computer animation trend, opting for traditional illustration and its connection to the masters he admired, including Michelangelo and Vincent Van Gogh. “I want to paint by hand, to smell the paint and get messy,” says Rogerson.Sitting in front of a screen just wasn’t going to cut it. At Ringling, Rogerson learned technique, he says, but most importantly he learned about style. “I noticed by my third year that everybody’s paintings were starting to look the same. That’s when I realized that your own interpretation of life was most important,” says Rogerson.

All the while, Disney loomed heavily in Rogerson’s mind and monopolized his off-campus life as he drove from campus to work at The Magic Kingdom in Orlando nearly every weekend as a freshman, manning the gift shop and climbing the ranks at the Disney resort. It was there that Ralph Kent, then head of the Disney Design Group, stopped by. Kent put Rogerson on the spot, asking for a drawing. “To this day, I think that was the best Mickey I ever drew,” he says. Rogerson would continue driving to The Magic Kingdom on weekends for his remaining three years at Ringling, but now as an official artist, paid to create authentic Disney artwork for fans. 

One month before graduation, while visiting the Disney Fine Art offices in California, Rogerson found his next big break. This was what he had been looking for, Disney artists working in the fine art tradition, with richly painted portraits and compositions, and here Rogerson could bring something new as the young blood in an old pack. The professionals welcomed him. “I was still a student, just a kid,” he says, “but it was the right time, right fit and
I’m taking advantage of it.”

It was then that Rogerson received an unexpected call for a three-day job, selected as an official artist for the 2006 Olympic Games. An honor, he says, but also a step to something greater. More than anything, it positioned Rogerson at the forefront when Disney came calling for a flagship artist to helm its first D23 expo in 2009, now a biennial event from the official Disney fan club. 

“That show put me on the map at Disney Fine Art,” says Rogerson, who became a household name among Disney collectors for the massive centerpiece painting he created for the event, which featured more than 50 Disney characters throughout its history, all gathered around a giant Mickey Mouse. Since then, Rogerson has returned to D23 for the 2015 expo and been named the official artist for Disneyland’s 60th Anniversary, summing up six decades of Disneyland in one painting, with the characters transforming from black-and-white to full color. “I have a responsibility to take these characters and make them relevant today,” says Rogerson. “It feels good that I can give back for all the inspiration I had as a kid, and hopefully I can inspire the next generation.”