thumb|right|the nautilus design by goff. harper goff (march 16, 1911&nbsp;â march 3, 1993), born ralph harper goff, was an american artist, musician, and actor. for many years, he was associated with the walt disney company, in the process of which he contributed to various major films, as well as to the planning of the disney theme parks. during world war ii, he was also an advisor to the u.s. army on camouflage (blechman 2004; behrens 2009). ==early life== goff was born in fort collins, colorado. he studied art at chouinard art institute in los angeles, then moved to new york, where he worked as a magazine illustrator, producing artwork for collier's, esquire and national geographic. as a designer, he sometimes produced advertising for the u.s. army. ==camouflage service== during world war ii, by his own account, goff was approached for advice about camouflage paint by the u.s. army, because he had been "making paint and working on a do-it-yourself painter's kit" (naversen 1989, p. 150). assigned to a camouflage research facility at fort belvoir, virginia, he developed a set of paint colors (which he compared to paint-by-number kits) that were used as "standard issue" hues for camouflage, as well as a camouflage pigment that was chemically impermanent, enabling its removal when it was no longer needed. later in the war, he transferred to the u.s. navy where (in his words) "i was working on confusing the silhouettes of ships" [not unlike dazzle camouflage] (naversen 1989, p. 151). ==film career== returning to the u.s., goff moved back to california and worked as a set designer for warner brothers, producing the sets for such memorable films as sergeant york, charge of the light brigade, and captain blood. goff was a lifelong model train enthusiast. in 1951, while in a london model-making shop, he met walt disney when they both wanted to buy the same model train. as a result of having met disney, he joined the los angeles artistic team of the walt disney studios, a relationship that continued, off and on, until his death in 1993. his extraordinary work gave a distinctive character to a number of disney productions. he is specifically credited with many of the finest inventive effects in disney's first live-action film, 20,000 leagues under the sea (which he art directed - even though the movie credit reads: "production developed by..." goff designed the exterior of the nautilus, along with every set/compartment within the submarine). the film was awarded two oscars, for color art direction and best special effects. at that time, in 1954, the art directors union had created a bylaw within the academy of motion pictures, which stated that only union art d
1911_births 1993_deaths Chouinard_Art_Institute_alumni Disney_imagineers Disney_people Dixieland_banjoists