You may not know his name, but if you''re a fan of animation and have been enthralled by such classics as Sleeping Beauty, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, or The Secret of NIMH, then you know the work of animation artist Ron Dias. Now 62, Dias is truly one of the unsung heroes of that art form.

For more than 40 years, Dias has served as a background artist for numerous animated feature films and TV shows, including Johnny Quest, Ralph Bakshi''s production of Tolkien''s Lord of the Rings, and many Pink Panther, Daffy Duck and Speedy Gonzales theatrical shorts. His greatest artistic achievement may well be the creation of "Toon Town" for Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

In addition to his film work for Disney, Columbia Pictures, 20th Century-Fox, Warner Brothers, Hanna-Barbera and MGM, Dias has also worked as an illustrator of children''s books from Disney and Golden Books, created the designs for limited edition collectibles from Disney films, and produced limited edition posters and art works based on animation cels.

"My mom said I was born with a pencil in my hand," remarks Dias, who says he was inspired to become an illustrator/animator at the age of six when he first saw Disney''s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

"Snow White was so magical I could not believe everything was a drawing or painting," he says. "I said, if that is what you can do, that is what I want to do."

Born and raised in Honolulu, Dias trained at the Honolulu Academy of Art and took correspondence courses from Famous Artists Schools. Upon winning a national design contest for a U.S. postage stamp in 1956, Dias headed to Burbank, where he was soon hired by Disney to work on Sleeping Beauty.

That was the start of Dias'' remarkable artistic odyssey, which has most recently taken him to a new home in Big Sur. The Bixby Canyon home he moved into full-time last year is a veritable treasure trove of cartoon illustrations, memorabilia and collectibles whose bright and cheery aspect contrast markedly with the fact that the house once belonged to director Sam Peckinpah, creator of films noted for their carnage and violence, and was also the former home of Beat poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti, the place where writer Jack Kerouac recounted his harrowing descent into alcoholic oblivion in Big Sur.

Dias is pursuing his love of fine art painting here on the Central Coast, and continues his work for Disney, producing a series of limited edition art works in anticipation of the studio''s upcoming re-release of Cinderella. He is also reaching out to local schools and hopes to share his experience and knowledge with young artists looking for direction.

Dias acknowledges that although the kind of fame most artists aspire to eluded him, given the collaborative nature of animated film, he looks back with pride on his involvement with so many classic films.

"A lot of unsung heroes made Disney films and I would like to be recognized a little more," Dias admits. "After Sleeping Beauty was finished, I walked into a theater and sat in the back and saw kids laughing and crying and being emotionally moved by what I had done. I said, ''If I can make people this happy and move them this much this is what I want to continue doing''."

Dias says there''s nothing secondary about being a background painter: creating the backgrounds for animation is critical to the overall mood and success of an animated film. "As a background painter I like to color orchestrate the film and have a definite feeling for what the film should look and feel like," he explains.

While still a fan of animation, Dias admits to finding it difficult to restrain his analytical eye, and says he sees changes in the industry he is not particularly enamored with.

"There is nothing like animation, it''s for the magic stuff you cannot do with live action," says Dias. "But what''s happening with Disney is it''s losing its quality. The production values and grandeur are on the screen but the interplay and warmth of character are not quite there. That is what made the old films really work. I get upset when people say ''corny.'' People mistake warmth for corny. The animation business is in a slump now. It was riding the crest of a wave for a long time but I think now it''s over-saturated."

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