I had not thought about how different the forests of Snow White and Bambi are.

The artist got his big break while working for Walt Disney Studios. Mr. Wong held a low level art position at the studio during the production of the 1942 animated feature film Bambi. Several pictures he produced of a deer standing in a forest caught the eye of Walt Disney himself, and became the core of the film’s visual style. Mr. Wong later went on to work at Warner Brothers and Republic Pictures.

“Before Bambi, Disney came out with Snow White, and in that film the forest is vividly illustrated, details were meticulously outlined,” said Mr. Tam. “Bambi was totally different. Tyrus emphasized mood through light, colors, and gestures—he wanted you to smell the forest from his illustrations.”