Ever since a young Bob Pauley first laid eyes on Pixar’s groundbreaking 1986 short film Luxo Jr. his mind has been made up. “I said, ‘I have to work for those folks’,” he tells 3D World. “You could tell, even way back then, the trajectory of where they were going. In such simple things as a ball and two lamps you felt for those characters.”
After some initial setbacks, Pauley landed his dream job in the art department of Pixar Animation Studios, just in time to work on Toy Story, the film that would change filmmaking forever. However, the eventual impact of Toy Story was the furthest thing from his mind. With a small team and a host of limitations, Pauley and his fellow filmmakers remained laser-focused on getting the job done.
“I remember we didn’t even have legitimate art rooms for our reviews,” he reflects. “John Lasseter would come by and just look at the boards we had up on the wall. One review, I’m working on Buzz Lightyear, and he says: ‘This is going to be huge,’ and I go, ‘Yeah, sure’.” It wasn’t until early renders from the film were screened for Pixar employees that the excitement began to take hold.
As part of the art department, Pauley and his teammates are responsible for the design of a film’s characters and sets. “We work really closely with the story department,” he explains, “a lot of the time they come up with the ideas and do preliminary drawings to get the boards down. The art department gets the fun of designing the characters and working with the technical departments to build them.”
This story is from the August 2020 edition of 3D World UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the August 2020 edition of 3D World UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
HOW DO I QUICKLY ITERATE LIGHTING FOR LOOKDEV USING REDSHIFT AND CINEMA 4D?
3D rendering can be a massively time-consuming process for artists, which can tie their primary machine into render cycles.
Scanning the stars
Matthew McMillion discovers why artist Kazu Hiro turns to 3D scanners when creating special effects makeup for Hollywood's A-listers
HOW DO I CREATE CINEMATIC CAMERAS IN KEYSHOT?
KeyShot provides powerful yet simple-to-use rendering tools through both a standalone package and a plugin for all the best-known DCC applications.
ADD RAIN TO RENDERS IN POST-PRODUCTION
3D World Editor Rob Redman shows you how to build the storytelling in your scenes with dramatic rainstorm effects
FOR 10 MODO 17.0
How to get the most from Foundry's updated 3D package
MAKE AN ANIMATION FOR A MOVING VEHICLE
Get revved up with Oscar Juárez as he details how you can create a realistic animation with help from a 3ds Max plugin
CREATE STYLISH HAND-PAINTED CHARACTER ART
Video game artist Weston Reid reveals the process for building his stylised Wild West-inspired character
THE ART OF Surajit Sen
The digital sculptor speaks to Cesci Angell about his thought processes, work on major Indian films, and having a 3D obsession
REBELS WITH A CAUSE
Trevor Hogg embarks on a galactic journey to uncover the secrets behind Rebel Moon: Part One - A Child of Fire NEXT
DRAMA & SPECTACLE
Trevor Hogg gets dangerously close to kaiju to uncover the secrets behind Monarch: Legacy of Monsters