photo vault: animator overtime

Back in college, I took a Photojournalism course and was assigned to do a photo story. My boyfriend at the time was a student in the prestigious Character Animation program at CalArts in LA. His endless nights of animating intrigued me, so I decided to take a trip to SoCal and cover a late night in the CalArts animation cubicle hall for my photo assignment.

I observed a lot of wacky antics that evening: puppet shows, celebrity impersonations...an especially fond memory was learning how to skateboard through the hallways using a shopping basket. 

All photos were shot on 35mm.

Animator Overtime: A brief chronicle of a typical late night / early morning in the Character Animation department at California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) in Valencia, CA. 

11:36PM: The workday has just begun as CalArts character animation student, Scott, 22 (center) reviews story ideas for a short film called Monster Hunter with fellow animators Dan, 28 (far left) and Bailey, 23 (back).

12:45AM: Character animation student, Sean, 20, spends his 36th hour without sleep in his cubicle animating a sequence for his upcoming student film, Hot Date on a Stick.

Atop Sean's cube is his newly constructed puppet "Mr. Walters", modeled after his high school science teacher. 

1:13AM: Amidst the mess of his tiny cube, Armen, 28, sketches some last minute storyboards for a class assignment. 

2:40AM: Through the pinhole into his cube, Travis, 22, busily sketches a sequence for his short film Incons'pig'uous.

Inside the wall of Travis's cube, a friendly creature greets visitors. 

3:10AM: Bogged down by the stress of the semester, Ron, 25, takes a moment to read the next chapter in his self help book.

Remnants of Ron's frustrations dangle from his doorway.

4:02AM: After 47 hours of animating, Tony, 21, takes a brief nap at his desk beside his puppet-friend Chuck, before getting back to work.  

pacific northwest

Craving a summer vacay, I spent the past week exploring the great Pacific Northwest with my close friend Sydney (red lips pictured below). It was a jam-packed, non-stop, unforgettable trip!

We started our journey in Seattle where it was a melting 95 degrees! We kept cool with a first-time visit to the International Fountain in Seattle Center and ended the day with dinner & drinks with family and friends on the lawn of the Seattle Tennis Club. We then road tripped north to the San Juan Islands where we took a ferry from Anacortes to Friday Harbor (our car even got to go with us!). We enjoyed the little shops and restaurants on Friday Harbor, ate fried food and fudge amongst the farm animals at the San Juan County Fair, drove out to historic British Camp, and ended our stay on the dock of Roche Harbor Resort. I discovered my new favorite latte on the island too: the London Fog (earl grey tea latte w/ vanilla). So yummy and cozy. 

Sydney's hometown of Bellingham was our third stop. Hovander Homestead Park was my favorite site, an expansive pioneer farming property with the cutest red barn, a fragrance garden, and walkable trails along lily pads. After a brief visit in Bham, we continued north to Vancouver (my first time in Canada). Vancouver is an oddly amazing city. It's like New York meets San Francisco meets Europe... meets Asia meets Middle East, yet everyone speaks English and there is zero traffic?! There are endless awesome neighborhoods in Vancouver: Gastown (home to Pixar Canada!), Yaletown, Granville Island, and Chinatown.

We stayed at some amazing hotels along our journey: Ace Hotel (our room was sans a bathroom, my first time in a hotel with communal showers!), Lairmont Manor (historic and absolutely lovely), my favorite The Chrysalis Inn & Spa and the posh Opus Vancouver. 

International Fountain, Seattle, Washington

Downtown Seattle

Bellingham Bay, Washington

Aladdin's Antiques, Bellingham, Washington

Hovander Homestead Park, Ferdale, Washington

Bow-Edison, Washington

British Camp, Friday Harbor, San Juan Islands, Washington

San Juan County Fair, Friday Harbor, San Juan Islands, Washington

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

St. Francis Catholic Cemetery, Friday Harbor, San Juan Islands, Washington

Bellingham, Washington

8 years

The end of June marked an unbelievable 8 years at Pixar! I started at the studio during the tail-end of production on The Incredibles, as a nervous, wide-eyed college intern doing everything and anything to please my colleagues in the Consumer Products department. My desk was the size of a night stand, placed strategically next to a copy machine (which quickly became my best friend...her name was Frida). All eyes were on me and my little desk, so I had to perform. I must have done something right to later secure a spot on the Publishing team!

Publishing is a very workload-heavy, hard-deadline environment, but what's cool about it is the wide variety of projects and people our team is involved with. Pub oversees all domestic and international storybooks for all the Disney•Pixar feature and short films. This includes book formats like: sound book, novelty, educational, color & activity, sticker, junior novel, Little Golden Book, and more. We also have our hand in digital eBook and App development and manage specialty art books and global magazines. We are busy year round!

What I have cherished most during my experience at Pixar is all that I have LEARNED (and continue to learn) from the most talented creatives in the world. It's been such an honor to collaborate with these brilliant minds everyday, take in their teachings, and apply it to my own creative work.

Below is a sampling of my FAVORITE book titles I have overseen over the years:

I am most proud of my work on this book! Many thanks to my buddies Bill Cone and Ralph Eggleston for their creative guidance in creating this comprehensive beauty. Available from Chronicle Books. 

My two favorites in the Pixar Art of series. Both shows were amazing to work with, the filmmakers were so accommodating and efficient! Available from Chronicle Books. 

As a kid I was a huge fan of DK's Eyewitness books. Now I love coming up with fun facts for the DK Essential Guides to the films. Available from Dorling Kindersley.

Little Golden Books, a coveted classic. Available from Random House. 

One of the most amazing film trilogies of all time wrapped into one book. Available from Disney Editions. 

Every Pixar fan needs this book! You might even catch a few glimpses of Kelly B. inside! Available from Disney Editions. 

I have loved partnering with Leapfrog to create these interactive/educational titles. Available from Leapfrog.

Happy Reading!