THE DESIGN OF STORY EXHIBITION
About Pixar:
THE DESIGN OF STORY A capsule examination of the collaborative design process behind Pixar Animation Studios. On view in the Process Lab, the installation features original artwork–including rarely seen hand-drawn sketches, paintings, and sculptures from over 25 years of Pixar film making–and creative exercises inspired by the Pixar design process. Concept art from Toy Story, Wall-E, Brave, The Incredibles, and Cars, among other films reveal how the visual design process and story development work hand in hand at Pixar. From a film’s earliest stages, Pixar designers use the design processes of iteration, collaboration, and research to create appealing characters and believable environments that ultimately contribute to the success of the film’s story. In addition, over 650 Pixar artworks are on view on the touchscreen tables in the Process Lab and the Great Hall, and are tagged to link the Pixar works to thousands of Cooper Hewitt-related collection objects.
Design By Hand: Pixar’s John Lasseter In conjunction with the installation Pixar:The Design of Story and the Design by Hand series, Cooper Hewitt welcomes John Lasseter, Chief Creative Officer of Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios, for a conversation with Pentagram’s Michael Bierut. Lasseter has served as Pixar’s creative leader since its inception, spearheading the studio’s use of the design processes of traditional animation in combination with cutting-edge technology to create a unique style of animated storytelling.He ranks among Walt Disney, Chuck Jones, and Hayao Miyazaki as one of the world’s most influential makers of animated film. Lasseter began his career as an animator for the Walt Disney Studios, where he first experimented with the then radical new medium of computer-generated imagery (CGI). In 1984, he joined the Lucasfilm Computer Division, where he animated one of the very first CGI films: The Adventures of André
& Wally B. After the division was bought by Steve Jobs and renamed Pixar, Lasseter wrote, directed, and animated Pixar’s first short films, including Luxo Jr., now screening at Cooper Hewitt. In 1995, Toy Story, Lasseter’s feature film directorial debut, was released, launching a new era for animated film.
The world’s first computer-animated feature film, Toy Story was recognized with a Special Achievement Oscar for Lasseter’s leadership and became the first animated feature film to be nominated for best original screenplay. Lasseter returned to the director’s seat for A Bug’s Life, Toy Story 2, Cars, and Cars 2, and, in his signature Hawaiian shirts, now helms both Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios, as well as serves as the principal creative advisor for Walt Disney Imagineering.
WORKSOPS
PIXARS WORKSHOPS
Design By Hand: Workshop for Families Imagining Characters Through Collage with Albert Lozano and Chris Sasaki Inspired by the characters in Disney-Pixar’s Inside Out, children will work with and learn from Pixar designers how collaging methods are used to create and inspire a character’s design. Parents are invited to observe or collaborate with their children during the workshop. Workshops are geared towards children ages 7-12. Only one adult per ticketed child will be admitted to the event. Session 1: 11:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Session 2: 1:30 p.m.-3:00 p.m. Chris Sasaki joined Pixar Animation Studios in 2010, and has worked as a character artist for Monsters University and Inside Out. In addition to his feature film work, Sasaki contributed his talents to Sanjay’s Super Team, the latest Pixar short film releasing with The Good Dinosaur in November. He is currently working as a character designer on an upcoming Pixar project. Prior to joining Pixar, Sasaki was an intern at DreamWorks Animation, where he learned
about the production pipeline and process of a feature film. Sasaki also worked as a character designer at Jim Henson, DisneyTV, BlueSky, and LAIKA. Albert Lozano joined Pixar Animation Studios in April 1999 as the character art director on Pixar’s 2001 feature Monsters. Inc. Lozano has worked on every Pixar feature since then, including the Academy Award-winning features Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Ratatouille, WALL-E, and Up. Lozano most recently worked on Disney-Pixar’s Inside Out. As the character art director, Lozano’s responsibility is to design the characters and shepherd them through the production process to make sure they appear as the films’ production designer and director want them to.
About the Design by Hand series Launched in partnership with Van Cleef & Arpels in fall 2013 with the iconic Finnish brand Marimekko, the Design by Hand series focuses on the craftsmanship, innovations, and merits of contemporary global designers.
Design By Hand: Workshop for Teens Creating Characters Through Collage with Albert Lozano and Chris Sasaki A hands-on workshop that will focus on the character design in DisneyPixar’s Inside Out. Teens will work with Pixar designers to learn, through collaging methods, how to better understand shape, depth, and feel of a character. DesignPrep is a series of FREE teen workshops, studio tours and college visits, which focus on all forms of design from fashion and architecture to product and graphic design. Chris Sasaki joined Pixar Animation Studios in 2010, and has worked as a character artist for Monsters University and Inside Out. In addition to his feature film work, Sasaki contributed his talents to Sanjay’s Super Team, the latest Pixar short film releasing with The Good Dinosaur in November. He is currently working as a
character designer on an upcoming Pixar project. Prior to joining Pixar, Sasaki was an intern at DreamWorks Animation, where he learned about the production pipeline and process of a feature film. Sasaki also worked as a character designer at Jim Henson, DisneyTV, BlueSky, and LAIKA. Albert Lozano joined Pixar Animation Studios in April 1999 as the character art director on Pixar’s 2001 feature Monsters. Inc. Lozano has worked on every Pixar feature since then, including the Academy Award-winning features Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Ratatouille, WALL-E, and Up. Lozano most recently worked on Disney-Pixar’s Inside Out.As the character art director, Lozano’s responsibility is to design the characters and shepherd them through the production process to make sure they appear as the films’ production designer and director want them to.
About the Design by Hand Series Launched in partnership with Van Cleef & Arpels in fall 2013 with the iconic Finnish brand Marimekko, the Design by Hand series focuses on the craftsmanship, innovations, and merits of contemporary global designers. Special programs connect university students, high school students, adults, and families with design.
Design By Hand:
Workshop for College Students Practical Models in Set Design with Bryn Imagire, Art Director, “The Good Dinosaur” Students will explore spatial relations going from flat drawing to practical 3D model. Participants will utilize polyurethane foam, and paint to build models and examine how texture, pattern and color inform the set design. Bryn Imagire joined Pixar Animation Studios in June 1997 as a digital painter on “A Bug’s Life.” She then went on to work as Shading Art Director on “Toy Story2,” “Monster’s Inc.,” “Cars 2” and the Academy Award-winning features “The Incredibles” and “Up.” Imagire is currently working on DisneyPixar’s “The Good Dinosaur,” scheduled for release on November 25, 2015.
As a Shading Art Director, Imagire experiments with different materials to help form the overall look of the film through the colors and textures of characters, sets and objects. She works closely with the Director, Production Designer, and fellow art directors on each film to take the decided look and create that on-screen.
About the Design by Hand series Launched in partnership with Van Cleef & Arpels in fall 2013 with the iconic Finnish brand Marimekko, the Design by Hand series focuses on the craftsmanship, innovations, and merits of contemporary global designers. Special programs connect university students, high school students, adults, and families with design.
Design By Hand: Workshop for Adults Practical Models in Set Design with Bryn Imagire, Art Director, The Good Dinosaur Students will explore spatial relations from flat drawing to practical 3D model. Participants will utilize polyurethane foam and paint to build models, and examine how texture, pattern and color inform set design. Bryn Imagire joined Pixar Animation Studios in June 1997 as a digital painter on A Bug’s Life. She then worked as Shading Art Director on Toy Story 2, Monsters Inc., Cars 2, and the Academy Award-winning features The Incredibles and Up. Imagire’s latest project is Disney•Pixar’s The Good Dinosaur, scheduled for release in November.
As a Shading Art Director, Imagire experiments with different materials to help form the overall look of the film through the colors and textures of characters, sets and objects. She works closely with the director, production designer, and fellow art directors on each film to take the decided look and create that on screen.
About the Design by Hand series Launched in partnership with Van Cleef & Arpels in fall 2013 with the iconic Finnish brand Marimekko, the Design by Hand series focuses on the craftsmanship, innovations, and merits of contemporary global designers. Special programs connect university students, high school students, adults, and families with design.
DESIGN LESSONS
4 DESIGN LESSONS
A new exhibition at cooper hewitt explores the design tools and principles that go into making pixar films so damn lovable. Since 1986, when two adorable anthropomorphic lamps graced the screen in the short Luxo Jr., Pixar has become an emblem of how to run a creative and successful business. Its creative process and business tactics have been well chronicled, but a new exhibition at Cooper Hewitt focuses solely on the creative habits of its design team. Pixar: The Design of Story explores the design principles that the company has stuck to since that very first film. From Toy Story to WALL-E, Up to The Incredibles, Pixar always employs the same three key design principles—story, believability, and appeal—to create movies that emotionally resonate with nearly any viewer. We talked with Kim Robledo-Diga, deputy director of education and interpretation at Cooper Hewitt, about Pixar’s design process and what any designer can take away from it.
DO YOUR RESEARCH It can be tempting to skip the research phase when responding to a design challenge, especially if you have already have a good idea. But as Pixar’s design process suggests, what you discover while researching can have a big impact on the final result, even taking it in unexpected directions. Take, for example, the group of designers behind Cars. Before they even started looking at car designs, their initial research consisted of taking a trip down Route 66 together. “They actually took the road trip that they do in the film,” says Robledo-Diga. “They gathered soil. They ate at classic diners. They purchased funky, touristy postcards. They really tried to absorb the feeling of Route 66 and how it could inform the landscape of the film”—which turned out to be one of the most awe-inspiring aspects of the movie.
THINK ABOUT THE DETAILS
When approaching a story, Pixar designers focus on two things: the first is "appeal," or how to get an audience to connect to, say, a rat that cooks. The second is "believability," which might involve designing a hyper-real "trash planet" for WALL-E. To achieve both of these things, Pixar designers must have an unparalleled eye for detail—from the seams on Toy Story's green army men to how the colors of scenes convey emotion. "Their attention to detail is what makes their films so fantastic and believable. When the old man lost his wife in Up—I don’t believe that anyone left that film without crying in the first 20 minutes," says Robledo-Diga. "You were invested in this imaginary couple for a 10- to 15-minute story, and then you felt the same pain that Carl did when his wife passed away. It really is part of the design process to convince you of that."
KEEP IT SIMPLE
One of Pixar's in-house strategies is a concept they call "Simplexity," or a way of "simplifying an image down to its essence," says Robledo-Diga. "For example, in Inside Out, Anger is a square, Sadness is a teardrop, Fear is a rectangle shape. They vary this cast of characters by assigning them simple shapes, and then they individualize them by giving them texture and color and details." By establishing a set of simple techniques that seem almost elementary, Pixar can create new, fresh characters and ideas over and over again.
BRAIN STORM ACROSS TEAMS
Pixar is known for its creative “brain trusts”—groups of passionate, creative people who work together to solve problems and perfect ideas. According to Robledo-Diga, that same sense of collaboration happens among different facets of designers. To design something as seemingly simple as the house in Up, she says, “all the departments worked together—from the animators to the research team to model packet artists to the technical designers.” Sketches are passed from team to team, and each person makes notes for improvement, even something as specific as how to make the brick more realistic or how the pipes should look in the bottom of the house.
INSIDE OUT
COLORING PAGE
GOOD DINOSAUR
BUGS LIFE
TOY STORY
NOTES
NOTES