TOY
STORY 3
3
In 2007, I joined Pixar Animation Studios to work on the Film Toy Story 3. I contributed work to the following Sequences, among Many others. The film Went onto Win the oscar for Best Animated Film, as well as receive an historic nomination for best picture.
DEMO SWITCH
‘Demo Switch’ was the first scene I was asked to board when I began at Pixar in 2007. It was the first scene in which Lotso Huggin Bear was featured and included his iconic reveal as the villain of the story.
The main visual idea for the sequence was to be with Buzz, and the cone of light functioned as a barrier between the ‘Good guys’ in the scene and the ‘Bad Guys’.
When Lotso offers Buzz a position with him in the organization, he takes Buzz from the light to the shadow. By Buzz refusing, he goes back into the light, alone, and Lotso remains, a dark presence in the shadow.
END OF THE LINE
I was extremely fortunate to be tasked with working on the Dump Section of Toy Story 3. In what would be come an iconic scene, not only in the Pixar canon, but in film history, I provided brainstorming and ideation, as well as the storyboards for the emotional scene.
During production, the Scene was entitled ‘The End of the Line’. It was Director Lee Unkrich’s idea to take the Toy Family to the furthest extreme of Toy Existence and challenge them to stay united in the face of an insurmountable challenge.
During this time, My Mother, who was my inspiration for becoming an artist, got sick and sadly passed before the film was released. My feelings of helplessness were channeled into the boards and storytelling as I too grappled with inevitability. We are all on the slide to the unknown next step, and the best we can do is be with the ones we love.
GARBAGE TRUCK
As became typical on Toy Story 3, I was given another fun, rollicking action scene with emotional stakes. ‘Garbage Truck’ follows the Toys’ trip from Sunnyside Daycare to the Landfill in the back of a garbage truck. A terrifying proposition.
The Story and art team took an incredible research trip to a landfill at night (!), and saw first hadn't how the scale of the truck and place would feel for a Toy.
This scene was a fun challenge and lead to Jessie and Buzz bonding and Buzz returning to OUR Buzz, from Spanish mode.
TOY STORY 3 ART/ Development
